amanda

have you ever tried just the TRAC without the VSC. i am wondering how much of a difference it makes. i do wish i had it on mine. i would get it installed if i could, but apparently not. i am a pretty careful driver, so maybe i will make it through the winter somehow..

hey, i haven't got vsc on mine. is it something that frequently would come in handy in the northeast? i can't have it installed on mine, so the question is rather moot.

ha, ha. you guys rock. i can relax the next time it happens. but why do the wheels lock so?

has anyone experienced difficulty in turning ignition key? i couldn't turn the ignition for like 10 minutes today and kind of spooked me a little. this is the first cold day we've had in ny area as far as i can tell. but it didn't stall or anything once it decided to turn. it just wouldn't turn for a while. i actually got out to make sure i was in the right car. anyone have a similar story? --------------- hey, this just occured to me. maybe i need new batteries in my key?

does anyone have any idea why my turn signal goes off/on like that (was flashing quickly, then normally, then back to quickly). i think i have a clue on how to get to the bulb now, but it is curious why it is going back and forth like it has.

hey, finally, i found a mechanic who says i actually do have a problem. he says it could be a number of things but that the vibration is not normal. sounds like i might have to change my belt or the alternator or something. we'll see how much this costs. he seems competent, though, so that's a relief. keeping my fingers crossed. p.s. if anyone can give me a clue on how to get to my left turn signal, i'd appreciate it.

hey, i posted this before, but does anyone know of a way around getting to the darn left turn signal without removing the battery and the air filter? i tried to get to it from the arc shield (that thing that covers the body right above the wheels, but it is too tight. also, how much tranmission fluid do you typically drain before you get an inch out on the dipstick? 2 quarts? thanks.

ok, it's definitely a no, no on the petroleum derivatives on rubber, vinyl and leather. this guy actually recommends water based dressing instead of silicone http://www.autopia-carcare.com/tiwhcl.html

take it with a grain of salt as it is published by the maker of the products recommended. but it sounds like petroleum and oil on tire and leather is a no. http://www.1z-usa.com/articles/KeepItClean_Vinyl.pdf

hey you guys, i have a tip (can you believe it?). if you want to drain the engine oil or the transmission fluid yourself without jacking up the car, here's a trick: 1) get a about 7 feet of 3/8 inch plastic tubing from your neighborhood hardware store. 2) snake it down into the reservoir 3) suck on it until it starts the draining motion 4) place in a container and place it lower than the reservoir 5) physics does the rest i found this tip somewhere on the web but i can't remember to whom to give credit. it won't change the filter, but it's something and costs all of $1.50. anyway, so i used this trick and drained about 1 quart of transmission fluid. but surprisingly, the dipstick still comes about 3/4 inch higher than the hot level. how much does that reservoir hold?

now that you guys have me thinking, should i purchase one for my 2000 too? i think an independent company wants to charge me $1600 for a 4 year coverage.

hey, i have the same question about accessing my left turn signal. it's funny that the left turn signal seems to burn out more frequently than the right turn one. maybe it's because we have to wait longer to take a left turn than a right turn so the bulb gets more use on average? anyway, i too have a lot of trouble accessing my left turn signal (2000 model) without removing the battery etc. and it was trick getting that fog light removed for cleaning. any tips on how to do it on a 2000?

you know when i purchased my es300, i did have some grinding noise, if that's what you could call it. it's a really low level "gggggrr". but the mechanic who checked it out for me on my test drive (who probably was on crack so i shouldn't rely on his findings too much) said that i just needed new brake pads and rotors in about another 10,000 miles. funny thing is, i took it to another mechanic a little while later for something else and he said the brake pads were fine. didn't mention rotors, so i don't know about that. so i've been accepting the "gggrrrr" noise as normal for the next 9,000 miles or so. it's mostly when i apply brakes at very slow speeds during a turn for parking. am i being too naive and crazy? also, olezip, does your steering wheel not have wood? i thought all platinum editions were supposed to have wooden steering wheel.

yeah, i should take it easy. it just gets me so upset when i think about how much energy i've already put into trying to keep this car quiet when its quietness was the reason i bought it in the first place. but at least you got good results at sears, so i am going to go back and give it another try. i think i am getting a cold and maybe that's made me more irritable too. sorry you guys.

no, it's squeeze and wipe. it definitely says on there petrolatum. does this mean i have to find one that doesn't have petrolatum? the shops around here for some reason don't have a whole lot of variety.

i just noticed my tire dressing, which i use for the stripping around the window to dampen the wind noise, has petrolatum. did someone mention that petroleum degrades rubber? does the meguire tire endurance contain no petroleum? thanks.

i guess i'll have to ask the neighbors for a good mechanic. we have pretty restrictive zoning laws in westchester and there just aren't a whole lot of commercial anything here. i don't even have a good gorcery store around. i bought the car at a non-lexus dealer that sells other higher-end cars like bmw, mercedes, audi, jaguar etc. i don't have a ton of great things to say about the dealer, though they weren't bad in the final analysis. but the car hasn't had any real mechanical problems and i am guessing that no dealer would doggedly pursue these minor noise issues to my satisfaction anyway. the new vibration, of course, is entirely sears's doing. as far as sears goes, i figured they do a ton of tires, they've got to know what they're doing. i guess not. the only other company i can even begin to think about around here is mavis which might just be a ny chain. it's just very tiring to me because i had bought the car mostly because it is supposed to be quiet. but it is possible that i am expecting too much from my es300 as it is my first car purchase. but next time, i would really think about getting it brand spanking new and let lexus worry about making me happy. thanks for your help, everybody.

i hear you, alan. but what can i do if they insist they've done everything and only a wheel alignment and V rated tires will do the trick.

now i see why people lease cars instead of buying them outright. i guess this car is going to have to be chucked up to another one of life's possessions that add hassle to your routine.

no, i got these tires at sears but i did get them balanced. i am going to take it back today for rebalancing, but i just don't think it's going ot be ok. i am pretty sure they are going to give me some baloney about not getting my wheels aligned and buying H rated tires instead of V's. i am getting kind of tired of all the effort going into the car.

m2pc, i take it you had this balancing done at a non-dealer place. can you say where?

this is also posted in the wheels forum, but just in case you guys have any advice... i just got new tires and i have vibrations now. i think the balancing is the problem. any of you guys know of a non-dealer place that does a good job with an es300? i think i should just be resigned to spending a lot of money on maintaining this car at the dealer. maybe i should just ride a bike everywhere i go.

hello. i just got new falken ziex 512's on my 2000 es300. tires are great -- quiet and handles pretty well as far as i can tell during the first 24 hours. the problem is, now i have a vibration that i feel through the seats and the steering wheel at speeds above 40. sears actually noted on my customer summary sheet that the car has a vibration at 40+ mph. how rich is that? i did not have this vibration before i got the new tires. could it be that sears just doesn't know how to balance a lexus? someone mentioned somewhere that lexuses should only be balanced at the dealer. i didn't get an alignment with the tire purchase and i have a feeling they are going to either blame it or blame my tires for being H rated instead of V's like oe ones. i am guaranteed new balancing if i feel vibration, but i also get the feeling that rebalancing at sears won't solve my problem. if i get this balancing done at the dealer, will i have to pay every time i rotate and balance (unlike at sears)? i am very wary about getting anything done anywhere but at lexus now, but would a toyota dealer do just as good a job? i am really ready to go postal with these stinking vibrations in the lexus (though this might not be lexus's fault). someone get me bicycle quick.

hello. i haven't gotten the vibration fixed yet, but now i have another to add to my woes. more on that on another post. i was thinking about going to a toyota dealer instead of a lexus dealer, but now that i've got this other vibration, i am wondering if i should just stick to lexus for EVERYTHING. this car is starting to give me a headache.

i think what i have looks nice in my car, but for your car, which by the way has that fantastic dual effect color, the darker color probably does work much better. i think i would like that center console thing to the glove compartment. it never made sense to me that the cd player was intemingled with an enclosed storage area. have a great weekend!