lexusk8

Speaking of the throttle body (this goes for anyone who has an idle problem at engine start-up), you should check inside the TB and see how dirty it is. It can get gummed up with carbon and fuel vapor over time, and a dirty throttle body is especially seen on high mileage ES's. I used to have the dreaded idle problem in my '01 ES many months ago (which went on for several months because I tried different methods to correct the problem). I finally took the car to a Toyota dealership (in last month June), and they did some magic to clean up the TB. Now my car starts up great every time. No hesitations or anything like it :) Note to self: When in doubt, bring the ES to Toyota for service work. Sometimes they can be smarter than Lexus service, and do the work cheaper :D

Nick, I think you're asking for a LOT of answers to mostly info in which you're new to the territory, so I'll say this up front: Please use the "search" engine built into this LOC forum, and spend many hours reading up past threads that pertain to the information you're looking for. I don't mean any offense to you at all Nick, but I must stress that there's too much information to lay down in one post ;) If after you read up some posts and you have questions about something specific in which you can't find from the search engine, then by all means post up your questions! That tells us that you did some previous research and are now asking for help :D

Regarding the oil sludge problem, just make sure that the past oil changes from the maintenance records have been really kept up to date (that is, the ES was never overdue for an oil change). You can also open up the hood and check the cleanliness of the engine and for any remnants of past oil sludge. As you already noted, the sludge problem notorious on the ES sedan is the result of people not keeping up with the oil changes. Other than that, I think the '01 ES is an excellent purchase, esp. with low miles like the one you're looking at. What's the selling price? If you have any other questions or have come up with other finds on the ES, let us know :)

My owner's manual says 76 ft-lbs for the torque spec of the lug nuts. I believe this is the same spec for all the ES models.

My last experience with Midas (which was about 2 yrs ago) was when they cleaned the e-brake shoe areas on my prior '96 ES to get rid of the squeaking noise only heard during the first application of the brakes. I inquired them about their pads and the lifetime warranty, and how they could be applied to my ES. The service rep told me he can't guarantee if the ES is designed to take Midas brake pads, and advised me to go with the OEM/Toyota kind instead just to be safe. Now that's what I call honesty in the business world! :D B)

Problem could be pointed at the suspension, but I strongly advise you to bring your car to the nearest Lexus dealership and use the Lexus Basic Warranty (4 yr/50K miles) to your advantage since it automatically comes with any Lexus purchase, used or new, and that you say you have 42K miles right now. Whatever the real problem is, see if you can make the dealership fix the problem under the Lexus warranty. Good luck :)

You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the file. You can download Acrobat Reader here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Ricky, When you open up the hood, look for the 3-to-1 brown-colored pipe configuration leading from the front side of the engine to the bottom and underneath the passenger side of the car. That pipe configuration is called the "exhaust manifold", and if you've just taken the car out for a drive, the exhaust manifold will feel EXTREMELY hot to the touch If you peer underneath the exhaust manifold, you should see the black circular-shaped oil filter that can be accessible from where you are (from the hood). Use a filter wrench if needed, and wear long-sleeved clothing to protect your arm(s) from the exhaust manifold (remember that it's REALLY hot). Expect some old oil to spill out when you remove the oil filter, so place an oil pan underneath the filter prior to removal. Unfortunately, this is the way Lexus has designed the location of the oil filter throughout the entire ES generation. Not too smart from a convenience standpoint Hope this info helps out :)

Not many people know this, but a strut bar made for the Toyota Solara can fit into a '97-'01 ES since they both follow under the same MCV20 chassis. Just do a search on Google or an online parts vendor for a Solara strut bar (under the same years as the ES). The strut bar is black in color with a C-shape on both ends of the piece.

byohzrd is right (actually I think it was me who mentioned the replacement cost of the part). Mine is peeling pretty much halfway down the length on the driver side in my '01 ES, and I still have the spare B-pillar part I bought from Lexus parts about a month and a half ago. When I grow weary of the look, I'll change it :) Another option is to go to a good body shop and have them repaint and clearcoat the existing piece, but the final cost may most likely be more than the cost of the replacement part.

28 here. Time sure flies fast after you reach 21! ;)

Download the .pdf document here. It contains excellent pics and instructions on how to remove the factory stereo in a '97-'01 ES :) Oh wow, my 100th post right here! :whistles:

coolwater, you will quickly find that Toyota is capable of servicing any of our Lexus vehicles (as long as the Toyota dealership is not located in the same address as the Lexus dealership). Toyota will also do a majority of the services at a cheaper rate (including oil change) and using the same OEM parts. For example, I used to bring my '01 ES to Toyota for oil change every 5K, and the charge was between $22-$25 every time (includes Toyota conventional oil and filter). On that note, here are the brief answers to your Q's: 1) Yes. 2) You shouldn't need to have your car checked by the dealership every 5K; you'll start throwing hard saved money down the drain! ;) Rather, I'd consider bringing the Lexus into the dealership every 30K miles (i.e. when odometer hits 30K, 60K, 90K, etc). If you refer to the owner's manual, you will see there is more involvement of the services when the car is serviced every 30K. 3) Not sure of the exact price difference of oil change since I've never brought my ES to Lexus for an oil change, but I imagine the difference is substantial :whistles:

Actually the A/C filter in the '00-'01 ES is located to the right of the gas pedal near the floor. You will have to pull out some of the carpeting and unclip the "access" door that leads to the A/C filter assy. The filter assy slides in and out, pretty simple removal and installation process. The 2002 ES model is the year where the filter is relocated behind the glove compartment. If you have your owner's manual, it should clearly state instructions on removing the A/C filter in your car.

It sounds to me like the dealership did not carry out the P/S repair in the proper manner. Talk to the service manager about it, and make sure you do not get charged extra for any additional repairs. Do not get cheated out by the service dept as this is where most of the revenue and profits come in from a dealership. BTW which dealership in NYC did you take your ES in? Bay Ridge or Manhattan? I've heard many service complaints at both of them from other members.

The Coach Edition emblems would have to be special ordered from your local Lexus parts dept, or you can order them online from lexus-parts.com here.

cowboyzfan, You had an engine oil sludge problem in your '00 ES? At approx. what mileage did you notice the problem? I'm assuming you have never missed an oil change. I currently own a '01 ES w/ over 91K miles, and just recently switched to 10W-30 Mobil-1 synthetic. My first time using synth oil (I had been using the dino oil from Toyota), but I understand it benefits for high mileage vehicles. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't run into the sludge issue in the future

salix, you're looking at approx. $2000-$3000 for a full repaint of the car (either 1-tone or 2-tone), including parts and labor. Another member I know from the CL forum has had his '95-'96 ES repainted a different color (Vapor Blue Metallic, an OEM factory color for the RX300), but I think his insurance paid (all or most) for it because of a previous accident. Good luck on whatever decision you choose :)

Glad to hear it worked out for you byohzrd. Unfortunately I was way out of warranty when I noticed the B-pillar peeling (at approx. 91K miles). I got a couple quotes for repainting the pillar, one at $100 from a Lexus independent body shop, and another at $85 from another body shop. Found out that the OEM part (painted and clearcoated) costs roughly $60 from the parts dept, and it's just a matter of prying the old piece out and plugging the new piece in less than 2 min. :o ;) You guessed it, it's another DIY replacement.

There are literally many different reasons why a CEL comes on the gauge cluster, ranging from a bad emissions part to a loose gas cap. How do you know for sure it has something to do with an O2 sensor? Have you run an OBDII-compliant electronic scanner and run for error codes in your car? That's really the only practical way to find out the source behind a CEL.

It is possible to following the "cooking" method to take apart the tailight assy and remove the amber lens, but there's definitely some risk involved. Some others have opted to find the '00-'01 ES tailights for replacement from Ebay or the local junkyard.

I have the same problem in my '01 ES. I inquired my dealership about it, and they said the repair/fix would be covered under the Basic warranty (4 yr/50K miles). So you should be in luck for that ;)

UPDATE: I ended up replacing the entire master window switch assy at the same time with my 90K service two months ago. The part costed me $390.00! Another glorious example of the major expense of Lexus original factory parts <_<

98OysterES300, did you forget to post up pics of your HID install? ;) I'm curious to see the HID setup in your ES too :D cc///m3, are you looking for the factory-HID headlamp housings for the ES and RX? If so, good luck in finding them as they are apparently not a common item to buy/sell/trade online or locally. You may be talking about $1,000 for each headlamp housing when ordered from the Lexus parts dept :whistles:

srad, I had exactly the same kind of problem in my '01 ES: Upon engine start-up, a rough/low idle occurs around 300-500 RPMs or sometimes fails to stay above idle and goes to zero. All it needed was a trip to the local Toyota dealership, and they performed a throttle body service which involves cleaning up the gunk inside the TB. Costed me an hour's worth of labor ($85), and my car now starts up fine and idles normal at all occurrences. A TB cleaning service does not happen too often in our cars, but it does happen. You may also want to check the air filter itself and see if it's dirty or not. A tank of bad gas could also be the cause of slow engine start-ups. I suggest looking into these simple approaches/answers before getting into the TB cleaning ;)