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Lexus ES 300/ES 330
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Comments
You don't have to guess at my reason for being on this board. Unfortunately, many of us own one of their transmission screwups and paid them a premium for the privilige of driving an unsafe car. Read the posts, many won't be back. Hope TM reads the posts and find the integrity they lost.
Dealer wants 425$ plus sales tax to do service.
I'm thinking to have OIL& FILTER replaced somewhere else.-BUT i do not know how to reset MAINTENANCE REQUIRED light flashing on dash.
Also what else maintenance required at 15000 miles
(dealer also wants to replace transmission fluid?
air filter)
At the last oil change they charged 10$ for some additive to the oil-what are they using?
Please let me know ASAP
$425 + tax for 15K mile service is very high. Other Lexus dealers charge half that, but probably don't change certain fluids/filters prematurely. The 15K service amounts to an oil change, an A/C filter change, and a tire rotation. The A/C filter you can easily change yourself by getting the same part at a Toyota dealer and following the instructions in your user's manual - it is perhaps the easiest maintenance/replacement task to perform on this car (A/C filter is behind the glove box, takes 5 minutes). Yet, many Lexus dealers will charge $80+ for the part and labor when you can do it yourself for $25 or less. Many Lexus dealers charge a signficant amount OVER Toyota's list price for parts.
As for the additive to your oil at your last service, Lexus (and other car manufacturers, like Honda) specifically does not recommend against using any additional additives to the oil. It's just a profitable add-on service for the dealer, since it likely costs them next to nothing for this additive compared to how much they're charging you.. Most of them are snake oil at best, and some can even do more harm than good.
Lastly, if you'll be taking your car elsewhere for an oil change, the best thing you can do for your car is purchase your own motor oil and oil filter, and pay for only the labor while you watch them do the change. This way, you're assured the best quality oil (of the right weight for you car) and filter while paying significantly less than you would at a Lexus dealer. If this is too much hassle, then try taking it to a Toyota dealer. Changing the oil in an ES is practically identical to changing the oil in a Camry - after all, the 2 are based on the same platform and share 95% of the mechanical parts. Pulling into a Jiffy lube or your average gas station would not be my idea of a safe oil change. You're assured to get one of the cheapest oil filters made, and you have no clue what kind of bulk oil they're putting into your engine. Some use the cheapest recycled oil.
Resetting the maintenance light will likely be a simple task of pushing a button. It's just set to go off after a certain number of miles. I believe the '04 ES was the first year of the current generation ES to have this, so hopefully someone else with an '04 or '05 can tell you how to reset it. It could be in your car manual as well.
I asked the dealer to look into it a the 5K check but they were unable to duplicate it.
After reading your message I believe I have the same problem. I will inform the dealer of the pins and see if I can get this out of my ears.
Thanks for the great post.
However, the transmission hesitation is not a manufacturing defect that can be fixed under warranty like a rattling seatbelt or door panel. It is simply poor design that allows inelegant downshifts if you floor the pedal at the wrong time.
It is intended for sedate driving only.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Also, I noticed that several owners reported a rear window motor going out.
I have had both problems in my 2002 ES300, and both were fixed under warranty.
Thanks.
What are you guys getting for you mpgs???
I don't think a Lexus needs a spoiler but the gold trim definitely for the garnet pearl.
Many thanks in advance.
That said, Navs are similar to other technology in that they improve quickly, making older ones seem obsolete. Therefore they may depreciate faster than the rest of the vehicle.
Replacements/upgrades are expensive, but you don't really need them often, I have found.
The Nav system is not really easy to learn in the beginning, but it becomes intuitive after you've used if for awhile. For example, I still have more trouble programming my VCR than I do operating the Lexus Nav and the 2005 Nav has a better user interface than does my 2002.
I recommend the Nav for anyone. It would be difficult for me to do without one now that I have one.
When I am in a strange city or in a strange part of a city I am familiar with, the Nav is really helpful in locating restaurants especially. I have also used the POI feature to find the nearest Lexus dealer when I am in a strange city.
I do not know how reliable they are - the first ones showed up in the 2002 ES. Perhaps some folks on the LS board have had Navs for longer. I have had not experienced problems with mine. My rear window motor needed replacement and my rear window shade sticks but no problems with the NAV.
The only downside of having a Nav, to me, is that many times, when you travel to a place where your vehicle is not accessable, you miss your Nav!! If you travel a lot, you'll be frustrated at the thought that when you most need a Nav, you don't have one!!
For the people I know who have Navs, the inclusion of a Nav tops many other attributes, like color, in a vehicle. I'd rather have a second choice color with a Nav than a first choice color without.
One last item. When I first purchased my car in 2002, the biggest reason people wanted to special order a car is that they wanted the ML with no NAV, which was not available in a package at the time I bought my car. The number of posters who actively do NOT want a Nav have decreased a lot since 2002.
If you can afford it, definitely get a Nav.
Most of my driving time is spent in familiar areas and I always use MapQuest for travel to new places. I am an accountant and most of my appointments are in the office rather than at the client's business, although that can always change.
I have also considered the ML system without the Nav. It seems that the dealers in my area have more cars on the lot without the nav system than those with it. I do not know anyone with a Lexus with the nav system, but have one co-worker who has a Acura TL with nav and she is still trying to figure out the system after 4 months. Probably a good plan is to go to a dealer in an outlying area and play with the nav system so that I have more of a feel for how hard/easy it is to learn. So far, all of my research has been on line and I have not yet taken a test drive.
In any event, I think that if I buy a car off the lot, I will have more selection without the nav system. Also, I think that I will make a better deal if I buy off the lot, compared to a special order. Do you agree? Seems that the postings are valuing the car at 87-90% of MSRP for 2005 ES330 in the Los Angeles area. I am hoping to make a comparable deal.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks again.
When I got my ES I actually wanted one with Nav w/o ML. They did not have that but they do now. I think they still don't have one with ML only tho. I was glad they did not have such config at the time. ML rocks.
In addition, the 17"s are suppose to ride stiffer due to the narrower sidewall. I have an 05 with the 17"s but haven't pushed it hard to tell the difference from the 16's which I had on an 2000ES (Toyo TPTs). For me, I decided on the better looking rim on the color I wanted. The 17"s look really nice and the 16"s are similar to the Camry XLE rims.
in talking to my mechanic, (have already had to replace oxygen sensor) i was advised to never, never jump start my car. nor should i hook up any lexus to jump start another car. he said that it will do damage to the alternator.
anyone know about this? if such is true, does this mean that if my battery dies before i replace it that i must call the tow truck? or what?
also, soon it will be tire time. is it true that i can move to H rated. V is terribly expensive with terrible warranty. the falken is looking pretty good to me, per reviews on tirerack.
thanks for any help.
Regarding the V-rated tire, my car originally came with Bridgestone RE092 V-rated 16" tires. After they wore out at 25K, I changed them to Yokohama Avid H4 which are H-rated. They have much better wet traction compared to RE092, and also last longer and cheaper compared to old RE092. I think tire rack now shows tires from Bridgestone called Potenza G009 at about the same price as Yoko, and the reviews seem to be quite positive. You might want to try them.
TO figure out the VSC, check out the button under the driver side of the dashboard, under the key hole. If you follow it down some going towards the gas pedal you will see a black button. On it should say either "TRAC" or "VSC".
To figure out HIDs, simply turn on the headlights. You can tell from the color of the light being emitted. If it's bluish in the beginning and then turns whiter after a few seconds, it's got HIDs. Also, when you first turn on the lights, if it's got HIDs, they usually swivel up and down slightly to adjust. You can easily see this if the car is parked up against a wall or something.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04343/423383.stm
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04345/424551.stm
Was told by dealer problem with later is inventory gets low.
Thanks