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Lexus ES 350 Audio

psychdocpsychdoc Member Posts: 147
edited March 2014 in Lexus
....Is everyone else as thrilled with this as I am? It essentially renders the in-dash CD changer irrelevant. Why would I bother loading in a few CD's with 10-12 songs per disc when I have a perfectly wonderful Ipod with about 700 of my favorite songs (and capable of holding 7500 I think...it's the 30GB photo) at my fingertips piping out CD quality music through the Aux input.

I do wish that they had put the seat ventillation/heating controls somewhere where they can be seen. I'm finding that located under the armrest I forget that I have them on and they just keep blowing (albeit, a minimal amount) air for days on end until I even realize that I have them turned on.

While the front seats are very nice I do have to say that I haven't been able to find that one real "sweet spot" and I don't think they are quite as comfortable as the seats in the '02. I wish there was a way to control the seat angle fore and aft. Alas, there's not and all you can do is raise and lower the whole seat. I seem to recollect that the '02 allowed for fore and aft height adjustment though maybe I'm not recalling this correctly.

The power of this engine is just thrilling. Gone are the doubts about your ability to scoot in and out of "holes" in the flow of traffic on the highway. Just point this baby, put your foot on the accelerator and you're there.

Steering is still nowhere near as sharp as it should be and you don't get the feeling that this car is going to be any too agile in any accident avoidance maneuvers but hopefully I'll never have to find out. Still way too much body lean in curves though I strongly suspect that this is something that could be improved by putting on tires with stiffer sidewalls (like a good summer tire). The all weather Michelin MXV4's they put on the car are mediocre at best.

Gas mileage contineues to amaze me. In combined driving I'm getting 24.5-25mpg! That's easily 8mpg better than my outgoing underpowered '02 ES300. Astonishing, just astonishing. All the more so that they're able to engineer in this kind of efficiency in a 3.5 liter 272hp engine.

Comments

  • sammyssammys Member Posts: 30
    Yes, I too am quite happy with the '07 model I purchased. They made some much needed improvements and I see them right away from my '04 ES330.

    One thing I hate is the armrest gizmo. Who thought to make a back-sliding cover? It is awkward to close and looks even more awkward while it is open. I also don't like that they put a little diagram on the underside that shows you how to close the lid. Just my $.02

    SammyS
  • psychdocpsychdoc Member Posts: 147
    ***One thing I hate is the armrest gizmo. Who thought to make a back-sliding cover? It is awkward to close and looks even more awkward while it is open. I also don't like that they put a little diagram on the underside that shows you how to close the lid. Just my $.02***

    Go figure. I absolutely adore that particular feature and really thought that just showed how much thought went into the ergonomic engineering of this car. I find it makes the center storage area infinitely more easily accessable than with the old "hinged at the back" center armrest cover.

    Oh well.
  • bash4bash4 Member Posts: 13
    Just go to Radio Shack and tell them you need a small male audio to small male audio connection wire. $5.00 and your set. :)
  • ricwilliricwilli Member Posts: 10
    I picked up my 2007 ES 350 yesterday (Black/Black) and am in love. What a regal looking car!! Felt like I was driving a MB. My question, if anyone knows is what kind of cable do I need to hook up the iPod? :)
  • psychdocpsychdoc Member Posts: 147
    ***Felt like I was driving a MB***

    Nah. To get that same feeling you'd have to have the car in the shop about once a week (lol). And believe me, you'll never get that chance with the new ES.

    About the Ipod connection. That's a piece of cake. Just go to your local Radio Shack and get a male to male stereo mini-plug. Should run you about $4.99. One end goes in your Ipod and the other goes in the little hole inside the center console. Just hit "Aux" on your stereo, turn on the Ipod and you're good to go.
  • ggesqggesq Member Posts: 701
    "And believe me, you'll never get that chance with the new ES."

    Tell that to the ES owners w/ tranny problems. :P
  • psychdocpsychdoc Member Posts: 147
    ***Tell that to the ES owners w/ tranny problems***

    Heck, for the most part they're getting brand new cars! :D
  • tdohtdoh Member Posts: 298
    quote: "...Is everyone else as thrilled with this as I am? It essentially renders the in-dash CD changer irrelevant. Why would I bother loading in a few CD's with 10-12 songs per disc when I have a perfectly wonderful Ipod with about 700 of my favorite songs (and capable of holding 7500 I think...it's the 30GB photo) at my fingertips piping out CD quality music through the Aux input."

    Maybe because not everyone out there necessarily owns or wants to own an iPod or similar device? Assuming that the CD changer can play MP3 CDs, 6 such CDs can hold 700+ songs/48+ hours (total number/length of songs can vary depending on length of song and encoded bitrate). Okay, so 6 MP3 CDs don't offer the same capacity as a 30/60 GB iPod...but unless you're going on a 48-hour drive, 6 MP3 CDs should definitely hold you over for a few weeks--if not even longer. That, plus you won't have to deal with plugging in the iPod into the aux port and/or finding a secure location to put it.

    Not saying that the iPod isn't a viable MP3 option, but one shouldn't completely discount CDs as a viable audio source. :)
  • amf1932amf1932 Member Posts: 79
    I agree 100%! That's exactly what I've been doing...burning
    in MP3's from my music library on my computer. Each CD holds about 7 to 8 hours of excellent quality sound. In fact, I'm replacing the commercially recorded CD's with the MP3's. Not only do I have an enormous amount of music, but all the information such as the name of the artist and the title of the tune, plus any other bits of information are displayed on my NAV screen. I can control all this using my steering wheel buttons, unlike the iPod where you have to change tunes by working the controls on the iPod itself. This definitely is not as convenient and more dangerous 'cause you have to take your eyes off the road to make these tune changes. :)

    Alan
  • jimbresjimbres Member Posts: 2,025
    Good points in favor of MP3 discs. I had earlier advocated the iPod over MP3-encoded CDs, but I overlooked the control & display issues. I have a couple of dozen MP3 discs that I burned before I bought my iPod, & I'm looking forward to playing them in my wife's new ES. We just learned today that we can pick it up next Monday.
  • dreyfusdreyfus Member Posts: 24
    VaisTech sells an MP3 emulator for the iPod. It is definitely more expensive than burning MP3 CDs, but then it's more convenient, too. Just plug your iPod in and go. Use the controls on the steering wheel or audio unit to operate the iPod and see all the text info on the center display.

    A nice bonus is that the I AGREE nav display button is automatically selected when starting up (just ask for this free option when ordering).
  • lexusguy3lexusguy3 Member Posts: 12
    Ihave a fairly early version of the car and love most of it BUT.. The transmission seems to hesitate going from 2nd to 3rd gear. I brought to the dealer and he could not duplicate. I tried again and it happens when car is in the first 1-5 miles. Maybe is transmission fluid need s to heat up. Anybody have a good idea how to get this fixed? I don't think transmissions have adjustments.
  • zekeman1zekeman1 Member Posts: 422
    Why don't you pose your question regarding transmission issues on the general ES350 forum rather than the AUDIO forum - you would probably get better review and response.
  • forthillforthill Member Posts: 34
    Will any MP3 player work in the ES350 or only an Apple iPod? What connector is necessary from the player to the jack in the console?

    Thanks.
    forthill
  • tdohtdoh Member Posts: 298
    Any MP3 player (or any portable audio player, for that matter) w/ a 1/8" stereo headphone-out jack will work with the ES350 aux audio input jack; all you need to provide is an audio cable w/ 1/8" stereo headphone connector on each end.
  • normalnormal Member Posts: 19
    I have an IPOD also and I like the ability to use it in my car, but I have ripped a few MP3's and for me that is the only way to fly.
  • malpert1malpert1 Member Posts: 6
    aslo
    i see it cycles thru mpg and you can see distance traveled but how do you set time clock.... the nav will tell you projected time and distance but not actual time spent driving... i had a es 300 and that was part of the info cycled that you did from the steering wheel but i dont see it on the new 2007 es 500
  • youdontknowjacyoudontknowjac Member Posts: 3
    i don't like the location of the aux plug. it's hard to get into. of course i can just leave the cable plugged in all the time and leave it in the center compartment, but still..... make it more convenient to plug in.

    i don't like the center armrest either. it's located too far back that all i can rest on it is the tip of my elbow. and sometimes my elbow hits the button and the compartment opens up. The button should not be located at the top!! stupid design! closing the compartment requires some force too, and i'm afraid i'm gonna break the handle if i pull it too hard.
  • zekeman1zekeman1 Member Posts: 422
    Is there anything you like about the car?
  • basiobasio Member Posts: 6
    Does anybody have experience with the Dice iPod Integration kit? Seems simple enough to install, and charges your iPod at the same time. I'd like to be able to play my mp3s on a better source than CD-R.

    Other ideas?

    Thanks,
    basio
  • roc92843roc92843 Member Posts: 1
    how do you play dvd movies on on the nav i got it to play the sound but no picture? what am i doing wrong? help me out here guys i got the lexus 350ul
  • zekeman1zekeman1 Member Posts: 422
    Believe you have to put it in PARK.
  • swimmer999swimmer999 Member Posts: 1
    I am using the VAIS iPod integration kit for my MP3s, and I'm very pleased with it. I want to use the DVD/CD changer for high-quality surround sound. I've used some DVD concert audio disks which sound great, but there is the issue of not being able to select a different one when the car is moving. I understand there is a way to get around this. Has anybody done it?

    Besides DVDs, what audio formats are people happy with: CD with 5.1 surround, SACD, etc.

    Thanks.
  • znelson32znelson32 Member Posts: 8
    The ID3 2.3 specification for MP3 meta data outlines support for embedding album cover images into the ID3 header along with the standard artist name, genre, etc. Has anyone tried this with the ML ES350 system? It would be awesome if the cover art images displayed on the nav screen!

    Can anyone confirm/deny this?
  • navguy1navguy1 Member Posts: 181
    Does not show cover art on the screen.
  • charleshungcharleshung Member Posts: 1
    Does any one know if it plays MP3 which I burned on a DVD-R dics? Will the ID3 show on the screen? Thanks guys
  • tdohtdoh Member Posts: 298
    Nope, it will not play MP3 burned to DVD-R (or +R, for that matter)...it would be nice if it could!
  • dunde71dunde71 Member Posts: 33
    I am new to this mp3 player or iPod. I am not sure if I can view the playlist, albums, artist, etc etc in the stereo system of the ES350 or do I have to control it using the audio device. If I can not control using the stereo system controls then it seems to be a pain because then I have to reach for the audio device which will be in the glove box which will be an inconvenience. Secondly, its not safe taking your eyes off the road like that and play with the iPod wheel instead of the steering wheel .. :).

    Another question, if I use an mp3 or iPod, will I atleast see the name of the song, artist etc etc on my stereo display ?
  • jaspalbjaspalb Member Posts: 84
    Auxiliary input socket for connecting MP3/iPod player is just an aux input. You don't get any controls with it, nor do you see any song info on your display. There are some after-market products, which can be connected to Lexus stereo hardware (one needs to open dashboard for that), which can provide additional functionality you are looking for. I once saw that on Ebay.
  • larrymitlarrymit Member Posts: 80
    Recently my CD player has stopped playing right in the middle of a song. Then I can't eject the offending CD or switch to another CD. A day or two (or more) and the bad CD will eject itself.

    I've had this happen with two different home-burned CD's, (no label) loaded in different positions in the changer.

    Once the CD ejects, everything works fine until the next time it happens.

    Anyone else experienced this?
  • jaspalbjaspalb Member Posts: 84
    Seemingly it is CD Burn quality. Use lower speed to burn your CDs and then try again. Player might continue to try to read while you are ejecting.
  • cdreiercdreier Member Posts: 9
    Is it possible to have either Sirius or XM Radio with the Mark Levinson system installed? Thanks.
  • larrymitlarrymit Member Posts: 80
    You may be on to something. I tried burning it again at lower speed and haven't had any problems.

    Thanks!
  • alien2alien2 Member Posts: 33
    The front/rear balance on my 07 ES350 UL has to be adjusted such that front/rear balance line on the screen you look at when you balance the audio is almost all the way to the rear of the car. Anyone else experience this? I've had it to the dealer, we tested two others and they both acted like mine. Dealer said they contacted Lexus and I haven't heard anything back.
  • tmar23tmar23 Member Posts: 1
    Does anyone know the price on the Vais Tech? I would be interested in getting it simply to remove the annoying " I AGREE" button that must be pressed every time you start the car...

    Also, does anyone know a way to modify the DVD display so you don't need to have the parking brake on, or have the car in park. This would be ideal to have for the kids to watch movies on those long drives... It really doesn't help me much when the car needs to be in park with the parking brake applied to get video!

    Other than that, I love my ES 350!
  • bukalalabukalala Member Posts: 1
    I bought the mp3 player with bluetooth. How can I listen the music in my car
    (ES 350)? I have my cell connected to the car's bluetooth as well. I don't understand how the MP3 works, what I need to do? Thank you.
  • zekeman1zekeman1 Member Posts: 422
    Read the owners manual? Or, my dealer said to call anytime there was something I didn't understand and they would explain it.
    Z
This discussion has been closed.