Lexucan

If I were you, I'd take it back to the dealership where you got the work done and point out to the service manager that they didn't put the engine cover screws back on. They should be the ones to remedy the problem. If you're polite about it, they'll probably find you some screws to fit, even if they aren't the ones that were originally in there.

If that sort of thing happened to my lex, and I could prove who did it, I'd have no problem ripping him a new one(figuratively)....old geezer or not! And like you said, I'd go out of my way to "pay back" anyone who disrespects me or my property. Like the old saying goes "revenge is best served cold". I don't mind waiting a month, a year, or a decade for the right opportunity, but sooner or later, they are going to get what's coming to them! And the best part about waiting is, they've usually long forgotten about whatever they did to deserve retribution, so when it comes, it hits them like "WTF!!!".....sweet! :) I'm not advocating physical violence against anyone for any reason, but sometimes ppl need to understand they can't just get away with that crap.

You wouldn't get any strange looks around these parts for driving a big truck like that at your age. Everybody and their dog drives a big honkin' truck here...heheh Heck, the gf of a friend of mine who is about 5'-2" and about 90 lbs soaking wet drives one! She needs a ladder to get into the thing! LOL :P Good luck with the repairs!

Maybe I am missing something--but if the front bumper was damaged because you hit the car in front of you as a result of this guy hitting you from the back, then it should be covered. Yeah, you're missing Lexus876's other thread about how he pulled the driver's side of the front bumper off his car while backing out of his driveway :( . It wasn't damaged in this most recent accident. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=51351 Lexus876: sorry to hear about this new accident. At least it wasn't your fault and insurance is covering the repairs. Maybe you should stop having birthdays! I did about ten years ago! :P

I think the LED you describe on the climate control is for the car's security system. The second generation ES has a second LED (just a little rectangular one) on the lower left side of the radio face. I guess that was changed with the third generation. As far as I know, there is only one fuse for the radio. If you did find another radio on Ebay for example (I've seen a few there) you would have to inquire with the seller whether or not the code is an issue before you buy or bid on it. It is the radio itself that controls its own security system, not the car. But having said all this, something just came to mind about Lexus doing away with the radio anti-theft system at some point. I'm sure I've read that somewhere in the darkest recesses of the LOC forum database.....somewhere :( So, since you don't have the little flashing LED on your radio, does that mean that your radio doesn't have the anti-theft system? That would explain why you didn't have a problem before when you disconnected it from the car's wiring harness. Was the radio's LCD working when you bought the car? If it has the anti-theft system, the letters "SEC" would appear in the display on the right side every time you turned on the radio, and then it would go out again. If you didn't see this (assuming you did see your LCD working at one time) then that would be another indicator that your radio doesn't have the anti-theft system. So, maybe your radio IS dead? If I were you, I'd do a little forum searching and see if you can pinpoint when (on which model year) Lexus abandoned the radio anti-theft system in the ES300. I might even do a little searching myself. If I find anything, I'll report back here.

^^ Good info! In June I accidently damaged my front bumper cover by driving the front end of the car over an abnormally high curb while parking in a parking slot. I took it to an independent shop and they repaired the damage (cracks in the plastic) and repainted it for $300 CDN (under the table) :)

It shouldn't make any difference whether or not you disconnected your battery before removing the old radio. As soon as you unplug it from the wiring harness, it automatically locks itself until the code is entered. And AFAIK, even if the OEM radio is locked due to the anti-theft system, it shouldn't appear totally dead. Even tho your LCD is blacked out, the little red LED on the face of the radio should still be flashing on and off if it's getting power. Sounds to me like maybe you have a blown fuse which would explain why neither radio is working now? If that's not the problem and if it were mine, I don't think I'd spend much more time or money trying to get the original radio working again since you were planning on replacing it anyway. GL!

I just had my throttle body cleaned recently. Made a big improvement over what used to be pretty sluggish acceleration.

You might also want to check the seal on your two pressure caps. The rubber gasket under one or both of them could be deteriored (rubber only lasts so long) and causing a loss of coolant. I found this to be the culprit when mine overheated on a long trip a few years ago.

Hey, great deal on the speakers! Gotta love those Labour Day sales! Not sure what the "official" colour of your paint is, but the lower cladding has obviously been repainted since all generations of the ES were two-tone up until 2002. Lexus will probably be able to help you match the colour for some touchup paint. Anyways, nice looking ride. Have you considered some tint for the windows? IMO, tint always adds an extra bit of sexiness to the look, plus it helps to protect your interior from sun damage. It looks like your interior is black, the same as mine. Tint would also help lower the temperature a bit on hot days. That black leather is a @!#+% to sit on when the sun's been beating on it! :o But colour-wise, I think black is by far the nicest interior colour, if I do say so myself. :) And it's a lot rarer than the more common tan interior.

First of all, welcome to LOC and congrats on a wise car-buying purchase! :) In my opinion, if you are in the market for a classy and reliable used car, you can't go wrong with a previously well maintained Lexus. I've done both the needles and the HIDs on my '93 ES and I couldn't be happier with the results. As far as the FSM is concerned, your '95 is the same generation as the '93 (second gen is '92-'96) so if you can't locate one for your exact year, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure the FSM for the '93 model would be almost identical. Good luck with the DIYs. If you have any questions, hit me up.

I had the ECT sensor replaced in my ES last year as it was sending false readings to the ECU which threw the timing out. I didn't experience any humming noises though. As far as the type of engine is concerned: you have a NON-Interference engine in your '96 ES so it should not sustain any significant damage if the timing belt breaks.

I had some minor body work done last year to my '93 ES and the bodyshop discovered the same thing - Hot Glue! - behind one of the lower cladding panels. They removed the glue and ordered new clips from Lexus. I watched as they installed the new clips and reattached the panel. It seemed pretty easy to do. Now the panel is on securely and no more glue! :)

CD changer - I found that the changer has a harder time reading CD-Rs than it does regular pre-recorded CDs. Cleaning the reader head with a cleaning disc can help. At least, it did for mine. I've also noticed that in colder weather it has a harder time reading CD-Rs than when the outside temperature is warm.

The 2nd generation ES300 ('92-'96) uses LEDs inside the needles but they are (were) specially engineered and manufactured for Lexus. Each needle used multiple LEDs in a long strip. These are not something you can buy off the shelf. I used a single LED replacement to illuminate just the tips of the needles. The part number from www.digikey.com is 160-1176-1-ND and cost $0.13 cents each. http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch...e=160-1176-1-ND If you want to read my DIY write-up click on the link in my signature below.

Not on the 2nd generation ('92-'96) ES300. The licence plate bulbs are accessed by removing the whole taillight assemblies.

This site has the 2001 ES300 FSM for download if you still need it.

The third (center) brake light housing just snaps into place with two friction clips. So, to remove it just pull the whole housing forward, away from the rear window. You'll probably need a tool (something with a hook on it - some have recommended a paint can lid opener) to slip under the housing and then pull on it, first on one side and then the other. It should come loose without too much difficulty.

I have a 95 ES300 that HAD bad lights. I found a guy in RI on eBay that repairs the instrument cluster needles, and will replace the backlight bulbs with bright white LEDs. The dealer fed me a line of crap saying it would cost over $1200 to fix due to a circuit board failure. This guy replaced everything with new technology similar to that of the Cadillac DTS, you have a choice of 6 colors and all for the price of $114 plus shipping and handling. I tell you the cluster looks better now than it did brand new. I can get anyone the information if they are interested, this guy is a miracle worker. I'd like to see some pics of your "new" cluster if you have any to post.

A perfectionist or someone suffering from short-term memory loss? j/k :P :D I went to Wallymart so see if I could find some CrystalView there but no luck, so I'll definitely be ordering some on-line. Again, thanks for the tip.

It could be your VSS (vehicle speed sensor) but if your cruise control is still working then the VSS is not likely the problem. I would look around (Ebay, auto-wreckers, etc.) for a used cluster and replace your speedometer gauge with a working one. A lot cheaper than your mechanic's suggestion.

That stuff looking interesting. I have one slightly hazed lens that I wouldn't mind trying it on. The website says "about five minutes to restore each lens" which is one sixth the length of time you spent on restoring your lenses, but if it works, who cares if it takes five minutes or half an hour. I'll check out WalMart first though before ordering on-line. Thanks for the info.

That's probably going to be very difficult, if not impossible. There are two trim pins on the side of the door which can only be accessed when the door is open. Also, there is a screw along the front edge of the door panel to be removed, between the door and the dashboard. This is also inaccessible when the door is closed. You might want to call a local locksmith and see if he has any suggestions about how to get the door open.

It sounds to me too like a part of the door's latch/lock mechanism has broken or come loose. The problem now is how to take the door panel off when there is no way to open the door. :cries:

#168 Click HERE As Lexus2D stated, you can replace the licence plate bulbs with LEDs if you wish. They last many times longer than incandescent bulbs, and look cooler too. Check out this site for LED alternatives www.superbrightleds.com I bought "cool white" LEDs from them to replace the burnt out front door courtesy lights, the interior trunk light, the licence plate lights, and the 8 instrument cluster backlighting bulbs.