98es

Happy Birthday! Glad to know I'm not the only "youngin'" in here. We're definitely a minority! I saw an ES250 today on campus that looked exactly like yours, not something you come by often. See ya...

I would have to agree it seems that most of ES300 drivers are older. I have a 98 and even with my body style the same holds true. I would also agree that the 92-96 body style is usually driven by people closer to our age. I'm only 21, bought my 98 ES last year. Just a suggestion, if you do get tint, don't go too dark. I think that dark tint takes away the classyness(if thats a word) of any lexus, IMHO.

I was also surprised about the heated seats. For some reason in this area they're hard to find. Lexus of Memphis had 8 2002-2003 Es300 and NOT ONE had heated seats!?! I'm going to pick it up on thursday or friday, then i'll be able to tell you about the HID, rain sensing wipers. I'm positive it has a wood steering wheel, i've never seen an 02 without one. They just replaced the brake pads, dealer said it was something they do usually no matter what when its CPO. Since it's under warranty I can get these TSB's done anytime if they're not done already, right??? I'm really loving the sea opalescent color. He said they also did the 45k mile service. Can anyone tell me what this service includes??? Thanks.

Honestly, i'm kind of in between, but i'm gonna go with no. I think if there were more space in between the trunk and the bottom of the spoiler it would look a little better.

Here's just a thought- my 98 was making a deep growling sound during acceleration, and it ended up being that my air filter cover wasn't snapped on (the back 2 snaps) and sealed all the way. Just maybe something else you could check. Either way from what I understand a motorvac is a good thing to have done.

Well, after reading everyone's thoughts, I decided there was no way I could really buy a car without seeing it and driving it. So we went to Lexus of Memphis over the weekend, and found exactly what we were looking for. 2002 ES300 w/44,000 miles, certified 3yr/100k, mystic sea (silver w/a hint of green), tan leather. It's in excellent condition. They had taken it in on a trade and had gotten it for really cheap. I got it for around $23k after taxes. I'm excited! I'll definitely miss the seat heaters on the accord that its replacing, but I think it's definitely worth it to have a lexus. I'll try to have pics up sometime in the future. Thanks for the input! Any thoughts on how much I paid are appreciated!

I am looking to add on to our "lexus family" and am interested in purchasing a 2002 ES. I'm willing to spend around $20k, and it seems the only ones in my price range are on ebay. I understand that there are companies that you can pay a flat fee for them to inspect a car, which would give me a little more peace of mind about it. I'm not sure how all the taxes and things would work because I do want to finance. Are you charged more taxes for buying a vehicle out of state??? Or is it worth it to eat the extra $3,000 and buy from the dealership?? Any thoughts/experiences with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I have a 98 and absolutely love it, the only thing about buying a used 97-01 is that you have to make sure that the previous owner stayed on top of oil changes. If you've done any research in this forum you'll see the issues the 97-01 es has with engine oil gelling. I'm a junior in college, bought my es last june with 95k on it and now its got 118k and I plan on keeping it until i absolutely have to sell it. There are a few other minor common problems with this generation. When it comes to styling, the two generations don't look too different from each other. To answer your quesiton about interference, from what I remember the 98 is a non-interference, but the 97 is an interference. I'm sure there are more educated members that can inform you on that. One plus on the 98 is its the year side airbags were standard. Honestly, in your shoes I would probably go for the 95-96 years because you can get one with lower mileage. Hope this helps. My gas mileage has been really good. I do about 60% highway, 40% city and average about 25 mpg. Thats at least 400 miles to the tank. Even on an all city driving tank I've never gotten less than 20, and by no means do I drive like a grandma. -Wes

About the PCV valve... is it in the same location on a '98? I bought one off ebay for 99 cents. I'm kind of confused on the exact location of it. Thanks for the help....

So instead of paying $300 at the dealer for the navigation upgrade, I bought last years version off ebay for $20. The cd is in perfect condition and has no scratches. I followed the directions and put in into the navigation unit, and got the "DISK ERROR" message. From what I understand, the 2003 update may have had problems. I've searched and found at least one other LOC member that has had this same problem, but i'm not sure if it was ever resolved. Can anyone help me? I only have the weekend to do this, so hopefully i can get this resolved. One member in a previous post suggested copying it and then trying again, is this something i should try? It seems like such an easy fix has turned into a lost cause.... Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

dang..... you did good for $2900. It looks really clean. My headlights on my 98 don't even look that clear, even after a buff w/wax. Congrats!

SK- you said in another post that to resolve this issue, you should lube the bump stops? Is this the same thing that you are referring to in this post? From my understanding noise cannot be from the bump stops because this noise is happening even on very small bumps, when the shock isn't compressed all the way to the bump stop. Could you clarify? Thanks a lot!

Sal's Dad- I have the exact same problem on my 98 ES300 w/115k miles, except mine comes from the drivers side. When i'm driving along i too swerve for the bumps/potholes to try and recreate it. It's like a clunky rattle. Lexusk8- What exactly should i look for when i open the hood? Is there a way to tell if they're worn or not by just looking at them? I'm decent when it comes to cars but suspension is something that I know NOTHING about. Thanks.

I had mine flushed at the lexus dealership per the service technician about 2,000 miles ago. My 98 es has 118000 miles on it and the transmission is still shifting like it was new, no change in performance. So saying that the lexus service department will tell you NO if you ask for a flush is not true, at least not in my case. I even called the toyota dealership but their price wasn't much different from lexus. Personally I've always heard good things about transmission flushes vs. regular fluid change.

dcfish-great input, seemed to be a lot of help............ Red- Have you searched google or any of the other search engines for it? I remember when I had a maxima i was able to find a website that had step-by-step instructions with pictures on how to remove/install the HU. I'll keep searching and let you know if I find anything.... Good luck!

It sounds like it's either hit or miss with these lexus batteries. My '98 has 115,000 miles on it and i just replaced the original factory battery about 3 months ago. With the new battery I can definitely tell the difference when starting the car. Anyways, good luck with your problems. Don't let it ruin your outlook on what's probably going to be a great car!

haha no i save the neon for the light around my license plate and the tire stem caps. :D j/k

Has anyone had any experience replacing the nozzles that just stream out water with the newer ones that mist/spray the water out. My '98 has the older kind and i'd really like to replace them. Any input is appreciated.

We just bought an '02 LX and once i got home playing with the nav i noticed ours was 2000 version. I called the lexus dealer that we bought it from and they were trying to stick me with the $600 or talk me out of doing it. They said it's not something they do before they put a car back on the lot to sell. Call me crazy, but you think when your paying 50k for a car, the least they could do is update the stupid nav software. I'm waiting for a response from the dealer to see if they'll do it for free. Anyone else had this problem????

I had the EXACT problem on my 98 es300. I could hear it when i started it in the morning and when i gave it gas. It ends up that I didn't have enough coolant in my system. I filled the overfill up and also filled up the radiator when it was cold and it eliminated my problem. My advice would be just fill up your coolant and see if that works.

I was in the same boat you are about 6 months ago. I bought a 98 es300 with 95,000 miles. It was well kept up, and i'm very happy with my purchase. I paid a little over 10k. My timing belt was changed around 65k, so i'm not due for awhile. But it is very important that you find that out. The only problem I've had is with the IAC valve (VERY common problem with idle valve on this car). It cost me about $600 to fix, of course i REALLY got ripped off, it usually doesn't cost near that much. Transmission fluid and coolant flush. Other than than these pretty minor things, it still drives AWESOME 16,000 miles later. I'd have to agree with some of the other guys here, your paying top dollar. But if your comfortable with it and feel the cars worth high end, go for it. It's not worth hurting the relationship over. Hope this helps!

Sorry if this topic has already been addressed, I searched but didn't find anything. Ever since the weather has started to get cold, my steering creeks. Usually something this trivial wouldn't bother me, but when you own a lexus that's so quiet that you don't know it's running, it kinda sticks out. Any input is appreciated! One more question, it's time to flush the transmission fluid, and I'm being quoted prices around $150! That was from the local toyota dealer, but how much is too much?? Thanks.

I wanna know more about your nav. I have a '98 es and salivate at the idea of having navigation!! What model toyotais it made for? camry? Where did you get yours? I've searched on ebay with no luck. Did you have to make the side panels to go around it??? Thanks in advance!