SeaDuck79

$570? Are you kidding me? Oil change: $45. Tranny change: $150. Replacing spark plugs: Anyone with a socket wrench can do. Nothing else there should be even charged for. I wouldn't pay more than $250 for that package. The Timing Belt and last set of charges look OK, though.

mccldwll- No, in my opinion, if you don't have anything added in the way of electrical or electronics, if the battery is in good shape, it shouldn't go dead in a month. So many batteries these days are junk that it is hard to recommend a GOOD battery. Though the battery is only 2 years old, a lot of them are already getting weak by then. You just don't know it when you drive it every day. It doesn't take a lot of amperage to start a car that is in good shape- then it runs on the alternator. The battery is pretty much just for starting. When run every day you won't realize it is getting very weak, but setting a few days, much less a month will reveal the truly weak battery. If it's only 2 years old, is there a chance it is still under a full replacement warrantee? A lot of batteries now have a 3 year free replacement warrantee before they start pro-ration period. Actually, we accidentally left a dome light on for a week while away on vacation, and that killed the 3 year old battery. Once recharged, it's continued to work fine, but there was ZERO juice in the battery when we got back.

Hey, I've complained before about the stupidest cruise control ever on my '04 330. If it detects the slightest loss of torque, it downshifts, and there goes your MPG. Even on a freeway overpass, it often downshifts. Going faster does help, but at anything under 65, I usually leave it off. Why a quality brand with top engineers like Lexus would put such a crappy part on their vehicles is beyond me. I drive lots of cheaper rentals from all different mfgrs, and NO other car I've ever driven is like that. Lexus: FIX IT if you expect me to buy another one someday.

Have you considered the Bridgestones - I think the Alenza? There are some other threads here that talk about them. I have them, and love them. Great wet handling and fairly quiet.

I just had the ECM flashed a couple months ago, and noticed an IMMEDIATE difference - it would actually downshift when I punched the gas pedal. I would definitely recommend this new flash.

I totally agree. I put the Alenzas on my 2004 last spring, and they hold the road like glue, wet or dry. Noise is about the same as the factory tires, but I like these better, and my wife doesn't even have to think about whether she'll have traction in any situation - she just does. I paid about $200/tire to get them on the car (for the 18 inch), with all the ups and extras on it.

For future reference, I know of no such "policy". Even if they won't negotiate the price, I was able to get more years/miles for the SAME price, which is the same thing as getting a discount. As you also found, there are numerous ways for the imaginitave to skin this cat.

So either my car's bi-polar or there's a problem. The only way to get warm air to come out is to put the temperature control on max. Anything else is ice cold. We don't use the "Auto" function - it's always setting a temp, and it worked fine until the battery ran down to dead one day (overhead light left on for a week). Lexus dealer said they couldn't find a problem with the ECM. Any ideas on what I should tell them to do next time we take it in?

Have a 2004 330, and it rides a little soft for me. I'd like to firm it up some on corners without making the ride harsh. Any suggestions that won't cost an arm and a child or two?

Agreed. I paid about $800 for 4 Bridgestones (Seattle area), and that included all the nickel/dime stuff. My wife loves them - great wet/dry traction.

My wife LOVES the Bridgestones. They grip the road well, are quiet, and have good wet traction as well. It's the best choice for the 18" rim.

Sorry, but the term "Mean Time Between Failure" is conspicuously missing from the vocabulary of many here. Every manufactured part of any device has one, and it represents the AVERAGE time that part can be expected to last. Average means that some will last longer and some shorter than that average. Unless you can show some negligence or REAL reason to blame Lexus, how exactly should they be on the hook for a part failing when it was supposed to, especially when it lasted for TWICE as long as it was warranteed to last? We don't live in a perfect world, people. Sometimes you get the good part, sometimes you get the bad one. Grow up and stop blaming people for not always getting the good one.

Sorry about your loss, but you must remember that all things wear out at some point. For every engine that goes 500k, there's one that craps out at 50k, with the average somewhere in the middle. You may have had that 50k one, and your good maintenance extended its life. As much as we have come to expect it in this day and age, even things made by the best people using the best manufacturing methods and materials will break/wear out at some point, and it isn't always SOMEone's fault. I hope your solution lasts for a long time, and repays your investment.

I bought my 330 after those two firmware upgrades, though I did make sure they were installed. I still ain't happy, hence my pessimism.

What you are seeing is consistent with what we've been reporting here for years. We don't like it either, and I hope it never gets one of us killed, but Lexus doesn't seem all that interested in fixing it, from what I've seen. The only workaround I have seen is to manually downshift when I need to accelerate quickly.