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That's a weird one for sure! What I'd try is to bare the end of the receiver antenna wire and add another 2 feet of wire to its end. That may extend the range of the receiver enough to pick up the signal from your car. You may even find that by moving the antenna to different locations around the opener that you'll fix the problem as well. Good Luck!

It could be either the switch or the motor drive in the mirror. You might try cleaning the switch contacts with electrical contact cleaner spray to see if that corrects the problem. If not, you'll have to pull the mirror wiring connector and apply 12 volts across a pair of wires until you see the mirror move. Reversing the wires will move the mirror in the opposite direction. Then use the other set of wires you didn't use the first time to move the mirror, and then reverse them to move it oppositely. If you find a pair of wires that won't move the mirror, you'll have to replace the entire mirror. A new mirror, when painted to match your car, will be many dollars. In the past I have found a used mirror in the wrecking yard, and then took it apart to put its mechanism into my old painted shell. It was a long, frustrating, fiddly job but it saved me a pile of money. It is not a job for the faint of heart, but it can be done if you're mechanically inclined and have the time and patience to tackle it. Good Luck!

Most dealerships have contacts with private detailers who make repairs to seats and door panels. They make the rounds of dealerships in an area taking out dents, repairing small rust spots, respraying dashpads and the like. There are several who are in my area that even do private individuals in between their dealer rounds. Check with several dealers to see who they have come in to do those kinds of repairs. Good Luck!

docnucs, Many cars of this era have a coded security feature to prevent theft of the unit. Once the power has been cut from the head unit, a 4 or 5 digit code must be entered before the radio will work again. I'm not entirely certain that this feature applies to your vehicle or not, but a check of the car's owner's manual will explain the procedure if so. As well, somewhere in the car's documentation the code will be listed if it applies. If not, you'll have to pull the radio for its serial number (on the back of the head unit usually) and contact a Lexus dealer for the proper code. Good Luck!

ryan h, Your problem started when you disconnected the battery, and then reconnected it. I suspect that that is the source of your problem. All kinds of crazy electrical goings on can occur when improper voltages are supplied in modern cars. I would double check your battery connections to ensure that you don't have any corrosion and that they are making good contact. Then I would follow your Lexus Tech's advice one more time. If that doesn't do the trick, it may be prudent to just bite the bullet and let them track down your problem. By the way, an idle of 200 rpms is way to low. It should be in the range of 750 - 800 without the air conditioning on on most cars. Good Luck!

GM1995ES, You are referring to the wheel centre caps and not the lug nuts. Over time they may lose some of their spring and become loose and rattle, or fall out altogether. What I have done in the past on other cars is to put two or three turns of electrical tape around the spring prongs that seat into the centre of the alloy wheel. This effectively increases the diameter of the centre cap making it lock tightly into the wheel. If you find two or three layers isn't enough to do the trick, simply add more till your problem is solved. Good Luck!

The gold plated emblems were just that, plated with gold that was VERY thin. They didn't take kindly to being brushed and polished often. As far as other options, eBay has chrome sets and gold sets available all of the time. Gun metal grey is not available. What you might do is to completely remove the gold from your old set. It'll take some rubbing and a some fine rubbing compound, and then repaint them the colour you want. Anything is possible. Good Luck!

I think your best bet will be eBay or an auto recycler. I believe the 93-96 ES's are all the same and the sun visors should be interchangeable across those years. If not, find one you like and replace both sides. Good Luck!

Its been years since my wife had her 97 ES, but I seem to recall that it was several pushes of the button to open the sunroof entirely, and likewise on closing to prevent someone's hand from getting trapped. Her 04 ES has a couple of pushes necessary before fully open, and the same on closing. I don't recall anything in the manual allowing for a different programming other than already discussed, but it is possible to use the remote to fully lower all of the windows and fully open the sunroof all at the same time. I'm sure that wasn't possible on the 97.

I had a button pop off of the remote for my 07 Subaru Outback, and while on a visit to the dealership recently I asked if they had an older/used unit that I could have just the case from. They just gave one to me and I changed over the guts from my old unit. You might try the same with your dealer. Baring that, they are all over eBay, new and used. Just last week I purchased a new remote for one of my cars for $32.00 including the shipping. Good Luck!

I have a toy, a 1990 Nissan 300ZX, that developed a small leak from the rear crank seal about 10 years ago. I was about to pull the clutch and tranny to replace the seal when an online forum response suggested to change the PCV valves (The car has 2 of them) and the leak should go away. I did, and it did, and hasn't returned to this day. Apparently the clogged PCV valves allowed the crankcase pressure to rise enough to force oil out the rear seal. I'm not saying that the same thing applies in your case, but maybe its worth a look. good Luck!

Most of the pieces on these cars are base coated and clear coated. What you are seeing is the the clear coat deteriorating. Simply mask the surrounding glass, door and roof area off with masking tape and newspaper, sand the entire panel with 400 grit and then 600 grit wet/dry paper, wipe clean and spray with several light coats of clear. It'll cost you the price of the tape, the sand paper and a spray bomb of clearcoat automotive paint, and a half hour of your time. Been there, done that, and my results were terrific. And even if you screw it up, you can still go the other option already suggested ... and nobody will ever know. Good Luck!

It really comes down to how good an ear you have for high end electronics and whether you really appreciate that kind of listening experience, or how much you have a need for a one year newer car. If you are someone who never listens to the radio, or is just fine with an mp3 player or an old cassette deck, buy the newer vehicle. If, however, you really like listening to good music, go for the ML. Perhaps the way to decide on the newer car is to play a favorite CD in it, and then try it in the one year older ML unit. Good Luck!

I would wonder if the shift solenoid, being electronic, has an external wiring connector that is corroded and not making a really good contact. If this is the case, its possible that just cleaning up the connector with electrical contact cleaner spray would solve your problem, followed by a clearing of the fault codes. I don't know for certain, but it sure wouldn't take much to find out. Good Luck!

You have a 12 year old car with high mileage that is leaking oil in very small amounts. I suggest that you live with it until it loses one or two quarts between oil changes, which may never happen. To trace down and replace several different leaking gaskets will cost big money, money that you would be wise not to spend on a car with the age and mileage of yours. It would be entirely different if the car had 60 000 miles and was only 3 years old.

You might try thumping various parts under the car near that wheel with a large rubber mallet when the car is on a hoist. If the noise is not due to a part of the suspension, you might find it that way. I'd smack the subframe as well.

The1, There are three or four possibilities as to why the antenna won't power up (assuming that when you turn on the radio that you don't hear the antenna trying to extend up). I'd start with the easiest to check. Remove the trunk panel that the antenna assembly is behind. Disconnect the connector to the antenna timer (little square box that tells the antenna motor how long to run) and see if its corroded. There should be another wiring harness from it to the antenna assembly. Pull it and check for corrosion. If cleaning these up doesn't fix the problem, put a multimeter on the harness connector to the timer and have someone turn on the radio to see if any power is being sent to the timer. If there is, the problem is in the motor. If not, you'll have to trace the lines back to the radio. One of its output wires powers the antenna when the radio is turned on. To get the correct wire go to Installdr.com to track it down. (The site allows you to select a make/model/year of car and it gives you the colour codes for the factory wiring of the radio) If the motor is the culprit you're lucky because its easy to get the entire assembly out of the car, something almost impossible if the mast is stuck in the up position. Undo the outside top nut (on the outside of the fender where the antenna comes through). Undo the one or two 10 mm nuts that hold the antenna assembly to its bracket, pull the drain tube from the bottom of the unit, and after disconnecting its wiring harness lift the unit out of the car. Good Luck!

Marshall2k, I've delved into the LED light issue with one of the cars I own, and I've had some experience with a past Lexus model that may or may not put some credence to what I have to share with you. First LED's don't draw very much current at all, not like a standard or halogen bulb. In the case of the car I was going to switch over to LED tail light/turn signals, the LED manufacturer advised the addition of either another standard bulb be placed in the same circuit out of sight in the trunk, or the addition of a resistor (they sold them as well) added to the circuit, in order to make the flasher recognize the current draw and trigger the flash. This being said, the car in question was a 1955 Ford Thunderbird (a 6 volt system), and this may or may not apply in the case of your 04 ES. I'm suggesting that your flasher may not work with LED bulbs. Second, and this was on one of my first ES's (a 97), a bad bulb socket on one front turn signal bulb caused both front and rear bulbs on that side of the car to flash at three times the normal flashing rate, due to the changed resistance in the circuit. Again, the addition of LED bulbs may cause you flasher rate problems. If you do decide to go ahead and install the LED's anyway, please get back to us with your results. I'm sure many here will be interested. As for the headlight replacement, yes, the headlights should fit from any of those years, and will fasten in the same manner. The only hangup may be the circuitry. If the new lamps use a different bulb, you'll need to get new bulb sockets. As well, there may be some problems with current draw, if there is a wide difference in the bulb's wattage compared to what you have in your car now. In both cases, I would suggest that you talk to a good service tech who knows these cars electrical systems, before you buy bulbs or headlamps that you may not be able to return if they don't work out. Good Luck!

usvi, 97 was the start of that generation of ES300's up to 2003, which is entirely different from the 96, which is the last year for the pevious body style. No, they will not fit and be a direct bolt on because the rear sheet metal cutouts that the tail lights fit into are different. Sorry!

Eli, You'll have people telling you just about every schedule you can imagine as to tranny fluid replacement. Look at your owner's manual and follow what Toyota suggests is the correct interval for your car. You can stretch that schedule if you must, but in a car that you're going to keep for a long time, or as in your case, one that doesn't get many miles in a year, you're best to follow the schedule. By the way, keep an eye on your leak. It may be tranny fluid, but could just as easily be power steering fluid, brake fluid or engine oil. Check your owner's manual to see if your car is cabin air filter equipped. If it is, the manual will show you how to change it. Typically you have to remove the glove box door (about 4 screws) and the air filter is in behind and pulls straight out. Sometimes there are two, and after removing the first one, you slide the one on the right side over to where the first one was and pull it straight out as well. !Removed! for your sticky throttle, it may be that your throttle cable needs to be lubricated with cable lube, or that your entire throttle body needs to be cleaned, sometimes called seafoaming. Both jobs are best left to a service tech unless you're a backyard mechanic whose been in the backyard a while. Good Luck!

Sexus ES300, Pull the light bulb and as you said, "go the Radio Shack". Its been many years since our last ES, a 97, but I do recall replacing some dash bulbs with ones sourced from Radio Shack. Its been too long, but I think the micro bulbs came in a 2 pack, each bulb with a 2 inch long pigtail, for about $3.00. I think I recall that the bulbs fit into a twist out socket and the pig tails were wound around various cuts and holes in the socket, and then the excess pig tail was cut off. I may be wrong, but I think I remember that the old bulbs had a small blue/green coloured condom on them to cast the blue. You may have to peel the condom off the old bulb and install it on the new one. Hope I'm right. Good Luck!

Ron, First off, you don't give us a model year for your car so no one can give you a specific answer. That aside, crawl under the steering wheel on your back with a flash light and have a look. Most cars will be the same. The top of the brake pedal assembly will pivot on a bushing. Below that bushing/pivot point will be the actual brake rod that enters the master cylinder to apply the brakes. And somewhere below or above it will be one or more switches (to activate the transmission unlock from park when the brake pedal is pushed, to light up the brake lights, and to turn the cruise control off) as well as a small bracket of some kind that should hold a rubber bumper that prevents the noise that you're hearing. Its either loose and not properly adjusted, or the rubber has worn or compressed to the point where its not doing its job. It should be an easy fix in some rather cramped quarters, but totally a DIYer job. Been there, done that, many times over the years. Good Luck! Some friendly advice, not a criticism in any way........ it is most inadvisable to use your actual name on the internet. Unlike email where you can usually do so, the web has more than its share of maniacs who can prey upon such info. Most people use a web name such as "ESboy or LexUsMan", if you get my drift.

Hazey999, The coolant gauge is electrical. Usually when they go the problem is traced to the connector of the sending unit in the engine block or thermostat housing. Cleaning up the corrosion with a wire brush and some electrical contact cleaner spray normally does the trick. If not, next in line to check is the actual coolant temp sensor. A multi tester can check that its ohms output varies as the temperature rises in the engine. If it checks out fine, last to zero in on is the temp gauge itself, usually ending with its replacement. As for its lighting, the bulbs that light the gauge may need to be replaced. If the gauge needle has gone out, check the thread archives here for the manner in which to replace the needle LED's. Good Luck!

Hazey999, If the mast cannot be pushed back into the body of the assembly, the only way to get the assembly out of the car will be to cut the mast off about 2 inches above where it exits the car. Then when you undo the nut that holds the mast tube to the fender and remove the plastic outside finisher/sealer, and remove the one or two 10 mm bolts that hold the entire motor assembly to the body of the car inside the trunk, the unit can be removed from the trunk. Obviously disconnect the bottom drain tube, the antenna cable connector, and the wiring connector to the motor and timer to do so. Try eBay for a new unit, or even a used one from a wrecker from another Lexus or even a Camry of the same model year. Don't be afraid to try looking at other Japanese makes for a unit that fits, since they all use the same supplier in Japan. My 1990 Nissan 300ZX has its original power antenna motor and gearbox, but a couple of years ago I had to swap out the mast assembly from a Toyota Corolla. It fit perfectly and is still going today. Good Luck!

bbunn1, I'm not certain that you'll find your answer here, but if you go to the online site called installdr.com (the install doctor) and input the info for your model and year, they'll give you the info for all of your audio wiring. There'll be pin locations and numbers for the wiring connectors as well as the colour schemes and locations of all audio wires. Hope this is of some help! Good Luck!