AZ08LexusES

That may be, but I got the first 08 our dealer sold, and before it had arrived it was in the list of accessories for my car. I remember this because before the car arrived to the dealership I asked the salesperson I was negotiating with if it had the lip spoiler and he said, "Yes it does." That got me even more stoked about my upcoming arrival. When I went to pick up the car, voila, there it was. I didn't think it was installed by the dealer and I didn't think that this might be something they did for everybody. You know, they will let you know when they "give" you something. So, if it was installed by them, then I have to give them my kudos for even remembering to put one on. We overlook the little stuff most of the time. When I get my car back tomorrow I am going to check the sticker to see if it really was in the list of accessories. (Or, even though it comes from the factory in the list of accessories it is still installed by the dealer? IDK)

I have it on mine. It is very tasteful and looks great! I am glad mine came with it from factory. I'd show you a picture but it is in the body shop getting the rear bumper cover replaced. So, the door guards, I don't remember seeing any on this car. I need to look into that.

The pinging has been talked before. They say it is "piston slap" and as long as it goes away as the engine warms up, then it should be ok. I would not expect the engine block to sound the same at 30 degrees as it would at the regular operating teperature of the engine.

At the end, what the insurance quoted and what the body shop quoted were only about $70 dollars apart. The insurance quoted a repair, which is more labor intensive, while the body shop quoted a replacement where the bumper cover was the main expense. So I called the body shop and told them I would prefer replacement and if they could work with me. So they met me half way. So I will pay $35 out of pocket for replacement as opposed to a repair!

The claims estimator told me that the damage can be repaired and fixed to look perfectly. Is this true, anybody had experience with this 3M repair kit? The cut or gash is about an inch and a half in length.

I got a "love tap" from behind this last weekend and as a result there is a crack in my bumper cover. I called the dealership and they recommended a body shop that belongs to the same people that own the dealerships and are Lexus certified to do repairs. So I went and got an estimate from them. They say they need to replace and paint the bumper cover, which is fine. They will replace with the original parts, but the paint is not. When I asked if they used the same paint they said no, that the paint they use is PPG which is a better paint than the original and the everything has a life time warranty. My question is, should I try and find a body shop that will use the same paint? I am worried that different paint may "age" differently and look different in the future. Any advice, I could always take it to somewhere in Phoenix but I need your advice.

I bet Ira is right! Get the tires checked for unusual wear or possible defects. My 08 came with Bridgestones (Turanzas, I think), which I don't particularly like, but match well with the car as far as comfort and noise level.

Are you sure it is the transmission and not that the engine is stalling? What kind of gas are you using? I sure hope my car never gets exposed to 15 degrees or less!

So, I don't know if the lack of response is that we don't have many 08 owners yet, or that we do not have any 08 owners with transmission problems. How about if I rephrase the question: "If you have an 08, do you have any transmission issues? If you do not let us know that you do not. If you do, what problems are you having?" I have an 08 and I do not have transmission issues. How about you?

In looking at the dry ice method, I ran accross another method that seems interesting. It sometimes does not work, but it might be worth a shot. You can use a blow dryer and a compressed air can. Anybody try that?

That's a funny WTF, made me laugh. That's one reason I always return my cart to a safe place, you never know when Karma might bite you in the rear!

Thanks about the tip, I had a car with hail damage that I never got fixed. But had I known! Hopefully I will not need it, but you never know.

You can drive through Zion National Park Utah, it makes you appreciate nature without stepping out of your car! There's lots of stuff in Utah, it is worth a trip. Around Lake Tahoe, this glacial lake up in the Sierra Nevada, winter or summer, need to do both! US1, up the coast of Florida all the way. What will you see, beautiful beaches, the intercoastal, the most amazing yachts, people crossing the street in bathing suits (bikinis), amazing houses in Palm Beach like Trump's "social club" (used to be his home), Ivanka's home, the Kennedy estate, and other extremely famous families. You will also run into the oldest colonized city in all of North America in St. Augustine. I say start in the North Miami Beach/Ft Lauderdale area and drive north. Although, if you could start in Key West, you would see some of the places mentioned above like the 7-mile bridge. This trip would take quite some time. The drive over the Makinac Bridge from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Cross the Great Lakes!

Yeah, more detail on the dry ice. What's that about?

Good stuff, but during the holidays we may not have that luxury when parking lots are maxed out! How about this, you make an effort to park away from everybody else, you get the last spot and and scoot over the line a little bit because there is empty space. You get all jazzed up about the great spot you were able to get until you get back to your car, and there is some big SUV like an Expedition or Suburban that parked real close to you, over the line? And you can hardly open your door all the way to get in? Has that happened to you?

oh ok. i didn't realize that it was random people putting the information up. is there a website that you know of that says as a HARD fact that the sc300's came with a 2jz-ge that was NON turbo?? I don't know if this would help you but here's an article on the subject. It seems that the turbo version is a 2jz-gte, and only in a Supra. But that has been covered already! http://www.supraturbo.com/street_power_jan-feb%2098.htm

Everybody in this forum has at least one car/truck that they want to keep as pristine as possible. We all want to protect that investment. So, here are some interesting questions. What do you do in order to avoid door dings? What is the most ridiculous thing you have seen people do in order to avoid them? For instance, there are idiots that take up two parking spaces so nobody can get close to them. How does it make you feel when you get that first one?

Very confusing, I don't get it either. It looks like this guy was yanking your chain, but the grammar is so poor that I do not understand what he is saying. Also, you really shouldn't use Wikipedia as a reliable source, people mess with it and put misinformation all the time. It's a good initial source to get you acquainted with a subject, but it should not be used as the end all source.

Now that the new ES is in it's second year, it is expected that a lot of the issues with the first year of production be corrected. So, I am curious, has any 08 ES owner experienced any of the transmisison issues experienced by the 07 owners?

I do not experience any issues with my transmission on my 08, but I cannot speak for all 08s. I have not seen any posts of people who own 08s in this site complaining about the issue, but I am not sure.

I have an 08 which I love to drive. It has a very small hesitation, but I attribute it to automatic transmissions in general. When you slow down, it doesn't necessarily downshift, so when you re-accelerate it has to figure out what gear it needs to be in to respond to the sudden change in acceleration. My last car was an 00 Honda Accord Coupe with manual transmission, while my wife's was a '99 Honda Accord EX with automatic transmission, and the difference was huge. When I do not want the ES to hesitate, I switch it to manual, put it in the gear I want, and wooosh! It goes!!! Now, extra hesitation may be caused also by fuel system issues. Depending on the quality of the gas being used (not octane necessarily) over time, fuel filters, fuel injectors, and gas lines may get clogged. This will cause a fuel defficiency condition, and the car will hesitate. It may not be what you are running into, but you know...

Have you had it looked at yet? homemechanic was just suggesting things that may cause what you describe as "seem" and "get clunky" for some hard shifting. Get it diagnosed so we know if you have a real problem.

Here's a good article on the subject: http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/020320.htm. There are mixed feelings on whether it is serious or not or how long an engine should warm up for before the sound stops. There are different degrees of loudness, which I think might indicate the level of seriousness, but the most reasonable explanation for piston slap on a perfectly fine engine is that enough clearence in the cylinder has to be built-in in order to allow for piston expansion. Normally the cylinder block is of a different material than the piston itself, so they expand at different rates and amounts. While the engine warms up, the piston will expand and eventually reach the dimensions designed for there to be no piston slap. Engine designers have to build in acceptable tolerances in order for there to be consistent quality manufacturing and engine operation where some sacrifices might have to be made. In this case, some minor piston slap is the sacrifice in order to not have an engine seize up because the clearance may have been too close. You can imagine what can happen if an engine overheats just a little bit if that clearance was not there.

Ah, so there you have it! If ever I want to complain about a product I will subscribe to CR and do it in their surveys... But with all the products that I have no complaints about, nah! It's kind of like this forum, isn't it?

You mean that when you sat down to sign the papers at the dealer they didn't tell you that it is not secure and that is why you need a Lo/Jack? You read the marketing stuff and it seems to be extremely secure, how can you drive it with out the key sensor? But then the dealer tells you that more and more cars are getting stolen, so would you like to pay another $800 for the Lo/Jack? Don't you love it? BTW - I did not get one!