Sal's Dad Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Hello, I'm new to Lexus, and this forum. My Mom is getting a new ES330, and I'm buying her 2000 ES300 - dealer maintained, driven 93,000 miles by a little old lady ... I just have a few questions about the car, and potential issues. About 10,000 miles ago the dealer replaced (IIRC) the rear main seal, and did the full 90,000 mile $ervice. Presumably this was an oil leak? She hadn't told me about this, and I was floored when I came across the paperwork. Is this "normal"? What should I be on the lookout for? The seat heater switches have busted several times - I found dealer paperwork, and the last time I swapped the passenger switch for the fried driver's side switch, so there's a hole now. Is this a common problem, or is there an issue here? Keys- she has one master, and one valet. Are there alternatives to the dealer for replacing the master? Is there a "hide-a-key" available? Anyting else I should be on the lookout for? I can't piece together ALL the maintenance records, and it's possible she overlooked/delayed an oil change. Finally, should I get the dealer to give my wife and me their "buyer orientation" for this car? Sounds like there are a lot of nice features (remote opening of the moonrof?) Mom has forgotten, and we'd never find on our own. :whistles: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Do you have the manual? If not you can order one free from www.lexus.com it should have all the info you need. None of the problems you mentioned sound normal to me, rear main seals happen I suppose from time to time but the friend seat heater switches are rare. The most important thing to know is if the oil was changed properly. The 97-01 ES300 has an engine gelling issue and if oil changes are delayed much past 5k miles you can get oil gelling in higher mileages which neccesitates engine replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeiLtYmE Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 rear main seals are definetely not uncommon. Especially with a car only from 2000 that has already 93000. Its been driven like hell and the rear main seals can go at the milage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal's Dad Posted November 5, 2004 Author Share Posted November 5, 2004 rear main seals are definetely not uncommon. Especially with a car only from 2000 that has already 93000. Its been driven like hell and the rear main seals can go at the milage. ← Thanks for the feedback - I guess smileys don't work in forum? Trying to understand what you've said - so the rear main seal problem IS common in this model? "Driven like hell?" - at least 80,000 of those miles were driven by a very conservative grandma - she may drive 75 on the highway, but it takes her 5 minutes to get to that speed. Sometimes it's been loaned to others, so I can't vouch for every mile, but certainly not abused. And only 20,000 miles a year... As to oil changes, I quickly went through receipts in the glove box. Major service at dealer (another multi-thousand item beside seal, but I forget details) and a bunch of Jiffy Lube visits. But I can't be certain of the intervals, and she may have forgotten. Certainly she tried to keep on top of it, though. I'll look through the archives to try to understand the gelling problem, what to watch for, what to do... Thanks again, Sal's Dad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeiLtYmE Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 my statement was reguarding the fact that there were that many miles. It may have been pampered, thats great. reguardless, there are lots of miles on it. the point is that the car was driven that much and all cars develop mechanical wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Pampered or not 93,000 miles is a lot for a 2000 model year car. The average in America is 12-15,000 miles a year, so that would have been 60,000 miles. 93,000 miles means the car was driven 23,000 miles a year, which is a lot. I don't think he's saying the rear main seal is a common problem but its not unheard of on any car thats seen that kind of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal's Dad Posted November 5, 2004 Author Share Posted November 5, 2004 Pampered or not 93,000 miles is a lot for a 2000 model year car. The average in America is 12-15,000 miles a year, so that would have been 60,000 miles. 93,000 miles means the car was driven 23,000 miles a year, which is a lot. I don't think he's saying the rear main seal is a common problem but its not unheard of on any car thats seen that kind of use. ← Not to quibble, but if (as I recall) the car was bought about this time of year, it works out to about 18,600 miles a year. And only about 83,000 when the seal was done. We "average" about 13,000 miles a year - 25,000 on the '99 truck, and 1,000 on the '92 Civic (lots of problems with chipmunks living under the hood...) I guess I've just never had this kind of problem with any car (except, of course, the '85 Caravan - but that's another story...), and thought it might be an issue. I appreciate your insights. And the smileys are working for me now! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexusk8 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I should probably contribute into this topic since my '01 ES was driven hard prior to the purchase date of last year (one of the main reasons why I bought the car). It had 64K miles when I bought it, and it was originally used as a company/business vehicle. I was disappointed it did not run thru the mandatory 60K service according to Lexus National, but the ES has had no major problems ever since the day I purchased it. No oil gelling problems or any of that sort, other than a charcoal canister fix. I completed the 90K service several months ago (incl. timing belt and all fluids), and now I'm edging 98K miles. Still drives as smooth as ice :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeiLtYmE Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 luck, weather conditions, roads.... way too manyfactors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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