homemechanic

i forgot. . .you can try to compare the resistance of each old coil to determine if anyone is no good. use a voltmeter for this job.

you could have another bad coil somewhere else. sometimes one coil shorts out temporary causing another to blow. mixing aftermarket coils w/OEM is a no no. i had one short coil 2 months ago and decided to replace the whole set. think of them as spark plugs, you don't replace only 1 plug. while i was removing the other coils, 2 coils had oil dripping out. the spark plug seals were bad. new coils for $60/each from autozone.com. they are actually the OEM parts -- Denso.

resetting is probably not going to solve your problem. you need to have it scanned for error codes. there are scanners for airbag only. it's not the same scanner as the ODBII stuff. the dealer should scan for codes and fix the error, not reset the light. i am not very confident about such dealership. think of it as your check engine light, scan for codes and fix it. i suspect your car is still under warranty. go and have them fix it ASAP. an airbag computer could run $1500 or so. i don't know why they are freaking expensive for a little computer box behind the audio system.

same problem here after a complete tranny rebuilt. the bad tranny didn't really have this problem. someone told me this is actually normal. the tranny temp sensor keeps the tranny from going into another gear when it's cold. i notice this problem when it's really cold outside. on warmer days or leaving later in the morning, no such problem. you can add about 1/4 - 1/2 more quart of ATF into the tranny to give a bit more pressure to switch gear when cold. that seems to improve the shifting a little during cold operation.

the solution to replace the radio bulb (aka LCD) is here on this website. you need to search the right post. someone had posted the exact instructions with pictures on how to remove the radio and AC control as 1 unit. afterward, you can remove the radio portion and pull the LCD out. this post was about 1-2 years ago. it should still be here. if i remember correctly, that post also include the part # and source for the LCD which can be bought at an electronic store. the LCD is about $100. just need to do a little search. i think i was able to pull my radio - AC unit out within 10 minutes. you have to pry the center vent and the plastic benzel under the AC control out with a small piece of metal, not knife. afterward, you will see 4 bolts (8 or 10 mm sockets) mounting the unit in place. remove the 4 bolts and the entire unit will come out. be careful when pulling the unit out. the wires need to be unplugged from the back of the unit. with the unit out on a table, you can easily see how to remove the front black cover. afterward, you will have the access to pull out the broken radio bulb (LCD). should not take more than an hour to replace the LCD

was that right up you speak of on these boards in particular ? or should I search on google ? it's on this forum.. search the key words:: IACV, idle control valve. .etc

those oil filter wrench caps are difficult to use in this case because you got a manifold right above the filter. use 1 of those metal collapseable wrench is fine. you just have to put the wrench over the filter and the hand through the right hand side of the manifold. 1 hand hold the wrench in place and the other turn--pull the wrench up a little. do it a few times and filter is loose. good thing i only do it once a year since i use amsoil that requires oil change once a year or 25k miles. the ICV is very clean after i started using amsoil. checked the ICV after using amsoil for 50K miles and the vavle is still very clean -- no cleaning needed.

another quick fix to this problem would be make a small patch with double sided tape. use the thick kid and place it at the upper or lower right hang corner of the gas door. when u push the button, the door will pop out because the tape is pushing the door out a little. i can't believe it's like $15 for a gas door spring @ the dealer

90% of the time the cause of this problem is because the spring inside the gas door is missing. The spring is simply a little clip that pushes the door outward once the lock is released, think of the spring as a door hinge. 1. You can get someone to push the door while the 2nd person pushes the release button. 2. Slide a piece of index card or thick piece of paper into the gas door before pushing the button. This is what I am doing right now for the last 2 years.

most likely old tranny fluid. . if you have not changed your tranny fluid in a long time, that's probably it.

Someone had posted a very nice write up with pictures on how to clean IACV. It was probably 2 years ago. It shows every step of the way w/pictures. You should search for this post before start taking things apart.

if you don't want to spend major $$$ to fix the AC, try some anti-fog solution or FogX solution on the interior windows. You can buy that at the auto store. Wipe a thin layer on the glass, and the fogging up problem goes away. The glass wouldn't even fog up w/your mouth blowing on the windows. The down side is you have to re-apply every 2 weeks or so.

hi all, i have a 99 ES300 w/the gold plate letters on the trunk. i am trying to figure out which tranny do i have, so i can buy the right tranny filter. how can i tell if i have a U140E or A541E model tranny? lexus happens to have 2 types of tranny for that year. any pictures or description is much appreciated. thank you.

did you lubricate the caliber pins? i did my front brakes 2 wks ago because i heard one of the wear clips was making noise. the left inner pad had about 1mm left while the other three pads were about half way wore out. the caliper pins were bone dried, so i lubricated them w/brake grease. i then recall the guy did my front brakes 2 years ago used WD40 rather than brake grease to lubricate the pins and that became bone dried after a while cause the caliber not to completely release the pads after stopping. that also made my car pulling to the left. now the pulling to the left problem is gone with new pads and pins lubricated. just don't know why that idiot lubricated the pins w/WD40 not brake grease.

my friend, i don't think you are looking at the brake pads correctly. you said 3/8". it is probably the entire thickness of the pad. however, you should be looking at just the useful part of the pad which is the grinding surface. if it's 2mm or less, time to replace. post of pictures of your brake pads here, we can give you better ideas.

got the same problem here. i tried glue the clip back on, but fell out later on. here is what i do these days, slide a piece of thick paper into the door before pressing the release button.

does the $492 quote include painting the mirror to match the car's color? may be u can visit a junk yard and do a pull-it-yourself job?

there is no such thing as 80 mph balance. they can only balance the tire at one speed. if they balance at very high speed, then lower speed movement will be off.

you can go tell the service rep to take a hike. i can't see why it takes $400 for flushing brakes and steering. here is what i do. i don't see why you need to flush the brake system unless your brake fluid is getting a lot of water in it. go buy yourself a big syringe (60cc) or a big thanksgiving baster. i guess you need to buy two, 1 for brake and 1 for steering. just use the syringe or baster to suck out the old fluid and top off w/new fluid. drive for a day or two and repeat this process again. you probably need to repeat this process a few times, so it might take 10-15 days to complete. every time you suck out the old fluid and replace w/new fluid, you are essentially diluting the old stuff out. after repeating a few times, you can see the color of the fluid is looking almost like the new stuff. this wouldn't cost you more than $25. it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to do time every time

can't take any chances since driving 30K miles a year on this car. i guess i have half day's work next weekend to replace valve cover gaskets and tube seals. now the costs for 6 coils and gaskets: $60 x 6 + $50 + tax = $450. i guess paying this now rather than getting stuck on the road later with a bomb going off.

i decided to just buy another 5 coils to replace the rest. no point in just waiting for the coils to fail since i am going to drive this car a few more years. . .100K more miles. as i was taking out coil #1 and #3, oil was dripping out of the coil. the spark plug tube gaskets are leaking oil. i have to use paper towel to soak up the oil and have a valve gasket and spark plug seal job waiting for me next weekend. i guess it's a good decision to go change the other coils and found out this problem. otherwise, coil #1 and #3 might short out eventually due to oil.

Had a couple of codes and determined it was #4 ignition coil went bad. autozone had only 1 in stock, $60. cheaper than Kragen ($110) or the dealer. . . anyway, replaced the bad one and problem solved. does anyone recommend replace the other coils too since 1 coil went bad? 99 ES300, 156K miles. i was thinking no one would just replace 1 spark plugs. either all or none.

don't forget to change the spark plug tube gaskets also. buy the tube gaskets from the dealership for like $2 each. the non-OEM tube gaskets are hard and difficult to put into the valve cover. the OEM tube gaskets are soft.

The steering knuckle is making a little noise when turning left. Is it OK to leave it like that or need to be replaced? Kind of expensive to replace it for a little bit of noise. What would happen to the steering ability if the knuckle makes louder noise? Thank you!

how far are the star shape cracks from the edge of the windshield? As long as they are one inch from the edge, the shop can repair it. i had a star shape crack repaired. it looks almost perfect, just still a minor crack appearance no big deal. i have 21st insurance. their full coverage portion covers the repair at no charge and no deductible. it beats a new windshield. . $300. . .