jragosta

lexus-lover, its a decision you have to make. I have had a K&N since 15k miles. Have 43k now. Not once has any sign of a problem arisen. I will be cleaning the filter soon and reoiling it. I have done this before and will be sure not to overoil it.

However, time will tell if the re-oiling will be a problem. But I can say that there has not been a problem in 28k miles.

It is a decision that you and only you can make for your car. Monarch (saber) has cited a link to an ongoing thread on ClubLexus that discusses the reasons for some people removing the filter and only using stock filters. There are two sides presented (keep it or remove it) there too.

-If you are looking for a hp increase...forget it. Won't happen with this filter.

-If you are looking for a mpg increase....it is possible, several people have achieved this including myself.

-If you are looking for a way to never buy a stock filter again.....you found it.

Your car is an 04, are there any cautions or precautions from Lexus on the airbox or in the manual? My 02 did not have any. Things may have changed in 2 years. Check carefully as you do not want to do anything to void a warranty if a problem does occur.

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.

the warranty is 4 years from the first date of registration of the car. If it was registered before 6/23/2000, they your warranty is up. If it is not up, it should cover the brake sensor and repairing it, but it will not cover routine break service unless there is a TSB concerning the problem you are having. (I doubt that one).

The 45k service is the same as the 15k service. you can expect $250-400 bill.

All of this stuff can be done at home if you are mechaincally inclined.

Or any other car repair service you trust. Almost anyone will be less expensive than Lexus.

The list of work to be done is included in the owners' manual or on Lexus' site.

My personal view on things is that I go to third party shops for things like oil change, lubrication, and so on, but not for safety items like brakes (*) or for very technical items involving the computer or transmission.

(*) I will sometimes even go as far as to have brake and suspension work done by a shop I really trust, but so many shops are hiring minimum wage teenagers to do much of their work that I'm not comfortable with it.

Your mileage will, of course, vary with your own comfort level.

I thought someone early on in this thread mentioned doing the lemon law for this in CA and having success.

That could be true - I haven't checked.

California is notoriously pro-consumer and anti-business. If you live there, you have a better chance of having this resolved in your favor than anywhere else I know of.

Is it OK to just go with the cheapie Densos? (i.e. non-platinum)?

Since bringing my car to the dealer and having the plugs changed (with non-platinums), my car has a rough idle. If you listen to the exhaust, it shoots out puffs of air and the car shakes a little when it does so.

Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks!

Bryan

I'd stick with the stock plugs. They're good for 100 K miles - how much more do you want?

You might get marginally greater performance from another plug, but probably not enough that you'd notice.

Good luck.

I used to do R&D for a filtration company. I spent some time on K&N's web site a while back. Let's just say that they're practicing voodoo science. That's based on my PhD in Chemistry and years developing new filters to be used in extremely critical requirements - everything from engine prefiltration to pharmaceutical to nuclear applications.

Personally, based on my professional filtration experience, I wouldn't buy them. Just like anything else, there may be some people who see a small benefit and others who see negatives. But based on the science, you have several competing outcomes:

1. It is quite possible that there is a tiny increase in HP. Their web site claims up to 4%. That's probably in the right range - especially 'up to'. Figure an average gain of half that - 2%. I doubt very much that anyone here without a dynamometer can see that. Heck, even if you have a dynamometer, you're going to have a hard time seeing it - since the margin of error is probably close to that.

2. Risk of damage. First, overoiling is going to cause you a mess - a fouled sensor for sure. Not to mention the risk of engine damage if these filters do not perform as promised. Based on the filtration curves they've claimed, I'm very skeptical of the ability of this filter to perform up to the stock filter's level of filtration.

3. At the very least, you've just voided your warranty.

To me, it's just not worth it for the infinitesimal HP gains.

The 04 was billed as having an improved 5 speed auto tranny. Supposedly that improvement was the programming from the 02/03 tranny TSB being factory installed. I beleive it is still the same physical tranny, but I am not 100% positive.

steviej.

That's another misrepresentation from Lexus, then.

If you're correct and the physical transmission on the 330 is the same as on the 02 and 03, I'm going to be very angry. I specifically asked about it and was told that the 04 had a completely new transmission.

If it is partially in the transmission then all Lexus transmissions behave that way as do all transmissions on BMWs etc. To me when driving back to back a car with drive by wire and a normal throttle cable, the normal throttle cable is MUCH smoother. The hard shift at 35MPH is odd, I don't have that. That sounds like what the reprogram was supposed to fix, a flutter around 40MPH. Trust me, Lexus will never have any fix for the hesitation when accelerating, its simply the way the throttle by wire systems are. I don't understand why automakers insist on using them.

blake- The 98 had both, it had a electronic throttle (first year) and a backup throttle cable. Modern Lexuses dont have a backup throttle cable.

You're contradicting yourself:

"all Lexus transmissions behave that way as do all transmissions on BMWs etc"

and

"The hard shift at 35MPH is odd, I don't have that."

Both statements can't be true.

There are two possibilities:

1. The only widespread problem is the hesitation on downshift which is widely reported and which is widely believed to be related to drive by wire. My hard shift is a problem unique (or nearly so) to my car.

or

2. There are two different problems. One related to DBW and the other related to transmission internals (probably programming).

Franky, I don't know which of these is true - I just want my car fixed.

I'm 23 and I don't notice the lag ;)

I don't think its neccisarily the youth or aggressiveness of the driver, its how they habitually apply power to the throttle. Its simply different ways of driving. I can see what they're saying. Its not really a transmission issue its the electronic throttle. If you drive some other cars with electronic throttles (other Lexuses, BMWs etc) they behave the same way. There may honestly not be anything they can do. My dad's 98 LS was that way, my 03 ES is that way, and his 04 LS is that way. In normal driving I don't notice it anymore. What Lexus is saying is that 10% of owners don't like the way the throttle operates, not that they are experiencing a problem.

I would definately buy my ES again.

That's the standard story. I'm convinced that it's only partially the drive by wire. That one accounts for the hesitation when you take your foot off the gas and then try to accelerate.

I have that problem and also a different one. If you start from a full stop and accelerate at moderate speed, there's a very hard shift at about 35 mph. Even my wife noticed it - and she doesn't notice much of anything. Well, she'd notice if a wheel fell off. Maybe.

I can't see how drive by wire would explain a very hard shift on steady acceleration.

Hey i just bought my 1993 Lexus ES300 and the security code is needed and is not listed in the manual at all. I dont have it but would appreciate it if someone could help me out by giving me the radio code so i can at least listen to some music while i drive. :) If you dont want to post it here you can email me at jahon@verizon.net and thank you for all of your help! Much appreciated!!

:)

You'll probably need to see your dealer.

The purpose of those codes is to prevent someone from stealing a stereo and then using it themselves. No one's supposed to give them out unless they can verify that the recipient is the legitimate owner.

I believe SW03ES (who owns a '03 ES 5-speed automatic) once said that Lexus's own surveys indicated only 10% of owners notice the momentary lag in response in some driving situations. So it appears the lag is objectionable to young, performance enthusiast type drivers. What I can't figure out is why would aggressive drivers even want to drive a conservative car like the ES to begin with? A GS would be more appropriate.

Thanks. At 46, it's been a while since anyone called me 'young'.

As for choice of cars, the GS is $6 K more than the ES - which put it outside my budget. Besides, I liked the ES. I shouldn't have to choose a more expensive car to get a transmission that works.

The IS would probably be a better comparison for truly performance oriented drivers since it's in the same price range, but it's not just performance oriented drivers who see the problem. I don't consider myself a particularly aggressive driver and I see the problem.

Any time that 10% of their customers are complaining about a problem, it's real. This crap you get from Lexus corporate ("We don't have any reason to believe that there's a problem with the ES300, although a few customers have expressed 'concerns'" is the quote I got several times) is nonsense. It's a very real problem and needs to be fixed.

There are some cheaper cars out there, no doubt, but they all seem to be well over 100k miles. FWIW, I do like the fact that these are around 80k. At least I'd be able to get my hands on them earlier in their careers, and maybe get the proper maintenance schedule going and get some serious miles out of the car. I don't see why these babys can't do 300k before major work. What do you think?

Don't let optimism get in the way of making an [expensive] decision that needs to be completely rational.

Is it possible for a Lexus to go 300K miles? Sure. But I wouldn't count on it - especially since you're buying an auction car with unknown history. Even planning on 200 K is a stretch - unless you're willing to spend a ton in maintenance.

If I were buying a brand new one and planning to keep it until it died, I might use 200 K as my target (more likely, 150 K). NOT on a 10 year old one with unknown maintenance history.

Hi Folks,

Just looked at a couple of es-300s, and I have a couple of questions:

- Is it "normal" to hear a bit of belt/bearing noise from the right front of the car as you drive? Kind of a whispy, metallic sound -- nothing really bad, but it's there. I ask because I've heard it on 2 of the cars now. Might even be power steering or alternator bearings or belt.

- Do most of the cars have some oil on the frame rails on either side of the motor? Again, not bad, but enough to make things wet. Is there any typical place it's coming from?

- One of the cars we looked at was having motor mounts replaced -- is that typical? It had a "klunk" when changing from park to drive, and they said they had one more motor mount to replace. (Back I believe)

- How about cracked headlight covers (glass) -- is that pretty common? Are they expensive to replace? (same with tail lights)

We're down to 2 nice cars, both around 80k miles, both a little pricey at almost $10k, but both straight, clean, very nice machines. And I guess we could negotiate down from there.

Thanks,

Fred

For $10 K, I'd expect a car that's cleaner than you're describing. There shouldn't be oil hanging around and funny noises are a no-no.

If you really have your heart set on spending that kind of money on a 10 year old car, I'd do one of two things. Offer the dealer $9 _IF HE GIVE YOU A GOOD WARRANTY_. Alternatively, offer him $8 or 8500 and buy your own extended warranty.

There's no way in the world I'd even consider spending that kind of money on a car that old without some kind of warranty.

It's amazing that this thread continues as long as it has with more and more people reporting the same problem with their new ES330's also. I very often wish there was some way to start a smear campaign against the ES3xx models to force Lexus to do something effective about it. This is only 1 of the 2 chronic problems I have with my 03 ES300.  I keep coming back here hoping Lexus has come up with an effective fix but it aint happening.

 

As I suggested above, file a complaint with NHTSA. If enough people do that, Lexus will be forced to fix the problem.

There's always the 'sue them' route, but I don't like getting lawyers involved unless absolutely necessary. You may feel differently.

I also have the same problem with my 2003 ES300. Has anyone tried the Lemon Law? I'm a Lexus fan, but this is hard to deal with. My life passes before me at least once a day as I push my foot down on a unresponsive pedal!!!!

You could try Lemon Law, but my experience (at least in PA) was that this only got you any results if it was an incredibly obvious and terrible problem. I'm not sure that the transmission would cut it.

File with NHTSA. Instructions are posted a few messages above.

Thanks again, excellent posts. I'm giving up on the lease idea, I agree. And thanks for the tip on 95-96, nice to know they had some fixes/improvements in them. That's why I bought the 84 supra, it looks like an 82, but they ironed out some problems (like steering) and added suspension/motor upgrades -- I'm REALLY glad I bought the 84.

We're kind of thinking.... 95/96 es300, 80k miles. What should that be going for? $8000??? (when all is said and done, assuming a nice car)

Probably higher than that. Try the Edmunds site I listed above.

As long as you know what you are getting into when you buy a used car, then you shouldn't have too many problems. People that buy a 10 year old car should expect to have some issues, regardless of the make/model - even a Lexus. As a Porsche mechanic I'm sure you know all about that. Regardless, I have two friends with early modes ES 300s that have over 200K and are still running fine.

My '95 ES 300 is approaching 150K and is still in excllent condition (but I maintain it well to keep it that way).

Let's use your numbers. He's looking at buying a car with 120 K. You say you know some that are past 200 K. Let's say that 200 K is a fair target (I would argue that it's way too high, but we'll use it for argument's sake).

He's going to pay $8 K for a car like that (roughly). His depreciation will be $0.10 per mile. And that doesn't include the cost of any repairs, tires, brakes, etc. It also doesn't include resale value, but that's going to be pretty low by the time it hits 200 K miles.

For comparison, you can probably lease a brand new Camry for $0.15 per mile. My wife is leasing a new Volvo V70 for under $0.20 per mile.

As much as I like the Lexus, I personally can't see the value in that kind of deal - especially since you could get unlucky and only get 20 K miles out of it - or have to spend many thousands of dollars in repairs.

Another place to get used car prices is Edmunds.

Some of the published numbers are largely fiction - often created to either bias negotiations in favor of either the buyer or seller. Edmunds claims that their numbers are based on actual car sales in a region. They offer adjustment by color, condition, mileage, options, etc.

Beware, though-the condition adjustment is pretty substantial - and very subjective. My dealer tried to rate my last car 2 levels below where I had it rated.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/usedmatrix/Use...cnav.4.1.Lexus*

As an example, a silver 1995 ES300 with 120,000 miles in 'clean' condition and leather seats have a private party price of $7,677 (will vary with zip code).

I know that my opinion is outside the mainstream, but I'm not a big fan of buying expensive high mileage cars. How long do you expect this car to last? Perhaps 4 years? If you're going to buy a 9 year old car for $8 K and replace it every 4 years, you could lease a new car (not as nice as a Lexus, but not bad) for a similar amount of money.

True, if you think you're going to get 7 or 8 years out of this car, it makes sense. But most people won't get that long out of a car that already has 120 K miles - even a Lexus.

But that's just my opinion. Lots of people disagree with me.

Good luck.

Wow! It must be nice to be able to do that work by yourself.

I'm estimating that if I had to have the Lexus dealer do that work it would cost me somewhere around the GNP of Belgium.

Yeah dark colors are nice when they're clean lol

I agree - but I'm not buying any more dark color cars. First, it's extremely hard to keep them clean. Second, I live in the South and they just get too hot. I only live about 5 miles from work, so I get to work (or home) before the car cools off.

:o I recently took my 04 ES330 in for 10,000 mile maintenance. I live in the Washington D.C. area, and like most metropolitan areas there is traffic all over the place. The car was shifting erratically in traffic jams. When I mentioned this to my service rep I was told that Lexus recognized this as a problem, and that a software fix would be coming out this summer. Has anyone else heard of this, and what have you heard? The rep said that they are being quite cautious because the software fix for the 01/02 ES 300 was not an overwhelming success.

My dealer told me a few weeks ago that it was a known problem - but that there was no fix. I contacted Lexus both my snail mail and email - and did get a call back both times. They insisted that there was no problem and that the car was operating 'as designed'. In the next breath, they told me that they would contact me if they had a fix for the 'concern'. They never explained why they were looking for a fix if there was no problem.

In any event, I would encourage you to contact NHTSA and file a complaint. I posted the directions in the thread pinned at the top of this board. It's on the next to last page, near the bottom.

I'll certainly be happy if they fix it. I love my ES330 except for the transmission.

How can i do this? I wanted to improve my system a bit and was wondering what kind of replacement speakers can i drop in my front and rear speakers and subs? I'm wondering about the sizes itself and the power ratings since i don't want to replace the amp and HU. Any speaker/Sub recommendation?

Edit:

My car is a 1997 ES300

Keep in mind two things:

1. The stock units have relatively how power rating. Make sure you choose speakers which are high efficiency - and the right impedence.

2. The speakers have been selected by Lexus to match the acoustics of the car. If you go into a stereo store and select speakers that sound great in the store, they may sound terrible in the car. Even if you can tweak it to sound right, you'll need specialized audio equipment to equalize the sound.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but this type of upgrade is probably better left to the experts.

According to the maintenace book the car was last :cries: serviced at 66,000 miles at crown lexus in ontario, ca. The car was driven in so cal so i don't think it went through any heavy duty action. I went to pick up the car this morning and after about ten miles the same problem happened and I had to get towed back. I purchased the car at a used car dealership so the only warranty is through them, not Lexus. I'll keep you posted. Could the tranny be trashed after only 77k miles?

Sure, it's possible, but not very likely IMHO. In order to trash the tranny after only 77 K miles, you'd need to have a combinatino of extremely abusive use and complete neglect of maintenance. Granted, those two things often go together, so you can't rule it out.

Of course, if you still have a warranty from the dealer where you bought the car, you should be covered. Even though most used car warranties aren't very comprehensive, most of them will cover any major transmission work. Since you've only owned it 3 weeks, I'd take it right back where you bought it and tell them you want it fixed or replaced with an equal or newer car.

Good luck.

What's the maintenance history on the car? I wouldn't be surprised if you simply need a complete tune up. Make sure to check the fuel filter and PCV.

Just a guess, but it sounds like a plugged fuel filter.

There are a number of other possible options (fuel pump could be failing, for example), but I'd bet that it's the filter. Fortunately, that's cheap to fix.

Another thing to consider is debris in your gas tank. I'm not sure how you'd go about checking that or fixing it if it's the problem. Maybe there's a drain plug you can look for?

On some cars, there's a screen on the fuel pump inlet. It's also possible that this is getting plugged up. I suspect you have to drain the tank and pull the fuel pump to check that.

I'd go with the filter first and then start looking for debris in the tank or fuel pump screen.

If that doesn't fix it, you're probably stuck with some more detailed (and expensive) diagnostics.

Why not just post your average numbers for the 3 octanes?

Either get it fixed at a reputable body shop , sell the car , or live with it , we all get gray with time .

I don't know about your last choice.

Even if you don't want to pay a dealer, wouldn't you be better off sanding off the old rust and spraying some Rustoleum on it (after taping off surrounding areas, of course). That would prevent more damage and wouldn't cost much. It would also probably look better than the rust.

Just wondering.