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This week locally, new ES350's are up $800/900 per car. Expected to go up again over the next 45 days. Paul

Neither have I. Kind of a self fulfilling prophecy to start out by asking what are your worst experiences. Why not ask what are your best experiences. This dealer charged way to much for the oil change, but it gets old when people buy $40,50,60,000 cars and then whine about how much it takes to maintain them. Paul

No one ever commented about the rear window of my 90 LS not being tinted while the side windows had 35% tint. It looked fine and I enjoyed the clear rear view on dark winter days when I lowered the retractable shade. Attached is a photo of the 90 LS taken a few days before I sold it in 2003. The non-metalized tint on the rear window of my 00 LS is a different shade of gray than the metalized tint on the side windows. I don't think anybody can tell and no one has ever commented. Can you tell? Look at the photo of my 00 LS showing both the rear and side windows from a distance - it's the photo labeled "with winter tires". It is quite common to tint the front side windows to a different degree than the rear side and/or back windshield. Many states do not allow the same degree of tint on all windows -- here is a table showing the various state requirements: http://www.tintlaws.com/ And what about SUV's and minivans? They almost always have darker factory tinted windows aft of the front side windows. As for a Lexus requiring a certain "look", the photo of the license plate frame on my 00 LS says what I think about that! If I "followed the herd", I wouldn't have bought my first Lexus LS 21+ years ago at a time when many people, including some of my friends, said it was stupid to pay so much for a gussied up Toyota. Jim, I wanted to check out a potential problem with using the metallic tint. On September 2007, you post a thread about embedded antenna interference when metallic tint material is used on the back window. Is that still an issue or is the current metallic material improved? Paul

Not sure I can help, but might make a few points. First, do your mirrors fold in? Does your dealer use a rotary brush car wash? If so, the car wash workers should be responsible for folding in the mirrors before the car goes through the wash. Most commercial car washes have signs up that tell you to fold your mirrors before entering. The dealer, of all people, should at least take the same precaution. If they wash the car by hand, they may have put too much pressure on the mirror face and stripped the motor mechanism internally, making the mirror work up and down, but not side to side. It is going to be hard to prove, but unless someone else has another explanation, I don't know what else would have caused your problem. Paul

The infamous Check Engine Light....what the heck does it really mean? This article by CarMd list the reasons in order of frequency from 1996, to 2010. For example, in 1996 to 2009 the "loose gas cap" was the number one reason/code for the CEL to come on. Starting in 2010, the O2 sensor became the No.1 reason. If you've ever wondered what your car may be telling you, read this. http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/07/carmds-vehicle-health-index-deciphers-the-check-engine-light/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fautoblog+%28Autoblog%29 Paul

I think Jim's point is like Billiy Crystal's old Saturday night live sketch, "It is better to look good than to feel good!" Obviously, Billy was being cynically facetious. Whether the car "Looks" good with tint should be tempered with common sense of how safe it is visibility wise to drive the damn thing. Tinted windows look way cool in my opinion, but they make me nervous as well. When I am at a four way stop intersection, and the person to my right or left has dark tinted windows, I get nervous. I can't see the driver so I can' tell if they are looking at me, or know I'm about ready to enter the intersection, or if they appear to be ready to enter the intersection, etc. There is no visual communication taking place. Therefore, one of the most important methods of safe driving is lost. Tint the windows but consider more than how it looks going down the street. Like Jim said, consider leaving some parts untinted. Paul

Hi CD, I see your still up too! You mentioned the lights still going off after the 30 second delay even if the ambient sensor is removed. I wonder if this issue might be due to a malfunction of that timer routine, in that it may have some sort of glitch that is letting the lights continue to run past the 30 second window.

My guess is that if the the headlights and tail lights are staying on all night, it would be a sensor problem. If the light switch stalk is in the Auto position, the system would be relying on the sensor to determine if they should stay on or not depending on ambient light levels.

Excellent advice. Club Lexus is another owners forum you can look over. Not as good as this one. Paul

Luckily, there's no need for you to understand. To each his own! Paul Paul, I have neglected to properly thank you for stepping up as emim's spokesman, just in case he is unable to speak for himself. Tom No malice intended. Paul

Are you looking for a particular color or options? Paul

Did they say if this situation is a result of production loss due to the Japan earthquake? Paul

Have you or your friends noticed any movement in prices, specifically upward, on new Lexus inventory?

After reading several excerpts regarding the coming auto price hikes this month, I wondered if there was any way to check this out. I was at a Lexus dealer yesterday and I took a spin around the showroom floor. There was a 2011 ES350 in a shade of dark blue that was new to me. As I looked the car over, and read the sticker, I noticed a separate price sticker to the side of the factory one. It read Rear-view Mirror Navigation $****.(I can't remember the price). , plus dealer added chrome wheels. What? Has anyone ever heard of a brand new Lexus being sold with a rear-view mirror nav. unit? Tacky IMO. The thing I do remember was that the Rear-view Mirror Navigation accessory brought the total price of the car to $42.800. Almost exactly what I paid for my 2010 ES last September which had FACTORY nav. After asking around, IMHO, what is happening is exactly what the press has been saying. Inventory is tightening and to get cars with the features people want the dealers are having to get inventive. With Honda, Nissan, and Toyota dealing with shortages and now USA manf. also facing some parts shortages, prices will climb throughout the summer. Should you buy now? If you want to get the features you want, you may already be too late. Start now since you can't order one . "He who hesitates is lost". Paul

Excellent point Klaatu!

TA makes some good points. The only thing I would add is that since you paid for a problem that was not fixed, the dealership should cover some of whatever cost there might be to fix the actual problem. i.e., reduced labor or waived labor. I know that is the case with my dealer. It doesn't cost to ask. Paul They called me and told me it was the right front caliber seal the caliber was locking up and from reading online the O2 sensor has nothing to do with that when I went in i asked him if the o2 was the cause of the problem 3 times and he assured it was so i told him just now they need to figure out what to do because they fixed the wrong problem. I am on limited funds and told them the o2 sensor could have been fixed at a later time this was a problem that needed to be fixed asap. I feel like they should fix it for free since they didnt fix the problem I came in for. But i dont know if that will work. In the meantime I will use there loaner a bad a** 2011 RX until they figure out what to do! IMO, you did the right thing and took the right approach. Stick to your position. Paul

Bon jour,(?) Welcome to the LOC. We hope you enjoy the forum!!

A real work of skill and love. Nicely done! Paul

I only have 3,340 miles on my ES and when I change oil at 5000 I'll use Synth. I sure this has been posted before, but what type of oil in put in the engine from the factory?

Welcome to the LOC!! Enjoy your new ride. Paul

Jim you sure are one resourceful guy! Exactly what I told him today!!! Where do you find all this obscure info? Ouija Board?

Of course there is no point discussing gun control. It is like discussing Premium gasoline versus Regular, or discussing using synthetic versus non-synthetic oil. As the saying goes, 'opinions are like a**hol**, everyone has one'. The points of the article was: 1) if you have an accident, even a fender bender, you might want to just call 911 and stay in your car. 2) Although what happened is more associated with America with its more loose gun laws, such tragedy can happen anywhere. Even in countries where guns are heavily regulated, like Canada. And 3) The area in and around Vancouver has changed considerably during the last 20 years or so. It used to be a quiet and safe place to live. But after the very heavy immigration, in particular from China/Hong Kong, it is now a rather 'hazardous' city to live in. So Americans should think twice before visiting, lol! Really sorry to hear about Vancouver's troubles. It has been about twenty years since I visited there, and it was a beautiful city. In my view opinions are the culmination of a persons experience with a given subject, and as such can be shared to put forth that persons wishes regarding the pros/cons of that topic. Their ignorance comes into play when they do not allow themselves to openly listen and consider someone else's opinion. It is not a matter of affirmation but, an exchange of information that leads to an agreed upon set of facts. Paul

Should we start the gun control argument again?... Lets don't! We beat that one to death. Thanks for the article.

Oh don't worry You'll get used to it! seriously though I am just guessing. I honestly don't even pay attention to the beeps at all...other than the seatbelt beep that drives me nuts. I always wear my seat belt but wow that could drive you crazy for sure. The one thing I've always wondered about, but have never tried, is if you have the car running and you get out and walk away, leaving the car running, and the FOB is in your pocket, the car door is unlocked, will it ever shut itself off as a security feature?

That IS a strong possiblility. For kicks, I am going to go to the dealer on Monday and double check our assumptions. It really does p..s me off when your right.LOL