iammikey

You'll have to remove the rear seat and the rear deck to access the subwoofer. Do you have the ML?

I do most of my driving at night and have the same complaint on my 330. The dealer said it's set to spec and is against adjusting it since it will blind oncoming drivers. I'll be adding Sylvania Xenarc HID driving lights to my car just as soon as I can find a body kit.

I have an '04 with over 14,000 miles and I haven't experienced that. It was raining in my area all last month and I must have put around 1000 miles in the rain without noticing that. Were your wheels submereged under water for any amount of time? My Nissan souded like it was grinding anytime I drove through deep puddles and the dealer stated that semi metallic brake pads will sound like that after driving through puddles.

I have 14,000 miles on my ES330 and only had one experience of transmission hesitation that went away after a few miles. It seems like the car was learning my driving habits. After reading your post, I decided to go for a 15 mile drive and put the pedal to the metal. Acceleration wasn't neck breaking, but I did notice a little hesitation around 25mph (for the first time) and not 0-5mph. I would figure that if I was going to drive my car hard like tonight, then I made a bad decision and should have bought a Porsche or Lotus Elise as my work car. Just remember that this is not a sports car, but a luxury sedan.

If you paid for the repair job with a credit card, then you may have some recourse. Credit card companies can do a "charge-back". Just before you do a charge back, make sure you get your car, parts, and tranny back.

The acceleration is quite nice for a car of this size. The ride is excellent for the money. I had to tread lightly yesterday on a little fishing trip. I drove appx 35mph on a dusty dirt road that was weathered like a washboard. The car turns very nicely on sharp turns, and I really noticed the traction control on some sharp turns. Yeah I know it's not a 4x4, but its just so comfortable on dirt roads.

I know the feeling. My 2004 has almost 14,000 miles and appx 12 rock chips and a broken windshield. Damn rocks on the freeway...... I guess I'm numb to all the rock chips after the third one, now the windshield on the other hand is just annoying. O-well, it's just a car.

Buy where ever you want, I'm for saving money. The service department is usually run separate from the sales- just like 2 businesses in one.

Greg, I have an ES330 and think it's the best daily driver I've had in a while! The AVS doesn't do much other than entertain passengers and I when driving on the freeway. Even though the suspension change is subtle, I could have spent the money on adjustable aftermarket springs and affected handling as well. The ML is money well spent if you enjoy music. Just don't expect too much until you break in the speakers, then enjoy the sounds of instruments you didn't know existed on a cd. The Navigation is a must have! Best adult car toy ever invented. As far as buying technique, just know what you want to get and locate the car. Once you settle on your wants/needs, then remember to keep your emotions out of the negotiation. If possible, then locate as many dealers you are willing to travel to and see if they have the car you're looking for. Call around and speak to a fleet manager or internet sales person with the VIN # of the car you're interested in so they can verify you're really interested and have your cash ready because they may have one in stock with your specs at a better than expected deal. I flew 400 miles to get my car but saved around $4700 last September when I called a dealer and told him I'll fly tonight for the right price. As far as break in, drive responsible and vary your speed for the five hundred miles. Some of the dealerships I spoke with stated that there is no break in period, so I just pretended there was one and didn't hurt a thing.

My dealer in quoted me $150 for the 10,000 mile service. The advisor talked me out of it and said an oil change at $35 was all I needed and spend the $230 on the 15,000 mile service, which includes replacement of all fluids (oil, tranny, brake, etc.), rotate and balance the front tires, new cabin filter, and a car detail. I'll have the 15K service done next month.

Congrats on the purchase! I'll be installing 17's on my car in the next 2-3 months. The 18's I borrowed for my ES330 made the ride a little too firm, even with the suspension adjustment I made. There's also a trade off in the larger wheels. The tire life seems to differ significantly when comparing 17, 18, and 19 inch tires. With over 12,000 miles on my car since Sept, I have to do a little more research before investing in aftermarket parts. A better investment may be an invisible car bra. I've accumulated a lot of rock chips on the hood, and I am also in need of a new windshield. The service advisor commented that the paint is a little softer since Lexus changed the paint formula a while back.

While going through the dealer settings screen on my ML NAV, I noticed a microphone test mode. I'm sure the dealer can adjust the mic for you.

Brian, I looked at through my ES330's repair manual and to add power pedals to a car is not only expensive, but is also very invloved. loweradj.pdf

WFMiller, Here's the spreadsheet in Excel. To sum it up, in 10,809 miles, I've used 483.67 gallons of fuel averaging 22.348 mpg, and spent $819.70. I had to convert the spreadsheet to a .jpg to post.

Steve, My car computer performs much differently. I find my computer to be quite accurate. Last night, I finished a fuel consumption analysis and discovered a baseline for my ES330 and will continue to track it's mpg. If interested, let me know and I'll post the spreadsheet. I think the fuel meter accuracy is dependant on fuel filling habits. For example, I used to top off my 4Runner tank and hang the nozzle. As a result, the low fuel light was accurate. On the other hand, I used to top off and put as much fuel as I could in the tank until the nozzle wouldn't allow any more fuel into the tank. As a result, the low fuel light would activate too early. My conclusion is that the more I top off the tank, the more I distort the fuel sending unit and cause inaccurate fuel readings.

This must be the chrome trunk trim Lexus is referring to. As for as a body kit, what do you think about this style if Lexus was going to add this to the sports edition? (see links below) http://store6.yimg.com/I/lexusparts_1769_32411183 http://store6.yimg.com/I/lexusparts_1769_31961753 http://store6.yimg.com/I/lexusparts_1769_31979908 http://store6.yimg.com/I/lexusparts_1769_31992671

WAIT, STOP! Don't buy a new starter until you disassemble yours. I had the same problem with my 4Runner this month and spent a whopping $15.00 to fix my starter. All I had to do was remove the starter and purchase a contact kit from Toyota. It was a simple 30 minute fix. I'm sure the starter repair is the same for most cars, so check this out before spending your hard earned money. Here's the link: http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/starter/index.html

I was reviewing the repair manual cd for my ES330 tonight and found a flowchart which had a camera check mode on the navigation system diagnosis display. I then found a chart with physical addresses of camera, tv tuner, xm (xm satellite?), and a whole bunch of other neat things (see pg 05-1258 on the repair manual). Has anyone tried to add a camera, tv tuner, XM radio, or dvd player to the ES330's navigation system? I'll look for schematics on this cd if someone can help me interpret it. This repair manual has got me thinking that there's a lot of neat things one can do to the navigation system.

JPI, If the foam block is causing the noise, then can I just double stick tape it? I'm sure the engineers put that there for a reason. I'll be taking my car in on Monday for service and will ask about that "kit".

Many reputable dealers and maintenance facilities will rediagnose the problem for free if you are dissatisfied with the repair. At 36k miles(?), is your car still under warranty for non-wear items? Just return to the dealer and calmly explain the situation to the same service advisor. Avoid getting emotional over the issue and your demeanor will likely work in your favor. Lastly, I've found it cheaper at times to just turn my music a little louder. (just kidding) Good luck!

Rich, I have experienced that problem with installs in the past, but on a camry. First, check the fuses for functionality and not apperance (they may have a fine crack). If they turn out ok, then see if you may have accidentally unplugged or pulled on the hazard light switch wire. Lastly, recheck the wiring you did. Here's a link: http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/detail...191&type=Stereo And, if that doesn't help, keep asking on this forum and I'll see what else I can find.

There is definitely a break in period for the speakers and amp! The sound has significantly improved on my ML after appx 50 hours of use. The bass is adequate and not overwhelming. Just remember that a good stereo isn't a loud one, but a responsive one which can duplicate the instruments without sounding overbearing and distorted.

I'm sad to say that I'm glad I'm not alone. I just discovered that annoying rattle in my 2004 ES330 after the temp dropped below 35 degrees. And for the 2nd time as well, the upper left of the hard plastic part that covers the back of the drivers seat has popped off. Is this a common issue among other owners? O-well, at least it'll be in the shop in the next 2 weeks for it's 10,000 mile service.

I would start simple and see if the lug nuts and struts are properly tightened, have the wheels rebalanced or rotated - don't forget to see if the wheel is round and not dented or if the tire is defective. If that doesn't fix the problem, then I would suspect wheel bearings, idler arm, or axles before tranny.