brianpavlovic

Maybe that it should be a Lexus Es330 and not 300! -Brian

I have a 1994 ES300 with 125k! I get 25 in the city and 29-30 on the highway. I tried filling up with 87 instead of 94 Sunoco Premium, and the MPG went down. I also run a fuel injector cleaner everytime I change my oil. I also run Z-Max Fuel Additive as well as their Engine Formula. I am not saying you should do this, but the results show in my MPG! I also change my oil every 3k and drive like an old man Brian

Do you mean the new G35? The one with six mini projector light beams in one headlight? I think the new Q45 is hot as well! I have to say, my wife and I just purchased a new Camry and it doesn't exactly drive like my lexus! My ES300 has a bigger engine, but makes better MPG, what's that all about? Anyhoo, what if you had 50K to spend, would you still buy a Lex? Brian p.s. I would. I have driven many cars! The only car I would have to think about is the Mercedes Benz sedan, but it is way over the 50K!!!! :cries:

There was an episode of car and driver this past weekend featuring the all time best sedan and I was surprised that the ES300 did not make their list! Although many high priced sedans made the list, the ES300 was not there! It seems as though they chose sedans that were very pricy and seemed kind of high maintence. I guess the ES300 is kind of a sleeper!!! If I had the money to spend, I think the Lexus ES300 is the best choice on the market! Any thoughts? -Brian

Now that the weather is changing, is it a good idea to start the car and let it run for about five minutes until it gets warm before I start driving? Some people have told me that I should not do that and some people said that it does not matter! I am never sure about that!

What does TSB mean and thanks for the help! I was using Wawa gas, but recently I tried that V-Power from Shell and the car seems to run alittle better! Meaning that I do not smell anything! Hey, one more question, Does you mile per gallon go down when you change oil brands? I do not want to start a debate, I am just asking!

I am interested in replacing my catalytic converter and wonder how difficult it would be to change? There is a funny smell of rotten eggs and I can only imagine that a 10 year old car with 130K would need a new one! :D Any suggestions? -Brian

Something like this also happened to me as well! I only have one word to say...... CARFAX

I am afraid that you will have to buy the bulbs. I am thinking that maybe I should replace ALL of the bulbs while I am doing this job and not some of them. I will check out lextech lighting systems and maybe shootg for the blue ones! We'll see!

Have you thought about running Valvoline Max-Life Synth 5W-30? I started using it and the car seems to run much better! They said that it "conditions" the seals and helps improve over all performance. Just a thought! p.s. Has anyone seen the special on the Discovery Channel about the 2005 Mustang and the 2005 C6? I was happy to see some "guy" tv for once! Does anyone know if there will be any Lexus car shows in the fall? Some of these weekends are turning into some pretty good driving weather! -Brian

Do you think that a dirty PCV valve could have caused your other problems? The Lexus mechanic said that if I had waited longer to fix it, that it would have ruined x-mas and he was not laughing! -Brian

Well, I finally got the car back! It turns out that my PCV valve was bad and that was in turn causing the blue smoke and not the dreaded valve stem seals!

Is it true that when the PCV Valve becomes clogged or dirty, it will push the oil through the seals? Could someone explain PCV Valves and how they work? All I know is that PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation, but how can it "push" oil through the seals? "i just had an estimate from the City garage around the corner frm my house (they do AWESOME work, have been taking cars there for a while, as have my parents, and their friends) and i was quoted $311 labor only for front and rear Valve Cover Gaskets and PCV valve. he said (and this is all true) that if the PCV valve is bad (or clogged) then it will push all the prssurized oil out through the seals."

Hey Army, I was wondering if your Lex is burning oil? I am the guy who had the post about the "Blue smoke from tailpipe right after startup". The lexus repair people said that they changed the PCV valve in my 94 es and flushed all the carbon out. Were you thinking about doing the same thing? Do you have the same problem? As soon as the car turns over after sitting over night, a puff of blue smoke comes out the tailpipe and then clears up. Did this happen to you? -Brian

So, All ATF is not created equal. Is it because of how the tranny is put together or what it is made of? I am just asking Besides the fluids, what else should I do to help my car help me get me to work? I am a firm believer that if you take of your car, it will take care of you! My family bought a 1990 Honda Accord that was eventually handed down to me and I still have it. Four door 5 speed and fully loaded. Is it weird to keep a car just because of all the memories that surround it? Anyhoo, it has 490K and runs really strong!!! Changed fluids regularly and drove it like an old man!!!! Oh, one more question, the last time I was at PepBoys, I noticed something weird. When I was in the oil isle and reading some of the labels, why does Honda require 0W-30 oil as opposed to 5W-30? -Brian

The car has 130K on it right now and I did switch to Synthetic Motor Oil. I am using the new Valvoline Syn Max Life and the car runs great! Someone even yelled at me at a light that my engine must have stalled because they couldn't hear my engine! I also changed my tranny fluid, but the guys at Jiffy Lube looked at me like I had four heads! I showed up with Toyota ATF fluid and they all started laughing and saying that I payed too much for regular ATF. I guess all ATF is the same? I don't know, but what I do know is that if I follow the manual that came with the car, then I should not have any problems. I do not want to open another debate like the oil one, but IS ALL ATF FLUID THE SAME? Anyhoo, the car is driven all highway miles on the PA Turnpike! I heard that highway driving is not that bad, I was not sure. -Brian

Hey all! I was wondering if it is possible to drive the car too much? I know this sounds stupid, but I would like to keep my Lex for a long time. I drive about 60 - 75 miles a day to and from work. You know, no matter how bad my day was, it suddenly gets better when I drive home in my baby Brian

I was just wondering where I could get a motorvac done? SK mentioned it before and I was interested. Would any dealer have this service or does it depend? -Brian

I guess the final verdict is that Peruzzi Toyota gave me my keys and sent me out the door. Now I have to figure out how to get the valve stem seals fixed! Does anyone know how to do this or anything else that I can do mechanically to either stop the leak or at least slow it down? Somebody please help me! Brian

Just wondering if a new PCV Valve could have helped as well? -Brian

Just wondering if a new PCV valve would cure the smoke I get from the tailpipe for about ten seconds? This is just a tiny extension from my other post. -Brian

Okay, now that I have stopped swearing and being *&^%%&*(!!!! The Service Tech guy said that it would need Valve Stem Seals and that it would cost $1600!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So far, I have been on the phone with five people from the dealership. The sales manager said that he would try to work this out now with the Service Manager!! I feel like I am getting strung along or in this case, SCREWED!!!!! Especially when the sales manager said that ....."maybe we could go havsies or split the cost" They know they messed up, so I finally called Lexus Customer Service and now I have to wait 3-5 days until someone from corporate calls me back to see if they could offer some aid. Any thoughts as to how willing Lexus Corp is to helping the less fortunate? Or, is it like Bill Lumberg and I feel like Peter Gibbons!!!!! -Brian "That's my red stapler.....!"

It really is a shame that some people destroy these cars! I currently own a 01 Nissan Maxima since new and take car of the car as if it were my child. It has 54000 miles and runs great! Why would someone buy a Lexus and neglect it? I have only owned my Lex a few weeks and have already done a lot of the things that should have been done before I bought it! Anyhoo, the service manager called today and said that he would talk to Mr. Peruzzi, the owner, and try to work this out. I barely owned the car a month and they are talking 1000 dollars in repairs? C'mon?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I guess we will see what kind of dealer they are. If they really stand behind their vehicles like all of their ads say. -Brian

Thanks for the advice. I will hear from the sales manager this afternoon and let you guys know. I never thought about a total refund. Is there some kind of law for that if a dealer sells you a "sludge" car? -Brian :chairshot:

Well, I just got off the phone with the sales manager. Man, what a work out :cries: Here's what he told me. They found that the valve stem seals are bad but they also found gel inside the engine too. He went on to say that my engine fell within the warranty. It is obviously way too late to get any kind of affirmative answer, but he is going to get final confirmation. If it is gelled, they will replace the engine at no cost to me. Here's the thing, when you take the oil cap off and look at where you are pouring the oil, everything inside looks like sludge and black! yuk! Oh well, I appreciate eveyones comments! Now I can make a well informed decision about my car. I also called Lehigh Valley Lexus and plugged this great website! You guys are really great and very helpful and positive too! Briian