Tsquared

If you use the dealer it can be expensive. If you are a do-it-yourself type it is less expensive. Regular service on the ES is less expensive than my Ford truck. Much less than a Volvo, BMW, or other european cars. I do all of my "normal" maintenance items but I keep an independant mechanic for any major items. I will also try to buy OEM for most replacement parts or the "high" line of consumables from NAPA or online.

Thius thread needs to be closed. It is also evident that "Guru" status doesn't relate to automotive knowlege.

Why would you build up a high HP engine and use the stock ignition? Are you using the stock tire size also? Toysrme, you need to rethink the answer. You started on the right track but you blew it with this reply. :chairshot: My thoughts on plugs: Use the stock plugs with stock applications. If you have a vehicle that requires multi anode plugs, use then them (Volvo, Porsche, Saab all require duel tip or tri tip plugs for the OEM part). If you pump up the performance you need to balance the performance parts to achieve the maximum potential. The ignition is good on the Toyota 6 cylinder but when the performance goes way beyond the design specs you need to get an ignition system designed for that HP range.

I don't think A 10 lb. sledge would shatter the rotors since there isn't enough clearence to give a hard enough swing. I tried an air chisel on the rotors by the hub and all I get is a bunch of dents. Maybe if I wait until it's 20 below. Go with a 3 lb short sledge hammer. You can get a full swing and you want to hit it squarely in the pad area. I had to do this to my F150 this summer. Also, get a CO2 fire estinguisher and cool them off so you don't have to wait till it 20 below outside. I still recomend changing out the bearings. You are half way there and a light tap with a hammer on a rotor is enough to damage them.

You may also want to change the fuel filter. Run the current tank through it down to empty, then put in 4 galons of regular and run that out. If that has not cleared everything up then go for a tune-up with another new fuel filter, new plugs, egr, and claening the throttle body, IAC, and any other intake/vacume hoses. Next step would be professional injector cleaner. I add Lucas or BG injector cleaner every 5K alternating between them. I do not vary from these two. I have heard of good results with the Chevron cleaner as well. I also run the lowest octane that does not ping. For my wife's ES 330 we are running 87 octane, my daughter Volovo 850 is also running 87, my F150 needs a little more so I run 89 octane, and in the 944Turbo I put a bottle of booster in with 91 octane to get it up to 93/94 octane (it is not close to being stock and needs the extra octane to prevent detonation). Additives can be a good thing but they can also screw things up. I have used SeaFoam with fair results but I have also seen this break all kinds of gunk loose on a car that had little preventitive maintence other than oil changes and it caused all kinds of problems.

Go get new wheel bearings. Get you sledge hammer. Hit it hard enough to shatter the rotor. Replace the bearings and any other damaged items. BTW: if you have already beat on the rotors you need to replace the bearings anyway.

Check the oil at the first fill after it rolls over 1000 miles. At 30K it does not burn any oil. I check the air evry time I rotate the tires - every 5k miles when I perform the PM on the oil/filters/other fluids.

I have to agree also on an extended warrenty. The clauses that try to wiggle out of paying and the hassel of trying to get something covered can be a pain. The way cars are put together (especially the Lexus) make the warrenty a very good deal for the seller and a poor choice for the consumer. I was a service writer back in the 80's for a dealership. Every vehicle that was still within the factory warrenty that came through the door we were to make a sales pitch for an extended warrenty. Only about 8% of those that were bought ever used the warrenty and most of these had a repair for less than the cost of the warrenty.

The test drive will tell. I have no problems with my transmission. I have experianced a loaner 04 with the hesitation - kinda reminded me of the turbo systems in the 80's. Seemed to lag when you stepped on it. I think some have the problem and some dont... Gas milage: computer reads about 2.5 mpg below actual milage - this is fairly consistant. The actual city milage is 19.5-21 MPG and the hiway @80mph is 26 MPG, @70mph is 29.5 MPG.

Chose the ES over a GS because of front wheel drive. Atlanta rarely has ice storms but a front wheel drive is much safer than a rear wheel drive. This is also my wife's car so I was looking for a safe and very comfortable car for her.

My 05 ES has enough to pass - more would be nice. It has almost as much power as my daughters Volvo 850 (Turbo 5 banger) and it will turn over the tires at a dead stop without any problems B) I have not noticed loose steering but this is not a high performance sedan. It has a soft suspention and there is little road feedback through the steering. Car and Driver summed up the 05ES330 with the statement that it was very predictable for a luxury car. My ES is my wife's primary vehicle. When I drive a 4-wheeled vehicle I usually drive my my truck or if I am into a perfomance ride I will take out the 944T. T

I guess that is the downside of not living near an area where Nascar Racing is considered the "new" national pastime. There are enough specialty speed shops or custom automotive repair shops in the Atlanta area you can get anything done... T

Azmalu, You can also pull you alt and carry it to a specialty alt shop to have it rewound to the highlander spec. They will upgrade the voltage regulator in addition to the wiring. In many cases if time is not a factor you can request to have the cases back prior to rewinding so that you can paint or powdercote them to match the color scheme. This will cost about the same as a rebuilt unit but the time you are down will be longer. T

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=30638 The post in the meet section provides better info than the LexFest.com site. :whistles: I live 20 minutes from Road Atlanta - turn 11 is a PIA, I will be there also. T

You will get bad gas milage and you may fowl the plugs. Good luck with the universal sensor. I had big problems with a universal and ended up getting a model specific sensor to fix everything. (The dang connecter pulled free inside the plug - figured this out latter, ended up using the sensor on another vehicle). T

The brake system is a closed system, the only way you can get contaminates into it is by opening it up. The boiling point of the brake fluid has probably diminished over the 30K miles. The real question is there a problem with your brakes? My 05 has ceramic brakes and I expect the front brakes to last at least 50 to 60K. If you feel that the pedal is soft or has a lot of play then it would be a good idea to purge the fluid - I would note the level of the fluid and try to keep it at the same level for a fluid replacement. For me, I purge the fluid when I relplace the pads. T

My mechanic for my Volvo swears by the BG products. I do most of my own maintenance on all of my vehicles and I use the Lucas fuel injector cleaner every 5K. I use Mobile 1 Oil and the lowest possible octane gas that does not ping in each of my vehicles. Before I retired from the Air Force when I was deployed to other parts of the world, my wife would have the Volvo serviced by the mechanic and he would use the BG products. From my experiance a fuel injector cleaner is good preventitive maintenance at every oil change. The additives in gasoline will do some good but a higher detergent injecter cleaner will keep me from having the mechanic do the high dollar injecter service or replacment of the injectors. If you have had to go to a higher octane due to pinging Carbon buildup may be the problem. You can take a look in the cylender with a borescope through the spark plug hole to determine if this an issue. Carbon and gunk can also build up in the intake (some swear by the seafoam through the brake booster to clean this up). For my ES the BG products are a little on the pricey side. The link by mburnickas will have a plethera of information about oil and additives (very good site, IMO). For me, the Mobile 1 and Lucas Fuel Injecter cleaner complement each other and have worked on my vehicles - the ES and my Harley are the only vehicles I have that have less than 100K on them (the others are a 89 Porsche 944T, 99 F150, & 96 Volvo 850).

Purchased the 05 ES for the wife when she was 44. Gave the wife's 9 year old Volvo to the daughter (senior in high school at the time). There are target markets for all cars. The 05 ES has a soft and predictable ride. I prefer a bit more performance but she made the choice over the Caddy CTX, Lincon LX, Volov all, Acura ??, Infinity ??, Mercedes E350, Jag ??, and BMW 5 series. She was looking for the smoothest and most comfortable for her. T

Use the lowest octane that will not ping (rattle the valves). The myth that premium gas is better for an engine is BS. Check out this site: www.trustmymechanic.com/htmlmessage21.html

1) Restore is an addative package that adds CSL micro-particles that contain Lead (40%) dispersed uniformly throughout a Copper (60%) matrix with Silver. This is supposed to fill in the scratches and imperfections in the cylender walls to increase compresson. I have used it with great success on a 150K mile engine that was burning a quart of oil every 1400 miles. I was changing the oil every 5K miles and when I started using it the fuel milage went up about 10% and oil consumption dropped to being 1 qt low at oil change. It is a decent band-aid to increase compression and does help with higher milage vehicles providing they are not sluged up. 2) a valve adjustment may help with the ticking but you may end up with a top end overhaul - on a scale of 1 to 10 it is an 8 (disk brakes are a 3). It also may be the fuel injecters ticking - you might try a can of BG injecter cleaner to see if that helps. 3) IMO it is not worth doing on a 10 year old car with 118K on it. You would come out cheaper running it until it dies and put a junk yard replacement engine in it. Or load it up with Restore, clean the engine compartment, and detail the car and unload it and get something with less wear. Do nothing and you may not have any engine problems for another 118K... Cheers, T

I had the crap Toyo tires that made it 20K miles. I put a set of GoodYear on. Only had 3 brand choices for this 17 inch tire - Goodyear, Toyo, and Cooper. Bridgstone was on back order, Michelin was a 4 week lead time, Pirelli not available. Tried multiple local stores and on-line. The on-line would take the order and come back with a 4 to 6 week availibility. I have never been a fan of Toyo as they tend to get hard after two years. Coopers are inexpensive tires that do not last very long (great for someone on a budget not worried about milage). It seems that the tire makers do not offer a great selection for the 17 inch, if you find something good let us know. The Goodyears are head and shoulders above the stock Toyo in performance. It sticks better in the curves and are quieter. Time will tell. T

There are a few options: 1) Use a high carbon drill bit to drill it out - center punch it first. 2) Use a cold chisel to break the rest of the lock (chisel with 4 lb hammer) 3) Torch to burn it out. I would try them in the order listed. With all three you will need to replace the stud afterwards. With option 3 you also need to replace an alloy wheel. I took my locks off when we took delivery of the car. I have seen too many problem with locks and insurance will cover the theft of the wheels if some jerk rips me off. T

Different results: Ran 87 for first 5K miles - 21.3 mpg. Ran 89 for next 2k - 20.9 mpg. Ran 92 octane for next 1.5k - 21.5 Pulled battery cable between each test to let CPU relearn driving habits. Didn't notice any performance difference. All of the driving was city miles. 87 Octane is recomended by Lexus. The rule of thumb for octane is to run the lowest octane that does not cause pinging under acceleration. For longer stroke engines it is better for higher octane because of the slower burn rates. For short stoke engines (most Japanese brands) that have not had extensive performance modifications increased octane will hurt performance.

Congrats on the new ES330. I bought my wife an 05 last Thanksgiving and it now has 14K miles on it. I also considered the Mercedes (Jag, Acura, BMW, and another Volvo) but I found that the fit and finish or the ride of the ES330 superior to the other premium cars. The ES is a comfortable, good-handling car that will provide dependable service. My biggest complaint is the stock tires that come on the car. The "problems" with the hesitating transmission has not been an issue with my ES. I also do not push the envelope with this car performance wise. When I have pushed it, it has responded. Enjoy!

I am working the hurricane relief and I got a call from the wife - the truck release button stopped working on the car. I have bigger problems right now, like when will I get a hot shower and 6 hours sleep... Anyway I called my service tech to schedule a check up - He said check the valet button in the glove box. Made the call to the wife - fixed from 800 miles away via a satphone connection. I work for a satellite communications company so Internet is easy - land line and cell phone connection is hard right now. Needed to vent some stress over a minor issue and hopefully keep someone else from asking the same silly question. I had my first cold beer in a week and a few hours Internet time tonight. Tomorrow is another adventure... T