blake918

I had my seats redone last November at an upholstry shop. The seats came out awesome! It was $600 to replace approx. 8 total panels of leather on my driver and passenger seats. All he did was remove the leather seat cover, replace the bad sections, and then dye it all to match. At a small ind. shop like I went to, you could probably expect $2k+ for all of the seats to get recovered. My guy told me it'd be arround $600 per seat to get them completely redone, so I opted for the partial redo on both front seats for $600! If your seats are just hard, try Leatherique. It's just like Lexol, but it's a much, much more powerful moisturizer. Lexol is good for properly maintained leather while Leatherique is better for super hard and dried leather. I'd see about getting the back seat seam restitched, and try Leatherique if there aren't any actual holes in the leather(like I had!) or any bad wear marks. Here are some befores and afters it get some ideas....

Geez $15 grand for a scanner :o ? Is that thing turbo charged?

Those are some very nice looking cars B) ! They remind me very much of the S class Merc which is no bad thing whatsoever! I dunno though....not much could top the 98-00 to me. I love the chiseled lines(I never really noticed how sharp the lines on the sides of the car were until I got my '95) and everything else about that generation...lol! But, to each his own! Do all 430's have navigation?

vmf, are the Denso plugs really worth the costs? The NGK plugs are about $55 shipped vs. close to $100 for the Denso's shipped-these are prices on ebay. I'm in high school, so money isn't superflous; otherwise, I'd go for the ND's 100% ;)! What do you think??

Hehehe! It is nice to see 2 Lexus keys on the key chain(for a little while!)! However, the ES will be gone just as soon as the LS is reapired. My friends tell me that I should get a bumper sticker that says "My other car is a Lexus." Funniest thing I've heard in a while! It kills me to see the LS half dead in the drive way :( . She'll be better soon!

WOW!!! I got the manual today! That was very quick. I think I got the manual in the mail in well under 2 weeks :D . This is customer service!!!

Ohhh I'd love to get another!!! But the '95 will keep me busy for a while ;) .

Thanks acf :D ! Steve, I think non ES owners are a lost cause on the hole ES vs Camry XLE V6 deal!!! I see no cosmetic similarities in your 03 ES at all when compared to the same 03 Camry. Plus, look in the gallery at Steve's interior...puts the Camry's interior down to Kia levels. The first ES300's imo looked nothing like its Camry counterpart, but I will say that the most attractive ES to me looked the most like the Camry- in 97-01. I agree the 02-__ ES is a very attractive car...except for that sportdesign model! However, I think Lexus's early '00 styling was the best like the RX300, ES300, and the absolute best looking Lexus being the 98-00 LS400! Just my $.02 ;)

Is it possible to get the scan tool that Lexus shows in the factory repair manual?? It seems like the Lexus scanner can pull info from every componet in the car! Even if someone were to find these scanners, I'd bet they cost a fortune!

Already did that too ;) ! I appreciate your input very much though. Here's the link: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=6977&st=0

Good idea about ebay for the plugs ;). I looked last night, and they had all 8 new NGK LS400 plugs for $50, but someone already bought them :( . I'll keep looking!

Sk, you were right ;)...it's good to keep the posts together! I took the car to the Lexus dealership only to have them tell me nothing is wrong with the car. I kinda figured this would happen. Malinim, here's the origional post with the entire story:origional electrical problem

Hehehe . I wonder who that German might be ;) ? I did shop some more, and I found a high mileage '95 that I fell in love with...it's the origional look that I like except they took out the ironing board and starch to make some attractive lines on the car, so I bought it! Thanks for the welcome, but I'm no stranger here! I usually spend all of my time in the ES section ;) though . I agree LOC is the best club around! My LS is out of comission for a little-while while we wait for the parts to come in for the timing belt job and a new ignition system too. So, I'll drive my other(ES) Lex while we reapir the LS, but as soon as the LS is up and running again, I'll have to part with the ES :( :( . What a great car; I'll miss it(it was too small for a 6'3 youngin like myself). Happy LS motoring

Here ya go Chill...old and new Old, Cracked Steering Reconditioned Steering Wheel I think my seat pics were lost in the crash a while back, but I'll keep diggin.

Chill, I guess the lack of Lexol in conjunction with the brutal 100+ degree summers down here caused the steering to crack open over 9 years(I got the car last May). American Stitches had to rebuild the top part of the core too; that's how bad it was! I need to search on here, and find the photos for you! Once I got to learn about the ES's...mainly on here, I've really seen how very little they share with the Camry other than the 1MZFE and a few little switches here and there. I find the designs to be pretty different(several of my friends have Camrys that I compare with). Just my $.02 :whistles: .

I know...I was thinking about that too! I definantly wouldn't be suprised if those were the origional plugs, wires, etc. I just went outside and started the car. The bank with 2,4,6, and 8 must be completely dead because it reaks of gas fumes...it's obvious that the car is running waaaay rich. I found out the the blinking cel means that the catalyst is overheating, so it's a good thing we decided to park the car until we get it fixed up. Can anyone give me the Nippon Denso spark plug numbers for the 1995 LS? I bought 6 ND/Toyota plugs for the ES, but the ES didn't need them, so I'm planning on putting them in the LS if they'll fit. I'll be sure to take many pics of the engine disassembled. I'll be sure to come back with updates along the way! Until then, I'll postpone the sale of the ES so that I can get around! Once you're used to a Lex, nothing else comes close! :D

Just peel that little black boot back, and spray some WD40 in there. Then, press the switch many times until it frees up. That should do it ;) .

Oh no...my exhaust is fine! I was just using that as an example of the sound the sputtering engine was making. The engine is still very quiet, but it does make an extra noise from the horrible misfiring going on. I did check the air filter about a week ago. The filter was dirty(I blew it out), but the intake was clear. thanks for everything

I wish it were bad gas! The car just seems to be acting too poorly for bad gas. The car hardly accelerates, and it sounds like its got a small exhaust leak(it really doesn't, but that's what it sounds like.). Infact, to get the car to AutoZone, I had to take the car out of 4th to get there. We've decided to park the LS and wait for the timing belt supplies to come in from Park Place Lexus(newlexusparts.com). After today's incident, we're going to change all of the ignition componets too: wires, rotors, plugs, etc. I guess we'll be doing the exact same job that VMF did to his car! I'm going to skip on the brakes since those were done 10k miles ago. ;) None of the bearings are whining, but I know(or atleast I think I do!) that it's time for a new timing belt because of the last time it was changed: 125k miles ago!

On my '95 LS there is an itty, bitty, unnoticable black button that turns the beeping on and off. It's under the steering wheel near the hood release. I found it while poking and proding around under the steering wheel area . Just something you might want to try before heading to the dealer ;) .

Well...this morning during the drive to school, the check engine light came on. The car started running really rough almost sputtering, but still driveable. I quickly hung a u-turn to head for home! The check engine light comes on, and it will blink from time to time. What does the blinking mean(owner's manual-less owner here, but I ordered 1)? When I got home from school this afternoon, I took the car to the local AutoZone to get the codes read. They found these codes on my 1995 LS400 with 225k miles: P0302 P0304 P0306 P0308 I saw the little code reader read random cylinder misfire on just about all of the cylinders; I think that's why they gave me all of those codes. What are some causes of this? Plugs, wires, future timing belt failure?? I'm past due for a timing belt(approx. 120k since last timing belt); could this be a sign that the belt is on its way out? The car was running fine; then, all of a sudden things went haywire. I wasn't racing or anything...it was too early to be in a racey mood! I don't know any of the service history on the car other than a timing belt at approx. 100k-110k miles, new power steering pump @ 215k, and new brake pads and rotors @ 215k. I tried to call the Toyota dealership that the car was serviced at, but they want me to drive 45min. to them for the service history. Any suggestions would be great!

I know. I already requested it ;) , but I'm very, very impatient! :D

I can log in fine, but I click on owners manual, and it tells me it's temporarily unavailable. It's been unavailable since last May when I first tried to view it for my ES. My LS didn't come with a manual, so I really would like to read up about the gadgets in the car while waiting for the hard copy manual to come in. Who knows how long the LS manual will be "temporarily unavailable" . Roy, they still haven't sent you a magazine?? I l registered once online, and I get it. It only comes out 4x a year I think. I'll call and aggrovate them soon about the manual, or I might just buy one on ebay or at the dealer if it isn't too much($).

Yeah, I'm talking about the actual carpet not the floor mats! I wish the floormats had the 10y/o Coke stains; then, I'd just throw them away. I just rented one of those dam rug doctors for the ES a few weeks ago . I'll go rent it again; we went to Home Depot today, and we came back with 3 different cleaners. They lifted the stains a little; they're just very, very deep in the carpet. Since the stains started to come up, I think the rug doctor will do it! I'll give it a try next weekend. Nope, new post here. I wish I could take it to a detailer, but I'm a broke teen . I'm saving the money for a timing belt, water pump, etc. I'll try the rug doctor, and see where that gets me. Thanks for the suggestions.

I agree :D ! I got my first Lexus when I was 16 last year(moved to a '95 LS recently). I say get it BlueDevil! The ES is a fine first car. It was really easy to learn how to drive in this car. Everything is real simple and clear...gauges, dash layout, etc. Good fuel economy from the 6 is always a plus too. Mechanical problems are few and far between. Find a new or nicely used set of OEM Lexus Factory Reapir Manuals on ebay. Skip the cheap $30 CD alternative. These Lexus books tell you how to take the car apart down to the bare frame. I learned a lot about the mechanics of a car on the ES with the help of the repair manual and my dad. The ES is very easy to service yourself of you don't have the extra $ to take it to your neighborhood Lexus dealer. If you are going to pay your own insurance, you might want to look elsewhere. Even with my good student and drivers ed. discounts, my parents still pay in the $2k a year range. Some say that your location has a lot to do with it...I live in New Orleans that has a high crime rate, so this might have something to do with it. Just grab the VIN on the '92 and call your insurance agent. Major problems that you might run into...humm. Just make sure that the previous owner changed the oil every 4k miles to prevent engine gel. Burnt needles and grinding antennas are also common problems. Also, I hear that the '94's and up have a more reliable engine(1MZFE) and tranny. If you are over 6' you might want to skip the ES, and move into a LS. I learned this the hard way...$$$ lost when I sell the ES. Anymore info about the '92?? Let us know how it turns out for you.