jragosta
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Posts posted by jragosta
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I think you are not understanding me. All you need to say to them or a lawyer "is I do not have to prove anything or "I do not remember but it was not that long ago" and I am very sure Lexus will not just go by that. If they do, Lexus must trust every customer to a “t”. Prove to me it is my fault. Show me the numbers that indicate my oil is sludged and oil drains were the problem.
What do I need to prove I did an oil change? Slips I can get those made up quick. You are missing the point. NO company is going to trust the customer when it comes out of there pocket. They will I am sure of it, they will test the oil to prove to them. They will not go by some slips form some mom and pop garage of anyplace.
You can’t prove to me that “30 minutes every 4-5 months to get the oil changed. Its just not worth it.” will do anything. If it does lets see you oil tests to see the numbers??????????????Mine are online and state it is fine.
If you want to prove it here as you state, Lexus does not say how to show proof, the process that should be done and show examples. I do not know what “demonstrate evidence “ means. Again ask 100 people and get 100 differences.
I'm just curious what numbers you're referring to. Exactly what are you testing. Also, who is testing it - are they a fully certified lab?
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Edmunds puts it at $10,600 for sale to a private owner or $8,900 for a tradein. This is supposedly the average of actual sales for similar cars.
You can look for prices in AutoTrader or the local newspaper, but remember that these are asking prices and the actual sale price is almost always going to be lower.
Good luck.
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Depends on how Costco buys their gas.
In the old days, discounters used to just buy from whoever happened to have some gas left in their trucks after their scheduled deliveries were over. That means that you were getting name brand gas, but from different suppliers.
Walmart currently has their own brand and negotiates their specs with suppliers. I don't know if Costco is doing the same thing.
To a large degree, it's probably not a big deal in most cases. All modern gasoline should be OK. However, what's going to really kill you is water in the gasoline. If they handle the gas poorly and allow water in, you'll have trouble. As long as they keep the water out, it should be OK.
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Agreed! Nuff said. The only real difference in other companies is usually the detergent additives anyway. No performance gains with 88-92 octane.
Be very careful.
In most cases, there isn't any higher detergent level in the Premium gas than the regular.
If your supplier uses higher levels (or better grades) of detergent in the premium gas, that's a good reason to consider it. With today's 100 K tuneup intervals, your engine could probably use every advantage it can get.
The problem, of course, is determining whether the premium really does have more (or better) detergent addtiives.
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and you probably will never hear knocking from using regualr gas in a lexus as it has technology caled knock sensors which will hear tehm before your ear and adjust the timing accordingly.
Because you don;t hear it doesn't mean it isn't there.
Actually, it probably _isn't_ there.
However, the Lexus engine detunes itself at the first sign of preignition. So, under at least some circumstances, you'll get lower mileage running on regular (situations that are prone to knocking). If you're not knocking, there's no benefit to the higher grades. They don't have extra cleaning additives (in most cases) and won't make the car run any better.
That said, I haven't noticed any difference at all. Either I don't operate under conditions where knocking is likely or the difference is too slight to be noticeable. There could be a slight difference in fuel economy, but it's going to be too small to pick up under normal conditions (perhaps if I spent all my time on 55 mph highway driving I might be able to report something).
On balance, I've chosen mid-grade about 95% of the time. If the price gap is too high, I don't hesitate to use regular and if the price gap is low enough, I occasionally put in premium, but midgrade seems like a good balance between cost and benefits.
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My last car was a 2000 TL - so I looked at the new TL before buying an ES 330. They're really different cars.
The TL is a sport luxury car - with heavy emphasis on sport. Higher performance than the TL, sportier ride, and high performance audio.
The ES330 is a luxury car - pure and simple (sure, low end luxury, but they're clearly trying to make it the most luxurious car then can for the price). Not a high performance car by any means and won't respond as well to heavy driving as the TL. OTOH, it's noticeably quieter and smoother ride.
I also found that the service at the Lexus dealer was much better. The loaner car is great (I had more hassle getting one from the Acura dealer and if I remember correctly, it was only for warranty repairs) - the Lexus dealer provides one without question and I never have to wait more than a day or two for one to be available so I can schedule service. Also, the Lexus dealer seems more eager to please. These factors are likely to be dealer-specific, though.
There is, of course, the transmission problem with the Lexus, but unless your mother drives a LOT more aggressively than my Mom, it's not likely to be an issue.
If your mom's a little old lady from Pasadena, the TL is a better choice. Otherwise, I'd suggest strongly considering the Lexus.
But car rides are still free at most dealers, so why not have her drive them both and choose?
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My car has had 2 oil changes at my Lexus Dealer since new (8450miles). The first oil change they did, I checked it on the dipstick and it was ¼ below the full mark. This I can accept, but I just came home from the dealer after the second oil change and once again measured the level and it was at least ¾ above the full level on the dipstick! This I can not accept! :chairshot:
For 8 years I changed the oil & filter's myself on my '94ES and on all these occasions the oil level did not vary more then + or - a fraction of an inch from the full mark on the dipstick.
This is the reason I'm so annoyed:
"Be careful not to overfill. To high an oil level in the crankcase will let the crankshaft churn the oil to foam. This will result in oil pump starvation, which means your engine won't be properly lubricated. Overfilling can also lead to high crankcase pressure, possibly leading to oil seal leaks."
One other thing: It says in the Owners Manual, the oil weight should be 5W-30. The first oil change they put in 10W-40, and on this change 10W-30.
After this I'm going back to doing this service myself because I know when I do it, it'll be done right.....and I'm not trying to save money!
Seems that a complaint to the service department is in order.
Overfilling the crankcase is definitely bad. Putting in the wrong oil is possibly even worse.
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jragosta, what was the refrigerant in your Acura, R-12?
Similar to what you have cited, I do notice the same thing in my 02 which has R-134a. It does get cold but no where near as fast as my previous '93 SSEI, which had R-12.
steviej
I have no idea what the refrigerant was in the Acura. It was a 2000 model TL if that helps.
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To cool down the car quickly you should use manual operation instead of automatic.
1- Lower the temperature control to the lowest degree. I think the lowest is 60°.
2- Manually turn on the fan speed to the highest.
3- Make sure the recirculation indicator is lit.
4- Turn off the air vent control to the rear seat, unless you have passengers there.
5- Make sure all the front vents are open completely.
6- After the car is satisfactorily cooled you can once again press the 'Auto' button and re-adjust the temperature control.
The automatic position will cool the car much more slowly since it regulates the temperature & fan speed at a more moderate rate then manual operation.
Actually, the display showed that the fan speed was maximum and recirculation was on even in automatic mode. I've tried changing the settings to manual and didn't see much difference - at least in the early stages. Later on, as the automatic mode starts to slow down there is a difference, but not when the car is completely hot.
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JR what colour is your interior and your acura?
Millenium pearl with gray interior.
That's the other odd thing. My Acura was dark blue - so it was even hotter than the Lexus after sitting in the sun. Yet it still cooled down faster.
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I have a different AC problem.
2004 ES 330. On very hot days, it taks a long time for the car to cool down (10 minutes or more). My 2000 Acura TL was cooler in 5 minutes than my Lexus is in 10. Just to be clear, the AC blows cool air right away, but not enough to cool the car quickly.
I took it to the dealer and they said the AC is operating normally. Can anyone give me guidelines on how fast the car should cool down on hot days?
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good thought about the rusty fuel lines JR
The filter is probably clogged which rarly ever happens for any other lexus as they are so big
One more thing. Buy gasoline from reputable companies. A rusty gas line either means that he lives in a very salty area or is buying cheap gasoline with lots of water. That's probably why the fuel filter (or fuel strainer) got clogged - rust particles.
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As an update, my car still seems to do this hesitation. I never got the fuel filter changed though, because they said it was so badly rusted there that there were scared to change it in fear of wrecking the fuel line (which they suggested will need replacing very soon :( )
Based on what you have done, you still have 2 things to look at:
1. The fuel intake screen.
2. The fuel filter.
Given that you're getting heavy rusting in your fuel line, I'd suggest having both done - as well as replacing the fuel line. It won't be cheap, but it's certainly less expensive than having the fuel line develop a leak and pouring gasoline on a hot intake manifold.
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Do a search under "transmission fluid change" in this forum, and that should get you a good start. It would be a good idea to have the car warmed up to operating temp when you remove the fluid so that it removes the most buildup, and you might check on doing a few flushes so that the trq conv. gets some fresh fluid, but I'd do a search and see what others have done, as I haven't done the change on my ES - just other cars, so you might see what others have said. Good luck.
J
In case anyone else has missed it, it's probably a good idea to use genuine Lexus (Toyota) transmission fluid. Transmissions are quite sensitive to fluid properties in general, but I believe that these transmissions are particularly sensitive. It's probably not a place you want to try to save a few bucks.
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That's what happens when they don't build them in Japan anymore!
I believe the 2004 ES330 is still built in Japan.
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I agree that's very suprising to hear......what has been the reaction from your Lexus dealer jr?
They haven't really had any reaction. They just keep fixing things as they come up.
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And has the backseat issue been safety recalled? It doesn't sound too safe to me . . . and to have it happen to you twice :o
Bryan
I don't think it's much of a safety issue. What I'm referring to isn't the entire seat back. It's the trim that covers the back of the seat. On the 04 (and probably the 02 and 03, but I haven't checked), it has the pull out pocket for back seat passengers.
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Perhaps you should contact K & N directly jragosta, & mention these (your) findings & let's see what K & N has to say about them....then maybe we can put this matter to bed B) :whistles: There are millions (if not 10's of millions) of these filters out there today & are you saying that all these owners are setting themselves up for masive sensor & major engine breakdowns?
As I said before, if that was the case, they would go out of business! I'm very intested to see you give them YOUR findings & give them a chance to respond. First, I doubt if K&N has 10s of millions of filters out there. I'm saying that the risk of failure is greater with the K&N filter than with a stock filter. I can't quantify the percentages, but then neither can you show that there's NO impact. From a scientific perspective, I can say with a reasonable degree of scientific certainty (which is the standard of evidence requried of expert witnesses in a court of law) that the risk of engine damage is greater with the K&N filter than with a stock filter.
Second, I'm not interested in dealing with them. I've read their reports, debunked them, and am convinced that there's no scientific validity to their product. I've expressed that scientific certainty here. I don't have any obligation to get into a battle with someone who would probably come after me with lawyers.
If, however, someone were to sue them, I'd be willing to testify as an expert witness that their filters are no good. And I have the credentials to serve in that capacity - which is a difficult thing to show.
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If you're happy with your fantasies, feel free. But please stop pretending that it's a factual, scientiific solution. It isn't.
The fantasy filter that is in my air box kinda felt real, looked real......maybe it is not even there and my whole life is a fantasy. I guess, according to jragosta, my entire experience of 3 cars and 3 K&N filters and no problems is a fantasy.
Driver, stop the automotive world, I'm done pretending and I want to get off!!!!!!
No seriously, jragosta, I commend you on your scientific knowledge and PhD. I am of scientific training, too. I am also of the personalitly that likes to think for myself and experiment, that is the heart of science. OK, I may chance a sensor, I may not, I haven't yet.
Just because someone doesn't follow your school of thought does not mean they are any less of a knowledgable person. Please DO NOT imply that!
We have been down this discussion road before. My facts are my facts from my REAL life and from my REAL cars and my REAL wallet.
1. I have not dyno-ed my car so I don't know what HP increase there was (up to 4%) IF ANY. I doubt that there was any. I didn't buy the K&N for that.
2. I have never had to buy a replacement paper filter from any dealer or any autoparts store. Reason #1, small cost savings.
3. I did pick up a slight mpg increase with every car I have used a K&N. Reason #2, This resulted/results in a modest savings at the pump when viewed over years that the K&N was in use in each car.
No fantasy there.
The bottom lines is simple:
-I will use what air filter I want to in my car. Your soapbox preaching won't change that.
-You will use what air filter you want to in your car. My "fantasy thinking" won't change that.
We are both intelligent and knowledgable people that are smart enough to undertake our own research and make our own decisions based on the facts that we have compiled.
steviej
It's interesting that you have to resort to juvenile antics. No one ever said that your filter wasn't real.
Now, let's look at it factually:
1. I already said that not everyone will have a failure, so the fact that YOU haven't had a problem is meaningless.
2. The only claim that anyone has ever made is that there might be a slight mpg increase. However, you've never done any kind of controlled study, so that's pretty meaningless. Not to mention the chance of a placebo effect.
3. Granted, you save the cost of a replacement air filter. If you want to save a few pennies and risk a $30 K car, that's your choice. But I'm recommending that people follow the manufacturer's guidelines. Since the manufacturer spends millions of dollars preparing those guidelines, it's probably a safe bet. No one's telling you that you have to, though.
No one ever said that you shouldn't use whatever filter you want. My posts are directed at people who want to make a decision based on facts. Sorry, but you are NOT in a position to discuss filtration efficiency - you just don't have the experience to do that. That's not to say that you're stupid, but your 'I've had 3 cars with this filter and nothing has blown up yet' position doesn't even begin to qualify you to discuss the technical issues involved here. Nor can you pretend that 'I've had 3 cars and nothing has blown up yet' is anything approaching 'research'. It isn't - no matter how much you pretend it is.
I get a little miffed at that attitude because the world is full of people scamming others and pretending that there's a scientific basis supporting their scam. The auto industry has had its share (I notice you don't even bother to respond to that part of my posts) and K&N's filter is just one more.
If you're happy, feel free to use it. But I'm going to continue to recommend to people that based on my scientific experience, it's not a good automotive filter. That means that it's creating a real risk of expensive failure. That is fact. You've been lucky - that doesn't mean everyone will be.
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Just found this intresting article everyone. A survey that put Lexus on top in vehicle quality for the 10th straight year :D Click the link to have a look:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/040630-2.htm
Unfortunately, that hasn't been my experience.
Here are the problems that I've had with my 2004 ES330 in the first 9 months:
Passenger seat rattling (they replaced the entire seat)
Out of alignment on delivery
Driver seat back fell off
After being replaced with a new driver seat back, the replacement fell off
Noise on turning when you hit a bump
Blemishes on paint when delivered
Driver's seat doesn't retain memory settings
And, of course, the transmission problem.
I love my Lexus (other than the transmission), but it's far from the most trouble-free car I've owned.
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I would really like to get a simplified answer with some technical backing regarding the choice of octane level I am presently using in my '93SC400.
Several months ago a reputable car analyst, Bobby Likis, who has a national talk
show said that if you are not a performance bug you can use a lower octane
gas w/o harming your car.
I have since gone from full bore 93 oct to 87 and have not seen any loss of
performance even when I press the car. I am a predominately town driver and
rarely get my rpm's above 2000.
I hear comments like if you can afford a Lexus then why worry about the extra
cost to go high oct or, the Lexus people highly recommend max oct level for
max performance..sure what else could they say.. and your car has an automatic
sensor to adjust timing to oct level curently being used(i like that that little deal)
so thats why you dont hear pinging when you "push" it. Neat design feature.
Well, because I worried about a penny here and a penny there made it possible
for me to own the Lexus I have today so yes my nature says 20 cents per gallon
is important especially when I see not one sign of deterioraton in my old- man
style of driving.
And yes, if being purist in nature and going strictly by what the Lexus manual says
makes you feel more confident well I can understand that issue.
Other than opinion, can someone confidently say that I am going to carbonize my engine, screw my valves up, overload the system, etc.. by using lower octane or is it just a subtle loss in performance, which I don't really care about, when using lower oct gas.
L
There's one major thing to watch for - ping or knock. If your engine is knocking, move up to a higher grade of gasoline. If it's not knocking, you should be OK.
If there's any doubt, I'd move up one grade. You really don't want knocking going on.
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Its kind of funny how this argument comes up on every vehicle related site! We will always have two kinds of poeple: Conservative (dyno oil, paper filter, stock everything etc..) and the more Extreme who use things to add more power, better looks, and go out on a limb and live a little with some synthetic oil or some drop springs.
With my vehicles, some would have called me crazy with what I've done. Its just how I am, and don't care what anybody else thinks. I will always want more of something, just because I can. So, what! I'll buy a re-oilable filter any day of the week. I've never had a problem for the past 10 years I've run them, and don't really care if do. I've heard all the facts, and seen all the analysis- its not that big of a deal.
Actually, what you have are two types of people:
Those who know what they're talking about and those who don't.
Those who don't understand the science involved consistently amaze me with their ability to dream up all sorts of snake oil nonsense - and their ability to ignore facts. It happened with wire mesh under your carbeurator, water injection systems, and so on. Every year or so, someone comes up with some amazing 'breatkthrough' that magically improves fuel economy, reduces emissions, improves performance and so on. It just happens to be that in each case some guy working in his garage developes this magical technology that the auto industry (which spends in excess of $1 billion per year on R&D) can't manage to duplicate.
If you're happy with your fantasies, feel free. But please stop pretending that it's a factual, scientiific solution. It isn't.
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I don't think Lexus needs to put a specific warning on their engine. The owners manual specifies that only authorized spare parts are covered. If you put this filter in and mess up your sensor, they're certainly going to fall back on that clause.
First, jragosta, with your expert Chemistry and filter experience, given a brand new ES330 or any other luxury car. Do you think the filter will mess up the sensor(s) before or after the initial warranty runs out? The filter comes oiled from the factory so it won't need to be reoiled until after the warranty runs out (50,000 miles). So either way, if the sensor goes after 50,000 miles, the owner is paying for it. On the same note, is a Fram air filter or an STP filter an "authorized spare part". Funny how they don't list what is and what isn't an authorized spare part in the DIY maintenance items. In my 02 manual, the only item that is specifically stated is Toyota T-IV tranny fluid.
Second, I have had one 02 sensor go. I doubt it was due to the K&N. I have heard that Lexus/Toyota has a very large batch of 02 sensors that were giving out prematurely. My point is that the K&N was in place and my service manager knew all about it. I have even placed the STOP sticker provided with the K&N on my air box. The sensor was replaced under warranty without a flinch, question or hesitiation from my dealer. They didn't even try to use the K&N as an excuse to not do the warranty replacement. Maybe just my dealer, who knows.
I haven't had a problem in any car that I have put a K&N in, but that is just my experience. I trust that.
Again, it all comes down to what each owner is comfortable with.
This discussion (Stock Air Filter vs Reusable/Reoilable Fitler) comes under the same heading as:
Synthetic Oil vs Conventional Oil
Long Life (Red) Coolant vs Traditional Green Coolant
Tastes Great vs Less Filling
steviej
I disagree.
You can pretend that it's simply a matter of personal taste if you wish, but it's not. It's a technical matter which can be answered scientifically. There are tests which can be run and the difference can be measured.
Granted, it's going to be a matter of instant failure on the K&N. Nor is it a matter of EVERY car with K&N is going to have a problem. The number of problems is going to be small with any filter. But the facts are pretty easy to see.
1. Even K&N claims no more than a 4% improvement in HP (Max). That's going to be unnoticeable by almost anyone.
2. K&N's filtration claims are bogus. They are selling a product that does not meet the standards I'd expect of a high quality filter. This part isn't a matter of personal opinion - it's a scientific assessment based on a PhD and many years designing high performance filters.
3. If you add too much oil, you're going to damage your engine (or, at the very least, the air sensor).
4. If you add too little oil, the filtration capability of the filter will suffer.
5. Since you're putting oil into the air intake system - which is clearly not meant to be there, Lexus would be within its rights to void the warranty on anything related. Some dealers are more lenient than others, but there's not doubt that Lexus could do it. It's not the same as using alternative paper filters - those specifically claim to meet OEM standards. K&N doesn't.
Now, all the wishful thinking in the world isn't going to change the facts. You may be lucky - and so may other people. But there ARE facts in the world that aren't changed by your wish that everything is a matter of 'tastes great, less filling'.
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No. they have you by the B____s. I went through this discussion on another board. The dealer has a "Flash Reader" that tells them the existing code. Then they can set a new code.
I even went to a dealer, with the title, when I bought a used Lexus, and asked them for the code. No way-They wanted money. I even called the previous owner-He hung up on me. I did this even though the radio was working fine.
I did buy a $10 device at Checker Auto Parts that I plug into the cigarette lighter if I have to disconnect the battery. It keeps the computer charged so it doesn't lose the radio code.
Curiously, most of the respondents on the LS400 discussion board did not think it was irresponsible for Lexus to control the codes. They all must live near the dealer, and have a lot of free time and extra money, too...
It's probably a fair bet that most LS owners have more money than ES owners. Not always, but on average.
As for controlling the codes, I don't have any particular problem with it. Back in the days before stereos had codes, I woke up one morning to find a brick inside my Toyota with glass everywhere - and my expensive stereo system gone. To whatever extent using codes has reduced theft, I'm all for it.
As I said before, if that was the case, they would go out of business! I'm very intested to see you give them YOUR findings & give them a chance to respond. 
Synthic Oil And K&n Filter
in 92 - 06 Lexus ES250/300/330
Posted
I've been through this repeatedly. I am an expert in filtration processes and I've analyzed the K&N filter claims. Mostly bogus.
There are still a few people who want to believe that they're doing themselves a favor, but the placebo effect has always been powerful.