lexusk8

I have 103,XXX miles on my '01 ES. Maintenance I have done includes the 90K service (timing belt, water pump, all fluid changes), front and rear brakes, and spark plugs. Have recently switched to 10W-30 synthetic oil (change interval still kept at every 5K miles). The transmission went out at around 98,XXX miles, and the dealership replaced it with a factory remanufactured tranny out of another '01 ES. Extended warranty paid 50% of the costs. I may be due for tire replacement sometime this year, as I have put in over 40K miles on the Toyos (nice to get my money's worth) :D Suspension may need to be inspected since there is some minor creaking in the front as I drive over speed bumps and dips on the road. Other than that, the ES drives and looks like a beauty out of a showroom (keeping it clean is just as important as the maintenance), and I'm confident this car will last a long time

The piece is called the B-pillar, and comes in just one color for all ES, black with clearcoat finish. The problem with this piece is that peeling takes place along the finish surface, mostly for the '97-'01 ES. It happened on the driver's side of my '01 before, and I replaced it myself with the part purchased from the dealership. Now the passenger side is doing the same, and I'm saying "To hell with it" :D

Oh, this must be the so-called "Black Diamond" edition for the ES330, the last of the ES under the current design before the new re-design to be slated in '06-'07 :)

Struts (not shocks) is what your '97 ES has. Yes, struts and strut mounts are a good idea for replacement components of the suspension. $475 sounds about right for the complete package. You can order it from Tire Rack, for example. Good luck! :)

Umm, the bulb indicator light means one or more of your REAR (tailight) bulbs are out. The owner's manual even mentions about it ;)

BTW, I just purchased and installed a set of Sylvania Silverstars in my lows the other day. Everything's working great and looking good so far. Reading the danielsternlighting web site from one of the posts above gave me some insight on what I realistically want to achieve from automotive lighting :D I sort of missed these Silverstars after installing them in my '96 ES a few years ago, and at that time, they lasted at least a year before I sold the '96 altogether. I'm sure these Silverstars will do fine in the '01 :)

That is EXACTLY what I would like to do......however the pictures of the unit already installed into the vehicle are not that helpful....I need information on how it was done. Do you know where I can get that information. ← Here's the thread where sunman described the development of the navigation install project. Although it doesn't include a step-by-step procedure, he's clued in on some of the wiring techniques for the navigation unit. The unit he's retrofitted is off of a late-model Toyota. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&hl=sunman++nav

sunman has successfully done the navigation retrofit to his '97 ES. Pics found in the link below. http://homepage.mac.com/drsunilpatel/PhotoAlbum19.html

What was the color like? Like 02 ES or purpleish liek mercedes or BMW. I want to eplace the bulbs in my 04 Solara. Thanks ← The color temp for these PIAA Xtreme White bulbs is 4150K, so the color is pretty much a perfect white (makes the stock fogs look brownish comparably) ;) I highly recommend PIAA for HID look-a-like bulbs; they are a reliable product. Remember that HIDs cannot suitably be compared to halogen (aftermarket or factory). Very big difference between them in terms of light output and cutoff.

Are you talking about aftermarket lights to replace the back-up light bulbs? If so, I have Polarg M6 bulbs for my reverse lights, and they look amazing in my '01 ES. Even unlit, they appear bluish from the outside :D

Well after 1-1/2 years of use, one of the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs in my low beams blew out recently, and now I'm back to stock halogen :cries: But at least I got my money's worth with the PIAA, and it's time to move on to another brand. Ebay's tempting me.. ;)

Nah, no lamp under the hood, at least not from my car ;) I'm sure you can rig up one of those outdoor-use lamps connected from an electrical cord in a garage.

I used to hear it too several months ago in my '01 ES, and later on that yielded into mis-shifts and hesitational behavior of the transmission. Turned out that a couple shift solenoids malfunctioned, resulting in the replacement of the tranny for a factory used reman tranny. Costed me a fortune for this overhaul :( Not saying this is what's happening to your car, but I advise checking this out ASAP and keep a watchful eye for any check engine lights if you don't see any now. That's how I found out about the problem with my transmission.

As khhoang mentioned, the center console bulb failure is a common problem, esp. for older and/or high mileage ES. It happened to my '01 ES about a year ago, and I was able to fix it myself by removing the A/C unit, accessing the circuit board, and replacing the bad bulbs with new ones (ordered from the dealership parts counter, only about $2-$3 per bulb). Unless the unit is absolutely nonfunctional, it is not necessary to buy a new unit for replacement.

bkchig may be talking about an aftermarket kit to replace the stock HID (e.g. Philips 6000K vs. factory 4100K).

My '01 has the auto dimming feature, and I believe it comes standard starting with the '00 ES.

The tranny in my '01 ES went out at approx. 98K miles. I was really surprised at first that it went under that soon, not even breaking the 100K mark, but then again this ES was most likely driven hard before I purchased it at 64K miles. My dealer put in a reman tranny from a used '01 ES, and so far at currently 101,600 miles, no problems at all. It's like driving a brand new car, and this reman tranny has practically extended the life of the car :D

I've seen them on a ClubLexus member's 1992 ES300, so I don't see any problem with the wheels going onto your '99 ES.

The fog light question has been brought up numerous times, and the firm answer is no, the '00-'01 fogs won't fit in a stock '97-'99 ES front bumper. You'd have to get a new/used '00-'01 ES front w/ fogs already in them. The other choice of course is to get a body kit made for the ES (e.g. Auto Couture, Exclusive, Evolution, etc.)

Hey Steve, I think the '05 tailights have LED tail/brake lights in them, a new feature compared to the previous version of the tails. Just wondering if you're aware of that and if there will be any problems installing them to your ES.

steviej posted fog light installation instructions in the middle of the thread below. That should help you :) http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...wtopic=1999&hl=

I have PIAA Xtreme White in the low beams of my '01 ES, and they've been running superb for the last 1-1/2 years. I used to also have PIAA Xtreme White for the fogs, but one of the bulbs blew out after about 1 year of use. Now I'm running stock halogen fogs and that's fine with me. In fact I advise sticking with regular stocks for the fogs as the white light from the fogs, despite its good looks, won't cut into the fog as much as halogen or yellow fogs (think of GS and IS fogs). I know steviej has PIAA bulbs for the high beams in his '02 ES, and I'm sure he'll say positive comments regarding PIAA :D

That's weird to have it happen on your '98 ES. I don't believe it's a problem with the fuse. Instead I would probably check the spring mechanism in the trunk lock area (located under and in the middle of the plastic trunk sill after you fully open the trunk lid).

There's one on http://www.auto-couture.com for the '97-'01 ES. Be prepared to shell out 3 G's for the kit :o

There's a reason why "quality" body kits for the ES are not shown on Ebay.. ;) To me, the Evo kit is not worth the price, let alone the looks, and that particular kit usually floats around on Ebay.