gbhrps

As stated "you will get no warning when the timing belt goes". Having the work done before it breaks saves you a towing bill, perhaps one or 2 day stay over in a strange city, paying for accommodations and meals and taxi service if over a weekend, and if you were away from home when it happens, or an accident since you'll lose your power steering and power brakes when the engine quits at 70 mile an hour in rush hour traffic. Push the spark plugs if you must, that'll only cost you lost fuel mileage. Skimp on the water pump if you don't wish to do it when you do the belt job, but they'll only have to tear everything apart again that they do for a timing belt change, just to get to the water pump if it goes 2 weeks later. It really is unwise to put off needed repairs. It always costs you much more later.

Without looking at your profile, your question tells me that you're a lot younger than I am. That said, I do have some experiences in life that you won't get to for some years to come. That's not your fault, its just the way life is. I'm willing to bet that you have an eleven year old automobile because its in your price range. That same 11 year old automobile is one fine driving machine from its outside skin to its smallest inner parts, and if properly cared for will last for many years to come. However, as it gets older it will need tires, brakes, filter changes, perhaps a new alternator, radiator, valve guide seals, and who knows what else, and none of it is going to be particularly cheap. You asked for an opinion and I'll give you mine. Save your money for the things that will maintain your car's safety, value, and good looks. What you are considering is for people who have very deep pockets, and who can afford to waste their money and not lose any sleep about it if they make a mistake in judgement.

You are dealing with a tire dealership that is giving you the runaround, because you are a woman I suspect. Take the car to another tire retailer and see what they can do. I'm betting that the first tire shop didn't have the wheel correctly mounted on their balancing machine before they spun it and added weights to balance it. If the second tire dealer can't balance the tire, and you already know the rim isn't the problem, try contacting Michelin directly and see what they can do for you. They have a reputation to protect, and as long as you're friendly but firm you may get a positive response. Good Luck!

I think that you're going to find that 2 or 3 different mag wheel configurations are available for any model year, some chromed some painted. I would think that you'll have to check the numbers that are cast into the rim itself to obtain a part number that you'll be able to quote to parts suppliers. Even then your best bet may be to contact wrecking yards in your state for the same model year car, and then drive out and compare. Trying to describe what you're searching for over the phone is going to be problematic. You might try to photo just your wheel and fax a large copy to the wreckers instead. Good Luck!

The inoperative window could be just a dirty switch. Try spraying some electrical contact cleaner spray into the switch on the driver's door and cycle the switch several times. You may have to remove the switch from the door/arm rest in order to find an opening to shoot the spray in to. You may have to do this several times. Allow the fluid to evaporate before turning on the key to try the switch. If the rear door switch is the one you are referring to, try the same procedure there. If that doesn't do the trick, next open the door and check the wiring harness that feeds the rear door (in the rubber gator near the hinges) for breaks in one or more of the wires. If that's a no go, you'll have to pull the rear door inside panel and the plastic weather shield to get at the wiring and motor. Check the wiring connector at the motor to see if its disconnected or needs cleaning. Powering the motor itself from a 12 volt source will tell you if its working or not. The other rear window that drops down leaves you no option but to remove its inner door panel to see what's up. It could be a stripped gear on the motor or mechanism, a broken roller, or a bent channel that the glass rides in. You may even find a slide channel that has come loose. If you need parts, going to a wrecker is the cheaper route, and you may find that the same year Camry parts will interchange. Good Luck!

I'm no expert, and I don't have the answer for you, but I do have a thought about what you might try. First off, the knock sensor shouldn't affect the engine's performance if there is no engine knock situation present. You may be getting the fault code because the computer can't find the knock sensor on line. I have frequently found that electrical problems are not the fault of the actual part, but rather corrosion at the connector to the part. If you were to disconnect the knock sensor wiring harness and clean up the contacts with electrical contact cleaner (comes in a spray bomb with a 4 inch long spray tube, available at any auto parts store)and reconnect the harness, you may find that it will fix your problem. Be sure to do the cleaning with the engine off, and allow several minutes for the cleaning fluid to evaporate before starting the engine. Now to your second question ... where is the knock sensor located? On your model year ... I don't know. Hopefully someone will jump in with the answer for us both. Good Luck!

You have to get your car to someone who can track down the coolant leak and get it fixed. You have a bad head gasket, a frost plug has corroded through, a cracked block, a water pump on its way out or a rotted coolant hose. Driving the car as it is is going to destroy the engine if you don't get it repaired before its too late.

What do you mean it doesn't work? The power door lock switch on the passenger door doesn't lock the doors? The key fob locks all of the doors except the passenger door? The driver's side power door lock locks all of the doors except the passenger door? What about all 3 of these situations when attempting to unlock the doors? We really need as much specifics as you can give us in order to be able to track down your problem.

Its been a few years since I've had the same situation, but the fix was new valve guide seals. First thing in the morning at startup you get a cloud of oil smoke that disappears within 30 seconds or so. You don't see smoke all day as long as you're driving the car, but park it for three or four hours and there is another puff of oil smoke at startup. As the problem progresses you will get more and more smoke, sometimes you'll not be able to see the car at startup. And then you'll be able to see more and more smoke, even while driving. In my case the valve guides had aged to the point where they were allowing oil from the valve train to creep down the valve stems and get burned in the cylinder. The fix is to pull the valve covers, pull the sparkplugs, and turn the crank until all the valves on a particular cylinder are closed. Then a special air fitting is threaded into the sparkplug hole and the cylinder pressurized to 150 lbs or so (to keep the valves closed and prevent them from falling into the cylinder). The valve springs would each be removed, the old valve guide seal removed and a new one replaced. The cost was far more labour than parts, but it solved my problem. Good Luck!

I suspect that the knob adjusts the volume of the keyless entry beeper. At least it does on my wife's 04. Good Luck!

Heads up! You're not getting any responses because this group doesn't know. You're posted in the wrong forum. Try the LS forum. Good Luck!

mrlexluter2, I've watched your post for replies for many days now and I'm not surprised that you have received no responses. The first time I opened your thread and scanned the page I thought, "My God! Who is going to take the time to read all that?" I didn't. And I'm still not going to. If you have some questions in there somewhere that you would like answers to, you are going to have to really shorten your posts, because I don't believe that anyone is going to take the time to read them otherwise. By the way, we understand your excitement at getting your first Lexus. Congratulations and welcome to the club!

With the right tools and a LOT of patience you can do the job yourself. The iridium plugs that are in the car are good for 120 000 miles or 192 000 km, according to the Lexus owner's manual. The fronts are a breeze to change, the rears are a bit** but can be done without removing the intake manifold. The quotes you received were obviously from sources wanting to remove and replace the manifold, equals hours of labour, equals big dollars. I copied the following 4 paragraphs from a camry v6 forum for the same generation of es330. "I changed the plugs on mine at about 80 000. The front plugs are of course a breeze, the rears are going to be problematic (unless you want to remove the plenum which some people actually do). I managed to change all 3 of the rears without removing the plenum but unless you have very small hands (i mean child size) it is like building a ship in a bottle. You will need every tool that looks like it might help, and a roll of masking tape to tape the sockets and various extension together so they dont fall apart while you are wrestling with getting the back plugs out. I used a 3/8 set of sockets but i think you'd actually be better off using a 1/4 socket set and some adapter for the spark plug socket itself (since they are all size 3/8" for the square hole). I bought a tool from harbor freight called sidewinder and it cost $10 and was worth every penny. It is a 3/8" socket wrench that you can turn your socket by twisting a handle on the end (instead of moving the handle back and forth). I could not have gotten out the back middle plug without this clever tool. If you change them yourself it CAN be done but count on getting very intimate with the engine as you will be lying on it for a long time wrestling these plugs out, they are all a !Removed! to access. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands, assemble every tool that might help, and set aside PLENTY of time for the chore is my advise. And please do use antisieze on the threads if you own this car a long time the LAST thing you want is one of those dam rear plugs seizing in place - Good luck!" As you can read, the job is not for the DIYer unless you have a lot of patience and time. I checked my wife's ES330 just now with a trouble light out in the garage, and when the time comes to changes the plugs I'm going to do the job myself. I consider myself a backyard mechanic whose been in the backyard a while, but I can see where some people wouldn't want to try this themselves. Good Luck!

That engine has a lot of miles on it and has served you well. It has lot of miles still left on it ..... if you leave it alone. Unless you are a brute for punishment, why would you even consider putting a turbo on an engine this old? You will blow it up if you put any boost to it. You are basically asking an engine that is a senior citizen to compete in the Olympics with the 20 year olds.

To get to the door handle you'll have to remove the interior door panel and the plastic weather shield (really a thin plastic film to stop draughts). With the window glass up you'll be able to see inside the door to figure out what part needs repair. As stated, the lock rod clip sometimes comes off and drops to the bottom of the door (if so, look in the bottom of the door for it), allowing the lock rod to become disconnected from the outside door handle. Sometimes where the lock rod fastens to the door handle, the tab breaks off, requiring a new handle. And I've also seen where the lock rod itself has been bent out of shape, such that it is too long or too short and won't activate the lock assembly when the handle is lifted (just rebend the lock rod). As far as not using a used power window switch .... BUNK! A used one will cost $20 or less, while a new one could cost as much as $120 or more. Guess why they want to you to use a new one? I've replaced a pile of them with used units and only had one that had a problem that a cleaning fixed. Good Luck!

If it were my car I'd have it into the dealership ASAP and have them run the codes. You may have a very simple problem that just requires a reflash of the transmission controller, or something far more serious. You want to catch this problem before it gets further along and costs you big bucks. Please keep us posted as to how it turns out. Good Luck!

Tim, I've read both of your posts and its obvious that you're pretty excited with your new purchase. My wife and I love her ES just as much. But I would suggest that you don't spend any money that you don't need to. Personally, unless the battery is hinting at giving you a problem, why change it before you need to? Nine times out of ten it'll telegraph when its about to go south. The one you have now could last for years. As far as what things to have the dealership check over, it would be wise to check the suggested maintenance schedule in your owner's manual. Previous service records will tell you what's been done and up to date. If that isn't available it may be wise to flush the brake system, the cooling system, and the transmission as well. Check the schedule for the spark plugs and the timing belt, and check the condition of the belts, hoses, and CV joint boots. Everything else should have been checked when the car was safetied. Good Luck!

Tim, Congrats on the new car and welcome to the forum! From my perspective you have to be realistic. How long are you going to own the car? 5 years? How many miles do you expect to put on it? 200 000 or 250 000? And when was the last time that you heard about any manufacturer's engine having an oil related breakdown? A DIY oil and filter change is under $20 with dino oil. The same oil change with synthetic oil can run 3 times that. Do the math on just 2 years' worth of oil changes and you can see the difference in the cost. 5 years of oil changes using dino oil and the savings would more than pay for a new set of tires or more. Now, if you intend on making the car last 25 years, or if you are using it on the race track .... using synthetic would be a wise investment, but for the average car owner it doesn't make sense in my opinion, as long as you are doing the recommended regular maintenance and not beating the car to death. One caution about synthetic oil. I have read that on used cars used to dino oil, that sometimes the switch to synthetic oil causes engine seals to leak that didn't leak before. You may want to do some research before you make the change.

You have a different body style than my wife's 04, so I can't say whether you will have any success spraying the cleaning fluid into the seams around the switch. Try it and see? As for the problem in the first place? It could be a dirty switch, the connector to the switch, a frayed wire, or even a bad brush or connection in the pump motor that fills the bladder. You won't know until you investigate, but a dirty switch is the first thing to suspect, as it occurs frequently in many automotive switches from all manufacturers. Good Luck!

You are correct. The electrical contact cleaner spray can be fired into the openings and seams of any switch with that little straw attachment, in an attempt to clean up the contacts .... if that is the issue. I've used it many times on power window switches and the like, and it usually does the job. As I stated last post, sometimes it will be necessary to take the switch apart to do the cleaning, and sometimes the switch is just too far gone and a new one is required. The spray shouldn't hurt any of the nearby components, but I would suggest keeping it away from the leather. I did have a case many years ago when I got some of the spray onto the dial face of a speedometer I was working on. It quickly removed some of the numbers on the dial face and made them run. The airbags in your car (dash, ceiling, side of the seat) won't fire if you disconnect the battery, and then wait 20 minutes or so for the capacitors to lose their electrical charge. They are perfectly safe to handle afterward, as long as you keep them away from any electrical sources. That's what the dealership would do. You have the choice to try to clean up the old switch and save some money if you can, or just replace it. Personally I would try to fix it if I could. You may find that a new one will be a lot of bucks. Once you have the switch out, using a multimeter its very easy to see if the switch is defective or not, or if the cleaning job fixed the problem. By the way, it may be possible to remove the side panel from the seat, and the switch as well, without removing the seat. Try raising the seat up as high as it will go, and then use a flashlight to see if from the front or rear you can see how the side panel is fastened to the steel frame. A couple of screws or spring clips may be all that's involved. Then again, maybe not. Good Luck!

BalooBelle, Typically the seats are installed as one piece into the car. What I mean is, the seats are swung into the interior of the car, the wiring harnesses to the seat heaters and power seat controls are connected, and then the seats are lowered to the floor and the 4 bolts tightened down, one at each corner. So to ensure that the plastic side panels and switches are removed correctly without breaking them, I would remove the entire seat from the car. Once its out of the car it can be turned upside down on a clean surface. The fasteners for the side panel and the switches should be quite visible then. As well, I suspect that you may find that your switch is just dirty. Many times over the years I've found that spraying the interior of a switch with electrical contact cleaner, and then cycling the switch quickly several times, often cures the problem. Just make sure the key is turned off, and then wait several minutes for the cleaning fluid to evaporate before you test it. Stubborn switches can often be taken apart and the interior contacts cleaned. Be careful with this method, as small pieces can get flung into dark corners of the garage where you'll never find them. If I choose this route, I put the switch and both of my hands into a large ZipLock bag to prevent parts loss. If none of the above solves the problem, you could opt for a used one or spring more bucks free for a new one. And then again, you may find that the switch is fine and that you have a corroded or disconnected harness connector, or a broken wire. Good Luck!

I would have to agree that the problem has gone on for too long for you to expect that the dealership would accept any responsibility. In addition, knowing that you are from London, and my having had dealings with the same dealership and having been less than impressed, I would suggest that you journey a little farther to Kitchener and see Heffner Lexus. We have been very impressed with our treatment with these people, and this is a two hour trip for us one way.

Its been many years since I had my 97 ES but I recall having to open the hood and pull out a plastic plug near the rubber bumper for the hood front corner. With the plug out you can lift up the thin plastic cover over the radiator support to reveal a single screw for the front corner light. Once its removed you pull the entire turn signal assembly towards the front of the car until it pops out. The trick here is to tape up the blade of a putty knife (so as to not scratch the paint) and slide it into the vertical seam between the turn signal and the fender. Then grip the putty knife as close to the fender and pull the knife towards the front of the car. Good Luck!

Rockysdad, I've fixed my share of sunroof replacements and repairs on different cars and the drain tubes are usually all in the same location. The fronts rundown the inside of the A pillar and drop out between the body of the car and the front fender, very near the bottom of the front fender. It may be possible to see them hanging down on some models, and if not, usually removing the bottom bolts on the fender right at the front door, one can pull the fender out far enough to locate the tube. The rears drop down the C pillar and exit the between the rear bumper cover and the rear body side. Usually you can remove the rear mud guard and the bolt at the seam between the rear bumper cover and the body, right at their common seam at the rear wheel opening. This may allow you to pull the rear bumper guard away from the body enough to locate the drain. The other common problem is that the plastic drain tubes may have split or shrunk enough to pull off right where they connect to the plastic or metal drain connections of the sunroof channel. The only access to those areas is to drop the headliner, not a hard job to do, but it does take some time. Good Luck!

maxconners, An older, well maintained Lexus ES would make an excellent first car. They have a great safety rating, and if they have been properly treated over the years, they have a very good reliability rating. Just be prepared for higher parts costs, as opposed to a Camry, as both cars are essentially the same while the Lexus parts list for more. I'm not certain that an ES would be a wise choice for a new 16 year old driver though. You need to go online, or make phone calls, and check out as many auto insurers in your area as you can. You need to compare the insurance costs for a whole bunch of different vehicles (and not just Lexus) to see what you can afford. You may find that you can't afford the Lexus, whereas a similar year Neon, or Rabbit you could. Do the homework to see if the insurance costs fit your wallet, before you narrow down your search for a specific car. Keep in mind, that gas, oil changes, batteries, tires and brake jobs cost a lot too. Make sure that you're not going to get in over your head and be car poor. Good Luck!