AZ08LexusES

So, earlier in the year we saw a lot of talk about Lexus falling from the top in reliability/quality, and this year it actually improved from last year standing alone at the top. The ES is tops in its class as well as all the other vehicles except for the RX. And Toyota is a respectable 4th just ahead of Acura! The main reason for the improvement, as stated in the article, the ES and the RX are in the second year of production... Just as many of us had mentioned in this forum before, most of the issues with the 07 ES were first year of production issues. So, those of you that doubted quality, does this do anything to your opinions? And, how does everybody feel about having invested in # 1? Does anybody know where Infinity and Nissan were on the list?

Only 2-3 seconds. Then it runs smooth. Am I just being too critical or paranoid here? go ahead tell me I am I just want to know this falls into the normal category for this car. I would say it is more normal if it only happens during startup, as in the starter motor causing a little shake to get the engine going. But if it happens during both startup and shut down, ny guess would be that those brief instances when ignition circuit is closing or opening and the engine doesn't have a full current.

How long does it shake for?

Yes, Autopia has excellent customer service, even when you don't talk to them. The orders get turned around so quickly and shipped right away. Love that site!

Maybe you should do 10 of these trips with each octanage and measure by round trip. Then take the average of those trips, and compare. That should normalize atmospheric and environmental differences from trip to trip and get a better estimate as to the difference in MPG's. Or just use Hi Test and not worry about it!

Out here we have a body shop called "DentBusters" that do the PDR. When I showed my door ding to the body shop that was repairing my bumper from being rear-ended (the Lexus certified body shop) they told me that they normally call DentBusters to fix those. Find a pro, it will cost more but not as much as needing to make an insurance claim. IMO, it will be less than your deductible, but worth it. I have not taken mine yet, so I don't have concrete evidence yet. If you beat me to it, please share your findings.

Yeah, you just press the button like you are pressing a button on your ATM. Press and let go, car starts while you put on your seat belt, close the door, etc. Then put it in gear and drive. Get yours checked out, it is not normal.

Did you end up getting the ceramic? If not, any radio interference?

I haven't applied the Carnuba to the paint yet, put what I did notice in the UPGP is that the flecks in the paint really stand out a lot more in the smokey granite, I like it. I'll compare that to when I apply the nuba and see if the flecks still stand out with the added "depth." I am hoping it'll ook even better.

There was some mention about going with semi-metallic. With the ES350 though, the radio antenna is built into the rear window. So, the metal in the semi-metallic may cause interference to radio reception, especially AM. I have ceramic on mine, which is what the dealer recommended. I had them do it. They took it to the same place where I would have taken it and actually charged less for it! It looks great... The front two windows are AZ legal and the rear 3 are slightly darker.

Thanks, RJT, I did about the same amount and the shine is certainly outstanding. It's just raining a lot lately around here with the monsoon season. That's a good thing, I'll have to use rinseless washing!

It came out great! I just think I might have not done enough. How much did you put on the applicator that caused you to have the streaks?

Is he going to do it himself or paying for someone to do it?

DDOC, I have an easy question... I bought the 4 Oz. bottle of the UPGP as opposed to the 12 Oz. to give it a try. The directions say to apply two pumps to prime the applicator and then one pump to apply. Then when no product gets applied to the surface any longer, use another pump. Well, the sprayer on the 4 Oz. bottle is so small compared to the 12 Oz. one, I think I may have under applied. With all the talk about not wanting to over do it, I may have not done much at all... I applied three times after letting cure for 12+ hours each time, but was it enough? How can I test to see if it was enough? Any different recommendations?

Wow, I thought I read the whole owner's manual, but I missed that one. I keep my key in the right pant pocket (guy) while my phone is on my right side hooked to my belt. If the battery has depleted I really can't tell. I have had it for ten months now... Now, I put a key in my wife's purse (girl) so that she will have it whenever needed, for instance, I drive somewhere with her so she can drop me off. I may leave the car and forget to take the key out my pocket. She leaves without it, next time she tries to start the car, no luck. But if it is in her purse, no problem. But then it was a pain, because whenever she did not want to take her purse and we wanted to lock it in the trunk, we couldn't because the key was in there. So, the key isn't in her purse anymore...

Glad everything is working as it should once again!

don't you love it when they try to make up explanations for problems with the car? Glad to hear that it's covered under warranty. Let us know which part they replace. Maybe it's the bluetooth module itself? They were a bit more specific when I stopped by today. They are going to replace the "nav display" because "there's a connection that is bad." I questioned on why the display would need to be replaced. I'm far from being an expert, but that still doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand what the display has to do with the deletion/storage of the Bluetooth profiles. I was told, "don't worry about it, he (service tech) does it all the time, he knows what he's doing." I will be stopping by tomorrow to talk to my service rep to get a little better clarification. Sounds like taking a hammer to drive in a thumb tack, but if it fixes the problem and you don't have to pay a red cent, then cool!

Nope, 07's have a hook for clothes, go figure!!!

don't you love it when they try to make up explanations for problems with the car? Glad to hear that it's covered under warranty. Let us know which part they replace. Maybe it's the bluetooth module itself? Yep, phone compatibility has as much to do it with as much as the air in your tires has to do with it!!! It's a bug in the system somewhere, sounds more like a software problem than a hardware problem. I don't know how they would update the software, maybe by reflashing a module or replacing the whole module... Hopefully this "part" replacement works.

There are some moments, when the sun is at a certain height, and the car is in that certain direction, and the stars all line up (I know, it's during the day), there is glare that comes off of there. But it does not last long that everything is aligned just perfect for that to happen, at least for me. I am 6'1" as well.

Steve, you have been fantastic for this forum. I always look forward to see what your suggestions are and pay close attention to them because I know what your level of experience is and respect that. I just don't like it when good people get the smackdown, but do agree that some people deserve it.

I agree with RJT, good advice for all posters whether they are or are not experts. Now please, may this be the end of it, I'd hate to see another smackdown by the forum police... I want to read informative and entertaining posts, not explanations on why some people may be better qualified to give opinions than anyone else, it gives the holier than thou feeling. It is a forum for opinions. RJT has been good for this forum and should not be run off, IMO.

You can override your GPS? I thought any 2007 and beyond were not allowed to do this anymore...

You definitely want to go with the ceramic tints if you can, the semi metallics may cause interference with the radio since the antenna is in the rear window. As for %, I put the darkest allowed in AZ in the front two windows and darker in rear three. The car is the same color as yours and looks great! I wish I could have gone darker on the front two, but at least I am street legal.

I can see having the sensors without NAV because they also display in the dashboard, the bumpers have to be drilled and sensors need to be placed and wired. But for the backup camera, a monitor has to be installed somewhere, and the camera also has to be installed in the back. I don't know if they already have all the wiring in place.