VBdenny

It about comes down to this. H rated tires are probably your best bet. They'll handle up to a sustained buck thirty and have a decent ride, handling and wear. V rated tires will handle a buck and a half, give better very aggressive handling and give a harsher ride. V tires also wear out faster. As far as brands go, that is a very personal choice which people develop over years. As previously suggested, read the reviews and advice on Tirerack as you will learn. I'm pretty particular about tread designs and I almost always upsize. Ex. 215/65-16 to 225/60-16.

I think one of the main reasons that most of us ended up driving Toyota/Lexus products is because they hardly ever break (or "make noises"). Lexus dealers love you when you are buying and you gt coffee and all that. Once you own the car then it is game on. Get what you can from them up front then find an unaffiliated (with the Lexus dealer) Toyota dealer and take it there. IF they also own a Lexus dealership, they will turn you away. If they don't, they will welcome you. Keep in mind that some things are very Lexus specific but most things they can handle. I just have to suck it and and try to keep my mouth shut when I'm there.

Fog lights are more determined by the pattern of the light flow rather than the color. Driving lights and fog lights seem to have merged into a foggy thing.

I noticed that the fog lights were the different color. Maybe fog lights need to be different?

What's not to love? I guess I see cars in black or white. Upon looking at the picture of your car, it doesn't look to be the standard silver. I have a silver ES330 and went back to white. I'm only at less than 2000 miles so no service yet. Our dealer is very good on selling and messages, my luck with their service has been sketchy.

Starfire white pearl for me. I like that color but the silver in person didn't look as nice

I've had several Escort detectors, including the very first. Buy a Valentine instead, you will love the arrows and there is no better detector.

I have that car and it is great. I almost bought the 350 but knew it would cause tickets as my restraint is limited. My suggestion is rather than lease, buy instead. All a lease means is that when you are done paying for the car, you no longer own it. Use cash to buy and avoid any finance or leasing fees. It does take a little dedication to save the money but credit buying kind of rubs me wrong. As far as the "Golden Event" thing, the dealer told me it is a lease promotion only. Oh yeah, I'll bet a new deal is brewing.

I think I read 135

Just today I bought a new 2014 IS250AWD in the starfire white. Having recently sold my beloved 1990 LS400 which was white I can tell you what I use. The wax I use is Collinite 845 Insulator Wax which is used primarily by power companies to treat high voltage power lines prior to installation to prevent flashovers (sounds bad, not sure what they are) and as a mold release agent. No mixing required but it is important to warm and shake it really well before and during application. MOST important is to make sure you paint is absolutely clean before you apply because anything there will be sealed in forever. I suggest even using detailing clay then polishing with detailing spray and a microfiber to remove everything. I use it on all glass, trim, chrome, paint, my shower walls, refrigerator, skis, you name it, is seals. The smell is also delightful as your paint develops a glassy sheen that lasts years (I reapply once year about 2 or 3 coats because I am anal about that stuff. In between, I use the blue Speed Shine. I don't work for Collinite, nor do I get any benefits other that an incredibly protective shine. Collinite Co. is located on Lincoln Ave in Utica, NY. Never seen it in a store which is probably good seeing as how if someone put it over dirty or oxidized paint, they would have a long term project. I spend about 10 hours on a new car as as much as 20 or more on a neglected unit. I will treat my new IS later in the week and am looking forward to the job. I also do all door jambs and surfaces. Good luck with your car, I know exactly why you love the thing. Denny

Seeing as how it sat for that long, I'd look to the gasoline as the culprit since you are not getting a CEL. Perhaps try a complete fuel system cleaner. Gasoline lasts less than 6 months before it begins tom turn to varnish and then all kinds of bad things can happen. I'd try the cleaner (the $10 one) and a little WOT. With a little luck, it may clear up after driving awhile.

On the power steering pump is a black valve which screws in. It has two black vacuum line connectors on it which are the origin point of the two vacuum lines on the manifold you are capping. It will not alter the performance of the vehicle in any way and is not related UNLESS you did not seal the vacuum lines securely. You must cap and seal both the lines and the connection points or your car will run horribly. In lieu of capping the lines, it might be a good idea to remove the valve from the PS pump and thread a matching thread bolt. I did find the same valve at the junkyard which I used in the LS400 previously owned.

Hey Ryan, I guess we would need a little more information such as HOW did you clean your throttle body, and when you say it won't start, do you mean won't crank or wont fire?

Hi Paul, I do love how snow tires drive but as you mentioned, the fuel economy does suffer a bit. I looked over the tires today and it seems that even after all this time, the tread still has some squiggles left with easily more than half the tread. I guess I'll run them up to Boston next week and get some new summer tires. I keep the summers and original rims in my basement there so I don't have the option to change them here (in VB). Not sure what I will get but probably some Firestone wide ovals. I think your Bridgestones are about the same.

Well, what would you do. On my ES330 which I use as my highway travel car, I still have my 5 year old, nearing half worn Firestone Winterforce snow tires running. My summer tires on my factory rims are toasted Avid V4's which are so squared up they were terrible. So I am going to just run out out the Winterforce and replace them next winter. I spend a lot of time in New Hampshire skiing in the winter so I kind of need them there and these are about done for snow anyway. I will say that I just love how the car drives with winter tires, I actually like them better than any summer tires ever. Such a secure feeling and absolutely awesome when it rains. I found it pays to watch your assets when braking in rain with the winter sneakers because people can get squirrelly behind you. Of course at which time mirror vision is crucial. Anyone else have any feelings on driving with snow tires all year? Anyone else really like driving with them?

Probably just some kind of glitch with the reset button. I had a Buick where the odometer stopped working but it was the roll type and just stopped. Have never heard of digital failure doing a reset before. Good thing you are not dishonest or you would sell it as a low milage car owned by your elderly mother.

Can't say how to help. I know AM is subject to interference but other than that. I would suggest that if you like to hear people talking you should get SiriusXM as they have many channels where people talk all the time and no commercials. AM radio is mostly all commercial format mixed with some intense B&C'ing about a wide variety of topics.

Not sure if this will help. In my 2004 ES330, I needed to install my Sirius unit. Very easy to pull the radios out of these cars. Mostly snap connectors and 4 10mm. I suppose you could swap out the unit with one from a yard.

Seems there is no way you should have this issue in the first place. Sensors are just that, they probe and report. Not saying this is why but just a suggestion. I have found that when you use cheap gasoline you get just that. Sure you save a few dollars at the pump but in the long run, it can cost more. In the past when I shopped gasoline prices, I often had these kind of problems. For the past several years I have used only "top tier" fuels such as Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, or my favorite, Sunoco. Some cheap fuels can clog sensors which causes the CEL to come on. Not saying this is why but one possibility. My neighbor has an RX300 which has both the VSC and CEL illuminated. I put my scanner on it and it says bad O2 sensor. When the weather warms, I will probably see if replacing the sensor helps.

Now that you mention it, I have never even realised that there was still an AM setting on these. Never tried mine but it is pretty easy to replace the radio. Not sure I would go to all that trouble and expense for AM though. AM needs a pretty good antenna and the ES cars don't have one.

The key actions can be reset however just push the unlock button twice and all doors will unlock. This is a feature to keep you from getting mugged in a parking lot.