gbhrps

mburnickas, Usually as the door hinge pins wear, the back of the door will drop down, causing alignment and closing problems. For the door to be too high at the back (B pillar), suggests accident damage where someone has misaligned the door during repairs, perhaps. Regardless, a good body shop will be able to realign the door in less than 15 minutes, assuming that no hinges are bent or worn out. In some cases they can correct your kind of problem in less than 30 seconds, by pulling the rear of the door down by hand. Its not for the inexperienced to try, though, as bent and worn parts must be eliminated first, before bolts are loosened, parts readjusted and tightened, or entire doors levered into position. If you don't know what you're doing, you can create a bigger problem than you already have. Good luck!

My wife's 04 ES330 obviously has discrepancies in its mapping details. I've been waiting for the new update, that was supposed to be out this fall. Has anyone done the update, and what results did you notice? Do you mind sharing what the cost was, and whether you did the update yourself, or had the dealer do it for you?

91L3xus, Not on any Lexus I've owned, but my previous 2 Cressidas used oil only during the last 1000 km before an oil change. During the first 4000 kms the oil did not drop on their dipsticks at all, but in that last 1000 km before the regular oil change, the level would drop about half a litre on both engines. It would appear that as the oil aged, it would lose viscosity, and blow by the rings. Blue smoke was never visible in the exhaust, and there were no oil leaks. Is it possible that you have an engine that's doing the same thing?

Rusty, If water is getting into the trunk, it can only get in a number of ways. The trunk lid seal isn't doing its job, the tail light seals aren't doing their job, the rear window glass is not sealed properly, or if your car is sunroof equipped, the rear drain tubes may have come disconnected from their drains up inside the roof. I'd put my guess at the tail light seals, as this is fairly common on many cars. Been there done that, more than once. How to tell is to apply a moderately running garden hose, starting low and working slowly upwards around first one tail light, then opening the trunk and checking for signs. Close her up and do the other side. Then move slowly up one side of the trunk/fnder line, and again check inside. Do the other side. Then up one side of the rear windshield, and check, then the other side, and so on across the top of the windshield. Lastly is the sunroof, etc., until you find the culprit. If you're small enough, and can trust a friend to not leave you in there forever, climb into the trunk with a flashlight while they do the testing outside. Sooner or later you'll find where the water is coming in, just be sure to start low and work upwards, and take your time. Water leaks sometimes take a while to show. Good Luck!

alank22181, My wife recently acquired an 04 ES330 and we have noticed the same kind of errors. Talks with the service department of our dealership says that the upgrade to the software (in DVD format) should correct most of the problems, when it is available this fall (may be now or in a few weeks). They also claim that the version we now have has 1.2 million Points of Interest, and the new version has jumped to 8.6 million (don't quote me on the actual numbers, I'm trying to recall what I was told back several months ago). The upgrade isn't cheap, several hundred dollars CDN as I've been told. Hopefully this will make our units much more accurate, but with all of the data that is possible in all of North America, I guess its fair to assume that there will be some errors, but hopefully a lot less than at present.

ford21.809, I can't see how removing the wind deflector can have any affect on the rest of your sunroof operation at all. However, it was designed to flip up to prevent wind buffeting inside the car while at speed. If you think it will be less noisy without it, I would suggest jamming it down in its folded position with wooden wedges (take apart a clothes pin and use one half of that?) and do a test drive first. You may find that you don't like the results, or it may be to your liking. If it is, then go ahead and remove the mechanism (take pictures so you can put it back together again at trading time if you like). Good luck!

Davillan, Without looking at what you are calling a gouge in the rotor, I can't comment on whether the sticking pad caused it or not. What I can tell you is that you should drag your finger nail across the surface of the rotor, on both sides. The rule of thumb is that if your finger nail snags in a groove, the rotor either needs turning or replacing. Your best bet, if you have any doubts, is to let a mechanic you trust suggest the route for you to go. After all, brakes are cheap when compared to an accident, hospital recovery times, and years of regret. Once again...Good Luck!

Davillan, My wife's last ES (a 97) developed the same symptoms exactly, about 2 years ago. Since I personally had done all of the work on the brakes since new, I dug into the problem myself. The Driver's side front caliper was the culprit. No pulling, but a squeal while driving at slow speeds, that disappeared when the brakes were applied. No uneven brake pad wear, since the problem was addressed shortly after being discovered. I pulled the wheel, diconnected the caliper and pumped the brakes slowly to pop out the piston out and .... discovered a rust ring along one side of the piston, and a matching rust ring inside the caliper bore. I cleaned out all rust with 0000 steel wool and flushed all parts with clean brake fluid, and reinstalled the piston and caliper, and the problem was solved. The piston would move enough to apply the brakes and kill the squeal, but was not releasing sufficiently to remove the pad from the rotor, hence the squeal, but wasn't sticking enough to cause the car to pull to the opposite side when braking. Even though I flushed the entire braking system on the car every 3 years with new fluid, the water still got in. I now bleed the systems on all of my cars every 2 years. I'll bet you have the same situation, that if you get at it soon, can be corrected for very little pain in the wallet. Good luck!

kmb4701, Get someone to turn on your ignition and turn on the radio while you help pull the antenna up. Clean all the mast sections and lubricate them with WD40 or the like. Then have the helper turn off the radio while you help push the antenna down carefully. After two or three such cycles you should be on your way. If this doesn't fix the problem, you'll have to remove the antenna unit from the car and disassemble, clean and lube it with white grease. Some of us aren't afraid to take the time to be helpful, rather than embarass you.

tckcumming, Great minds think alike! I had the same tires on my wife's last ES and also the same tires and wheels on my Subaru Outback Wagon. And yes, its like being crazy glued to the road. I agree. You need to shop around to keep from spending money that could be better kept in your piggybank.

toysareyou, Many thanks! I'll track some down and keep my bride happy.

tckcumming, We had the Canadian Tire steel wheels and winter tires on my wife's last car (97 es3300) which we recently traded for her 04 es330. I was hoping the setup would fit her new car, but Lexus has gone to a 16 inch wheel and its obvious that the calipers won't clear the old wheels. So now we have a complete set of steel wheels, winter ice grip tires with about 10 000 km on them and wheel covers for sale. I'll try Canadian Tire again, but I wonder if the upscale V6 Camry's 16 inch steel wheels would fit, if indeed they are available? I just don't want to leave everything until the snow flies before chasing down a solution, and shipping to Canada from the Tire Rack, plus custom's duties, plus taxes, plus hassles leaves me cold.

Gentlemen, Does anyone know of a source for steel wheels for the 04 ES330?

Years ago, after being burned again and again by the shoddy construction of North American built vehicles, and then having to play the games to get the dealerships to correct the problems under warranty, etc., etc., etc. my wife and I both started driving Japanese vehicles, me, Nissan/Datsun 240z's and 300 ZX's, and her, Toyota Cressida's. You couldn't fault the Cressidas in any way. She had three of them until they were no longer produced, and she was forced to go to her first ES300 in 97. That one we put 269 000 km on, and traded it, not because of any problems at all, but because it was just time to do so, on a 04 ES330. What a beautiful ride it is! All one needs to do is check Consumer Reports and the JD Powers listings, and actually drive one to see for themselves what amazing cars they are.

ke4sfu, I've noticed the same errors on my wife's 04 system, obviously just in our local area (since I wouldn't know if the info was wrong someplace I've never been before). We've decided to live with it until the next upgrade comes out this September? so we've been told. But if you come up with a contact for suggesting corrections to the program, please post them so that I can add my 2 cents worth, and make the database more accurate.

JustSomeGuy, I've seen the same occurrence in the passenger compartment of aircraft when they first close the doors and fire up the air conditioning before takeoff. It may be condensation coming off the coolant tubes? It may be nothing to worry about...but I'm not certain. The only other time I've seen the same result, it was a leaking heater core, but you could smell antifreeze inside the car.

Joshy0077, On my wife's old 97 Es and my Subaru I painted the rotors and the calipers. I removed the rotors and using a wire brush I removed the heavy rust. Replacing them on the car makes them easier to paint (since you can turn them by hand without having to support them) and I used Silver Rustoleum paint in a half pint can, and applied it with a brush. (Obviously you don't paint the braking surfaces of the rotors.) The calipers I cleaned using a brake cleaner spray and a wire brush, and then mounted them on the car. I used the same paint and technique as mentioned earlier. Here we have a lot of salt on our winter roads and the results last at least a year or two before I needed to redo them. As for the mag wheel centre caps, you can repaint them with a spray can, but if they are aluminum, you must use a primer paint first that is specifically for use on aluminum, or the paint will just lift off in a short period of time. I'm not sure how the Lexus emblems are fastened on to the caps, but they should come off first. It may be less hassles to just buy new centres, if they don't break the bank. Good luck!

Piranha, There is no fast fix to my knowledge. The Toyota Cressida (forerunner to the ES) came with a tool that allowed you to pull out a plug in the headliner and use it as a crank to close the sunroof. But the entire process disappeared along the way. It sounds like your motor has stripped a gear or the system has come out of alignment and is binding. Your best bet is some heavy plastic, duct tape, and some slow speeds while getting to a dealership, unless you feel confident at lowering your headliner to have a look at it yourself. Good Luck!

MikeI, Really the only way to tell is for you to drive both offerings. I assume you are thinking Acura TL as the other vehicle. If so, its cheaper to buy, must use premium fuel, has a smaller interior, and goes like stink, with more of a stiffer european suspension, more of a driver's car. The ES is more expensive, can use 87 unleaded, has a larger interior, has a much softer suspension, and is more of a laid back highway cruiser. I considered both cars as well, liked the looks of the TL better, but went with the ES based on how well my wife and I had enjoyed our 97 ES. Really, you couldn't go wrong with either car, in my opinion. They are both built like Swiss watches. It comes down to what you feel you need in a car.

Gentlemen, A call to the dealership got an answer back from their head office service rep... its alright to tint the windows with the navigation system. Curious that the navigation manual says otherwise. I'll go ahead and make my bride happy by tinting the glass as she wishes. If problems arise, I'll bring this thread up to date. As for tinting the windows beyond what the law states is legal, I have tinted the windows of the 2 daily drivers as dark as possible for the last 21 years here in Southern Ontario, and I have never been challenged by the police. By the same token, whenever I enter a customs booth, or go through a police checkpoint ( looking for drinking drivers) etc., I always put down the windows front and rear on the side of the car that the police officer is next to. It has never been mentioned. That's not to say that someday I'll be looking at a ticket for over tinting, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Gentlemen, Have just purchased an 04 ES330 with the navigation system... and tinted windows. I would say the tint is about 50% of the darkest that you could put on the car. My wife (its her ride) wants to tint the glass to the 100% level, as her last ES was done. After reading the Navigation Handbook, I see that they reccommend that you do not tint the glass on the car as it could affect the GPS of the system. Does anyone know why? Has anyone gone for the darkest tint and have the navigation system? How does it perform? Any problems?

exdotcomer, We ocassionally have to get rid of a "sag" or "gravity indicator" in the restoration shop where I work. If you are careful, and patient, you can sand down the run using first 1500, then 2000 grit wet/dry paper, using a hardwood block (say a 5 inch long hockey stick handle) with the paper wrapped around it. The trick is to soak the paper in mildly soapy water first (keeps the paper from loading up with scraped off paint) and frequently lubricate the area you're sanding with a sprayer full of the same soapy water, or just plain water. The trick is to wet the area first, sand in the same direction for 7 or 8 strokes, and then sweep the water off the area with a squeegie. (We use a quarter inch thick rubber pad measuring 2 by 5 inches). You check your progress, and continue until you believe you have the sag removed. Then change to the 2000 grit and repeat the process, but in a cross direction, in order to remove the scratches you made with the 1500 grit. After say 2 repeats with the 2000, stop. Squeegie again and now is the time to use rubbing compounds to bring up the shine to the same level as the surrounding paint, using a power buffer. If you are careful, no, you won't have to repaint the entire panel. If you have any doubts.... go see a restoration professional to get a better explanation. If you still have doubts...it might be cheaper in the long run to let a professionl do the job for you. If its just a simple sag, say 2 inches long, they should be able to do the entire area for you in less than a half an hour...and how expensive could that be? Good luck!

Sal's Dad, Sorry for your headaches, but I agree that the dealership is not the route to go. In your spot I'd search eBay Motors or try to locate a wrecking yard with a usable CD unit still intact. It would be much more reasonable dollar wise. Good Luck!

97 ES300 wife's daily driver 02 Subaru Outback Wagon Ltd my daily driver 90 Nissan 300ZX toy 55 Thunderbird Roadster toy 54 MG TF Roadster toy

Thirdmotion, You aren't getting an answer because noone knows. I asked a similar question back about 5 months ago, where I wanted to put my 97 ES300 steel winter wheels and tires on an 04 ES330 I was considering buying, and got the same response. The answer is....don't buy them unless you take your car to where the new wheels are located, and try one on your car, checking for the same wheel offset, and to see if the new wheels will clear the rotor and caliper. My guess is that they will clear, but that the offset may be different. That's the only way to know for sure, and not get caught buying something you can't use, nor return for your money back. I kept a set of winter tires and wheels from my 97 Subaru for use on a new Subaru in 02, and found they wouldn't fit, because the rotor size had been increased in 2000, and the wheels wouldn't clear the calipers. Had to sell them on the internet to a very nice chap in New York.