amf1932

This is the wrong place to buy this type of part to save a few bucks! I definitey feel that you should get an OEM timing belt.

Speak to SW03ES......he's the master concerning this problem. :D My '03 ES is painted Millenium Silver and I find the paint on this car is pretty durable. I'm not saying it's impervious to chips, but it's as good, if not better then the past Lexus's I've owned.

Removed.

That's exactly what I was saying.......this is NOT the problem that this thread is all about.

Is this what you were talking about? NHTSA Action Number : PE04021 NHTSA Recall Campaign Number : N/A Make : LEXUS Model: ES300 Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. Year : 2002 Component : VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL Date Investigation Opened : March 3, 2004 Date Investigation Closed : July 22, 2004 Summary: THE LEXUS MODELS WERE THE SUBJECT OF DEFECT PETITION (DP) 04-004. TWELVE ODI COMPLAINTS ARE DUPLICATIVE TO TOYOTA REPORTS, INCLUDING THE TWO MINOR CRASHES. THE V6 EQUIPPED SOLARA MODELS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT CONTAIN THE SUBJECT THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM. TOYOTA INTRODUCED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES BEGINNING IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2002. ODI OPENED THE INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE IF THE SYSTEM COULD BE THE CAUSE OF COMPLAINTS ALLEGING THE ENGINE SPEED INCREASED, OR FAILED TO DECREASE, (FOR A SHORT DURATION) WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS NOT DEPRESSED (THE ALLEGED DEFECT). DURING THE COURSE OF THE INVESTIGATION, ODI ANALYZED AGENCY DATA AND REVIEWED VEHICLE OWNER QUESTIONNAIRE (VOQ) REPORTS, CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS INVOLVING 113 VOQ AND 36 TOYOTA REPORTS, INSPECTED TWO COMPLAINANT VEHICLES, REVIEWED RELEVANT TOYOTA SERVICE AND NEW CAR FEATURE DOCUMENTATION, REVIEWED AND ANALYZED TOYOTAS RESPONSES TO ODIS INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, CONDUCTED A LIMITED CONTROL PEDAL ASSESSMENT, AND ATTENDED A TOYOTA TECHNICAL PRESENTATION THAT INCLUDED THE ASSESSMENT OF TWO DEMONSTRATION VEHICLES. THROUGH INTERVIEWS, ODI IDENTIFIED 14 VOQ AND 6 TOYOTA REPORTS (20 UNIQUE VEHICLES) WHERE COMPLAINANTS REPORT MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT. IN SOME CASES THE CONDITION WAS EXPERIENCED BY DIFFERENT VEHICLE OPERATORS OR WAS WITNESSED BY OTHER OCCUPANTS. ODI WAS UNABLE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION AS TO THE CAUSE OF 9 TOYOTA AND AN ADDITIONAL 37 VOQ REPORTS (WHICH DESCRIBE 28 UNIQUE INCIDENTS) DUE TO INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION. THE REMAINING COMPLAINANTS INTERVIEWED (62 VOQ, 21 TOYOTA) DESCRIBED CONDITIONS NOT CAUSED BY A FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND WERE THUS CONSIDERED UNRELATED TO THE INVESTIGATION. NONE OF THE COMPLAINANTS INTERVIEWED REPORTED A COMPONENT FAILURE (OR OTHER INDICATOR OF A SYSTEM FAILURE) AS THE POTENTIAL CAUSE OF INCIDENTS RELEVANT TO THIS INVESTIGATION. IN MANY CASES, THE COMPLAINT VEHICLES WERE SUBSEQUENTLY INSPECTED BY DEALERSHIP OR MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVES WHO ALSO FAILED TO IDENTIFY A FAULT WITHIN THE VEHICLE. TOYOTA IDENTIFIED 43 RELATED WARRANTY CLAIMS, 24 OF WHICH WERE FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES ONLY (NO REPAIRS PERFORMED). ODI FOUND NOTHING ABNORMAL IN THE CONTROL PEDAL CONFIGURATION OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES. A DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED. ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED. THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST. THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES. SEE THE ATTACHED SUMMARY FOR FURTHER DETAIL.

Here's where I got it from: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/n...yota_lexus.html

"Unintended acceleration" is not the same as the problems that most everybody on this thread are complaining about. I'm really surprised at you for making this comparison, unless you're looking to start a war about the semantics. <_< The following is a description of the incidents that the NHTSA was looking for in this probe: "Federal safety investigators have closed their probe into reports of unintended acceleration in 2002 and 2003 Toyota Camry, Camrty Solara and Lexus ES300 models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened the investigation after receiving reports of 30 accidents, including one in which a pedestrian was injured. The probe centered around the cars' electronic throttle control. Many newer cars transmit acceleration signals electronically rather than using the traditional movable steel cable." NHTSA said it analyzed many of the cars involved in the mishaps and found nothing abnormal with the throttle controls. It said sudden surges are sometimes caused by drivers who are unfamiliar with their new vehicles.

In other words you're a mutt type person just like me. hehe

This is NOT the issue that people are complaining about!

There's no need to turn off the A/C when you stop the engine. When you turn the ignition key to the start position all the accessories are not powered, except the ignition, until you release the key and it's in the run position. This will not hurt your battery. P.S. I have been doing this on all my Lexus's since 1991 and never had the mold problem that some people are having. Besides I don't have the time to go through all the bother of resetting things to dry out the evaporator.

A Hi-Fi VCR uses the helical drum heads to scan the tape for both audio and video. so this problem could be dirty heads. Sometimes if you're lucky a head cleaning tape will correct this, but in most cases you have to open up the machine to manually clean the heads. Note: The heads are pretty delicate, so before attempting this job read this: http://www.fixer.com/osm/cleaning.html Also, did you try adjusting the tracking control to eliminate the dropouts?

Are the '06 GS models plagued with the same type of transmission problems as the ES's? If they're not, I'm seriously considering trading in my '03 ES. I haven't seen as massive amounts of posts concerning the GS's transmission glitches.

Thanks, i tried to make the lights look as real as possible. and yes, no one makes the 02+ ES AT ALL. The only 1:18 lexus's out there are the 89 (well 90) LS400, 99 RX300, 99 GS400, 01-03 LS430, and the 01+ SC430. I want to see if they make the Rx400h soon. I'm sure they will. ← Too bad......I've been searching for an '02-'03 ES model since 2002. I guess there's not a great deal of interest for this model. :(

I don't know that this problem can be considered an "argument".......it's a fact that many, many owners are totally disenchanted with their new Lexus's performance because of the unexpected transmission reaction to their throttle input. Regardless of the fact that NHTSA did not find anything wrong in this area is NO indication that it doesn't exist, it definitely does.....and this CAN be dangerous. Does it take somebody's death in a car accident to prove this? As an aside...I have found that after this last reflash my gas mileage has suffered. I attribute this due to the higher shifting RPM's that have to be achieved before it goes into the next higher gear. As it stands now, I personally feel that this type of transmission response will never make me, as others, very happy with this cars otherwise positive attributes.

Do you know where I can find a 2002 or 2003 ES die cast top quality model?

Sorry pal......I don't think that this statement is too far from the truth! I know exactly what he's feeling. <_<

Yup, did it for a small NYC(Greenwich Village) publishers a few years ago. We used a multi-million dollar electronic color scanner for the illustrations. I should have grabbed a copy after it was printed & leather bound.....but I didn't. :cries:

I drove my bro-in-law's "Bentley Turbo R" on a few occasions. The details and workmanship(lotsa interior wood), was outstanding, plus this car accelerated like crazy, considering the fact that it weighs about 6500 pounds. I'll still take my 'ole ES 'cause I can use regular grade fuel, and get better gas mileage. LOL

.....And all pre-press was done by my former company. :D

OK.....agreed......the size of the oil cooling line could be a reason for sludging, but not changes in cylinder bore or the compression ratio. I know about revisions, but these are generally to correct minor problems. Before an engine is released for production it goes through many tests to insure that there won't be any problems over the long haul.

The engine in a 2003ES is identical to the 2002ES, so how come that's not included with these problems??? Also, the engines in the '04 and '05 ES's just have increases in HP....nothing more....same basic engine. ← No clue but just because they are the same engine does not mean there did minor rev's on internal machining issues. Same engine does not mean "identical". You can have the same engine part numbers put the engineers rev'ed or made an engineering change to the casting, for example. So you can start with an engine and make changes, internal and external, and you the cusomter will never know. If they are bumping up the HP they are doing something; ie, changing psiton dia, making plumbing lines smaller or larger, thinning walls etc. ← The basic engine block and oiling system are the same from, '02 thru '05! They are "identical". The "bumping up" of the HP, whether it's the plumbing, cylinder bore size, or the compression should have nothing to do with the gelling(sludge) problem that earlier ES's were plagued with. That was why Lexus redesigned their ES engines starting in 2002 and continued until the present.

The engine in a 2003ES is identical to the 2002ES, so how come that's not included with these problems??? Also, the engines in the '04 and '05 ES's just have increases in HP....nothing more....same basic engine.

Sometimes this problem can be corrected with a CD Laser Lens Cleaner. After years of use the lens gets dirty and it can't read the CD properly. Something like this:http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?MSCS...uct%5Fid=42-227

I know the weather has been 100+ degrees in your area, so I would bring the car to an air conditioning company, NOT your knowledgeable mechanic, to get it repaired right...ASAP. Of course these companies are probably very busy right now. B) BTW: I was in Scottsdale last December and the weather wasn't as hot. LOL

The country around upstate NY is beautiful. I remember driving up to Montreal, Canada on a few occasions. The distance was about 60 miles. Since you aren't going to be stationed at Ft. Drum for a long time I wouldn't consider buying a car.....you'll probably ship out before the weather gets cold, so snow isn't going to be a problem. Rent a car instead. Snow accumulations usually don't start until about November or later.