mbezzo

Ugh, insurance is such a scam! That said, sometimes it's more than just dollars... although fewer dollars and fewer emissions would be ideal!

We've been enjoying our 450h+. In the nearly 2.5 months we've had it, we're averaging well over 80MPG - and with gas prices as they are it's been really great.

Man, I went and looked at the rear. It is TIGHT back there! I'm mostly worried about the back tire rubbing the shock tower. There's barely a fingers width with 205's on it. eh, so worried!

Nope, no plans for that. Just a good deal on some sexy wheels java script:emoticon(':)',%20'smid_11') Will you be lowering the car?

Yeah, I looked at tire rack, i'm just worried about rubbing. Anybody have any experience?

Hi Guys, I know this gets asked millions of times, but I've had a hard time finding a definitive answer. I'm looking at some 18" wheels for my 99 ES300. The specs on the wheels are as follows: Rear: 18x8.5 50mm offset. Front 18x8 45mm offset. They are lexus OEM wheels. Will these fit without rubbing? Any suggestions on tire widths? I was thinking 215's, but I don't know. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Are 18's just too big for a no-rubbing fit? Thanks! mbezzo

When it was flushed, they used Dex III. Should I be worried?

So to and from work today, no problems at all. Seemed totally great. Hopefully it'll just keep this up... I still am curious about the fluid though. Is T-IV equivalent to Dexron III? Thanks again for the help.

Hi Guys, Thanks for the info. Quick Question... The manual for my car says to use Dexron III ATM fluid. The dipstick says T-IV fluid. So is T-IV toyota's brand of Dex III? So I went ahead and had the tranny flushed. The guys that did it were pretty sure it had never been done before. The car has 65k at the moment, so it was definitely time for a change. I know you guys have been saying to drain and fill over the course of a 5000 miles or so, but I have a 3000 mile drive train-warranty through the dealer I bought it from, so I want it to fail under that! Anyway, today after driving about 20 miles or so after the flush, it wouldn't shift into 4th (OD)! I turned the O/D button on/off a few times, no change. Got off at the next exit, went PRND2L got back on, and it's fine... Made it all the way home (about 65 miles tonight) with no troubles at all. Does the engine light come on if there are tranny problems? I need this thing to have a repeatable failure so I can take it back to the dealer and have them fix it. All these weird one time only oddities are starting to drive me nuts! Any words of wisdom? The fluid coming out was pretty dark, but it was still mostly pink/red. It didn't smell burnt or anything either. I'm thinking of calling a lexus dealer and seeing what they have to say about it. Thanks Matt

Hi All, I've been lurking here for quite sometime picking up all the little goodies you guys have to offer. I picked up a 99' ES300 with 65k on it a month or so ago and I love it. I have a question about the Transmission though. This is kind of hard to describe, but I'll try my best. :) Okay, so if I'm just coasting down a hill and start to apply the brakes, the car kind of suddenly slows down a bit right as I hit the brakes, but it's not the brakes, the brakes modulate very smoothly. It seems to me like the transmission is helping to slow the car down, almost like using the engine in a manual tranny to slow the car down. Do the lexus AT do something like this? Is there something wearing out that makes the transission (from coasting, to slowing the car down) not as smooth as it should be? The car has always done this for the 1500 or so miles I've put on it. It's not a big deal, but it's just kinda weird. Everytime you brake gently down a hill, it makes the car jerk slightly. Just doesn't seem right. Okay, one more question! A few days ago, my transmission started to slip. It was the weirdest thing. I had just started the car to run to the store, the tranny was fine for about 2 minutes, nothing unusual, then I'm at a stop light and the car revs and BARELY starts to move. I'm freaking out, thinking the tranny's shot for the next 2 miles or so, turning OD on and off, shifting through the gates manual, etc. Then, it suddenly stops. Everything is fine and it hasn't done it since. This was maybe 200 or so miles ago. Needless to say, this worries me a bit. I checked the fluid, and it's definitely not the vibrant red when it's new, but certainly not too bad. I think I'm gonna get it changed here soon. I think the real question is how can I check to see if everythings okay with the tranny? Do I need to take it to a shop and have them check it out? Should I do a complete tranny flush, or just drain it and replace what came out? I've read all the older threads about trannys here and am scared to do the whole flush thing with people having more problems afterwards... Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Matt