meeters

Just thought I'd let you know what the outcome was. The car went into the dealer today for this problem and I was lucky because the problem happened when they started the car to pull it into the shop. It turned out to be the starter/solenoid. They replaced it under the CPO warranty, but first the rep quoted me a price of $500 to replace it with a new one. A bit steep to replace a starter if you ask me.

That's right, the engine was not turning. I still suspect the starter was still engaged or something like that. It wasn't a belt makin gthe noise.

did it have the same sound as a starter? Or more like a fan belt etc? How many miles do you have on her? How's the battery? ← She has 65,000 and the battery appears OK, never had a problem with it. It sounded like a fan belt when the engine was running but had a lower pitch after I turned the engine off. The noise continued after I shut the engine off. The car was in park and the the key was in the position where I could have removed it. I waited about 15 seconds between stops and starts one time and the noise continued during that time.

This happened on my 99 es300. This morning, I turned the key to start the car and it started right up as usual, but there was a loud squealing sound coming from the engine compartment. I turned the key off and the engine stopped, but the squeal continued. I turned the key back on and the engine started immediately and the squeal continued. I shut the key off and on 5 times and finally the squeal stopped with the key off. I then started the car up and everything was fine. It sure sounds like the started didn't disengage. Any ideas what to look for?

1999 Lexus ES300 - mine 2001 Subaru Outback Wagon - her's 2000 Jeep Wrangler - ours 2003 Ducati Monster 620 - mine 1999 Lemond Zurich (lives in the basement most of the time) - mine

It also controls the horn honking volume when you press the Lock button on the key fob (or key itself on the newer keys). Turning the volume all the way off was the first thing I did when I picked up my car. ← Incorrect! This little knob only controls the volume of the beep and has absolutely no effect on the volume of the horns. In fact, Lexus's don't use the horns at all to indicate locking or unlocking. B) ← OK, I stand corrected. I thought the sound was coming from the horns. I personally find the noise emitted from a vehice when someone locks their doors annoying, (listen, I just locked my doors!) so I turned the volume all the way off and just glance at the head or tail lights to make sure the car executed the door lock command. I'm glad Lexus gave us this option, some manufacturers don't.

It also controls the horn honking volume when you press the Lock button on the key fob (or key itself on the newer keys). Turning the volume all the way off was the first thing I did when I picked up my car.

ummm...the fact that my tire looks liek its flat if i dont?:whistles: come on people, what is so strange about it? i have a Specialized Hard Rock Pro in the garage thats reccomended at 65 psi. 40 isnt that high. the car is tracking fine, it rides great...if i drop the pressure down to >30, the damned tire looks flat. ← I have a LeMond Zurich with Vittoria Open Corsas on it. I run them at 130psi, but the Michelins on my es300 are at 35. If I ran them at 130, they'd blow off the rimes.

I went back to the dealer again and he stuck to the story about the brake pads shifting. He had me try this the next morning. Back out of the driveway and put the car in drive, but just let up on the brake pedal enough to get the car rolling forward. Keep the pedal down and straighten out the steering and go forward for about 10-20 feet, then let up on the brake pedal. The noise didn't happen until I let up fully on the brake pedal. I've done this several times and the result is the same every time. So the dealer says this shows its the pads shifting and if it still hapen after the pads are replaced he dig in further.

Does anyone know of a good source of winter floor mats for the es300? The dealer says he can't get any.

I've never really warmed up my 99 es300. I start it in the garage (with the door open), put on the seat belt, connect the mp3 player, turn on the seat heaters, etc. By then the idle has dropped down to under 2k, I back out of the drive way and take off. I drive gently until it shifts into OD.

Actually, this behavior is described in the Owners Manual. From what I recall it mentions keeping the rpms high to reduce the exhaust emissions when the engine is cold.

My 99 will take up to 5 minutes depending on how cold it is and the driving conditions. It takes longer on my way to work, the car's sat all night and there's a lot of stop and go driving until I get out of town. On my way home its pretty steady 45-55 for about 10 miles so it warms up and shifts quicker. It was about 20 this morning here in MI and it took 4 or 5 minutes before it shifted. I usually have my heater on auto and the fan starts to kick in at about the same time the car shifts into OD. As far as clunking when you shift the lever, have someone check the throttle sensor.

The only thing that bothers me in my 99 es300, is there's no level place to set anything small. I'd like to have a small slot in the dash or a depression in the console. I use a small Rio mp3 player connected through a tape adapter and I still have't found a good place to put the player where it won't slide around except in the console storage.

Mine got ripped on one side when I went through some deep snow. I then went through a car wash which made it worse. It was OK until about 5 miles later and I started to slow down. The thing lost altitude as the car slowed and started to drag on the ground. It sounded just like the brakes were grinding metal on metal. As soon as I started moving again, it made noise for a little bit until it lifted back off the ground. I was real relieved when I got home and looked under the car and saw it hanging there. The stealer had one in stock - $15. I was expecting close to $40. Its held on by four bolts. I never did find out what it was called.

I have a nicely maintained 99 ES300. I received a jacket for my birthday a few months ago. It got wet in a heavy rain storm while I was walking to my car after work. The thing then started to bleed dark blue dye on the leather seat back, center console arm rest and the driver's door arm rest. I used Lexon cleaner and conditioner on the leather seat back and center console and it removed most of the stain. I think I can get the rest of it out using this stuff when the weather warms up. The vinyl door arm rest is a different story, does anyone have any suggestions on what to use to get this stain out? Thanks, Steve

I have this strange problem with my 99 es300 which has about 60K on it.. Whenever I back up then go forward while turnng the wheels after the car has sat for more than an hour or two I hear this ka thunking noise briefly from the front end as the car begins to move forward. This will happen when I'm backing out of the driveway in the morning, put the car in drive and straighten the car out as I begin driving down the street. It will also happen when I back out of a parking spot, and begin to pull forward, again straightening the wheels as I move through the parking lot. In both cases I'm moving slowly and the noise may last only about a second, but its very noticeable. The dealer looked the car over and couldn't find anything wrong with the steering or trans. They said it might be the brake pads shifting since they are getting to the point where they need replacing. The service manager offered to ride while I drove it so he could hear it. But the porter had already backed and drove the car around a little before we got in and I couldn't make it happen. Anybody have any ideas? I bought this as a CPO with 33K on it two years ago. The person that had it before me took very good care of it and had every oil change and scheduled maintenance done on time. The car is in great shape and this is the first issue I've had with it. Thanks, Steve