Toyota Windom/es300 2003 Steering Crack & Cruise Control Not Engag

technoguy · May 16, 2011

Hi all, just bought a Toyota Windom 2003 and the steering wheel had a cover on it,when I removed the cover I discovered the steering has a strange crack, any idea how this could have happened, I hope I haven't bought a bad car. Also, the cruise control doesn't seem to be engaging or I am doing something wrong? Does anyone know how to use cruise control, I press the buttons in the picture but nothing happens. Any fix for the steering wheel? Thanks

Is it possible that the car's steering wheel was changed (Car has lexus logo on bonet and says ES300 at the back)and the cruise control buttons are just their but no actual cruise control??

gbhrps · May 19, 2011

technoguy,

On our side of the pond there is no model of Lexus called a Windom. While yours may be badged as an ES300, there are some differences. Your cruise control switches are entirely different in shape and in location. As well, the cracked section of your steering wheel appears to be made of plastic, evident from the manner in which the plastic has cracked, while ours are of solid wood.

I have sanded and polished out several marks and scratches that were on my wife's ES's steering wheel. They came out very nicely with very little effort. In your case, the plastic appears to have shrunk and split from temperature expansion and contraction, as well as sun exposure. In our antique automotive restoration shop we would fill the cracks with a two part panel adhesive, and sand it down to shape and finish. Then we would colour match and spray paint the entire fake wood sections with epoxy paint and polish them. ( Read, expensive unless you are doing the work yourself.)

Short of taking that route, you may wish to locate another wheel in a wrecking yard, but be prepared to spend big bucks, as the air bag assembly will most likely come with it. Try eBay?

The cruise control could be as simple as a bad fuse (did you check for one?), or a corroded switch. It could also be that one of the two brake pedal switches (one operates the brake lights, the other turns the cruise control off) is not operating correctly. It may be more involved if the cruise control module has a malfunction, or one of your speed sensors. The cruise control throttle cable may be maladjusted. It really is a system that requires a service tech to diagnose, if its beyond a bad fuse. Good Luck!

technoguy · May 19, 2011

What do you think of the item in the link, will it help in my case or it's a waste of money. I didn't know about these problems and did not bother checking as price was good, now thinking of selling it but might be a bit hard with these problems -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320661197619&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_1912wt_1165

gbhrps · May 20, 2011

technoguy,

Don't get ahead of yourself, slow down!

The cruise control issue could prove to be very minor, a simple dirty switch needing to be cleaned or repositioned so that it triggers at the right time, or a corroded connecting needing to be cleaned up and tightened. Yes, it could be that the cruise control module needs replacing, but a used one, possibly from the same year Camry, may be fairly cheap from a wrecker. Who knows? Its worth investigating and spending a little money on to see what needs fixing.

As for the steering wheel, I think that the link you found will prove to be an answer to your cracked wheel. It may prove as well to be the cheapest solution. It certainly looks good.

As for selling the car just because of these 2 issues .... if you wanted a perfect car, then you should have purchased a new ES. But that's not possible for everyone. There will be issues with any used vehicle, Lexus or otherwise. Relatively speaking, neither of your issues are serious. They just need to be investigated further to see what can be corrected. Good Luck!

pj8708 · May 20, 2011

technoguy,

Don't get ahead of yourself, slow down!

The cruise control issue could prove to be very minor, a simple dirty switch needing to be cleaned or repositioned so that it triggers at the right time, or a corroded connecting needing to be cleaned up and tightened. Yes, it could be that the cruise control module needs replacing, but a used one, possibly from the same year Camry, may be fairly cheap from a wrecker. Who knows? Its worth investigating and spending a little money on to see what needs fixing.

As for the steering wheel, I think that the link you found will prove to be an answer to your cracked wheel. It may prove as well to be the cheapest solution. It certainly looks good.

As for selling the car just because of these 2 issues .... if you wanted a perfect car, then you should have purchased a new ES. But that's not possible for everyone. There will be issues with any used vehicle, Lexus or otherwise. Relatively speaking, neither of your issues are serious. They just need to be investigated further to see what can be corrected. Good Luck!

Excellent advice all the way around!

Technoguy, If you feel you absolutley can't trust this car and want to make the extreme move of selling it, look at this first. Here, Lexus offers a Certified Pre Owned vehicle program. The Pre Owned Lexus are inspected to almost new condition and warranted for at least 30k miles (not sure exactly how much) bumper to bumper. Great way to buy a trusted used Lexus. The CPO conditioning adds only $1,000 to the cost of the car.

Paul