Two Es300 Problems

[TTCDave]

Hi,

I am having two unusual problems with my 2002 ES300. Can anyone help me? I would appreciate any leads. TYIA.

Problem 1: The front end never felt right. Always a little shaky at highway speeds despite alignment, balancing, etc. While doing a brake job, I noticed that there is noticeable play while torquing the left tire/wheel (hands at 9 and 3). I followed this play through the tie rod and into the rack and pinion. At the wheel, there is less than 1/4" of play. The passenger wheel is solid.

Is there a play adjustment in the rack/pinion? Is this a tie rod or other repairable problem? Is this a problem at all? I would think so as this seems excessive play to control wheel alignment and shimmy.

Problem 2: We had the car repainted as all the factory clearcoat just peeled off. The body shop said they'd never seen anything like it. Not good considering this is a Lexus. Well, we bit the bullet and had it painted. When we get the car back, several of the "idiot lights" in the dash are on. Traction control, check engine, headlight leveling, etc. The traction control no longer turns on/off (no clunk when I press the button). The headlights just come on and don't do that cool scroll up when they turn on, etc.

The body shop swears they did nothing to cause this other than disconnect the battery for a few days. Yet, it was all ok when we took it in.

Is there some way to re-enable these functions and turn off the warning lights? We had Autozone put the OBD box on it and do a reset, but the lights are still on.

What can we do? Thank you for reading this long message.

Sincerely,

Dave

[Whiteberry]

Hi,

I am having two unusual problems with my 2002 ES300. Can anyone help me? I would appreciate any leads. TYIA.

Problem 1: The front end never felt right. Always a little shaky at highway speeds despite alignment, balancing, etc. While doing a brake job, I noticed that there is noticeable play while torquing the left tire/wheel (hands at 9 and 3). I followed this play through the tie rod and into the rack and pinion. At the wheel, there is less than 1/4" of play. The passenger wheel is solid.

Is there a play adjustment in the rack/pinion? Is this a tie rod or other repairable problem? Is this a problem at all? I would think so as this seems excessive play to control wheel alignment and shimmy.

Problem 2: We had the car repainted as all the factory clearcoat just peeled off. The body shop said they'd never seen anything like it. Not good considering this is a Lexus. Well, we bit the bullet and had it painted. When we get the car back, several of the "idiot lights" in the dash are on. Traction control, check engine, headlight leveling, etc. The traction control no longer turns on/off (no clunk when I press the button). The headlights just come on and don't do that cool scroll up when they turn on, etc.

The body shop swears they did nothing to cause this other than disconnect the battery for a few days. Yet, it was all ok when we took it in.

Is there some way to re-enable these functions and turn off the warning lights? We had Autozone put the OBD box on it and do a reset, but the lights are still on.

What can we do? Thank you for reading this long message.

Sincerely,

Dave

[Whiteberry]

For question #2 your car probably painted at the factory without adhesion promoter or Primer under coat that why it will never stick even if you repaint any where unless you sand the whole thing off to the plastic or metal completely. For other wier things may be your car went for swimming some where in the flood zone if you brought your car from use. Good Luck.

[George_Jetson]

If you followed the play into the rack and pinion, I would suggest getting a rebuilt rack and installing it. Make sure that you flush the lines out before installing the new one.

[TTCDave]

If you followed the play into the rack and pinion, I would suggest getting a rebuilt rack and installing it. Make sure that you flush the lines out before installing the new one.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I'll take it all under consideration. Hope I can help someone in the future.

Dave