branshew

Hissing noise could be a vaccuum hose somewhere.

From my experience, the clunk is the rear sway bar bushings. Go ahead and replace them. They cost @ $15 at the dealership for the set of 2 and it only takes about 15 minutes to do both. There are a series of ridges that line the inside of the bushings. Once they wear down the clunking starts. Greasing them will only temporarily fix the problem until the grease wears off.

Don't know about the 2002 ES, but the gen 1 & 2 ES300s the LED panel is separate from the chip that stores the mileage. (i.e. it IS possible to swap LED panels w/o losing your actual mileage.)

Fix it. I replaced the passenger side door handle on my '95 ES300. The replacement came painted to match and was @ $150-175 if I recall correctly. I had my mechanic put it on, but I don't think that it would be too tough for a DIY job.

Gunmart's got it. You know that the car has to be good if Toyota's engineers had their hands on it for 4 years before being launched. Gunmart - PM me w/ your address and I'll drop it in the mail on Monday

Here's the deal: I have a couple of Lexus Owner's Club static decals to give away. This is the 10" x 2.5" w/ Gold Writing, clear backing static window decal. I'll ship one out in the mail to the first person that answers the question posed below. If you already have one please let someone else answer the question. It took Toyota nearly 6 years to launch their Lexus brand after the initial "top-secret" meeting in 1983 in which it was determined that Toyota would create a luxury vehicle to challenge the world's best. Toyota launched the Lexus brand with the ES250 and LS400 in 1989. In what year was the first running prototype of the LS400 built?

Actually I was referring to the GS300 and not the IS300 (as you were looking at the GS 400 I thought you should also give the GS 300 a look). The GS300 has an I6 engine (same engine as the IS), but you don't have to worry about the sludge. That problem was strictly limited to the ES300 V6 (from 97-01 I believe). My good friend has over 250K on his GS300 and it still drives like new.

I was going to buy one last year for my iPod, but I kept reading and hearing negative things about the wireless transmitters. I borrowed a Belkin one from my brother for a week to see how it sounded and it wasn't that great. I tried my friends iTrip and it was l;ousy as well. My tape deck is broken so I can't even use the iPod in my ride, but I use a tape adaptor in my wife's VW Passat and it sounds better than any transmitter that I have tried. I live in an urban area and it's hard enough finding an open channel. What I would like to find is an old style FM modulator that you have to hardwire through the antenna port on the radio (like you used to have to use to install a CD changer to a factory head unit). At that point everything would be physically connected eliminating most all of the interference/transmittal problems.

I've heard the same about the brakes onthe Sequoias, Tundras, & Siennas from those years. My Brother & his wife have a 2001 and they have been extremely happy with it. The engine is louder that what I am used to w/ Toyota, but you don't notice it inside the vehicle. Ride is smooth for a truck, but I don't think that it's as refined as the Tahoes of the same year - it seems bouncier. The Tahoe has proven to be a good truck, but in the long haul I think that the Toyota will be a better option. My $0.02 here: Don't waste your time w/ a 2WD. The reason that they're such a good deal is that nobody wants 2WD. It will kill your eventual resale. Plus - it's a truck. Even if it stays on pavement it's whole life it should still be 4WD. Trust me - you'll never regret spending the extra $2-3$K to get 4WD.

Interesting...... I've never known ANY dealership that would install mechanical or electric parts that were furnished by a customer 1) because they are losing money on the parts sale, 2) beacuse they're not OEM spec and they can't/won't provide any warranty on the parts, and 3) to avoid any possible headaches that will pop up if the parts prove defective or are wrong.

As 90LS400Lexus mentioned, the timing belt would be a good place to start. While you're in there, throw in a water pump, tensioner, pulley bearings, etc. No sense in 1/2 a$$ing it. If you haven't had a full tune-up recently that would be a good idea as well. I'm talking about plugs, wires, all fluids & filters, lube everything, check all drive belts, seals, you name it. If you get all that done at the same time you're looking at @ $1600 from an indie, but if you give the car a good dose of preventative maintenance and inspection now - it'll keep you going for the next 100K miles.

What??? I'd like to know where you live if it's cheaper there. Considering what has to be done to get to the TB & WP on these cars and the fact that it includes the 2 parts, I'd say that's a good deal. I was recently quoted $1200 P&L from an indy to replace TP, WP, tensioner, and pulleys and $1800 from Lexus for the same. The only thing that my dealer likes to "visually inspect" is my wallet. That's why I try to stay out of there.

Good question. I had my windshield on my ES replaced 2x and each time I requested that the insurance company install an OEM one. You'll get a definite match that way. Why put non-OEM on your Lexus? (Unless it's an upgrade over factory - but i'm not sure that's possible w/ windshields)

On an interference engine, the valves and the pistons share the same space in the engine cylinder. Normally this is OK as the piston is down in the cylinder when the valves are open (protruding into the cylinder) and when the piston moves up the valves are closed. I believe it is possible to achieve greater compression and thus more power with this type of configuration. All of the opening and closing of the valves and movement of the pistons is controlled by the timing belt. If the timing belt breaks you run a high risk of having the piston(s) collide with the valve(s) which will desroy the valves and require a major engine rebuild.

As to the rim thought - I'm wondering why a bent rim wouldn't show up in the balancing. I just put a new set of rims on my car and had to take it back 2X to have the tires rebalanced. Even though they "showed" that they were balanced on the machine - in reality they were far from balanced. The rears started shaking @ 50 mph and as they quit vibrating @ 60 then the fronts started shaking. I was able to get it fixed though. I'd hate to see you get rid of the car, but if you can't get it right then you can't keep it. Just one thought - will the vibration be evident on a test drive to the new purchaser? My Sister-In-Law will be selling her Toyota Sequoia in late spring when she gets a company car. It's up here in Va Beach...

I agree w/ your statement above and your previous post about the price of Michelins. I will say though that I had Michelins on my ES as well that were put on aftermarket. They were much nicer than any other tires that I ran onthat car and I got about 75K miles out of them. They do cost about 1.5X as much as a decent alternative, but you get 2X the overall mileage so there is definitely a return on investment there. I recently needed 2 new rear tires on my LS. I was going to put Michelins on, but my mechanic had a brand new set of Goodyears (4 tires) that a customer ordered and never picked up. I got a set of 4 for what it would have cost me for 2 Michelins. I would have preferred the Michelins, but the price on the Goodyears couldn't be beat.

That could be tough. It also depends on your state laws. Tint on the rears in most states can be darker than the fronts. If that's the case in your state (and you want to remain "legal") then finding a matching tint is irrelevant. If that's not an issue the you could have he tint shop put a large scrap of tint that is close on one of the windows. stand way back and take a look. If it's not right you should be able to determine if you need to go darker, lighter in shade or more or less reflectivity, etc. As a last resort you could ask your dealer to do it. You'll probably pay 2x the going rate than you would from an independent shop, but you can raise hell until they get the correct match or don't pay if they can't get it right. Most dealers outsource to local shops anyway. If you can't find a match in one product line (say 3M) than you could try another one at a different shop.

Are you playing burned discs? I get the occasional digital pop/crackle when playing some CD's ripped off my PC. Could also be a loose cable or dust on the laser itself.

I thought that the engines were similar. The 98+ are VVTi and the 95-97 are VVT (I think). Nav was only available on a limited basis on th e late Gen II so that may or may not be something. Aside from that the cars are very similar.

Yup. I'm no Mechanic, but the engines are basically the same. Maybe a little difference in their ECUs based on driving style between the two cars. Obviously cramming that engine in the GS means less room to work under the hood. As to the other parts: struts are struts, brakes are brakes, etc. It's pretty much the same between all cars, but there will be more design similarities shared with makes of the same brand. Many of the parts are shared or similar enough that what applies to the LS will likely apply to the GS. The GS 400 is a sweet ride, but don't rule out the I6 in the 300 though. It's a strong engine, better fuel economy (now that we're getting back to $70 a barrel). Personally - I wouldn't buy my wife a V8. Her driving style doesn't necessitate it and she wouldn't appreciate it anyway.

Read your Manual! First off it's not "Auto Temp." The system can't read your mind and your car doesn't decide what temp to set - you do. In Auto mode the CCU uses its sensors and programs to deliver the optimal mix of fan speed, vent selection, and heat or A/C to reach the temp setting that you select. When you put it in auto mode it will automatically turn on the A/C no matter what the temp is outside or inside the car. That does NOT necessarily mean that it is going to blow cold air. In the winter it uses the A/C compressor to remove excess moisture in the air that would otherwise fog up the windows. In the summer you will get cold air. In the winter, you set the temp, press auto and the climate control will wait until the car warms up before it blows any air through the system. It is designed this way so that it will not blow cold air on you in the winter. If it's really cold outside it can take 5-10 minutes for the car to reach temp before the auto climate control starts blowing warm air. If the CCU is in Auto mode, any time you touch ANY button on the system it will automatically turn off the Auto function because the car assumes that you want to control the settings manually (which is why you pushed the buttons to begin with right?). IIRC the temp rang is 65-85 degrees F. Below that is says COLD which is max A/C at full fan speed and above that it says HOT which is max heat at full fan speed. Even if it says HOT it won't blow any air until the engine reaches temp.

Just curious, but why did you have to pay to repair the transmission w/ only 24K on the ODO. MB warranty is at least 50K miles or 4 years. The car was 4 years and 1 month old....therefore out of warranty. I didn't drive it much...about 7,000 miles per year. I spent more time in my BMW 530i. You didn't raise enough hell w/ MB. I had plenty of things covered in the 8K that I drove the car past the original 50K warranty (mostly electronics). Average wear and tear parts are one thing, but a tranny replacment at less than 25K miles would have warranted a letter from my attorney.

What year is your car? The 1st gen had some issues w/ backlighting. Did any of the climate control lights flicker in the center of the dash area? When I was experiencing problems w/ the backlighting on my '93 it showed up sometimes in the climate control lights as well as the cluster backlighting. There was no pattern of what would be affected or when. it seemed sporadic and random. As long as the car is running the cluster lighting will stay on regardless of the headlights being on or not. Cluster lights don't necessarily stay on if the headlights are on. You can remove the key w/ the HL on and the cluster does not light up.

I'm still in the initial stages of comparison. I'll have to do some more research and test drive a few. It will probably be an early summer purchase.

Just curious, but why did you have to pay to repair the transmission w/ only 24K on the ODO. MB warranty is at least 50K miles or 4 years.