chilphil

I believe that I am having the same exact issue with my car. Quick question because I want to get this right the first time.....Do I only need to buy the EGR Valve or do I also need to buy the Valve Position Sensor as well? I do not have any error reading being displayed inside of the vehicle as if the issue would be electrical. Thanks

I recently found out that the Lube Shop that my wife has been bringing the car to only uses Pennzoil. I have been a Castrol fan for as long as I can remember and would prefer Castrol in my cars....just a preference, no real validity or scientific claim for the preference. I did hear somewhere that (and I don't know if it only applies to Toyota engines) Pennzoil builds up sludge more easily than other conventional oils. Is that true? If so, should I switch ASAP? What are your oil preferences?

Hey guys, thanks for all of the advice thus far. I am still having the same issue and have confirmed via a 2nd mechanic that the timing is set correctly. I am bringing the car back to my main mechanic next week to do a thorough investigation of anything that can possibly rob the car of power. Also, the car has developed a slight hesitation, upon acceleration, over the past couple of weeks. My question to you all, is what can I tell my mechanic to check in order to make it sound like I know what I am talking about and in order to hold him accountable for checking everything? I want the thing fixed and have been dragging my heels on this issue for too long. I was thinking Dist. cap, ignition timing (again), o2 sensor, plug wires and some others that I see spoken of in different threads but I either do not know what the accronym means or do not know what their function is: MAF? ERG? EGR Valve? any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated....

back on topic: long story as to why I haven't gotten back to this one since April but I'll spare you all the details. This is in regards to the performance issue and not the oil fill level...thanks SK for the nugget about checking when car is cool...made all the difference. Basically, my car is still having intermittent performance issues. Intermittent meaning that sometimes the car runs and accelerates like a champ. Easy, fluid, comfortable....like the lexus should. But sometimes..... Problem descriptions: Feel - sometimes I'll feel a slight vibration in the gas pedal (emphasize slight - for lack of a better description, it feels like a little cell phone vibrating on the bottom of my foot while accelerating). When running well and accelerating easily, my RPM's will get up to about 2500 and then the car shifts. However, when the car is in its lack of performance mode, the RPMS will shift at roughly 2700 to 3000 RPMs. I can also discerably feel that I have to press the gas pedal down further to get the same amount of output. Sound -I am having a tough time figuring out how to describe the engine tone in writing but it gets considerably louder upon acceleration - I want to use the term grind but feel as if might be too harsh to describe the sound - I'm drawing a blank (note that when I say acceleration, I do not only mean off of the starting block. the acceleration symptoms occur at any point in time that I take my foot off of the accelerator and then back on again). Power - It feels as if I am running on 5 cylinders about 75% of the time. That is the best way for me to explain it. Gas mileage affects - I used to get roughly 330 miles per every 3/4 of a tank (I fill up at 1/4 of a tank). I now get somewhere between 290 and 310 miles per tank. These figures are using Regular Unleaded always. I am tempted to get a 2nd opinion on the settings of the timing belt but wanted to know if any of you had any suggestions that I could do myself? Thanks

All-right, my mechanic basically told me what Discount Tire told me....that I have a bent right rear wheel. He also stated that my left rear whell is defective. I asked him how he could tell and he said that you can just tell when you put it on the machine. I don't know what measures you take to determine a tire defective but we have a language barrier so I just dropped the inquiry at the time. If my left rear tire is defective, I am certainly going to take it back to the tire shop before ever thinking about changing my wheel... Have any of you every heard of a defective tire (I guess except for the firestone/explorer tires a few years back) and what are their symptoms? How much should I expect to pay for a new/used wheel? Can I get them from a salvage yard or used? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Timing Belt was fine....mechanic did not tighten a hose clamp from the throttle body after doing the initial work... car runs fine now.... thanks

My mechanic is opening up the timing compartment today in order to inspect the belt and its positioning. He said that he had done many Lexus and Camry's before and that if the belt gets placed on wrong that the engine light comes on. My check engine light hasn't come on, though. He then drove the car and said "yeah, I think it is off a notch or two." Hopefully he'll get it corrected today. I'll post back by next week to let you guys know if it did the trick. Thanks for the feedback.....

I have my mechanic checking it out for me today (somebody I really trust to inspect what is going on rather than a 16 year old at Discount Tire). He said that if the wheel is balanced correctly, even if the rim is slightly bent, you will not feel any vibration. He also stated that tires are sometimes defective from the factory which is easy to tell once placed on the balaning machine. I'll know what he says by this afternoon and post by next week to hopefully help others with similar issues. Thanks for all of the feedback.....

97' es 300 Fellas, I just recently purchased 215/60R...Goodyear triple tread tires on all four wheels. Handles well and there is just slight overstear which was to be expected. I searched on some of the threads and read that it is very common and doesn't really pose a problem to go wider on your tires. This being said, about half a week after I got them I started feeling a vibration at speeds above 60mph. I went back to Discount Tire and they re-balanced the tires for free stating that all of the tires had gone out of balance. I read another post on the forum where someone said that it was natural for you to have to re-balance tires on es 300s after getting new tires. So I thought no big deal. Well the tire guy also stated that my rear passenger wheel was bent and was bouncing all over the place when he tried to balance it. Well the car still vibrates at speeds above 60 and it is annoying for 1 reason, a lexus is not supposed to vibrate. You buy the car for ride quality and it is annoying. My questions to you knowledgeable Lexus guys are: My car was not vibrating prior to the tire change and I have not hit any other pot holes than I normally hit coming to a from work. Why is the wheel bent now, or why is it causing an issue if it was bent before? Should I have Discount Tire re-balance the tires again for the 3rd time in 3 weeks? Or are the tires not being of "factory spec." causing the problem? thanks ps. the wheels were aligned two months ago with a strut replacement....

No, I didn't do the work myself. I'll talk to my mechanic on Friday. Could there be any other causes for the lack of performance? Sorry that I didn't articulate myself well enough in my first note. When I stated that oil is half way up the dip stick, that is after wiping off the dip stick every time it is pulled. I am not judging the dip stick on the initial pull. thanks

I'm becoming a regular..... Guys, I changed the front and rear valve cover gaskets, timing belt, and plugs (NGK) about 2 weeks ago. I have noticed that the car does not have the same horsepower as it had prior to the work. Also, the engine sounds louder than it did prior, almost as if it is straining as I accelerate and then getting louder in the 2500 to 3000RPM range. Once up to speed the "strain" seems to subside. My gas mileage doesn't seem to be suffering at all after 2 tanks. What could be the cause of this? Also, if someone can elaborate on this issue as well it would be much appreciated: When checking the motor oil levels on my car, the dip stick always reads oil half way up the stick (not half way up the fill line - half way up the whole stick). It doesn't matter if the engine is cold or hot. What does this mean? How can I determine if my engine has correct oil levels? Thanks

thank you sir!!! I'll try it this weekend....

I have heard conflicting stories about adding transmission fluid stop leak (because the ps system in lexus' uses tranny fluid not ps fluid) to the ps system. One mechanic told me that the stop leak would corrode the Power Steering line and I am pretty sure that the line is a dealer item. While another mechanic told me that it wouldn't hurt at all but unless you have only a small leak, the stop leak won't faze the leak. I am really not a good person to be adding to this chain because I didn't use the stop leak. I think my leak magically cured itself. I have a little fluid pooled on the undercarriage of my car but I havn't had to add fluid to the resevoir in over 3 months....strange. I know I can't be this lucky...leaks only get bigger! Anyway, I know somebody has had to have used stop leak at one time or another and knows if it affects your PS line. Just run a search or wait until someone replys.. good luck, Philip

I just had my left Strut Mount replaced last week. It is still making noise (although considerably less than before). Both of the struts are brand new as of January and both strut mounts are new as well. When I press down on the engine bay, while the hood is up, you can hear this rubbing sound in the mount itself. An identical mount was placed on the right side when I installed new struts in January and there is no noise, whatsoever, coming from that mount. There is also a slight sway in the front end when driving. I tried to lube the top of the mount with Liquid Wrench but that didn't seem to help with the noise. I also tightened the 3 nuts around the mount a bit but was unable to tighten the center nut due to the fact that I don't have a socket that large. Why do you guys think I am still hearing the noise and still having ride issues? Any ideas or personal experience would be appreciated.... Thanks, Philip

Just an FYI (or a vent of my stupidity - however you want to look at it) even though I've seen this on the forum before...I just wanted to share my own personal experience: I was having the throttle body issue with carbon build-up, stalling after short stop and re-crank. I don't have the time to clean the throttle body for atleast the next month or so. What I decided to do is throw some Seafoam into the gas tank. My hope was that the car would run a little better and not stall as often upon re-start. Mission accomplished....car running like a champ! My next bright idea came when I thought that I would put in some V-Power for the "added cleaning properties" - wink, wink. Well that was just stupid and now I realize that. I didn't drive my car for a week while out of town over the holidays...drove wife's jeep cherokee for hauling presents around purposes. Normally after driving my wife's truck for any period of time, I'll hop in my ride and feel like I'm in Gran Turismo! Not the case. Feels like I lost about 20HP! Above and beyond that I realized today that instead of the 310 to 320 miles I normally get on a tank of gas (I tank up at 1/4 tank), I am currently at re-fueling point and have gotten a whopping 250 miles on my tank of super duper! That is roughly 20mpg with mostly HWY driving....not the 27mpg they put on the sticker in 97' :) The saving grace is that I did this same stupid stuff about 6-9 months ago and after a tank and a half of reg. my car was running like a champ again. take it easy

"How do you know the head gaskets are healthy?" Oh I don't know....I was hoping that you all could shed some light on this issue for me. I was just trying to convey that there are no obvious leaks visually. I haven't thought of it as a huge enough issue to have a mechanic look at it yet. I plan on doing a 90,000 tune-up in a couple of months (timing belt, fluids flushed, etc...) This isn't anything I need to fret over right now, is it? I'll probably have the head, valve cover, and maybe even manifold gaskets changed at that time. thanks, Philip

Hey Guys, 97 es300 - 91xxx miles Why are both my power steering pump as well as rack & pinion leaking? This is rare...it's normally one or the other. With that said, my Power Steering Pump is leaking considerably more than the rack & pinion. I planned on limping the two components along until Spring Bonus time, for obvious reasons, but the leaking on the carport is really starting to bother me (nickel size drops daily). I just keep re-filling the fluid when it gets low....as you guys now, as long as it's lubricated you're good to go. I saw some forum posts where people used Lucas Tranny stop for Power Steering Pump issues. I ran this by my mechanic and he gave me a hard no, stating that the to and from hoses are currently fine and that the stop leak will end up causing corrosion in the hoses...... meaning that when I want to replace the parts in 3-4 months from now, I will have to change out the hoses also. What do you guys think? Any info. would be appreciated. Also, just a quick hit....my car is burning white smoke (no blue, no black). About 6 months ago it was occuring only on start-up (normal stuff). Now, I seem to notice it even when the car is properly warmed up. I checked around the engine casing and I do not see any leaks from any seals/gaskets. My engine oil levels are normal as well. My radiator fluid was at the minimum level in September and now 3 months later it has hit the minimum level again. Obviously the white smoke is burnt radiator fluid. How is it that the radiator fluid is being burnt with presumably healthy valve cover gaskets? Thank You, Philip

2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 2000 Nissan Xterra (rare leather, grill guards) 1997 Lexus ES300 (1st ever crooked L) Craftsman 6.5HP push mower and electric weed eater regards, Philip

Got you! thanks for the help.....

Well I replaced the pan gasket, washer, drain plug(for good measure) and had the filter cleaned. I didn't do a 100% tranny fluid change because I read some threads where people discouraged it. What are your thoughts on a Transmission flush? thanks, Philip

24...If I were single I wouldn't have purchased this car. If I were single I would be driving an IS300. I am a family man though, wife, kid, planning for another one soon so this car really does the trick. Its all about state of mind. The ride is great, fuel economy is awsome (last vehicle was an Xterra so much of this has to do with the vehicle that I am comparing MPGs against), and a rather spacious interior for a "mid-size", 4-door sedan. take it easy, Philip

Thanks for all information in the thread. I took her to the doctor last Thursday and the diagnosis was repairing the dogbone mount and the rear motor mount. My father owns a NAPA auto parts so I went through him to see what quote he could get me on the parts. He would have had to special order them through Atlanta and the shipping would have over-ridden any discount I would have received. Instead I opted to call the parts manager at the local Lexus dealership to haggle. I explained my background in parts to him and that I knew what type of profit he would be making on these parts. He ended up giving me a 15% discount on the OEM parts. I wanted to replace all 3 of the motor mounts (front, rear, and dogbone) due to the fact that my mechanic would have already had the labor underway. The parts manager was going to charge me $154 for the front mount but he did not have it in stock. I could have waited until the next day for the part to come in but I really wanted the work done now and there was nothing wrong with the front mount on my car (except the fact that it is probably weakened due to the stress of having bad rear and dogbone mounts). Okay, so what I decided was to get a rear mount, dogbone mount, and new transmission gasket to go along with a transmission fluid change. PARTS: rear mount - $27 (I am assuming that it was $27. He only quoted me on the dogbone and the gasket and I didn't look at the full reciept when I payed for the stuff. I know that the total was $96 and I just subtracted this from the other quotes)) dogbone - $56 tranny gasket - $13 total - $96 LABOR: Mounts - $105 Transmission Gasket/Fluid change - $50 Engine Oil Change for good measure - $20 Total - $175 Total Job - $271 The car is now shifting considerably better. I can still feel a slight jerk when shifting while cold. Once warmed up, there is no considerable movement at all. Really a clean shift. Auto-shifting while accelerating is still a thing of beauty...Hit 80K on the ride home from the shop! thanks again, Philip

If changing the transmision fluid you should use Toyoya Type 1V transmision fluid. Try to take out all the old fluid. If the crank is taken out, clean the filter and the crank. I put an outside transmision filter to prevent metals from flowing. ← Thanks....could you elaborate a little further on "I put an outside transmission filter to prevent metals from flowing".

Sorry about the typo on the subject line..... ......chilphil, I fixed it, steviej

I am new to the board and would like a little advice from you Lexus experts. My tranny is having a slight problem engaging once placed in reverse and then it takes a little longer to engage once placed in drive. Play-by-play: press brake shift to reverse and then a slight half second hesitation (very little "jump"). press brake shift to drive and then about a full second hesitation (little more "jump" but still very slight) However, the transmission still functions great while accelerating (no hesitation whatsoever). My car currently has 78,000 miles on it and I am the 2nd owner. As far as I can tell, all fluids look to be in good condition (tranny oil is a little dark but not what I would call dirty). I don't have the service records to back whether or not the previous owner serviced the car at all recommended service checkpoints. I have seen this question posed in a couple of other post and the common answer seems to be let your car warm up properly or at least wait until the RPMs get down to 8K. Well I have tried this and it doesn't really seem to help. I have also heard that all Toyota transmissions do this but my father has a camry and it doesn't have this problem. Do you think that a tranny flush would do the trick or has anyone encountered other variables that may cause this issue? thanks, Philip