lexusk8

You should be able to access the brake light bulbs just like you did to the other ones (tail, turn signal) by twisting the socket to loosen and remove. The socket for the brake light bulb may be just a little jammed in there, so you may have to use some force to twist and remove. Hope that helps.

^^ Yeah, if the filter has never been changed, then more than likely it will take a great amount of force to pull down the carpeting in front of the access door for the A/C filter. Once you pull it down just enough, you'll see the a rectangular door for the A/C filter which you can remove (you may have to move some wirings out of the way to gain access), and then you can go from there to replace the filter.

For that error code, check the following things: vacuum hose, gas tank cap, and charcoal canister. If the gas cap is sealed correctly to the tank, then more than likely the problem is a bad charcoal canister. This can often happen when one pumps fuel and fills excess gas after the nozzle auto shuts off (in order to round up the dollar amount for the fuel). This happened to me before with my '01 ES (and I got the canister part replaced at a Lexus dealer). What kind of Toyota does your friend drive, camlex?

You can physically check out the heat switch by removing the wood trim surrounding the shifter and heat switches. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry up the corners of the wood trim, and it will pull up and out. Refer to the pic below for a visual.

From my experience with my previous '01 ES, I went to the dealer to get the transmission fluid drained-and-refilled since the fluid calls for a Toyota brand only. For the brake fluid, I went to a local auto service shop (Allied Tire) and got the brake fluid flushed out and replaced since it has to be DOT 3 compliant. Definitely saved myself $$$ having it done there than at the dealership but I know they can't provide the Toyota tranny fluid for the tranny service.

^^ Exactly Steve. It's routine maintenance every car owner should do (i.e. check oil and tire pressure). Oil check takes no more than a minute to do, and to check the tire pressure, get yourself either a manual read-out gauge or one of those digital gauges (which I have that's also a key chain). You can find these gauges anywhere you go, even in a supermarket.

Use a small flathead screwdriver to pry out the opening of the plastic belt guide. The guide won't break if you are careful with the driver.

I check oil every time I fill up at the gas station, and I check my tire pressure once a month.

I was actually toying around with the bulb underneath the gear shifter since it would not work sometimes when the headlights are turned on at night. The bulb itself was fine, and then I discovered that by merely slapping on the gear shifter plate with my hand, I can make the bulb light up fine :D

Yep, it should come off just like in the pic below (taken from my previous ES when I was tooling around with the gear shifter).

P0440 indicates Evaporative Emission Control System Malfunction. This means that either your gas cap is not tightened properly, the gas cap gasket is cracked or damaged, vacuum hose is damaged, or charcoal canister is cracked or damaged. I would bet that your mechanic did not install the charcoal canister correctly, hence causing the check engine light to come up. To play it safe, I'd pony up some extra $$$ and bring the car to the dealership (be it Toyota or Lexus) to get any emissions-related service work done. Routine maintenance stuff like tire rotation, wheel alignment and fluid changes are better left for the average grease monkey.

Hey Ando55, when I had my '01 ES I used to get poor gas mileage when I moved down to FL from Connecticut. When I was living in CT 1-2 yrs ago, I would get anywhere between 22-24 mpg on any given day (mixed city/hwy driving). I noticed a big difference with the mileage here in FL as it got down to 18-19 mpg. I don't drive with a lead foot, and I keep up with all the regular maintenance (i.e. air filter, tire pressure, use A/C sparingly, fuel treatment, throttle body cleaning). My friend who has a Tacoma pickup and also lives here in Orlando too noticed a decrease in gas mileage here in FL compared to when he was living in the Northeast, and we think it has something to do with the nature of the pipeline gas here in this state. That is, it's possible we get not as clean of a fuel as in other states.

^^ like steviej said, I got mine done when I had my '01 ES. I used a known local source from http://www.dentwizard.com, and he came out and did the PDR work at my driveway (no need to take the car to a body shop, as it could be done at home, office, etc.) I believe I paid $125 per body panel, no matter how many dings or dents there are on that body panel, so if you have more than one on your body panel, it's worth it :)

Download and open the file below, and follow the steps for removing and testing the MAF meter on pp. 27-29. Sequential_Fuel_Injection_System.pdf

It would help out a lot if you tell us what year your ES is.

You should be able to get all of these services done at a Toyota dealership with no problems, as they will write all of them off from a Camry of the same model year and same V6 engine. You'll also save plenty of $$$ just doing these services at Toyota instead of Lexus.

Yes, a/c filter and cabin air filter are the same thing. It is not necessary to pay someone else to install the filter when the owner's manual explicitly details the step-by-step process in doing it yourself. Just keep in mind that the filter is actually a 2-piece unit for your model year ES, and that you don't have much space when working in the filter area.

Which climate control bulb are you referring to, the one providing the backlighting on the panel or the one for the LCD screen?

Actually, Stephen is talking about the sales brochure, not the owner's manual, of the ES.

It could be a sensor or circuit-related problem. Unfortunately for proper diagnosis on such a sophisticated and technical item as airbags, you should bring the car to the dealership to get it looked at.

When I had my ES during the winter season, I used to stick my old snowboard in the trunk and through the access area to the rear seats. I took advantage of this feature whenever I had to carry long items.

Photo link is not working, but your instructions are very sound and detailed. Welcome to the LOC forum!

Like your Lexus mechanic said, the problem could very well be emissions-related, but it's obvious here that it has nothing to do with the gas cap. I'm betting that it's your charcoal canister that is running bad, causing the CEL and TRAC OFF lights to go on. This happened as well to my ES, same scenario while cruising along a highway.

I had 35% on all 4 windows, and 20% on the full rear glass of my '01 ES.

From my experience in my former '01 ES, I could drive 30-50 miles after the low fuel light until the gas tank near dries itself empty. Of course you wouldn't want to do that on a regular basis, as this could hurt your fuel pump and other component(s) in the fuel delivery system.