New To Lexus

kmb4701 · September 22, 2004

Hi,

I just bought a 96 Lexus ES300. It's in great condition inside and out and I have really fallen in love with the smooth ride. It's a dark forest green with tan interior and the dealer just had the front seats re-upholstered. I just got out of a Ford that tanked on me at 175k. It came down to a another Ford Taurus 2001 model with 55k and a 2 year 30k warranty or the 96 ES with 76k . I've heard from numerous people that the Lex will drive for quite some time and JD power and associates have ranked Lexus at the top. (Of course everyone knew that though!) I waited a month to post here so that I could get my own assessment of the car. I loved then and I love it now! If anyone could help me with any of these questions I'd greatly appreciate it. I've attached a pic of the car at the bottom if anyone cares to see.

1) With Lexus's current dependability ranking would a 96 model be applicable to being tops in dependability or has the reputation taken some time to build up?

2) Once in heavy rain while driving on the interstate I heard a loud growling sound from the engine and a loss of power. (Engine power) I maintained 55 mph but had to almost floor it to get to that it seemed. The Air Conditioning was running

on high and I just attributed the problem to that. Has anyone experienced this?

3) Does anyone know of any problems with this model I should be looking for?

2)Does anyone have any input on my choice in cars?

Thanx in Advance for any input, ;)

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Lexusfreak · September 22, 2004

Welcome to the club kmb B) Nice looking ES! ;) Lexus has always been at or near the top of quality survey's & the 96 was considered a pretty good car back then (Lexus has made headway since then & naturally they have improved) & I think you have made a wise choice!

- Can you give any more specific details about the growling noise & loss of power you mentioned? The air being on might have had 'some' factor but probobly not to the extent you were describing & any other small or specific details could assist us.

- Do a search on this forum (ES forums) for items relating to problems for specific years of ES's would be best as there is much info depending on year.

- Do we have input about your choice of cars?? You bet! Excellent choice!! I love my 01 ES & would buy another one, no question about it. Maintain it as per the owners manual, don't abuse the car & it should provide fairly trouble free & enjoyable miles & years to come! ;)

:cheers:

branshew · September 22, 2004

Nice looking car. Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the club.

Lexus has always had a good track record for reliability (building on Toyota's existing foundation) so no worries there.

As to the loss of power...is it possible that you hit a shallow puddle at high speed and hydroplaned a little? That would cause a noise from the water spraing under the front wheel wells and the sudden slow down due to the excess friction could feel like you lost power temporarily. The AC shouldn't cause a sudden loss of power if it had been on the whole time.

As to your choice between the Ford and Lexus: that should be apparent that you made the best choice. I had the displeaseure of owning two Ford products and would never buy one again.

FORD: Fix Or Repair Daily

F#$%'d Over Rebuilt Dodge

F@#$%er Only Runs Downhill

SKperformance · September 23, 2004

the faq will help alot for answer questions

The water may have gotten in parts it shouldn't have ,it is hard to say.

You got the better years of that model 2nd gen es 300 with a newer engine and sytling updates

blake918 · September 23, 2004

We have owned 5 Fords(Expedition, 2 Mustangs-1 V6 and 1 Cobra..'95 with the classic 302, 2 LTD/Crown Vics), and would gladly buy some more; everyone seems to hate them, but they have been great cars for us. I looked long and hard for a '00/'01 Taurus when I was looking for a first car. I was very picky while looking(I wanted a SEL with all of the goodies...leather, climate control, mach sound, Duratech, and adjustable pedals.), and I never could find exactly what I wanted. I ended up buying a '94 ES300 because they look excellent in and out, and they are very high quality machines with first rate powertrain which is really sold me on the car.

Is the ES higher quality, more refined, etc? Of course, it's in a different class than a Taurus! But, "just because it's a Lexus doesn't mean that you can weld the hood shut"(I forgot who said that on here, but it's great!). My '94 seems to have had more than normal electrical gremlins--check engine light(2 problems in 20k miles-EGR and Cat). ES's tend to have some annoyance problems like flickering needles, wind noise(because people use the pilarless windows to slam the doors), motor mounts, broken antenna masts, and suspension problems("clunky" suspension). I had to quit driving my ES everyday because it was just too small for someone like myself who is 6'3. I really started kicking my self for passing up the Taurus because they are very spacious inside(it all worked out because I got a LS for the extra room I was looking for.). I hope you are not too tall! lol Your ES will have problems at one point or another just as the Taurus would have. Hopefully, you picked the one that you enjoyed more and not because one was a Ford and one was a Lexus(which is what I did unfortunately). Your car looks great! Take good care of it, and she'll last a long, long time. ;)

:cheers:

Lexusfreak · September 23, 2004

"just because it's a Lexus doesn't mean that you can weld the hood shut"(I forgot who said that on here, but it's great!).

I like that expression! So true. B)

:cheers:

kmb4701 · September 24, 2004

How do I make it so that my pic is shown every time i post and not have evryone keep downloading it? :D

steviej · September 25, 2004

kmb4701, upload your picture to the gallery. Then in your post click on the IMG button (in CODE BUTTON section when posting). When the IMG box appears, paste in the location of the picture you want to have appear in the post.

To get that address, go to gallery, find you pick (it will be on the last page if you just uploaded it). Click on the picture so that it is one large picture and not a thumbnail. When only that picture is displayed, right click your mouse on the picture, click on Properties, then copy the entire "http://" address of the picture.

good luck.

steviej