detaildoc

Ok, so can the lockout feature be a bit of an inconvenience at times? Yes, I would agree, but it is not always. I completely agree with you SW03ES. All of these people complaining about the lockout with such over the top, disproportionate levels of anger is just absurd. You are all behaving as if the navigation is the feature in the vehicle that is responsible for the entire cost of the vehicle. Come on people, the nav system is not what makes the entire car; it is only one aspect, one feature of the car. Personally, I think there are so many other excellent qualities and features in this vehicle and even in the navigation system itself, that a simple lockout feature does not kill the entire car. Come on, one member in here actually posted "Unless it is fixed, I will never purchase another vehicle from Lexus/Toyota again. It is as simple as that." COME ON, THAT IS DRAMA PEOPLE, DRAMA. Someone please get past their own narcissism and their narcissistic injury and explain to me why it is such a bad and terrible thing that a conscientious car company is doing something as simple as this lockout to potentially save if at least one life by reducing the chance of a collision due to distraction. Get past this small insignificant issue, all you poor middle and upper class Lexus owners and enjoy your vehicle.

My dealer also fixed mine today, the whole process was so easy, only took about 6 minutes. All you need is a screwdriver. The lights are now perfect. One of the best headlights in the industry.

Yes, you are right about the number, I just checked. The ES350 is still rated as more reliable than the 3, 5, and 7 series of BMW.

If you look at Consumer's Report, you will see that the ES350 has been consistently rated as one of the most reliable midsize luxury sedans in the market. If I remember correctly, it received a score of 93 out of 100, while the BMW 3 series received a score of 77. I trust Consumers Report a lot more than some of the sources you quoted. BMW has not been one of the most reliable cars in the market for several years now, in fact, their most expensive line, the 7 series is one of the least reliable luxury vehicles in the market. BMW continues to put all their effort on handling and performance, but at the expense of comfort, luxury, and reliability.

Thanks for your replies. I will check out both the shade and the muffler.

I have an 07 ES 350 that I bought back in June of this year and it has 5,000 miles. About 1 month ago I noticed a noise that was not there before. It is coming from the back seat area when I am driving on the street, but it comes and goes. It seems to be coming from either the back seat itself, or from the rear window shade (weather up or down). It sounds like a vibrating noise as if something is rubbing against another part of the vehicle and shaking. Has anyone else had this experience? Any idea on what it might be?

Those fine scratches are called swirls, and they happen when people used low quality products (e.g. towels) to wash the car. STAY AWAY FROM CAR WASHES AND DON'T LET THE DEALER WASH YOUR CAR. I suggest you invest in some high quality products to do all the car washing and detailing yourself. You can get all you need from www.autopia.org. I also have an es350 that had lots of swirls inflicted by the idiots at the car wash. Now, after I detailed my car myself, it is swirl free. Check out my list of products, which I got from autopia, and consider getting some of those, you can view those at my posting http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=41195

I just finished detailing my car. After all the swirl marks and scratches (inside and out) from the idiots at the car wash, I decided to invest on some detailing products and do everything myself. I bought everything from autopia and used mostly Sonus products. I love this stuff, although very pricey (since the bottles are small), everything is very mild and cleans very well without scratching your car, great scent and easy to use. You can't put a price on a job well done and peace of mind. Here is what I used: For washing and drying: Genuine Wool Wash Mitt OXO Wash Brush Sonus Gloss Shampoo Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel Tires: OXO Tire & Wheel Brush Sonus Rim Bright Sonus Tire & Bumper Dressing Gel (also used on rubber moldings around the doors) 1-inch Round Natural Detail Brush Leather interior: Sonus SFX Professional Applicator Sonus Leather Cleaner Sonus Leather Conditioner Vinyl and plastic: Sonus Ultimate Detailing Towels Sonus Cockpit Detailer Sonus Total Eclipse Two-Way Mini Detail Brush Glass and Plastic: Sonus Ultimate Detailing Towels Sonus Vision Glass & Plastic Cleaner Carpet and floor mats: 303 Carpet & Upholstery cleaner Polishing: Ultimate Detailing Machine DAS Polisher Kit Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Swirl Remover Sonus Paintwork Cleanser Sonus Der Wunder Applicator Sonus Ultimate Detailing Towels Waxing: Sonus Der Wunder Applicator Sonus Ultimate Detailing Towels Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax Two-Way Mini Detail Brush and the Crack & Crevice Detail Brush to remove residues from hard to reach places. Here are some pics I took. Tell me what you think. There was no sun out when I took the pics, so you can't appreciate the shine very much, but trust me, this stuff left my car looking very shinny and sharp.

This is probably a stupid question, but since I have never detailed my car myself, I have no clue what goes first. Should one polish or wax first? What polishers and wax do you guys recommend, especially to remove light surface scratches from carwashes.

Would anybody be interested in a meeting in Southern California?

1000 is a rip off. about $500 is right. I would recommend changing dealers from now on for service and everything else. Those guys are not to be trusted. In terms of the gas, I recommend going for the 91 octane for the simple reason that it will last longer. The 87 or 89 octane gas is cheaper, but burn faster so you will get less MPG out of them, so in the end, putting the 91 octane will cost the same and you will be keeping up with the factory recommendations. In terms of impact on the car, you will probably not see any differences while your car is new, but after 4 or 5 years, the cumulative effects of putting lower octane gas will start to show (e.g. more vibrations and noise, especially when idle).

Cool, I just got done watching it also, and finally got rid of the prompt. Go to menu, set up, and scroll down to "voice recognition command" and hit "off"

Congratulations on your new ES350. Yes, there is a way to get rid of the "please say a command after the beep." I recall hearing about it on the instructional DVD that comes with the navigation system. I don't remember exactly where it is, but it is in there. I have been meaning to get rid of it myself, but I have not done so. I am going to look for the instruction again and once I find it (or if you do first, post it) I will post it.

Congratulations! You are going to love this car. No matter how much you spent, this car is worth every penny. It is smooth, quite, and very comfortable and the nav system is the best in the market. Where did the dealer install the xm antenna? Could you post a pic of it?

I too have this problem. I took my car back to the dealer today in Riverside, CA and they are taking care of it. Something about changing the sensor and some mini computer then recalibrating it. It should be fixed by tomorrow.

Thanks a lot. I checked out the site, and these pens seem really good, much better than the ones sold at the dealer, which as the website describes, only create a "blob problem," which is exactly what happened with the touch up paint pen from the dealer. I am definitely ordering this thing.

Ok, so my ES 350 is only 3 months old and it already has several chips on the front hood from loose gravel hitting it while driving. I tried the touch up paint from the dealer, and it does a crappy job. It leaves the area looking rough and does not blend in that well. Does anybody have any suggestions on either how to use this thing more effectively or how to cover up this dings better?

Just wondering how many of us are in Southern California. Do you see an increase in the number of ES350 on the road?

Ok, so back in June of this year I decided to do a major upgrade. I went from my 1995 Honda Civic to an ES 350, and I have to tell you all, I am loving this car. Going for a Lexus however, was not really my first choice, my first choice was the BMW 5 or 3 series (which are very popular in Southern California). I test drove both of them. The BMW 3 series was just way too small, so I test drove the 5 series. I have to say, I was very dissapointed with both series. Although the 5 series has a very cool exterior, the interior just screamed economy sedan with a few semi luxury additions. These cars just don't have any luxury or comfort and the interior is just too plain. Although they handle very well, I felt the drive was very hard and tight, which after a long drive to and back from work in So Cal traffic, I can imagine feeling very tired. I was not willing to pay $55K for the 528i given the hard drive and lack of luxury and comfort, just not worth it. So very dissapointed after my test drive I decided to go next door to Lexus, and wow, what a difference. I love the luxury and comfort of this vehicle. It is the best, most quite, comfortable, easy, soft drive ever. Guess what, my coworkers who have a BMW, are amazed by the luxury of my Es and the quite comfortable drive. Oh, by the way, I heard that the supposed free maintenance that comes with BMW's for the first 4 years, is not really free. They estimate the cost of parts and labor and add it to the sticker price (several thousands). So that means, that the BMW 5 series really costs around the same as a Lexus, you are just paying for the maintenance in advance, so for those people who think that BMWs are better cars because they are more expensive, think again, you are paying more for less comfort and less luxury. In addition, if you read any of the latests reviews such as Consumer Report, you will see that Lexus are more reliable vehicles.