KWV

I don't know if this will help you or not. I have a '97 ES300 and was having the same problem with the EGR light. I finally found a mechanic who must have know what he was doing. He said the EGR sensor needed replacing. $215.00 later and I haven't had a problem with the light coming back on since. Car seems to drive better also. Hope this helps. :)

I have experienced the water spots on my windshield also - when the sun shines just right, you can't see out very well at all. My question is, can you use the wax on the windshield?????

Hi all,

I haven't been on these boards in a while. I had posted many posts about my 2001 ES300 CPO with a bunch of problems, the last one being tha battery going out on me after 3 new ones installed. The dealer in question is:

LEXUS OF MASSAPEQUA...never, and I mean NEVER, do business with them!!!

Well, I filed for NY State lemon law arbitration, and I just had my hearing yesterday. Although I listed the eletrical problems as being the root of my lemon law complaint, here is a summary of what went wrong with the car.

-Dead battery 3 times

-Bad battery terminal (only discovered on my last visit)

-Alignment was waaaay off (only discovered on my last visit)

-The rectangle arounf the "D" indicator in the dash was out.

-Heated seats not working properly

-Left wiper fluid doesn't come out

-Rubber around sunroof rotting away

-Crack in the passenger side window

-Brake pads were heavily "glazed".(only discovered on my last visit)

-All kinds of rattles in the car.

-Clock was broken

-Ashtray was defective

-Discovered body work was done and the paint didn't match

That's what I can think of. BTW, the ones that say "only discovered on my last visit", that was because I threatened them that I would speak to my attorney. Then I got phone call from them and they were kissing my behind.

Quite a Certified Pre-Owned program they have over there right? LOL!

Anyways, I wen to the hearing alone, Lex of Mass brought an attorney...and this one was a doozy!

Before the hearing started the arbitrator gave us a chance to settle. So I spent about an hour with Lex Mass and their attorney. The following is the "deal" they offered:

(FYI, I purchased my 2001 ES300 w/22k miles, Chrome Wheels, CPO for $24k)

They woudl buy back my ES for $17k. Then they would offer a 2004 ES330 "Track" car with 15k miles on it for $27k. "Track" is just a word they use for loaner cars. Needless to say I wasn't impressed with the fact that I'd be hit with a $7000 depriciation for the trade in, and having to shell out an additional $10k for the 2004.

Then I asked them the only way I see it is if I can swap out my 2001 for another 2001. The best they could do is a one that had 15k more miles on it. But he told me I would still have to shell out $1k - $2k for the swap. I said that is crazy...they are getting a lower mileage car and I still have to pay?

I guess they didn't lookup the word "Settlement"...

In any event here he was, the attorney, telling me "Listen, I'm trying to be an advocate here. I'll be honest with you. I have all the paperwork on your case right here in this folder. I looked at all the facts and you know what? You don't have much of a case here. You will lose. That's why we are here because we are confident that we will win. Otherwise we would have called you to reach a settlement beforehand".

I'm thinking..."hey...this guy is threatening me or softening me up for the kill".

I told him no thanks. So we had the hearing.

He was a by-the-book attorney...very typical, no imagination. He went as far as trying to accuse me of running out the battery on purpose to get my money back. He was quickly scolded by the arbitrator. But man, here I am, a total amateur, against a professional attorney. I had no chance. I tried my best. My best chance was to try to find find holes because this idiot was talking too much and I thought he's bound to say something totally inaccurate in which I can build my case one.

1) He kept on saying "The batter is not covered under the lemon law"...and I always corrected him "Sir, I never said the battery was the problem, the problem was the electrical system"

2) I asked his "expert witness" who happens to be the service manager, if the fact that my car has so many problems, yet it passed the CPO program, it that was typical? He said no, it seems to be an expection. (Isn't that an admission?)

3) I asked them about why the bad cable wasn't detected back in Jan 05, even though they claimed to have done an "exaustive" test of the electrical system. No comment on that one.

4) Brakes were heavily glazed....geee did that happen between Jan and Mar because I could have swore I complained about the brakes.

5) Tires were heavily mis-aligned...same as 4)...In fact I've been complaining about that since I bought the F'ing thing.

6) "Sir, so are you saying that if I purchased any car out there, a Nissan, an Acura, Honda, Chevy...that if I didn't drive it hundreds or a thousand miles per month, that the battery would die in 2 to 3 months?" He was like "Well it depends on the design on the vehicle"...then his attorney immediately steps in to blabber on about how battery works...

So that was my case...trying to find holes in the attorney's case. Oh well, I tried my best to hang with the professional. That's all I can do...and hope for the best.

Well, I will probably end up ridding myself of the ES one way or the other. Obviously it'd be best if Lex Mass can buy it back from me for $24k. But whatever...

Maybe it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe in the future I'd get myself another Lex.

See how everything goes...

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Do you have the brake light that is located in the center of the back seat area of the car? I had the same problem a few months ago and couldn't figure out what the problem was until a friend noticed that the center brake light was out.

I also experienced bad gas mileage and hesitation. The hesitation drove me crazy until I stopped at the local Advance Auto and purchased me a can of SEA FOAM. Dang, this stuff really works...its a beast.

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I have also been experiencing the "really" bad gas mileage hesitation problem. Have cleaned the EGR valve, throttle body, etc - everything except the motorvac.

What is SEA FOAM and how do you use it?

Hey guys, I need some help. I did a search but couldn't find what I was looking for. I have a '97 ES300 and the check engine light came on over the weekend. I just had the 95k tune-up done a couple of weeks ago. My hubby put a computer on it yesterday and the code was 1410, but I don't have a clue what that is and he said it wasn't listed in the info he got with the computer checker thing. Is there a place where I can find the codes and what they're for? I would prefer not to have to take the car to the local Lexus dealership since they tend to want an arm and a leg for anything they do.

Thanks for the help and keep up the good work. I learn a lot from reading the posts on this website.

Hey Prozac, I also have a '97 ES300 and have had the exact same problem as you're describing. I don't know for sure that my problem has gone away, but I haven't had the problem again. After revving the motor for quite a while, I was able to get it to continue running. Someone here at work thought I might have water in the gas, so I left the car running, purchased a bottle of gas treatment and topped off the gas - at my usual station (last gas fill-up before was a new station I stopped at????????). Anyway, it's been ok ever since, but I do still use the gas treatment from time to time.

Maybe you can give this a try.

Good Luck!!!!

I'm a country girl born in a small town in VA, moved to NC in '78 and love it here. My hubby is from Tenn. so we're not that far from them either. We have the best of it all - close to the mountains, close to the beach without having to live in either place.

I am having a problem with my '97 es-300 vibrating as well. I was wondering if it has something to do with my brakes. I had them replaced about a year ago, so I thought it might be my tires. I now have 4 new Michelins on it and I still get the vibrating. It vibrates sometimes while driving about 60 mph, although not always, but it does vibrate considerably when braking.

Any ideas of what I should check first? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I also have a part to sell and had been thinking of posting it on e-bay, but after reading this, I'm not so sure I should bother. I have a mass air flow sensor that I thought I needed, but found out (too late) that I didn't need it after all. Unfortunately, because it is an electrical part and had to be ordered, it is not returnable. If anyone should need one for a '97 es-300. I would be glad to sell for less than I paid. I understand it will also work for other years and some toyotas as well.

I don't know what kind of parts you're looking for, but I do have a mass air flow sensor for my '97 es300 that I found I didn't need after all - would be willing to sell for less than I paid for it.

My check engine light came on about 6 months ago as well. I took it to a mechanic (not the dealership - they charge way too much) to check it out on one of the computer scanners. He told me what the problem was - O2 sensor. Mine is a '97 with 68k miles on it. Anyway, after I paid the mechanic $50 to tell me what was wrong, I got the part from a Napa dealership and repaired at home. Total cost was around $100. Bottom line - try to stay away from the dealership if possible. Right now, I have a mass air flow sensor for my car, that turns out I didn't need after all and can't return it because it was a special order item. That's $200 down the drain unless I can find someone who needs one.

JPI - Yes, I am interested in how you tested and found out that your MAF sensor was bad. Please advise. Thanks

I've checked all of the above. Could it be the MAF sensor? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for the input, I'll try these this afternoon.

Will the diagnostic scanner tell you anything if the check engine light isn't on?

I have a '97 ES300 that has 76k miles, so I don't have a lot of experience as far as how long it may last you, but I can tell you from experience, if you have to take it to a Lexus dealer to be checked out, or have to buy parts from a dealer, you're going to be spending a lot more $ than you'd want to. I guess you're paying for the name there. Just something for you to consider while trying to make the decision.

I actually have 2 questions. Most pressing:

1. My car dies immediately after starting it. If I keep my foot on the gas it runs and I did manage to keep it running long enough to get home yesterday, but later on, unless I had one foot on the gas at all times, I couldn't get it go at all. I have no lights indicating a problem. What should I look for?

2. Is there a way to do the computerized check without taking the car into a dealer for checking it? Is there a generic scanner (inexpensive) that I can buy to check these things myself?

PLEASE HELP!