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Yet another user survey, regarding owner evaluations. For the fourth year in a row, Lexus keeps coming up No. 1 in all categories. The link below will take you to the survey document and comments from auto experts. Paul http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c8d07861212a6ff83112f89f7&id=71e1bb3b43&e=03d7af6b56

A good place for one.......LOL

Hi Brian and welcome to the LOC. You might want to disconnect the negative pole first. Paul

Hi Devi and welcome. Asking people about a new car purchase and comparing one magazine review to another is a sure way to get in a position where your constantly trying to decide which advice sounds accurate but another opinion may be way off. Do you trust your own judgement and instincts? Here is my .25 cents worth,(actualy it's only worth .02 cents ,I'm having a sale.) I have had 3 ES models. A 2005 ES350, a 2010 ES350, and a 2013 ES350.Yes, the 2005 was a Camry chasis. The 2013 is on the Avalon. The concept that you can take your current Lexus and compare it to a 2013 ES makes no sense. Take for example, the "wide mouth grill" as you desribed it is a waste. Since the new spindle grill has been adapted for most models you will only be able to compare it to your 2002. You will ether like it or hate it. All other new Lexus have the spindle grill. What I looked at were the same things I've always like about Lexus. A wonderful ride. A quiet cabin, incredible reliability. I have never had either one of our Lexus in for a repair. Ok, now that I've said that,( .02 cents isn't worth what it use to be.) Now here are some actual facts. In 2014, Consumer Reports put out the stats. for auto reliability over 2014. Over 1,000,000 surveys were processed. Lexus, again, was the number one car for reliability. Mercedes was way down the list, and the BMW's were even lower than the MB. Ask your questions, prioritize their importance to you, and trust your own judgement. No ones experience can ever be the same as yours. Paul

Hi Doug. Welcome to the LOC and we're glad your here. The GS 350 is a supper car. As time goes on you'll find how much fun the power, suspension and legendary Lexus reliability makes the GS just flat out fun to drive. I don't know exactly how many GS models were produced last year. One thing to consider is that luxury cars aren't made in the vast quantities other mid range family car types do. It's pretty simple, fewer people choose to not spend the kind of money a luxury car does. IMO, to many folks a car is a car. Whiter or not it has leather seats or GPS, they just want to go to work every day with no hassles. Given this market place and cost, all luxury makers will produce something like 250,000 to 300,000 ES350's. the GS350 will come in under the ES total because it is more of a target market product for the sport car customer. Again, I'm not sure if I'm right about these numbers, but you can try Lexus.com and see if they will give that information. Paul

I'm not surprised your unhappy. Nothing like a dealer that doesn't take care of their customers. Keep being active on the LOC so we can keep up on how things are going. Paul

Note: My Lexus dealer will price match any other tire vendor. I think this may be true with most Lexus dealers. This can save you money, but more importantly if the dealer mounts and balances the tires and you still have your problem, your dealer will have some skin in the game and more knowledge about your IS350. Let us know how things turn out. Paul

Hi Kelly and welcome. There are so many brands of door openers out there every once and a while you run into an odd ball that has a mind of it's own. I'm not an expert on this problem, but in the past when I've had a problem I started with redoing the programing step again. This can help only if you have completely erased the previous try. Also, a call to the openers customer service can usually clear up the problem in a few minutes. I would encourage you to try the customer service first. Come back and let us know what you find out. Paul

One item that would concern me is the accurate placement of the air bags on the drivers side pillar. Is there a factory ready install place on the pillar? Jim's point makes me wonder if there is an install spot on all the 1990's ES, but are the mounting spots in the same place from one model year to another. Paul

I saw a new Mercedes crossover today. (I didn't get the model designation). It was black with chrome accents on the exterior the interior and the "Death Star" logo on the grill. From the outside view it really was dull. No trims or cool body treatments any where. The interior was black with chrome accents. The dash was sparse and really unimpressive. From what I could make out, the instrumentation was sparse and there was no wood trim or top-stitching on any surface. I have no idea what the MSRP was but if it's around $50k,(what i paid for our 2013 RX350) it's way over priced. In my opinion, which is worth the price of air for your tires, Our RX350 is a rolling palace. Good night to all.....I'll leave a light on. Paul

Hi Barry and welcome to the LOC. Anyone buying a car, new or pre-owned, has a degree of anxiety because for most folks it is a major expenditure. The 08' ES is an excellent car from both design, superior engineering and Consumer Reports rating as the most reliable auto in the USA. It is a reviewed and published fact, that Lexus autos easily run to 150,000 miles. The only suggestion I would make to you, instead of looking at the 08 ES, but instead check out the new 2015. It is an incredible machine. But I think you would be very happy with either one. Ask to look at the service records. Any Lexus dealer will gladly do this. Paul

Randy I think our on to something.........repairing anything under a full Moon is a must. I would also recommend a Potion, consisting of a bat wing, eye of newt, and the rust of a Ford Pinto. Trying to add a little humor into this weird problem.

It sounds like you made a good decision. Better luck the next time.

This question is asked often. Like LexBob2 suggested, it is what I the 'Stupid Feature" LOL. Almost all cars use a safety reserve. Lexus typically installs a 17 to 18.5 capacity tank. When my ES light comes on, It will usually only take 14 - 15 gallons. As you've shown, if you simply used common sense you should always be able to make it to a fuel stop before you truly run out. If your in the Stupid category, you'll end up playing chicken with your gas tank. If your driving in hilly country, or running above 75, your going to use more gas than expected. Paul

Randy is right as always. Buying a car at auction can be a slippery slope. Start at $5,500, but only after some one else starts the floor bid. The most important thing about buying this car is to not get so caught up in a biding war you end up spending more than you can afford. After a few months and the newness wears off, you'll be stuck with that purchase price. Paul

Hi Cliff, Resetting the low tire light has always been a pain with Lexus. In addition, the method has changed from model year to year. I don't have a specific fix for you, but as a first step, do a search of our data base looking for 'low tire light reset' and of course add your model and year. Also, you can take it to your dealer and they will not charge you. Let us know how you come out. Paul

Hi Rowel and welcome. I don't blame you for being hesitant. You might recall the infamous sudden acceleratio Toyota had with some of the Toyota models. That recall focused on the apparent floor mats getting wedged up between the accelerator and floor mat. It gained national attention and involvment with the U S Dept. of Transportation. At the time, Lexus was still using the Camry chassis for the ES 350's. There was concerns that if both cars were sharing components, the ES 350 might have the same acceleration problem. My memory is weak here, but I believe Lexus came out with an inspection program for late model ES's. That being said, you can see why Lexus and the dealer are being so cautious about this. My guess is that they will not find any problems and therefore nothing to pin-point the issue. I would suggest you stay with the path the dealer and Lexus have laid out until you get some firm answer. However, in the mean time, search for Lexus sudden acceleration and collect as much info as you can. Once you have become familiar with the issue I would tell both dealer and Lexus that if the car cannot be diagnosed, it will sit in there driveway until they give you a new one, and that you are backed by the acceleration recall, your still under warranty for 3 more years, and you can turn to your states Attorney General under the "Lemon Law," if your state has such a law. Come back and let us know how things are going. Paul

Removing the dash is not for the faint of heart. My suggestion is go to the dealer, explain you findings and get a quote for repairs. They may know a simpler and easier way to clean the duct. Your only asking for an estimate, not a work order.

Hi Karen, I have the same situation as you. As far as the ventilated seats for cooling, the only way to cool my front seats is by sitting on a block of ice. I've had three ES 350 including my current ES. On the other hand, the heated seat feature works too well. I can barely turn it on and it will toast your buns. Between low and high, it is all the same. I have told the Lexus techs about the problem, but it ends up with the same situation as on this posting. It's either great for some or just the opposite for others. My wife had a 2007 Volvo S80 with the seat temp feature. On cool at full force, the seats will give you frost bite and you can hear the air flow through the seats. Paul

Hi Fran and welcome! I have always had good luck in using the "Search" block at the top of the page to the right. Since you didn't specify your year and model, I did a quick search using my info. In the search block I wrote "2013 ES 350 - front shocks/struts" . This brought up several post and threads on the topic. If you'd, just try that search string you will get the hang of it. When you have the time, please go back to your profile page and enter your year and model of your current Lexus. Thanks, and let us know if we can help you further. Paul

Hi Larry, This would be a frustrating problem. In reading your summary I didn't see any mention of talking with your dealer for an explanation or rotation of tires or a solution to your issue. If you have not been able to get any help from your dealer, going to Lexus makes sense. If you haven't worked with your dealer, that's the first thing Lexus Corp is going to tell you to start you with your dealer. When you fill your tires do you reset the "tire low gauge" , or do the tire low lights even come on? I believe but I'm not certain that the new models do not have to be manually reset. By the way, does the tire pressure sensor work with the spare tire. Paul

Hi Peter and welcome to the LOC. The only "audiophile" quality system available from Lexus is the Mark Levinson product. It consist of 18(19?) crossover matched speakers, an equalizer fully adjustable, with front to back and side to side speaker control and about 3-400 watts. The system is widely popular but seems to have two areas of concern. One is the lack of low end response and the other is a proclivity for amplifiers to go out. The amplifier trouble seemed to peak at about the 2007- 2009 model years. At this point, I can't recall when I heard of a ML amp problem. For your enjoyment and based upon you desire for excellent sound. I would go with the nav plus the ML system. Also, when it comes time to trade or sell the car, it will be able to go head to toe in resell worth with other makers cars. Based on all the car advertising it looks like many models of other manufacturers are making navigation a standard feature. Paul

Hi T. It's nice to be right once and a while. LOL I don't know of any other way to access the ducting involved. I would try using the search feature here for any information on cleaning or changing the filter. Also, you will find detailed information at TIS.com. That is "Toyota Information Services" This site covers everything technical for all Toyota, Lexus, and Scion products.

WAY cool !! May I ask how much the kit cost? Paul

Probably 'My Bad'. The cabin filter is the same filter you have found behind your glove box. The air in the cabin circulates through this filter. This is true whether the climate control settings are on fresh air or recirculated. Paul