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TroyLexus, Over the years I've had one car (can't even recall which make or year) that developed moisture in one headlight. I removed the entire assembly from the car and used my wife's hair drier to blow warm air into the bulb socket openings. I recall that it took quite a while to evaporate all of the water out. I verified that the assembly was crack free and that water wasn't getting into any openings. (I may have even silicone sealed one seam in the rear I think.) Regardless, I let the unit cool down before reinstalling it in the car. I don't believe that the problem reoccurred. Good Luck!

Duh! I didn't answer your second question. I've replaced the switch light bulbs and console light bulbs on many vehicles, but not on any of the Lexus models that I'ved owned over the years. Again, its fairly straight forward, if you take your time. Typically, Toyota dealers and the like, want you to replace the entire switch. But if you remove the switch from the dash or console, it usually is possible to take the switch apart, and replace just the one bulb that is burned out. In the case of the seat heater, there are two bulbs, one to light the switch at night, and the other to indicate when its turned on. When taking the switch apart, be very careful not to lose any internal springs and electrical contacts that might fly out under compression (been there, done that). You'll usually find the bulbs are very tiny with 2 short pigtails that are wound around plastic holdowns within the switch body. These 12 volt mini bulbs, with about 2 two inch long wire pigtails, can be sourced from Radio Shack in a 2 bulb bubble pack for about $3.00. (I recently replaced some in my Subaru, again for the seat heater switch within the last year) Once you have them installed in the switch, you'll simply cut off the excess pigtail length that isn't required. Note: Toyota used to put a tiny green/blue condom onto the bulbs in order to cast the required hue when lit. You may have to remove the condom from the old bulb and install it on the new one. Newer cars have the green/blue hue installed on the switch viewing window, rather than on the bulb. The switches can usually be pried out of the console top, using a very thin flat blade screwdriver (taped to prevent scratching the plastic). If this proves too risky, you'll have to take the console apart and either unscrew the switch from the bottom of the console or pop it up through the bottom of the console. With the console apart, you'll be able to access the shifter's lighting bulbs as well. Good Luck!

Its been too many years since my last ES (a 97, same body generation as your 99) to remember specifically where the tweeters are located. They're either on the A pillar, on the inside triangular finisher over the door mirror, or part of the lower door inner panel. If on the A pillar, you'll need to pull the A pillar finisher to be able to remove the tweeter grill from the finisher. Do so gingerly to avoid breaking any clips, and be careful not to pull the finisher too far from the windshield before reaching in behind it to disconnect the wiring connector to the tweeter. If the tweeter is in the triangular finisher over the inside mounting position of the outside door mirror, it simply pries off if no visible fasteners can be seen. Again, be careful not to pull the finisher too far off before reaching in behind to disconnect the tweeter wiring. If the tweeter is part of the lower inner door panel, the inner door panel must come off before you can disconnect the grill from the panel. In this case the tweeter usually will stay in the door itself and no wiring need be disconnected. Usually the speaker grill can be disconnected from the inner door panel after the panel has been removed from the door, usually with screws. In some cases the manufacturer plastic welds the grill surround to the door panel and it cannot be removed. In this case, you'll have to surface prep the grill (to remove the visible rust) and then mask the entire inner door panel before you try a rattle can paint job on the grill. I've done many of these types of fixes at the antique auto restoration shop where I work, and they are fairly simple DIYers. If you need specific steps to follow to remove the inner door panel, or the paint prep explained any further, get back to us and I'll do my best to help. Good Luck!

Tribeguy95, Two things come to mind. One, that you may be using CD's that you've burned yourself rather than commercially made CD's, and the unit may not be of a type to be able to read burned CD's. Two, the laser head in the CD unit may need to be cleaned in order to read the CD info. Commercially available cleaning discs are fairly cheap to buy, and just might solve your problem. If this doesn't cure your problem, it may require an audio service tech to get to the bottom of your difficulty. Good Luck!

leonmot, I can't see why you need to remove the headrest mounting finishers. It seems to me that you need to pull the seat back material up off of the back foam to get at what you want to fix. At the factory the seat back upholstery is installed over the top of the seat back and pulled down. So to get it off you would pull the upholstery up, but you don't have to remove it entirely, so just leave the headrest finishers alone, peel the heater wires away from the seat material, apply the foam you want to use a reverse the procedure to reinstall the upholstery. Regardless, the headrest finishers were most likely just pounded into the seat frame and lock in place with some sort of tab. They will most likely be able to be pried out, but may break in the process if you're not careful. Pulling them out may break the tabs and you may have to glue them back in place. Good Luck!

godzillatreat, I presently have Bosch Platinums in three vehicles and they all run flawlessly. I've been using them in all of my vehicles, except my antiques, for the last 20 years or more. Not one has ever failed. By the same token, Bosch makes three models of platinum plugs,I believe. I've only used their least expensive, single electrode version.

motoroil, Go online and check out Crutchfield, as they make a lot of adapters and plugs for upgrading audio systems in cars. As well, try installdr.com as they do much the same thing, but additionally provide the pin out codes and wire colours to the various components. I'm not saying they'll have exactly what you're looking for, but they may provide you with a direction to go and get it. Good Luck!

ES330Sarah, Every car I have ever owned has had a brake fluid flush and refill recommendation in the scheduled maintenance portion of the owner's manual. The most common frequency is every 3 or 4 years. Brake fluid absorbs water from the air and the water eventually will start to corrode the steel brake lines, the master cylinder and the calipers from the inside. Brake fluid is normally clear and colourless, but will start to darken and take on a rusty to black colour when contaminated enough. The worst part of water in the braking system is the rusting of the calipers that takes place because the water seeks the lowest part of each caliper and starts the rusting sequence there. Severe corrosion can seize the calipers entirely, resulting in a tow and major brake repairs. One day you put on the brakes, and one or more wheels will just not release. The only way to rid the system of the water and bad fluid is to do a complete flush of the entire system, and that can only be done at each wheel, one at a time. The master cylinder is first vacuumed free of the old fluid and refilled with fresh brake fluid. Then, with the car on a hoist and all wheels removed, one bleeding screw is opened, and the old fluid is drained out until new fluid is seen at the bleed screw. The screw is tightened and the procedure moves to the next wheel and so on. Usually the wheel farthest from the master cylinder is done first, then the next farthest, and so on. I've not explained the entire procedure to be done, as there are several steps to doing the procedure. Some cars with ABS ( my 90 Nissan 300ZX for one) has a separate procedure for bleeding the ABS pump, some allow the ABS pump to be bled just by bleeding at the wheels. Certain Chrysler cars (and there may be others) require a special computer hookup to be made to the ABS computer just to be able to bleed any of the wheels. Regardless, flushing the brake system is a must on any car once every 3 or 4 years, unless your car is using a silicone brake fluid, which brings up a whole new matter. As for flushing the power steering system .... I've never heard of it being necessary. Topping up the fluid if its down, yes. I suppose if you were to keep the car for 40 years, flushing the power steering every 20 years would be a good idea. Your service tech hasn't got your best interests at heart, as much as he does his own. He bears watching .... very closely! Good Luck with your new ride! My wife loves hers.

pete rock, If you've pulled the inner door panels off the same model year Camry as your Lexus is, then you won't find a whole lot different when you do your Lexus. It will be almost exactly the same procedure. And if you're tinting your windows, why pull the door panels anyway? I've had at least 16 vehicles tinted by the same local professional window tinter over the years, including my wife's latest ES, and not one inner door panel has been ever been removed to do the job. He simply uses a spatula for applying bondo to push the inside rubber seal, that is along the bottom of the glass and attached to the inner door panel, down below the upper edge of the door panel. He then cleans the glass, applies the window tint sheet to the glass, and trims it just below the top edge of the door panel. After squeegying the air bubbles out between the tint sheet and the glass, and trimming the other three edges, he lets the tint set for 24 hours before lowering the windows. The first time the windows are raised, friction grips the rubber strip at the top of the door panel and flips it back up into its original position, and just above the bottom edge of the window tint sheet. This saves having to remove and replace the door panels at all.

mb es300, Go online to installdr.com. They list the various auto manufacturers, model years and models. Find your year and model and you get the list of the wiring pin locations, colours, and what they attach to. Its really well done. Good Luck!

LEXUS, If the fuses keep blowing, then you have an electrical short. I would pull the radio and check its wiring harnesses to see if any of them have been pinched or if they have been chafed and have been shorting across to the case of the radio, or any metal bracing in the dash. If that is not the case, testing the harness back to the fuse block with a multi tester will discover any shorts, if there are any. If that doesn't find your short, it has to be inside the radio case itself, indicating that its radio replacement time. Good Luck!

One has to assume that you mean that when you turn the radio on, the LCD panel doesn't light up with the station information, and that no sound comes from the speakers. Start with the fuses. One will be marked radio. Change it with a known good one. If that doesn't solve your problem, you'll have to pull the unit from the dash and test its wiring harnesses for proper hookup. If that doesn't fix the problem, while you have the dash apart, remove the radio for repair, swapping with a used one from a wrecking yard, or take it to your Lexus dealer for their exchange program. You give them your old radio and some money, they give you a newly refurbished unit to put back into your car. Here's hoping its a fuse! Good Luck!

iolmaster, The plastic finisher between the windows frequently deteriorates on many cars. Lots of Windstar vans have the same problem where the clear coat paint breaks down in the sun's UV rays and the flat paint underneath shows through. The solution is to repaint the panel, which is a totally DIYer. Mask the surrounding metal/glass/rubber with 2 inch wide masking tape, and sand the panel carefully with 400 and then 600 grit wet/dry sand paper to prepare the surface for painting. When done, use a tack cloth to remove any dust left over. Then mask off all of the surrounding surfaces with newspaper and masking tape for a distance at least 18 inches from the area to be painted. Now to the paint. Depending on what colour and level of shine you are trying to achieve, select the appropriate automotive paint in those small rattle spray bombs. You may want to go to a semi gloss black, a flat black base coat followed by a clear coat to get a full shine, or a full gloss black paint in one step. If you're unsure which way to go, visit an auto painter and ask for a quick answer as to which he would suggest to best match. Then its just a following of the instructions printed on the can to finish the project. I suggest you try spraying on some cardboard first, in order to get the hang of it so as to not make any runs. Carefully done, you should be able to produce a nice enough finish on the panel to make it look factory new. Good Luck!

zockslexus, You don't give us any idea as to how bad your leaks are. Unless you are losing more than a quart between oil changes, it may be way cheaper to just live with the leak, unless you can change the seals yourself. Then again, maybe you hate the pool of oil on the garage floor and on the concrete driveway, and cleaning that up may be worth the cost. Something else to consider. Ten or so years ago my 90 Nissan 300ZX started marking its territory after each run. It'd leave a small pool of oil on the garage floor that was traced back to the rear crank seal. I went online to a Z forum with my problem and more than one person suggested that I change the PCV valves (there are two on that engine). They reported that once plugged up, they would raise the crankcase pressure forcing oil out the rear seal. An hour and $38 later I had replaced the pcv valves, and the car has not leaked another drop of oil to this day. Good Luck!

Sandyqarf, The only way to know for sure what the problem is with your one rear door lock is to remove the door panel from that door. Once removed you'll be able to poke around inside the door itself to see if the door lock actuator has come disconnected from its anchor point, the lock rod has come disconnected from the lock mechanism, the wiring harness connector to the lock actuator is corroded or has come undone, or even if the lock wiring harness has a broken wire at the door hinge point. Its also possible that the lock actuator has gone south as well. It should be fairly simple to track down just what the problem is. If the actuator jumps when the door lock switch is actuated, then the problem is in the linkage rods to the lock itself, or in how the actuator is mounted, meaning the actuator isn't mounted correctly to provide enough throw in the mechanism to trip the lock. If, when moving the door lock switch, the actuator doesn't move, then the actuator is dead or there is some problem with connectors or wiring. Good Luck!

es250L, Someone has removed the power antenna assembly from your car, most likely because it had jammed and wouldn't go down or up, or it had been snapped off in a car wash or by vandals. The coax cable is the antenna lead in wire to the radio, and the wiring harness connector typically hooked up to a relay and a timer that put the antenna up when the radio was turned on, and pulled the antenna down when the radio was turned off. Your best bet is to forget about replacing the power antenna assembly, because the cost of a new one from a Lexus dealership may prove too great for your pocketbook, and trying to find a used one that still works on an 18 year old wreck may prove impossible. I'd buy an aftermarket/fits all standard antenna kit. It'll have a foot long barrel assembly that fits up through the fender opening from the bottom (inside your trunk). From outside the car various rubber seals and plastic finishers will allow you to match the antenna's vertical placement with the shape of the fender. Some sort of chrome ring/nut is slid down over the plastic fasteners to snug up the antenna assembly and seal out any water. Inside the fender(trunk) you'll find a short cable from the antenna that the other coax cable already in the car pushes in to. From there all that needs to be done is to pull the antenna mast up and turn on the radio to enjoy. Hope this helps you out! Good Luck!

nu2virginia, You are most welcome! Enjoy your ride.

makapaka, Toyota makes some of the most reliable vehicles on the planet, and a Lexus ES is one for sure. If properly maintained the drive trains are trouble free and can be expected to last 350 000 miles or more. The key in buying a used one is to find an ES that shows "pride of ownership". Even better is an ES with a complete service record from new, showing that all the recommended servicing has been done. Would I buy one with 97 000 miles? Yes, if it fits the my descriptions above. Would I buy either of the 03's you described? Again yes, and again with the same requirements. Would I buy an extended warranty from Lexus or anybody else? No! One could almost guarantee you that you won't need the extended warranty, Toyota's cars are that well built. If you are that concerned about future repairs, put the warranty money in a separate bank account towards future repairs. If you need it its available for future fixes, if you don't need it for repairs, it'll help pay for new tires and timing belts as required, or put it towards your next car purchase. The caveat to remember is, if you buy an extended warranty and your car gets written off in an accident three weeks later, will you get your warranty money back? No. But your money in the bank will still be there. As far as the prices asked for the vehicles you've described, I can't comment, as our market here in Canada is entirely different. Good Luck!

nu2virginia, Your mirror problem is in the wiring, the switch or the motor in the mirror for the up/down motion. The fuse will not be involved in this case since your mirror still functions left and right. The only way to tell for sure will be to remove the inner door panel to get at the wiring for the mirror. The wiring harness from the mirror is perhaps a foot long to its connector in the door. Disconnect the 4 wire connector (there should be a 2 wire connector as well if your mirrors are heater equipped), and using the harness section to the mirror, apply a 12 volt source to two of the pins. The mirror should move in one direction. Reversing the polarity to the same 2 pins should make the mirror go in the opposite direction it did the first time. Using the 2 other pins, do the same procedure as before. If the mirror then moves in a 3rd direction, and then a fourth when the polarity is changed, you'll know you don't have a mirror problem. If, however, one set of mirror directions can't be achieved, you'll need to replace the entire mirror, as parts are not available, mirrors are changed as an entire unit. If the mirror is fine, then you can test the switch and wiring from the mirror harness in the door. Put a test light across two of the pins, and with the ignition turned on, push the mirror switch in various directions until you get a light. If no light, try another set of pin combinations and repeat. Eventually you should get the light to come on. If you were pushing the mirror up switch when the test light fires, pushing the switch down should also give you a light. Select the other pair of pins not used for the test light, and when pushing the left button, if it gives you a light, then likewise pushing the switch to the right should also give you a light since you've just reversed the polarity of the juice. If one pair of switches (up/down or left/right) won't light the test light, you know your wiring or the switch is bad. If the switch can be removed from the dash, you may be able to clean the contacts of the switch with spray electrical contact cleaner, if its internals are dirty rather than broken. Replacing the switch may be the best way to go. To test the wiring from the mirror to the switch requires a multi meter with one probe on one pin at one end of the harness and the other probe to the same pin at the other end of the harness. If any of the wires doesn't show continuity, the harness is bad and must be repaired or replaced. None of this is rocket science , but it will take some time to do. I have changed the entire motorized innards of a power mirror from another mirror found in a wrecking yard. This saved me from having to repaint the used mirror's outer shell to match my car. It is possible, but it was a long and frustrating job, and I'm not sure that I would tackle it again. I recall a lot of swearing. Good Luck!

saltyreefguy, This is completely doable, and much easier than you would imagine. Find a wrecked car with the same colour interior and with heated seats and remove the parts you need. Check the wreck's fuse and relay boxes to see if there is a separate fuse or relay for the seat heaters. If there is, pull them, because your car will have the same spots to put them in. Your car should have the required wiring harnesses hiding under the carpet of the seats, or taped up under the centre console. You may want to check this first before you go ahead. Within the last year I completely changed over the power windows, door locks, power and heated mirrors, and the heated and power seats between two Pontiac Vans, one of which had no power accessories whatsoever. The required harnesses for the power/heated seats were right under the carpets under the non powered seats of the van that was being updated. In my case, the required fuses and relays were already in the fuse box right from the factory. Good Luck.

J.R.I., The only way to discover what has gone wrong is to remove the inner door panel and the plastic weather shield underneath. That will give you access to see what has let go. From what you describe, it sounds like you've stripped the gears from the motor to the crank assembly that raises and lowers the glass. Used parts are definitely the cheapest way to go. Any driver's door motor assembly from the same series body style (I'm not certain, but 93 to 96?) will fit, and possible Toyota Camry's from the same model years. I would try your local wreckers for a complete motor/window crank assembly. If you have some mechanical ability, the change over is a DIYer. Good Luck!

amol pat, You may be absolutely correct about your tires. The two things you don't want to ignore on a car are the tires and the brakes. You can forget just about every other system on a vehicle to some extent, but if you can't stop the car once its moving you are in for a whole lot of pain. Good Luck!

Baloo Belle, The serial #'s I was referring to are Version Number. You need to check with Lexus or a source that Really knows which update versions will work with your car. Your 02 has had a new updated version available for each of the last 7 years. You may find it cheaper to update to a two year old version instead? Again, a Lexus tech should be able to reset your sunroof computer options (if there are any), and your Navigation settings. Lexus keeps all of this info pretty close to their chest, and don't share the info freely. I've even found our local Toyota dealer can't even access the Lexus info, and my closest Lexus dealership is 50 miles away. I agree, if the speaker cones have a small hole or two, just put a thin paper patch on them, or a patch from a spare speaker cone, using a similar fabric glue that is used in bookbindings, flexible not rigid. And yes, after you do the required maintenance you'll think you have a new car. My wife just loved her 97 but has absolutely fallen head over heels for her 04. I've tried to talk her into a newer one but she won't hear of it at this point. Enjoy your ride!

Baloo Belle, Watch eBay for the nav update CD. They show up from time to time. Just be sure to get the proper series for your car. Don't take the seller's word for it. Check with a Lexus tech for the proper serial #'s. It is possible to fix the speakers. There are kits available to recone and replace the foam/paper sides of the cones where they attach to the metal frames. This are usually done on high end home stereo systems, but I don't see why it can't be done on the smaller speakers in your car. A good audio store in a major city should be able to steer you to someone who rebuilds speakers. Just be prepared for spending some money. Not so much for the actual speaker rebuilding, as it may be for the pulling of all of the door panels, the speaker and amp removals, and the reassembly time. Your sunroof has one motor that is computer controlled and pulls or pushes two geared tapes inside tubes, one on each side of the car. As the roof opens these tapes are pulled to the rear of the car. From what you describe, one side had skipped a gear tooth or two, resulting in the missaligned roof glass. You apparently have that corrected, and if you're careful and lucky, you may never have another problem with it. If it does act up again, the only repair is to pull the entire sunroof assembly out of the car. This is time consuming and expensive, since the headliner, the overhead assist straps, sunvisors, overhead lights, A,B and C pillar interior panels, etc. all have to come out just to get to the sunroof. Then the sunroof assembly is removed in one piece, and once on the bench, the broken parts are changed. Three hours or more may be required, plus parts. (Read expensive .. $500 +) As for the auto open/close feature, check your manual. It may describe a procedure for resetting it. Get your throttle body cleaned if the performance is lacking. May be a tuneup is in order. But I would advise against changing the throttle body. A larger one lets in more fuel and more air, just the opposite of fuel economy. Good Luck, and enjoy your ride!

amol_pat, From what you describe I would think that it may be time to rebleed each of the calipers. You may have a small amount of air somewhere in the lines. If rebleeding doesn't cure what you think is a problem, it may well be that you don't have one, and that everything is normal. I've owned a lot of cars over the years, and done a lot of brake jobs. And everyone of them has a different feel at the pedal. If you're still convinced you have a problem, take to a mechanic and have it checked out. Good Luck!