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Lexus ES 350
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Comments
Is Toyota suffering from groing pains? You bet. What I have observed to date is that some have had an actual problem (hopefully the problem has been resolved), others have a perceived problem and for the most part the majority are concerned about a problem that may or may not occur (heck, many don't even own a Lexus or any Toyota ).
The bottom line is... this is just one site to obtain information. We have no way of verifying if the information posted is accurate, good or bad (sorry for being so cynical). In addition to this and other sites I like to obtain first hand comments from people on the street who actually own the vehicle.
I agree that a potential buyer would want to make sure a problem (if it exists) is corrected before moving forward (I'm sure the new Toyota slogan "moving forward" was a slip).
I hope this answers your question. "why so defensive?" It wasn't meant to be. Good Luck.
No wonder the parts department guy was confused... so was I.
I wonder if Starfire Pearl really is the same color as Crystal White?
I have read the coding options at the rear of the manual and can find nothing about this feature. It does talk about the doors automatically locking if you unlock the car and don't open the doors, as I previously mentioned. Does anyone have knowledge of how this works, before I have to get a service tech/manager to explain why it won't lock automatically?
http://www.carspace.com/bwolf/Albums/2007%20ES%20350/
Since I got the car(31st Aug), I have been seeing that every once in a while, it does not understand which gear to shift into. For e.g. I turned into a parking lot with a down slope and I expect the car would down-shift instead it did an up-shift or missed gears (not really sure but tachometer crossed 3000 RPM without any speed increase). Any advise?
Those sport wheels totally transform this car into a real looker. It's like Ruth Buzzi turned into Pamela Anderson!
Wow.
If Lexus was smart those would be the stock wheels that came with the car.
I can't believe what a difference those wheels make!
Gorgeous, just gorgeous.
http://www.invoicedealers.com/cars/Features.asp?model=3519
the invoice for the e-sport wheel is only $878. My UL Smoky Granite ES350 (initally reserved a UL ruby red one but changed mind after seeing it in person) is arriving this week. I will check with my dealer to see what is the price difference between the granite polished alloy wheels in UL package and the e-sport wheels.
I think you would love the Smoky Granite -- it's really eye-catching. I was so undecided between that and the blue onxy pearl I got. I loved them both.
If you just got the car, I doubt you have a bad transmission, but, open the driver's door and see when the vehicle was manufactured. If it was around the March/April timeframe I might be inclined to worry.
But, as I've said before, it's your car, you paid good money for it and don't let anyone on this board tell you not to worry about ANYTHING that bugs you or concerns you about your vehicle. Take it to a dealership, tell them exactly what the car is doing and ask them to check it out; it's that simple. The service managers are not going to laugh at you, second guess you or tell you that you don't need service. A technician will test your car and read the diagnostic codes and see if there is a problem. If the technician thinks there might be something wrong and they can't figure out the problem, they open a ticket with the engineers at Lexus USA who help diagnose the problem.
If you're not satisfied with their answer and the car continues to give you a problem, call Customer Service at Lexus USA. They listen! They want you satisfied with the vehicle and will do whatever it takes to correct a problem, if one exists. The person that takes your call becomes your point of contact. That person relays your concern to the regional Lexus USA office, who in turn contacts the dealership. You'll probably get a call from the service manager, asking you to bring the car back in for service. Your point of contact will folllow up with you to make sure you're satisfied with your experience.
Lexus Guy 3
By the way try to use the voice command on the Climate Control. If it is screwed up Lexus has a fix "Voice Commands for Climate Control are Inoperative" EL008-06
Car goes in a week for fixes .Lexus Guy 3
Do not accept a part for your transmission or a replacement transmission without speaking to Lexus USA. Call them and raise holy hell that you have a new transmission and it is not working correctly and that should not hace tp accept a "part" to fix your transmission. It is a brand new vehicle and should not require "parts" and that you are well aware of the problems with the ES350 transmissions. The only exception for parts being the fix for the voice comand system if you have an earlier production vehicle.
If you accept a part or new transmission, you are doing Lexus a big favor and screwing yourself. There are no transmissions to be had at this point! My old ES350 has been setting on the dealer lot for over two months, waiting on a new transmission.
You do not have to accept the service department's answer to fix your vehicle. When you take your vehicle in for problems with the transmission, INSIST that they are to do no repairs before consulting you first and make them put it in writing on the service ticket. If they suggest a part replacement or new transmission, ask them if the Lexus Engineers made this decision or them and either way, CALL LEXUS USA Customer Service and tell them exactly what has transpired up to that point and that you are not satisfied with the decision to replace "parts" for a brand new vehicle.
A good service manager, as mentioned earlier, will keep you abreast of technical bulletins and fixes associated with your vehicle, that Lexus has issued, and will advise you if the service tech called Lexus USA for help. Warranty service or even replacement of your vehicle does not cost the dealership a dime; Lexus USA reimburses the dealer for all costs. There is no excuse for them not asking Lexus USA for help in fixing a problem with your vehicle. BMW is even stricter when it come to fixing vehicles under warranty. The service tech cannot order parts unless he/she has approval from a BMW USA engineer.
The dreaded "transmission problem" was associated with a batch of ES350s and Toyota Camrys with six-speed automatic transmissions (same as ES350) manufactured in March and April. Manufacturing was temporarily halted until the problem was fixed.
The indicator that your transmission is "dead" is that after driving at higher speeds and higher RPMS for an extended period of time and usually after the vehicle has about 800 miles, the shifting between 1st and 2nd gear and 2nd and 3rd gear becomes erratic and the Vehicle Stability Control "VSC" illuminates and stays illuminated. It is still safe to drive the vehicle until you get it to the dealership. The light must be cleared by the service tech.
Clearing the "codes" will not solve the problem. The light will illuminate again and stay on the next time it is driven. At that point, the tech should park the car and call Lexus USA for help. The engineers have a set of test parameters to determine if the transmission is faulty.
If it turns out to be a bad transmission, it's cheaper for Lexus to replace the transmission than to tear it apart to fix the part that caused the problem. Last estimate, their were about 15,000 vehicles affected (including Camrys and ES350s). The other alternative (for ES350 owners) is to insist upon Lexus buying back the vehicle or giving you another one. Camry owners were not as fortunate.
I fault Lexus for not having been more aggressive in finding the bad batch of transmissions but applaud them for appeasing customers that had bad transmissions. Unfortunately, when it comes to warranty repairs, the common philosophy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
That's where it pays to trust the dealership where you take your car for service and insist upon the same service manager. Pick one that's a brainiac when it comes to ES vehicles and that you have a rapport with. That type of person will tell you if there are any potential problems with your vehicle (if you ask them privately).
Remember, besides the dealership, a toll-free call to Lexus USA Customer Service, politely telling the representative you need help resolving a problem, will get you personalized service and an answer to your problem.
When I wanted an ES350, from my local dealer, Lexus USA in Atlanta said I was limited to cars available to the Southeast. I chose a Tungsten Pearl which was on an inbound ship, which incidentallly, had all-season, Michelin MXZ4, all weather tires (nice).
If you look at "Build Your own Lexus", on the lexus.com site, today, for the Southeast, you'll see that a UL edition is not even available but, if you put in a 90210 zip code, it is available.
The best thing to do is buy the tires that make you happy, replace your factory tires with them and put the factory tires back on when you get ready to sell or trade the vehicle.
But, given the choice we have for factory tires, which tire would you choose: an OEM summer tire on a Premium package, with a "200" Treadware rating or a Michelin MXV4 Plus with "400 Treadware, A Traction and A Temperature" (Michelins best-selling and most popular grand touring all season tire) on a UL?
One thing I did notice is that the engine idling noise when it first starts from cold temperature in the morning is a bit louder than my 2003 es300. It then become more quiet during the day though. On the other hand, when cruising at 70 mph on highway.. it is more quiet than my 2003 ES300.
BTW, has anyone purchased paint coating environment protection? My dealer suggested putting down a layer of Teflon coating over the paint to prevent the salt (very common in NE region during winter) from penetrating into the paint and make the clean-up easier. For $260 (original price $460), is it worthy or useful?
And as for what A/S I'd opt for, it sure wouldn't be the mediocre Michelin MXV's, that's for sure.
Chect this out and tell me what you think about the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. And guess what? They're substantially cheaper too!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=HPAS
I think all of us are going to find that the optimum tire in most all the categories is not going to be available to us, given the wheel and tire size that Lexus has chosen for this vehicle. I don't understand the reason behind the decision, but given that it is a luxury vehicle and not so much a sports sedan, they would have stayed with a 16-inch wheel and tire.
Here is a good alternative to the tire you have chosen, that is available for the ES350:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Avon&tireModel=Tech+M550+A/S#- Survey
This is an Avon tire made by Cooper Tire and Rubber, best known for Avon racing tires. The specs are not as good but close and our size is available. You can pick an optional tire height, but you are altering the specifications of the vehicle from what Lexus delivered to you.
It would be nice to pick and choose which tires come on the vehicles, but I don't believe we have that option. From what I've seen, Premium packages come with summer tires and ULs come with all season. The all season tires are a bit of a compromise, the handling is not as good and probably the ride comfort is not the same as a summer tire and the snow traction is definitely not equal to a winter tire but the treadlife of the Michelin MXV4 Plus will probably exceed any summer tire. For those drivers that travel in between climates, it should prove to be a good compromise. Lexus probably has a range of tires that are put on the ULs, but the Michelin MXV4 Plus is usually not considered to be an "OEM" tire.
If you don't plan to keep your vehicle but a few years and you have all season tires, exchange them with whatever tire from Tirerack makes you happy and store the original tires until you get ready to sell or trade the ES350 and then remount the original tires.
Incidentally, if you have a Discount Tire store in your area, they will match any price offered on tirerack.com
JTMav
That's the long and the short of it. And it's noisy in a not very pleasant or sonorous way. It's clickity/clackety noisy. Not like a deep throated grwl or whine which generally bespeaks a highly tuned or powerful engine. Compared to my '02 ES 300 this thing sounds like a truck. It has gobs and gobs of power though and the gas mileage is simply astounding for an engine of this power so it's really a mixed bag.
But yes, it is noisy.