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Firewalker

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Everything posted by Firewalker

  1. Definitely warped rotors, heavy car chews through them pretty quickly. I had the exact same problem, replaced the rotors and pads and it is like new. Easy job, only took me an hour to do both fronts, rotors and brakes.
  2. Personally, I think picture "how to" guides are WONDERFUL. I also have a caliper sticking but it is on the rear of my 2002 ES300. I may be too late, but yes, I would love to see them!
  3. ..... wow that sounded elitist...I didn't mean to imply that. Simply put, the majority of the areas that I saw (didn't see all of the damage) were lower income housing. It doesn't make them less than, only that if you have to choose between food for your family and driving a Lexus you know which one will win. Awww if it were up to me there would be bread in every basket, a lexus in every driveway....with a full tank of gas.
  4. Having been to Louisiana recently and doing all the katrina tours and all I would say this. There are a lot of cars there, certainly many more cars were undamaged as damaged. For that matter, the majority of the damage I saw was confined to areas where 2005 Lexus ES330 vehicles would have never been. So with a clean carfax, and a good inspection I would buy it. It would be a shame to pass on a gem of a car just because it spent time in LA. Good advice from blk on blk!
  5. I agree with Mburnicka...that price is good and I would have them look at the water pump before replacing it ad hoc, the actual 90 thousand mile service does not even mention replacing the water pump, although I do see that it would be a good time to do it since they are right there. I would also recommend new belts, have them check your valve cover gaskets for leaks and your cam shaft seals. As far as parts are concerned I thought the Toyota Camry and the ES300 were pretty much identical, I know the haynes manual treats them the same, so maybe they just want to be sure, either way, sounds like your in good shape. Consider yourself lucky, I spent $1600 at the lexus dealership for my 90k service and some incidentals.
  6. I agree....that is hard to answer, depending on what you are looking for from the wax...shine, durability, etc. However, what always holds true is that the best wax ever made will still look and perform badly if at first the car isn't ready for the wax, meaning, a good wash, then using a clay bar to pull out all of the impurities. I have detailed many, many cars, while wax is important, nothing is more important than the steps before the wax.
  7. I have a 2002 ES300 and I LOVE IT. It is the nicest car I have owned. I can make my car do the hesitation thing, but honestly, it isn't an issue to me. If you know that while slowing (almost to a stop) and then speeding up very quickly that there will be a slight lag then it isn't an issue, rather a quirk of this vehicle. Regardless, it would be silly for someone to NOT buy this car simply because of this design. Again, it is not a "problem" with this car, it is simply the way it was designed. My advice, drive them, take them out, try to get the car to duplicate this delay, you will see it really isn't much of an issue at all. Thats my .02. Happy driving. ps- I have 83,000 trouble free miles on my car.
  8. I just had my 2002 ES300 serviced at Lexus of Dayton (Ohio) and I could not have been more impressed. I initially brought it in due to a check engine light which showed P1130, Bank 2 air/fuel ratio sensor, I told them to fix that and while they had it they may as well complete the 90k service even though the mileage was at 83,000. They completed the following: All prices include labor: Replace air/fuel sensor $495 90,000 mile service $705.40 Replace wipers $35.40 Replace cam shaft seals $109.60 Replace valve cover gaskets $343.44 they discovered a leak at the valve gasket which is why they replaced that, they also suggested while there that the cam shaft seals should be replaced as a preventative measure. They did all items on the 90k service in the maintenance book but did not change the water pump. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me. I was impressed with the Lexus service....simple things like respect, fresh coffee and cookies and real glass lexus mugs. They were very cool to my kids, giving them stuffed teddy bears with lexus logos on them and a bunch of coloring books. Yeah, I know, I paid for it all but still, it was a good experience. The car runs like new, they of course detailed it as well. Total bill was $1600. Now I have some piece of mind about the timing belt and look forward to another 200k miles. I thought I would post this so others could compare prices and get an idea what other services cost at a lexus dealer. Have a good one.
  9. I have a 2002 ES300 and it takes longer than all of my other cars, has since new. No worries!
  10. I know a lot of motorcycle owners use OVEN OFF when they need to remove melted plastic from their exhaust pipes, it works like magic. To remove the larger pieces you could always try to freeze it and chip it off, dry ice, liquid nitrogen? I don't know, I would try to scape/cut/pry off as much as I could while cold, warm up the car and try to scrape away what I could while hot....and then lastly try the oven off for what is left. It would be an inexpensive remedy if it works. I know I would hate to pay for a replacement on a perfectly good (although smelly) exhaust. Keep us posted!
  11. I am not a strut or shock expert, but I have replaced several back in the day....... It may not be your strut making the noise. Usually when struts go bad, it isn't noise that gives it away, it is your vehicle bouncing over bumps more than normal. Most often than not, noise, when made by struts and shocks are made by the mounts, shock or strut mounts that may be loose. Additionally, if they strut is not tightened to specs and is slightly lose, it will have a little play that could make the noise you described. The only issue then is why does the noise go away when the car warms up, for that, I have no answer. Lastly, your $200 price is low. Struts are expensive, moreover, they should be replaced in pairs. I would think new struts to the front of your car (pair, installed) would be closer to $800+. Bottom line, if your car is not bouncing like a yo yo, and does not drive noticeably different, it may be nothing more than a worn mount or play which can be fixed when you finally do replace your struts. So, game on!
  12. kioto, Congrats on your car, I agree with other posters, go OEM as most aftermarket rotors and pads are either less than OEM quality or designed for "more performance" type of driving, all of which isn't needed by your average driver. Also, this is such an easy do it yourself job. I recently did my front rotors and pads on my 2002 ES300 and it only took an hour or two (some of which was spent painting my rotor hat.) There is plenty of information on here for "how to" work on your car and/or I would recommend a chilton or haynes manual. They are invaluable and nothing feels better than working on your own car. Good luck. Jeff
  13. I had the exact same thing happen to my car, however, it was a plastic bag dancing on the highway, as soon as I went over it and I didn't see it come out behind me I figured it was stuck. It was, and smelled like hell. Ultimately, I did nothing. After a week or two it simply degraded to the point from the heat that it no longer smelled, today you cannot even see where it was. So, I would just let it ride, although I know that burned plastic smell is hideous!
  14. I have the same model year and my lexus is ultra quiet.
  15. Heartman, I have a 2002 ES300 and it too seems to crank longer than all of my other cars. It isn't problematic, it has always done this and I just assumed thats the way it was made. I love the car and have never had any issues with it. So, while I cannot offer a solution, I can only ask, how long are you talking about. I mean, how long do you have to turn the key and initiate the starter until the car is running? Under 5 seconds? More than 5? I think that information would give us an idea of if you have an issue or not. Currently mine starts under 5 seconds, but still all of my other cars are immediate, <2 seconds, my Lexus however takes her time.
  16. Yes, I agree, your check engine light went off because your battery died, which basically reset your computer. $800 for the work described is about right, one thing you may consider is to check out a Toyota dealership. They often charge less for the same work, being that a Lexus is a Toyota after all (a very upscale one at that). If money is the issue you could just have them do bank #2 and hope bank #1 doesn't have issues. Cost vs Benefit. Good luck
  17. Ler, mine has a screw, at the very bottom of the fob, on the back, very near where the metal key blade enters the plastic fob. Mine is for a 2002 ES300 so I don't know if the newer (or older) models simply snap together.
  18. no, there isn't. I just replaced mine as well, simply put it in, closed it up, replaced the screw in the fob and it worked like new. Maybe your having other issues other than the battery?
  19. Just do a search on Ebay, found this one, ending in 2 days on an OEM Lexus front bumper. 2001 2002 2003 LEXUS ES300 FRONT BUMPER This seller accepts PayPal Buy It Now $350.00 $80.00 2d 23h 44m Good Luck.
  20. I don't think that is excessive miles for the year, Lexus builds a great car, I am thinking you cannot go wrong. One point of interest may be that it is close to the 90k service, which can run in excess of $1,400 depending on where you live and who does the work. So if you do take the plunge, which you should, just plan for that service. Other than that, keep in mind, what little you do have to invest to keep it running, it will reward you with years of very luxurious driving!
  21. On my 2002 ES300 the rotors can be removed by !Removed! a bolt into the hole that is visible on the rotor. If you look closely at the rotor you will see 2 threaded holes, find a screw that will thread in those holes, keep tightening that bolt and the rotor will "pop" off. Hitting it with a hammer will not help, trust me, I was confused until I figured it out. Sorry, I don't know what bolt size you will need, I just grabbed a bunch of them until I found one that fit. Good Luck!
  22. Check to see that the electric fan that cools the radiator is coming on when the car is running hot. If not you need to replace the cooling fans and control relay.
  23. I did just that, bought a lexus key fob shell and used my "guts" from another key, I do have the programming instructions somewhere, let me know and I will dig them up for you. It was quite easy to do and saved me a ton.
  24. yes, the 90k mile service is a big one, timing belt, water pump etc, lots of threads about it on here. It can be quite expensive at the Lexus dealership, almost 2k for some, many have taken their vehicle to a Toyota dealership or independent and had it done for much less. Do not disregard this service, if the timing belt breaks it will reek havoc on your engine. Maybe they did the 90k service but if they didn't put new tires on for you I cannot imagine they did that service. I have the exact same car and I love it. It has been a fantastic car and worth the little maintenance that it requires. Don't worry about paying too much compared to what others have paid, enjoy the car and you can find out anything you need about your new car on this awesome site.
  25. I checked and found no TSB concerning this problem with the 2002 model year, unsure about other years, however, this was an issue with the 2005 mustangs (soooo not the same car but...) the quick remedy was to turn the nozzle to 3 o clock position while filling, the ultimate fix for the mustang issue was a gas tank replacement. Good luck.
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