branshew

Shouldn't be a problem since the ES isn't a UHP car.

I've had good success with Continentals over the years on my European cars. Treadwear is average (35-40K miles), they are nice and grippy, but they don't handle as well after the tread reaches 30%. My Conti's weren't always the quietest though. Nothing has had better treadwear for me over the years than my Michelins. I've gotten over 50K on multiple sets of Michelins and usually end up replacing them because of dry rot/cracking before the tread gives it up. Given that the ES isn't exactly a sporty car, I don't mind sacrificing some "performance" for treadwear although with today's rubber compounds the sacrifice is less than it used to be. FWIW (as of this post date) The Consumer Reports top rated tires in order are as follows: All Season 1. Michelin Hydroedge 2. Continental Pro Contact EcoPlus 3. Michelin Energy Saver A/S 4. Hankook Optimo H727 5. Pirelli P4 All Seasons UHP All Season 1. Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season 2. Sunitomo HTR A/S P01 3. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus 4. Continental Extreme Contact DWS 5. Sumitomo HTR+

Could be a combination of parasitic drain from the clock, etc. and a battery near the end of its useful life. Have you onfirmed that there isn't a light on somewhere? It wouldn't hurt to perform the maintenance per 1990LS400's suggestion. You could get an inline shutoff for one of the terminals to eliminate the drain (but then you have to reset all of your presets, etc.)

The radio comes out fairly easily on your car. Use a butter knife or something similar to gently pry out the climate control panel from the sides. Behingd the panel you will see 2 bolts hiolding in the frame on the stereo unit. Take those bolts out and then you can pop out the stereo panel. Once it pops loose, gently slide the radio surround and radio outward. There is a little slack in the cables so you won't stress the connections while removing, but not too much so don't expect to be able to pull it too far. Your problem may not necessarily be a bad wire or wiring problem, but that would be what I checked first. Make sure all of the plugs in the back of the radio for the power and CD changer are connected properly. When your radio cuts out, do you lose the Navi display? Could also be a fuse for the head unit or the amp as well. Check wiring connections to the amp (unsure of the location on your car - although I should know since I have the same model.)

Contact Sewell Lexus. They do a fair amount of business on the internet in OEM parts for less than my local dealer. YMMV.

It is quite possible it was only your battery to begin with. That clicking sound is typical of a bad battery and not the starter itself. If you replaced the starter based on that noise alone w/o trying another battery then you may have replaced a good part.

How about a link that would help this person find your write-up. So I should search for the link for them? Not trying to be a !Removed!, but they have access to the same resources that I do. Why should I do all of the work? You don't have to do a thing! But, you stated that you had authored an article/tutorial? regarding the inquired subject, and if you had wanted someone to read it you might have posted a link to that article so someone could easily admire your work. The way it is, your just being useless. Paul If you're that concerned about it, I'm sure you could find it for them.

How about a link that would help this person find your write-up. So I should search for the link for them? Not trying to be a !Removed!, but they have access to the same resources that I do. Why should I do all of the work?

You obviously didn't search enough. I did a write-up on this, complete with pictures last year.

I had the same issue. This DIY thread should help you out: Subwoofer Repair/Replacement

The first thing I would check is the thermostat. You are bubbling out, not losing coolant through the combustion system. If coolant were dissappearring without flowing olut into the expansion tank then I would look at the head gasket. If you keep overheating, you may need a new head though.

Couldn't find the same version, but I did find the 7.1 torrent. Downloaded and burned onto a Memorex DVD+R DL. Seems to work so far. Even got my POI and address input back. I'll give it a little time and see what happens.

I'd say the starter as well. Try tapping on it with a hammer or something heavy while someone else is starting the car. You may get it to start, but that's a sure sign that it needs to be replaced or rebuilt. I just replaced mine recently. It died on me one night after work and I didn't have the luxury of the downtime that would have been required to get a rebuild kit so I just bit the bullet and bought a new one. It's a pretty straightforward DIY job. Take out the battery and air box and it's right there. Only two bolts to remove on the starter. Just remember to re-connect all of the vac line hoses in the right spots.

double post

I had that same thought. I was wondering if the wear was a result of 8 years of accumulated use or if something happened to the drive more recently that would have caused it. I'm not really interested inspending $200 to wreck another disc only to find out that the drive is shot. I wouldn't normally consider a DVD a wear and tear item. I have considered the alternative of replacing it with a burned copy to test the integrity of the DVD drive itself. I know that by doing so, I might be entering into a gray area that some around here may frown upon. So the moral question is this - is it stealing if I replace my old factory disc with the same version burned disc?

After 8 years of bouncing around in the trunk, my Nav DVD has finally given up the farm. Recently I was having problems entering addresses, POIs, and switching map regions. Earlier today I got the dreaded disk read error message. I ejected the DVD and there is a physical groove worn into the disc where it looks like it the laser head has contacted the spinning disc repetedly over time. Looks like I'll need to invetigate my options...

Google "American Stitches."

I just realized that I forgot to post the solution on this one. I hate unresolved problem threads so I dug it out of the past to update. Rcently did a full fluid change and under-hood inspection. I saw that the coolant was a little low before draining it. When I refilled with fresh coolant to the proper level, the noise went away.

Replace the two rear sway bar bushings. They wear out over time and cause the noise. Probably a $15/15min fix.

DC - Still the shameless promoter I see.... To the OP - you'll need the modified dash console to go along with that nav unit. Not sure about the wiring harness though. Someone else with more experience will have to chime in there.

The absolute best way to do it is to get a kit that will allow you to connect it directly to the head unit - not a tape adapter or a FM modulator. Both of those sound crappy. Crutchfield.com will have a few options to choose from. Probably in the $150 range. Dension makes a couple of models that connect directly to the factory head unit in place of the 6 Disc changer. I just bought a brand new Dension Ice>Link Plus on flea bay for $20. It is a discontinued model, but I had one in several previous vehicles and they work great. It allows you to use the head unit controls to work the iPod in the same fashion that you would use the CD changer. At $20 - it's the best bang for your buck out there if you can find one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270543508874 Only thing about this method is that you need to be comfortable taking apart the dash to get at the head unit. It's not that hard to do. Keep an eye out - I may do a write-up when I do mine.

How do you know it is overheating if the temp gauge doesn't reach the top? Is it still pushing coolant out of the system and steaming? Are you losing any coolant? For one thing, it sounds like you have a bad coolant temp sensor. Is it possible that they put in the T-Stat backwards? The toyota dealer put 2 T-stats in my wife's Sienna before diagnosing a warped head. Fortunately that one was under warranty.

Go to your local off-road store and get a good lift kit. The sky is the limit.

When I accelerate from a low speed or stopped position, I hear a noise inside the cabin. Somewhat hard to describe the sound, but for a while I thought that I had an acorn or loose nut bouncing around inside an air plenum when I was accelerating. The noise is similar to a mix between a clicking/popping and fluid bubbling/sloshing inside a closed system. It is coming from behind the dash area. I can duplicate the sound with the car in park or neutral and revving the engine, but it is slightly more pronounced when the car is driving under a load. The noise subsides once I get past 1500 RPMs. Here's the strange part - the noise can only be heard inside the cabin. I had someone inside revving the gas and I was listening under the hood and couldn't hear anything. It happens withthe HVAC on and off (w/ & w/o the A/C). I am ususlly pretty good at diagnosing problems, but this one has me stumped. The only thinking that I can think of is that some air is trapped inside my heater core and that the coolant flow through the core is making some noise, but that may be a stretch. TB & WP were changed out about 2 months ago and the noise has surfaced since then, but I can't tie it directly to that. Any thoughts?

As was said previously, it sounds like a new CV axle is in your future. Driver's side will probably set you back @ $80 for the part.