gbhrps

55, and its my wife's car. Its a class ride, and the envy of many of our friends, even though the car is 8 years old. We love it so much that she has a new ES330 coming in the fall. My daily drive is a Subaru Outback Wagon (yeah I know!) , that gets me through the winters here in Southern Ontario, but that shares the driving time in good weather with the toys, a 90 300zx, a 54 MG TF and a 55 Thunderbird. ( God....but that Able Walker is not far off!!) (sniff)

Eric, What the other guys have told you is pretty much on the money. The only thing yet to do is lift out the entire power window switch assembly WITH the wooden trim panel that surrounds it. Once you have it out, you'll find another screw that goes through the door panel into the door itself. Once you take it out, the door panel can be lifted up and off. BUT...that wooden trim piece around the power window switches must be pried out first. Pages BO-14 and BO-15 of the 97 Owner's Manual says no more than to" pry it out carefully using a taped screw driver "(to prevent scratching the plastic pieces). The diagrams show no fasteners of any type. It will be in there with just spring clips. Its not going to come out easily. You will have to use force on it to get it to pop out. But it must come out this way, as the diagrams and instructions show a screw underneath the panel that can't be gotten to in any other manner. Take your time, use moderate force, and you should get it out without doing any damage. Good luck...and let us know how you make out! ( By the way... you'll have to disconnect the wiring from the courtesy light before the door panel comes off.

Alizerothree, With those miles on the car, and its age, I'd advise changing out the fuel filter, air filter, and the spark plugs, as well as either having the intake system professionally cleaned, or adding fuel injector cleaner to the gas tank for each of the next three tanks of fuel. That may correct all of your jerking at high rpms and lack of giddy up at low throttle. A check of your engine computer codes may identify any other areas that need a quick tweak as well. As for your not having overheating problems, ensure you won't by flushing and refilling the cooling system with new antifreeze. While you're at it, flush and refill your brake fluid with fresh fluid, and get your tranny fluid and filter changed. The ES300 is pretty bullet proof, as long as its not abused, and gets regular maintenance. You bought it right, and with just doing what I've suggested here, you should have more than a few years of very trouble free driving. I sure wouldn't unload it, without giving the car a chance by doing the maintenance suggested. As far as changing your wheels, I like the ones that came on the car just fine, but that's me. Get the car running right first, then decide if its wise to spend dough on its appearance. I'm sure that the other guys on this forum can suggest which wheels to go with. Good luck!

From what you've described you're already on the correct time to deal path. Drive the car you have now until it starts to cost more to repair than what the car is worth, then trade up to the same type of vehicle you just found. Buying something that has been well cared for and has super low miles is the only way to go. You get to drive a far better car than you could afford new, someone else has taken the depreciation kick, and your car payments allow you to splurge on other things you need or want. My wife and I have been doing this for over 20 years with both of our daily drivers. The key is to buy a car that shows pride of ownership by the previous owner, and then take care of it. Sure is nice to not have big car payments each month, be able to drive something classy and dependable, and have the money left over for vacations, spoiling yourself, or even an antique car or other toys.

aamir, I don't know the answer to your question through experience, but logic would indicate that it must be some sort of press fit that the air bag can explode past, without throwing any clips or such into the passenger's face. I would expect that you should be able to pry it out. My 2 cents worth....hopefully accurate, but maybe not. BUT...BE CAREFULL!!!... disconnect the battery and wait at least 30 minutes for the air bag circuits to lose any lingering electrical charge, before you attempt removing the the cover. You'll be so close to the bag that if it goes off accidentally...it could kill you. If you have any doubts about it...leave it to a professional. Good luck!

Four months ago I bought all new rotors and brake pads from the local Toyota Dealer for a 97 Camry, took them home and put them on my wife's 97 Lexus ES300. They fit perfectly and work just like new. I think that you'll find there are a great many parts interchangeable between the 2 models.

Haven't had this experience myself, but if the brake system has not been flushed regularly every 3 years with new fluid, that similar problems such as sticking caliper pistons could occur inside the ABS unit. Brake fluid absorbs water from the air and will rust the pistons in their sleeves, if the fluid is not replaced on schedule. The ABS system will be one of the least used systems on any car, and lack of use to free up its internal parts will just add to the problem. Safely activating the ABS once a month on wet roads helps to prevent the unit from seizing up as well. I'd sure try vcv10guy's suggestion, and if the ABS unit is toast, look for a used one (maybe a Camry unit is also a possiblity). Good Luck!

Can't answer your part cost or availability question, but I have an idea that just might work for you. As an elementary school math teacher, I was always finding and repairing small pocket calculators for student use. Whenever one would become erratic it usually meant taking it apart, and cleaning the contact pads and circuit board with an ordinary pink pencil eraser. They came in all sizes and shapes, and maybe cutting a pad from an old calculator to what you need is going to solve your problem. Just a thought. Good Luck!

Eric5412, You're going to have to devote some time to tracking down the source of the leak, and water leaks can be a b**** to trace. I agree that your source has to be from the sunf roof, and most likely that one rear drain is plugged up, or has come undone from its gutter up top. The only way to get to the problem is to pull down your headliner and go from there. To do that you'll first have to carefully remove all of the A, B and C pillar mouldings that go around the top openings of the doors. A and B pillar mouldings are just on with spring clips that you pry off. Remove the interior room light lens and the screws underneath. Remove the roof side handle assist straps, the sunvisors, and the front centre roof console that houses your reading lamps and sunroof controls. Finally there are 3 clips along the upper part of the rear window, and the headliner is ready to drop out of place. I suggest a second person to help you remove it from the car if its necessary. Now you should be able to use compressed air to blow out each of your drains, or run a stiff wire through each. For sure you'll be able to stay in the car while someone runs a water hose over the sunroof, so you can watch for where the offending water is getting in. Take your time, and you'll solve your problem yourself without spending any money, and you'll have the satisfaction of having done it yourself. Obviously, putting the headliner back in is the reverse of dissasembly. Good luck!

Speedracer959, Since you've solved half your problem by what you've already done, I'd be inclined to go at it again when you have more time. It sounds like you've got to the bottom of the problem, getting the car to lock and unlock from the remote, but that you may have made your incar door lock switch too sensitive. Could you have bent a contact too far one way? Have you pulled the other 3 incar door lock switches and cleaned them? Does the harness that connects to the power lock in the driver's door have clean contacts? Did you pull the door panel and check the harness connection to the door lock selenoid to see if its corroded? These are just some things that I would try.....before I turned the car over to the dealer to solve....and before I did that, I'd track down a used door lock switch from a wrecked car. Hope this is of some help. Good Luck!

Eric5412, The sunroof seal can only stop MOST of the rain. Some will leak past it, and that is what the other drains are for. There are 4 drains for the sunroof, one each side at the front that have a hose that runs down the inside of the A pillars. There are another pair at the rear, one each side, that I suspect go down the C pillar. I say "suspect the C pillar", since my 97 workshop manual doesn't mention or show any hoses in the B pillars at all, and I see what I suspect is a drain hose exiting the C pillar into the side of the rear wheel well on page BO-78. Where it is shown on the 2nd diagram of that page, if the hose has come out of the wheel well opening, the water will definitely drain either into the trunk, or more likely the rear foot well. To get at it, you'll have to pull the rear seat bottom and back, and then the side panel over the wheel well. That said, the other place that water gets in frequently, is from around the rear tail light seals. It is possible that it puddles in your spare tire well, and some could find its way to your rear foot wells too. Might want to check the trunk out. Hope this gives a start. Good luck!

You're best bet is to remove the whole unit from the car and dismantle the mast and gearbox from the motor. It really isn't that difficult and it gives you the opportunity to regrease the inerds on a very old antenna system. You may find that there are indeed broken pieces of the old mast whip inside that are jamming things up. When you get everything back together, test it by plugging it into its wiring harness, but not installed into the car, and make sure it cycles properly up and down. Good luck.

Chazro, Your driver's door switches sound like they are at fault. Tape a flat bladed screwdriver (so it won't mar the panels) and pry up the power window woodtrim panel in the door. The entire panel, switches included, should all come out at the same time. There should be enough slack in the wiring to allow you to turn the entire unit upside down,and disconnect the wiring connectors. You have 3 courses to choose now. Take a spray can of electrical contact cleaner and spray all the seams of the offending switches to get the liquid inside. Immediately cycle the switch on and on and off to try and clean the switch contacts. You may have to do this twice. Reconnect the switch AFTER YOU'RE CERTAIN THAT THE LIQUID HAS EVAPORATED and try its operation. If that doesn't do it, it is possible to take the individual switches apart and clean their contacts. Its fiddley, using thin bladed screwdrivers or knives, and you must be careful of losing any of the tiny springs and copper pieces inside. Barring that, a trip to an auto recycler will find the switches you need. Good luck.

Gentlemen, Time to replace mother's 97 with an 02 or 03 shortly. I run ice grip tires on stock steel wheels in the winter, and the stock mags and tires in summer on the 97. The wheels are 15 inchers. The 02's and 03's have gone to a 16 inch wheel and I want to put the winter tire/wheels that I already have onto the 02 or 03, since they have only been used one season and are virtually brand new. I recognize that running smaller tires will put the speedometer out a bit, but shouldn't upset any other systems. My concern is will the 15 inchers fit over the 02/03 rotors and clear the calipers?

I'm not certain that I understand what spring everyone is talking about, but I assume its the interior power door lock switch. If I'm correct about that, its not a big deal to wrap a screw driver with tape (to prevent scratching the panels) and pop out the entire panel with all of the power window switches in it. The switch itself can be unplugged from its wiring harness and the switch removed from the panel. Just order a new switch from Lexus, or take the old switch to a junk yard where they'll allow you to wander and check the wrecks for the parts you want. Many of the Toyota cars use switches from the same parts bin and you should be able to find a replacement pretty easily.

Be careful here! Your car being a 95, has been subjected to quite a bit of daylight and the colour may be faded slightly. You may find that the tape has shielded the paint underneath it and it may different from the rest of the car. The colour difference may be very noticeable once you remove the tape. I would sure take a close look under a very small portion of the tape first, being careful not to stretch it so that you'll be able to reapply it, if you notice a paint fade that bothers you. I say all of this because my parents bought a former police vehicle that had all of its tape stripes and emblems removed. In certain light conditions you can still read all of the old decals. Good luck!

I put dedicated ice grip tires on steel rims on both of our daily drivers, wife's ES 300 and my Subaru OutBack Wagon, and wouldn't be without them here in Southern Ontario. On snowy and icy roads they are FAR superior to all season radials. It comes down to the finacial resources you have. If you have the money, get ice grip tires (Toyo and Bridgestone get my vote) on separate steel wheels. If you don't, make sure that your all season radials are in good condition, slow down and be careful.

I personally don't know about the radio in your lexus (never done one), but in others there are bulbs that can be changed. They are tiny and can only be gotten through the radio manufacturer or a dealer. You'll have to pull the radio surround moulding and pull the radio far enough out of the dash to get the front panel off, or completely pull the radio out of the car. In most cases the bulb lights up a clear plastic shaft or rail that goes to the individual buttons. In some cases the bulbs are in tiny sockets that can be given a quarter turn to unlock and remove. In other cases they are soldered into a circuit. Certainly a job that isn't beyond the brave and careful backyard mechanic, but may be more than you want to tackle, and may best be left to a radio technician...but it won't be cheap this way.

The mag wheels are slightly different as well.

Had the same problem in my wife's 1971 Cougar years ago and traced it back to the long trunk spring rods that go between each trunk hinge from side to side. The 2 rods cross each other in the middle of the car and a metal clip that holds them together, to prevent rattling, had come off. The ES300 has the same spring rod setup and this may be your culprit. Check to see if the rods come close to each other, enough to vibrate and touch after hitting a bump in the road. Either put some foam rubber between them to stop the vibrating, or tie them together with a nylon tie in 2 or 3 locations, so that they can't separate enough to vibrate. Hope this applies in your case and solves your problem. If not, it was worth a try. Good luck!

The diagrams in the workshop manual are pretty tiny but it appears that you remove the centre console woodgrain panel around the gear shift first. There are 4 spring clips apparently, one at each side just about at the rear of the panel and two more, one at each side, just ahead of the cutout surounding the raised gearshift indicator assembly. Tape off a flat screw driver well before you attempt prying it up, to prevent scarring any panels. Once its off, there are two screws in the bottom of the ashtray assembly to remove. Just above the ashtray door is another springclip panel that may or may not have to be removed first, before you pull out the ashtray assembly. Obviously there will be a wiring harness clip to disconnect at the cigarette lighter. Good luck and let us know how you make out!

Why would you bother putting synthetic oil into the car in the first place? Are you going to race it? Are you going to keep the car and not trade until it has 600 000 miles on it? If so, then synthetic may be the way to go. If not, save your money and do regular oil changes at the recommended times, with the recommended oil viscosity. Toyota makes great engines. My last two cars (Toyota Cressidas) went over 370 000 km before I traded them, without an engine related problem. (Sorry, a mouse ate up the ignition wires on one of them.) There's 148 000 km on the present ES, and I suspect it will go well over 300 000 before I look to trade it on another Lexus. Its the same kettle of fish with using premium fuel when the car was designed for regular. Check the threads on that topic. Most of respondents couldn't tell the difference between how the car ran with the two fuels, ...and their cars couldn't either. Pay the extra money if you must, for something that you'll never derive any benefit from, but the oil company will. Me, I'll save the money to use for new tires, the next brake job, timing belt service, or (heaven forbid) a door repaint where some idiot opened his door into mine.

First off, the 96 and the 97 are two different body style generations. As such, the floor pans will most likely be different, meaning seat mounting points may be different. To find out, crawl under both body styles and do some measuring. As for the memory seats, my wife's 97 has them, but the car is an upscaled model with the chrome wheels and variable shocks, etc. I'm not sure the memory seat were available in all models. Curiously, the shop manual I have shows all of the needed circuitry and procedures for the power seats, but does not even show or mention the memory seat option anywhere. HMMM! The rear seats will again have to be measured to determine fitment (British word...I don't know what came over me.) Good luck!

amf1934 is right on the money with the solution to your glove box light problem. As far as the headlights are concerned, you need to determine if the haze is on the outside of the headlight lens (crazed plastic) or on the inside in the form of water droplets (moisture). If its on the outside, you can polish the lenses by hand or with a buffing wheel and a rubbing compound/polish from an auto parts store. Just tell them what you want to use it on and they can get you what is needed. Barring that, use Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and you can't get into trouble, but it will take longer to bring the lens up since its abrasive isn't as agressive as most rubbing compounds. I don't know for certain, but if there is moisture on the inside of the lens, by removing the headlight bulbs from the socket, you may be able to fish inside the headlight with some sort of absorbant material on the end of a pencil, to get the most of it, and then use a hair dryer to evaporate the rest. Good luck.

Your Lexus is really a gussied up Camry, so any Toyota dealership can service the vehicle, and has most common parts in stock (rotors, filters, etc.) Most good independent garages can do the work as well. It all depends on how loyal you want to be, how concerned you want to be that everything stays Toyota/Lexus genuine, and how much money you are willing to part with. We bought the wife's Lexus 150 km away at a Lexus dealership, took it back for the timing belt and related service at 96 000 km, but not since. Local Toyota dealer supplied all the brake parts for the work that I did myself (new rotors all around and new pads plus tax was $560) recently. I could have done it much cheaper with non Toyota/Lexus parts from say Canadian Tire, but this is a long term vehicle, since they run so well for so long, so I sprang for the good stuff. Plug something into the cigarette lighter that works (cell phone charger?) If it works, all you need is the cigarette lighter element. Any Toyota dealer can get you one that will fit and do the job, or a junk yard as well. Save the $350 for part of your next tire purchase, if this solves the problem. Can't answer your strut question since I've not had to replace any yet, but if your car has the electronic variable ones, be prepared for some big bucks I suspect. Or you could just spring for the non electronic ones and save some $. Lots of aftermarket choices available. Again how important is it for the car to be totally genuine, particularly a 7 year old car? If the scratch is just into the clear coat and not down to the base colour or primer or bare metal, you can rub it out yourself If its down to any of the above layers, its best left to the pros. Good luck! Ever try Ken Shaw Lexus for service?