lexusk8

Steve, I know DobieG mentioned that the previous owner passed away, but like I said before, I'm just superstitious when I hear things like that, that's all. I apologize for bringing that up, I don't mean to make this a big deal or anything, so let's just leave it at that :(

Hope I'm not too late to feed in my input... ;) I used to have that CEL problem with my '01 ES within a few months after I purchased it last year. However my TRAC OFF light also comes on at the same time, so that kind of narrowed the source of the problem. In any case, I brought it to the dealership, ran through the codes and told me that the charcoal canister is shot and needs to be replaced. It may be due to the fact that I had been filling up my ES with premium fuel when before it used to take the low-grade kind. My extended warranty wouldn't take the $550 job, so I ended up bargaining the dealership to do it for half the price and with an overnight loaner. Got that all fixed up, and since then I haven't had any problems with the CEL. You may want to look into checking out the charcoal canister for your ES if you haven't already. Good luck.

The car looks like it's in great shape, but I may be the first one to say this in an odd kind of sense. Call me superstitious, but the fact that the previous owner passed away would definitely make me look the other way if I choose to take over the car. Same thing for me if I were house-searching and just found out that the last owner died for whatever reason. Like I said, this is just my personal feeling, and you shouldn't take my thoughts seriously or with a grain of salt. Hope you understand what I'm saying, and best of luck with your new ride :)

I had the same problem with the backlighting on the A/C console of my '01 ES, so what I did was just replace the burnt out bulbs and that was it (only spent $6 on the bulbs). No need to replace the entire unit, which could easily run up to $600 from the dealership (big hassle IMO). If you're however having functional problems with the stereo or the A/C unit, then that's a different story itself. I followed this guy's instructions on removing the stereo-A/C cluster unit. Very useful and a nice DIY project entirely :)

Warning signal of oil can w/ wavy lines = add engine oil

I suspect this code means that your charcoal canister in your evaporative control system is becoming defective, hence setting off the check engine light. You should bring your car to the dealership to verify that is so (I'm pretty sure that's the problem), and then have them do the job. Parts and labor could run between $500-$600. Depending on your mileage, check with your Lexus warranty and see if it can cover the work.

Mike, are you down for the meet? If so, maybe you could get Brandon to come too, if he hasn't moved back to FL. Eric is coming too, and Jason (aka "chanmannyhc" from ClubLexus) just recently posted interest for the meet. I believe he's coming from Westchester. It'd be nice to get a whole bunch of GS's coming to the meet :D

Hey Stevie, I've joined quite a few other car forums in the past several months, and forgot that I registered to this one. Funny that I haven't made any posts since then... :D

You need to take off the plastic speaker cover in order to access the brake light bulb. To do that, use both hands to get a good firm grip of the plastic cover, and pull the cover towards you. It will feel kinda tight at first, but you'll notice that the cover will slowly become loose after some pulling effort. The cover won't completely come off; it is connected by some audio wiring. Leave it like that, you have plenty of space now to reach in and replace the brake light bulb. Good luck :)