749009

My folks are driving a 2003 Lexus ES300 with about 65,000 miles on it. It has what I believe is called the "ultra premium" package with the Mark Levinson sound, power rear sunblind and 4 position adjustable shock damping on the interior console. They are getting a rattling, clunking noise from the right front corner of the car ONLY when driving over bigger bumps or breaks in the pavement. When the car was up in Canada this summer I had it in at my local Lexus dealer and they came back with: We can hear the noise when driving over bigger pavement breaks, but, we cannot reproduce the noise when it's sitting up on the hoist. So, we will simply start replacing suspension parts in the right front corner until we eventually come across the correct part that is making the noise. All good parts that we replaced for no reason will not be refunded and this repair could cost you anything from $150 to $6000 as the car's mileage is over the factory warranty. How lucky do you feel? Needless to say, I didn't let them touch the car. I did replace a right front sway bar link at another shop because it wasn't expensive and I thought it was one thing I needed to eliminate as a possible cause of the noise. Unfortunately, it made no difference to the noise. The front struts appear to be working completely normally and the adjustable shock damping is definitely working properly so I don't think the problem is the right front strut (which is quite expensive to replace). The car drives completely normally other than the noise. I'm guessing it is some part that has either loosened up and needs to be retightened or perhaps a weld on a part attached to the strut that may have broken? In any event, my folks live in the NW corner of Phoenix (Sun City West). Just wondering if anyone here can suggest a good, non-dealership, Lexus mechanic that would be willing to properly investigate and repair the offending part as opposed to replacing the entire front end. Thanks for your help... :)

Well the bad news is that Lexus insists the bumper cover must be lowered to change the light bulb. The good news is that Lexus covers replacement of bulbs for the first 4 years/ 50,000 miles, so I'm letting them do it.

All right, I have to be down there anyways tomorrow, so I'll ask them. By the way I added a link up above in my first post which shows the front and back side of the light assembly. Seeing the back side makes me think that it is most likely a pry off from the front type.

Took a look at it more closely and tired to put my hand up underneath to be able to get at the back of the light assembly and I couldn't even get close. Unless bulb replacement requires fender removal, it either has to come out from the front OR somehow accessed from the back side from the trunk. I seem to recall reading (was it a post of yours?) that the trunk access route had been tried with no luck, so I'm thinking it should be a pry off from the front type of deal, but, I'd really like to hear from somebody who has done it first.

Tried my owner's manual, but, it says go to the Lexus dealer to change bulbs. Ahhh....no! Tried the search engine, but, all I found was another thread asking for help to do the same thing, but, unfortunately nobody rode in to the rescue with a response. So I'll try... RR side marker light on an '03 IS 300. How do I access the bulb to replace it? Do I have to come in from beneath the fender and behind the marker light or is it the type that you pry off one end on the front side with a flat screwdriver and then the whole sidemarker light assembly comes out of the fender and you just remove the bulb from the back? To replace you'd just push back into the fender? Thanks in advance for any help. I'd prefer to ask first before breaking anything. click the link below to see the front and back side of the light assembly. http://www.partstrain.com/products/Lights_...sku=3121412LASR

OK, never mind. I just kept wrestling with it until I finally managed to get it out. Too bad about the marks on the dash from the chainsaw though. :whistles:

What is the trick to removing that coin box on the lower left hand side of the instrument panel to access the interior fuse panel?

Oh, I see. I only removed the rearward portion of the sunroof garnish trim so I only saw the TORX bolt at the rear. Is there any reason to loosen the front TORX bolt on each side if all I want to do is raise the rear of the sunroof up by about 1/8"? *** I adjusted the rear part of the roof by just loosening the 2 rear TORX bolts and pushing up on the inside glass of the sunroof on each rear corner and using a screwdriver to tighten the TORX bolts in that position. I then used a socket driver with TORX end to do the final tightening. **** I am assuming that the TORX bolt simply screws out and that there is no nut holding it in place. Is that correct? *** The TORX bolt simply screws out. No nut behind to deal with. **** And any hints on removing that garnish trim at the rear without damaging it? *** I just carefully pried it off with a flat screwdriver. *** My answers to my own questions above are noted by ***. As I suspected, I needed a socket set with a TORX end to loosen those TORX bolts. I was able to buy a single TORX socket end at a local auto parts store. Sunroof is now aligned properly when closed and operates normally.

Oh, I see. I only removed the rearward portion of the sunroof garnish trim so I only saw the TORX bolt at the rear. Is there any reason to loosen the front TORX bolt on each side if all I want to do is raise the rear of the sunroof up by about 1/8"? I am assuming that the TORX bolt simply screws out and that there is no nut holding it in place. Is that correct? And any hints on removing that garnish trim at the rear without damaging it?

OK, here's an update. I managed to get one of those side trim garnish pieces off easily on the passenger side which exposed 1 TORX bolt. The black plastic trim plate that seems to clip onto the aluminum rail seems to bend down out of the way with no problem. Unfortunately, I've only got a TORX screwdriver and just couldn't budge that bolt. Likely need a socket set with a TORX end to release that screw. When you said 2 TORX bolts, did you mean 1 on EACH side? I hope so, if not I'm confused. If I'm correct, then you're saying once those TORX bolts are loose lower the sunroof to the normal closed postion and just push up a little bit on the glass until the sunroof is flush with the roof and then retighten the TORX bolts and the sunroof should now close in this newly aligned position. Is that correct? And finally, any tricks to popping off the garnish trim on the driver side? Passenger side popped off very easily and the driver side is hanging on as if it was welded on there. I didn't want to put too much pressure on it and break that black plastic garnish trim.

because the PM function and email function are not accessable to new members. When your post count is greater than 20, then these functions become available to you. steviej Ah, and just like that, it becomes clear. Well, at least this reply counts toward my 20. :D Thanks for letting me know and if you have anything to add in my moonroof adjustment query, please feel free to jump in so I can say thanks and add another post to my tally.

hey , great that it was you who responded. I was reading through other posts trying to find others who might have experienced this problem and I noticed you had commented on the sunroof having to "relearn" its travel route. I attempted to send you a PM, but, I received an error message saying I wasn't allowed to use PM or email feature of this board. I have no idea why. On the "relearning" thing, I tried holding the close button (from the fully open position), but, it stops at the "close" position and I have to release the button and then repress to pop up the sunroof. Same thing for going through the cycle the other way. So, I'm assuming this "relearning" thing won't help in this case? I also tried the open all the windows and roof by holding the open button on the remote and that worked fine as well as the one touch open and close button on the sunroof. I noticed a few others suggesting shims for sunroofs that sag a bit. Are these on older model sunroofs that don't have the adjustment you're referring to? I will take a look at the sunroof and see if I can follow your instructions. I just took a quick look and I believe I see the trim piece you're talking about. Long, thin, black plastic? And this just pops off, I hope. I do see several bolts underneath and it appears there may be some adjustment room. I'll look for the torx bolts. I don't suppose there is a pictorial anywhere that shows exactly what you're talking about is there? A picture is worth a thousand words or in my case, seeing before doing can often prevent the inevitable follow up post "ok, things didn't go exactly as planned....."

recently purchased a 2003 ES 300 privately. It is still under its powertrain warranty, but, past its comprehensive warranty which would have likely covered this kind of adjustment. Just wondering if this is something I might be able to handle myself. When fully closed the rear of the sunroof sits down about 1/8" from being completely flush with the roof. It always closes in this position whether I am closing it from the fully retracted position or the popped up position. I'd like to adjust it so its fully closed position is perfectly flush with the roof. Is this something simple I can do myself and if so, could anyone describe the procedure or even better, provide a link to a tutorial with pictures showing how to do this adjustment? Thanks.