A Few Questions

[lextildeath]

Hey, fellow beautiful Lexus owners. I have a 1997 ES 300. I am not new to Lexus's or forums, but I am new to this Lexus forum. Already read tons of posts. I have some questions for anyone with an opinion or knowledge. I have seen pics of IS 300 rims on a second generation ES 300 on this site. In your opinion, how does it look? My ES is silver by the way. Also, about 2 weeks ago I had my fried mass airflow sensor replaced at Toyota. A sign said minimum of $65 per hour for easy labor and max of 85. I was there for literally an exact hour. On the invoice receipt, the MAF was $180. Labor was $130. I could have just bought the dam thing and put it in myself in 10 minutes, but the guy there told me they needed to reprogram the ecu and blabla. Is that garbage true? cuz i dont believe him. I heard the ecu programs itself based on what the sensors tell it. Another thing I wanna ask is, do you NEED new struts when lowering the ES with lowering springs? I want to get new stiffer struts soon too, but i figured maybe i can save money for now by putting the struts on in a few months. My final question is would any front strut bars fit the 1997 ES 300 such as from the camry, solara, or other year ES's?

Thanks.

[lexusk8]

I'll take a stab at your Q's:

1) I've also seen IS 300 rims on a 2nd-gen ES ('97-'01), and they look OK to me. However, proper fitment won't be as easy as simply slapping the wheels/tires onto it. You will probably need spacers for the rear, from what I'm told.

2) It sounds like Toyota charged you for 2 hrs labor time, even though you said that you waited exactly 1 hour for your car. I don't remember reading that the ECU had to be re-programmed when changing out the MAF sensor, but I guess from Toyota's perspective, it makes sense. Maybe someone else here can put in their $.02 worth.

3) Yes, generally when you add in aftermarket lowering springs, the factory struts are not designed to take in the new forces provided by the lowered suspension, so you will need new struts like KYB or Tokico.

4) Front strut bars from a Camry/Solara of the same year will fit into your ES since it is designed under the same chassis code (MCV10 I believe).

Hey, I notice that your profile says you're from Danbury, CT. I'm from the same area as well (I live about a minute away from the mall along Park Ave). I have a black/grey '01 ES w/ tint, '03 ES wheels and PIAA lighting. I've only seen less than a handful of hooked-up Lexi (mostly the usual riced-out crowd). It'd be cool to get together sometime this winter :D

[steviej]

lexusk8 nailed 1,3 and 4.

regarding number 2

there is reprogramming which is usually a flash over of the ECU and that can take up to an hour and a half for total rewrite. Why on earth that would need to be done on a simple MAF sensor replacement is beyond me.

then there is resetting which is simple and takes a few minutes either by disconnecting the battery or by pulling the ECU fuse (preferred way).

Most sensors when replaced start sending the correct signal to the ECU and then the ECU updates automatically. No reset or reprogramming needed.

Your best bet is to call around to several Toyoto/Lexus service shops (corporate and indepenent) and get several opinions. If you find that a reprogramming is not needed then call the customer service rep at the dealership you went to, explain your findings and ask for a refund or service credit.

Also, many service centers I know do not charge by the minute. Once the clock starts ticking into the next hour you get charged for it. You might be able ask for an exact time for the repair and get them to refund a partial price of the last hour.

Mark this one up to experience and next time you will be a little more penny wiser.

steviej

PS. personally I think the 02-04 16" ES 9-spoke wheels or the 05 ES 17" 5-spoke wheels would look totally awesome on a pre-02 ES.

don't you agree lexusk8?

[bartkat]

If the mechanic is on flat rate, and if the book calls for 2 hours, then that's what he gets paid, even if he's done in 10 minutes.

Some Lexus cars were recalled for a ECU reflash, but that should be covered at no cost to the customer. Did they put a sticker under the hood with a TSB number, etc for that?

From what I hear and from some experience, everything costs more in CT. <_<

Bulletins for 1997 Lexus ES 300 V6-2995cc 3.0L DOHC MFI

http://www.alldata.com/TSB/31/97310308.html

[kcpth]

From my understanding, if the book states 2 hrs and they take 1 hr or even 3 hrs... you will be charged 2 hrs. Of course they will not take 3 hrs for a 2 hr job, b/c they need to get moving onto the next car thats waiting.

But i agree also with what everyone said. Do what StevieJ said about calling other Toyo's and Lexus dealers to find out if they needed to reprogram it. Also, find out what the book says about how long it would take to do your specified job. Like taking out the Airmeter and programming it. No one wants to be charged more than they should be.

So good luck. Enjoy this forum. B)

[lextildeath]

Yeah, I think that since we live close to eachother we should combine the beauty of our ES's's in one location. After all, we are in the same club. Cool man you're in my club man. If civics can have...whatever it is they think they have, then why can't we with our way nicer cars? People around here badly want the IS when they hear "LEXUS". I personally think the ES is more elegant and pimp as well as sleeper. And we don't have those ricey IS tail lights. I personally want people to want the ES. I'm beginning to mod mine up nice. I'm gonna do one mod per month so it doesn't kill my college student budget (WCSU by the way). I have ram air and Remus muffler now with custom piping and high flow resonator and cat, and the control module is being shipped right now. Yesterday I just won IS rims on ebay $70 for all 3 rims in one auction and $99 for one rim in another guys auction. Kept my eyes peeled. Plus I'm gonna lower it, put tint, sway bar, 2000-2001 tail lights, and I FOUND HEADERS! Gonna be a sick handling, sweet looking, lowered, underestimated, approximately 250hp 260tq LEXUS. No body kit crap. If people won't want my car over the IS then I feel sorry for them. Peace.

[kcpth]

wow... sounds like your modding it nicely. Hahahaha... post pics when ur done with it. I'd like to see it.

By the way... what did you end up doing? In terms of what StevieJ suggested?

[93lexuses]

If the mechanic is on flat rate, and if the book calls for 2 hours, then that's what he gets paid, even if he's done in 10 minutes.

Correct. My brother-in-law has a garage and if the book says that it will take him 2 hours to do it then he charges for 2 hours even if he is done way before that. They should have just gave you a price quote instead of telling you that they charge this much by the hour. This way you would have an idea of what you was going to pay before they even started.

As for the IS wheels on your ES i think that it would look great! ;)

btw: We love pictures! :D When you get the chance please post some. I would love to see your car. :)

[Thienn]

I have a friend that works at a Infinity dealer and they are doing the same thing! They are charging the customer the standard rate (time allow by the manufactureres?) That way the techs will burst their asses and get pay more (off course he is only get something like $15-$20/hour but the dealer is making a killing). I guess it is time for us learn how some of the tricks on DYI and save some bucks!

[SKperformance]

All dealers use shop rate according to a book.

Only mechanics vary

Lots of people i know have change dmaf's with no reprogramming only the tps sensor needs to be recalibrated to the ecu from my understanding.

TRD bar fits the mcv20 97-01

You don;t need to change struts to lower a car an inch

Is rims work fine but the offsets are a bit high and could use a good 10mm spacer to bring them from 50 to 40mm

[lexusk8]

Hey lextildeath, I tried to send you a PM but it says that your mailbox is either full or inactive. So I sent the message to your email address. Please check it and respond. I'd love to have a mini ES get-together in our town before the snow falls in :)

[steviej]

Doug, PM functions are not accessable to members until their post count is >= 20.

The email function works provided they registered and active email address.

steviej

[lextildeath]

I got like 30 something dollars back from them cuz they overcharged the amount per hour. That's all I got. As for pictures, I should be getting my new rims and tires this week-maybe today so I will take pics of my car after theyre on. Then in about 2 weeks I'm getting platinum tint and I will take pics of that. I will take pics progressively and stick them on here for eveyone to see. I can not wait until it is all finished. As for the email, I had no idea cuz i didnt check in a while. I read it today so check ur mail. Peace.

[Lex3486]

About those headers...yeah, let's talk about those...

[lextildeath]

Here is the link for the headers:

http://www.jpperformancellc.com/camsolheaders.html

I swear, I think everytime I look at this dam website waiting for the day when I get mine, the price goes up each time. Today is November 24, 2004 and the price is $1,599 just to keep track. Let me know if anyone has these things yet and how they are.

[chrispiss]

A mechanic friend of mine told me all about the difference between real time and "book" time. Mechanics always charge book time (what the shop manual estimates the time spent on a project would be, usually a high estimate) and then will add on to that if it takes longer. So yes, if the book says it's a 3 hour job and it only takes an hour, you get charged for 3 hours.