njmurvin

I'm sad that I didn't see these posts before I got the car. I love the car but not enough to replace brakes and tires every 8 months. I have 23k miles on my 2006 IS350 and the service guy told me I need to get new brakes and tires. I drive 25-30K miles a year and this is going to get expensive. Have you had to replace your tires yet? I was told that if I have good driving habits that I would only have to replace them every two years...what a joke.

You can probably find tires that will last longer. Check with Tirerack or hit this and the other Lexus forums for recommendations. As for the brakes, I can't understand this. I have a Dodge Cummins 3500 that weighs 7500lbs, I'm going on 37k on the original brakes (and tires) and, based on others' experiences, the brakes are expected to last up to 75k. What is the deal with these Lexus brakes?

I just got my IS350 which is a CPO with 15k. I suppose I should find out if the brakes were replaced already.

I have a 2007 IS250 and got a small tear on the glove box door!! I tried using a leather repair kit and I think it looks worse now! Any suggestions to fix it or does anyone know where to find a new glove box door? The dealer doesn't sell just the door by itself... have to buy the whole glove compartment which runs around $450+. I've tried local "junk yards", but they don't carry such a new part. Help!

But I'm curious, what does the bluetooth feature enable with the portable GPS systems? Our unit doesn't have it.

It functions as a handsfree phone. It has a built in mic and the same speaker as it uses for voice ops. My daughter uses her Nuvi 360 this way.

Hey guys, i have a Lexus '07 IS250 RWD and i love it. No problems yet, but i was just wondering what does the PWR mode exactly do in the engine? I've tried it out before and when going up a hill it does seem like the car has an easier time getting to the top, but im not sure that exactly is going on with the engine. Any help is greatly appreciated.

It modifies the transmission shift points, holding each gear longer.

I recently purchased a 2006 IS350. Does it do any harm to the transmission or other components to use this mode all the time? I realize it probably reduces the fuel economy. But, does it harm the transmission?

And, you can move it to your other cars. And, you can take it with you on vacations. We took my daughter's Nuvi 360 to Maui and it was a Godsend. They're pretty awesome. I plan to get the Nuvi 660 for my IS350.

UPDATE!!!!

I finally got a chance to look at her car. We found a burnt 30A fuse in the fuse box located in the dash, left side behind the coin tray (wild location for a fuse box). Anyway, it fixed everything but the driver's side window. So, it looks as if the motor, switch or controller on the driver's side must have shorted out and taken the fuse along with it. Now, with new fuse in place, the driver window is dead - but everything else works.

Any hints on how to troubleshoot which window component is bad?

Also, how hard is it to get the door panel off and what's the best source for a replacement part?

Apparently, the sunroof is dead as well. Sounds like fuse for sure. I'll know this weekend when I get my hands on it.

I'm looking at a clean, 04 ES330, loaded with all options. It has really low mileage (20k). I owned a 97 ES300 that my daughter still drives and it is a wonderful car. Can the same be said of the 04? I know it was the first year of the 330. Were there any year-specific issues with this car that they cleaned up in 05-06?

I'd say it's a fuse, too. Usually instant failure of a whole system is a fuse. It could just be resistance build up in the power window motors heating up the fuse. Are the windows slow to roll up? Taking more power than normal to get them up? Maybe a tight fitting window track?

I haven't driven the car for awhile. She hasn't complained about it being slow. But, that could mean she hasn't noticed or been bothered by it. When I see it this weekend, I'll check the fuse and replace if bad. If it fixes it, I'll take note of the speed or some resistance on any of the windows. Only the driver's side gets used about 99% of the time. I was concerned that there might be a more complicated solution like some kind of master control switching unit or something. I'll be thrilled if it's just a fuse.

My daughter just called and informed me that - all of the sudden - none of her windows operate. She made sure that the lockout button wasn't enabled. Since it's all 4 windows, I'm guessing fuse. Of course, there might be something nasty causing the fuse to blow (like a short in one of the motors or something). Could it be something else?

Fortunately, they're all in the UP position. She's going to bring it over this weekend for me to take a look.

My daughter is driving my wife's old 97 ES. It has over 150k and is still going strong. I happened to be standing next to the technician during an oil change when the car had about 125k. He thought there had been a mistake and that they had already done the oil change. It was THAT clean. We tried to change on 3k intervals, but that doesn't always work out. The average would be closer to 4k. I wouldn't be at all concerned. It is the best (mechanically) quality car I have ever owned - bar none. And, I have owned about 40 cars including BMW and Mercedes.

My daughter has a 97 ES300 that we purchased at 70k. It now has about 150k and I'm not sure the trans has ever been serviced since 70k (or before, for that matter). My indy mechanic says the fluid looks OK but has recommended sending out to the local oil change guy to do a tranny flush.

I have read numerous nightmare stories - particularly about older transmissions that haven't been meticulously maintained being flushed (flushing causing the movement of particles into VBs etc.). Anyway, is it better to just drain/fill a couple of times in our case or should I let them flush it? Is there a replaceable filter in the trans? How much would Lexus charge me to do a trans service and would they flush it?

My daughter drives a 1997 ES300 that has adjustable suspension. The car has about 135k on it and it bounces quite a bit these days. I figure at this mileage, it's way overdue for struts. Everywhere I have looked, the vendors all specify "non-adjustable" replacements. Two questions:

1) Where can I get adjustable replacements? If available, are they insanely more expensive than the non-adjustable counterparts?

2) Can I just put non-adjustable struts in place of the ones that are there now - rendering it to be non-adjustable? The adjustment is kind of a joke in our family anyway. The drivers of this car have been of the female gender and they almost always have a purse or something resting on the console right on top of the ride adjustment switch. It's usually all the way up or all the way down, depending on the direction of the last motion of the purse.

I replaced the speed clutch sensor. $150.00 from Lexus, $115.oo from Toyota, $89.00 after mentioning my son's Mazda dealership. Pays to ask. So far, 8 days later, no light on yet. It was a 12 mm bolt, and unplug to change. Real easy! Probably would have been $200.00 with diagnostic, and part for Lexus to do it.

Only 19,000 because it doesn't get much use. MINT. Looks brand new. I wonder why. Haha. It is a nice car.

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So, I assume you did it yourself. Am I right that it's sort of to the right as you're looking under the hood (from the front) on top of the trans? Did you have to remove the bracket that's right over it or were you able to work around it? Since I don't have a son that works at a dealership, I suppose I'll have to pay the $116 that Lexus quoted me.

Regarding the 8 days . . . I think I read somewhere that once you get over 30mph, if the problem still exists, you'll see the light come back on. You definitely fixed it. I guess the real question in your case is, "why did it go out in so few miles?" My daughter's car has 130k on it.

I used my neighbors very expensive scan tool (he just got back from teaching a Lexus diagnostic class) Check engine light came on, it shows P1705 NC2 Speed sensor circuit. We tested the Sensor by simulating heat, and the ohms went up more than 10% from a cold state. This is the speed sensor. Leads me to believe that it's bad. I guess I will have to order this from Lexus. Does anyone have experience with this code themselves? Not sure if there is also a sensor inside the tranny. If that is the case, I will not crack open the tranny itself with only 19,000 miles on the car. No, it's not in warranty, it's a 1997 (I bought it new) Thanks guys in advance for your help!

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My daughter just got this code on her 97 ES300. The code points to the direct clutch speed sensor on top of the tranny. I think it's fairly accessible if it's what I'm seeing sort of on the right side top when looking under the hood. There's a bracket on top of it that'll have to be removed and one bolt holding it in. I called Lexus and the part is $116 plus tax. The fault indicator says it's the "circuit" which could include the wiring, sensor or ECM. Smart money says it's the sensor. As I understand it, the sensor assists the trans in making smoother shifts by reporting the speed of a magneto that spins inside the trans.

What did you end up doing about this and how do you manage to have a 97 with only 19k miles?

My daughter drives a 97 ES300 with about 115k miles on it. I have heard from friends with Toyotas and Lexus' of that vintage that the transmissions are really expensive to fix and they seem to go out at about 100k. If so, we're living on borrowed time.

First, is this true? If so, is there any PM I should do (besides the obvious routine servicing) to extend the life of the trans.?

Well, the lights are all off now, but my wallet is a good bit lighter. First, my daughter had to take it to a mechanic in San Luis Obispo near her college (no Autozone or Pep Boys around). They charged $149 for diagnosis and reset of the lights (I know, ripoff). Turned out to be two codes that pointed to the EGR temp sensor ($160 for part, $70 for labor). That took care of one code. Then they had to order another part (don't recall, but it was only about $30 and installed free) to clear the second code. By the time all was said and done, $440 out the door. It's a small town, so I shouldn't be surprised to get hosed a bit.

It's going in to an independent tomorrow AM.  We'll see what they come up with after they read the codes.

Thanks,

Neil

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It's going in to an independent tomorrow AM. We'll see what they come up with after they read the codes.

Thanks,

Neil

Unbelievable timing of this post . . .

My daughter (driving a 97 ES300 w/115k) is in college about 200 miles from me and just before she left to go back to school, her CEL came on with no warnings or symptoms at all. It was a Sunday and she had to get back to school for a meeting. So, I told her to watch the gauges and be extra aware of any warning signs that something was going wrong. She made it up there fine.

Today, she informed me that she was getting off the fwy and the car stuttered and the Trac off light came on. She says it seems to drive fine now, but both lights are on. I suppose whatever caused the CEL light may have worsened and now it has gone into limp mode. She probably can't tell the difference.

Anyway, I told her to find a Lexus/Toyota shop (not necessarily dealer) and get it taken care of. There are no Autozones or Pep Boys' in San Luis Obispo, CA. We don't know what code it threw. Assuming it's the Oxy Sensor like mentioned above, is that a lot of labor hours to replace? I assume the part is as stated, around $150.

Thanks,

Neil