SW03ES

It really depends on what you want out of a tire. The Goodyears that come stock on the GS are terrible, so yes Michelin something like an MXV4S8 may be a better choice but they're very expensive. You may also want to ask about the Yokohama AVS dB S2.

mel-Cool! wheels-basically all he's doing is programming the master key as a valet key.

99- Its actually yellow ;)

Why would you want to do that to such a beautiful car?!? That kind of thing is better suited to a Honda Civic or a Neon... I dont think you'll find anybody here thats done anything like that... If you really want an antenna there I'd suggest getting the XM kit for the car and installing the antenna in that location. At least that wouldnt be ricey.

Did you try heading for the door? I work with car dealerships for a living, I have never encountered a car dealership that would turn down a sale to refuse allowing their tester or a loaner to be driven for a day, thats a poor business practice. So what you're saying is for some reason EVERY car dealership in my area, both luxury and mainstream are somehow different than the dealers in your area? If *I encountered a dealer like that and it was the only one around I would purchase a different make of car. Did you ask or just assume that they wouldn't let you? Because of the throttle by wire system it cannot be driven like other cars. You've never asked me how I or other members here drive it smoothly because you're not interested in trying, I learned from steviej. I accelerate just as briskly and abruptly as you I assure you (I'm actually pretty aggressive) its just a particular way you have to address the throttle under certain types of load conditions, when starting from a stop and when returning from a coasting situation at some speeds. Thats all, do it for a while and it will become automatic. The car is smooth as silk when I drive it, but when my fiance drives it who doesn't know how to address the throttle it bucks all over the place. My goal isn't really to defend Lexus, its to make people understand that this is an inherant characteristic and they can either learn to adapt to it which is quite simple or they can curse every day they drive it. Lexus won't do anything because there isn't anything they can do. Its an inherant characteristic of the throttle by wire system and its not just a problem for Lexus, other car companies that use TBW systems also have the same issue, BMW, Audi, Nissan to name a few. Just now they're coming out with some systems that are more refined going into new cars. It is annoying yes, but its not dangerous. There has never been an accident or death reported blamed on the acceleration lag and Lexus has been using this system in their models, with this problem, for 7 years. If you learn to drive around it it wont even be annoying anymore. Its just that the whining about this is getting old, you have three options: 1. Try and adapt yourself, I'll be happy to help you do that. 2. Drive it like it is 3. Or just get rid of it Continually posting the SAME posts on this board isn't doing anything for you guys. Fighting at Lexus might eventually get you an offer for replacement with a new car...which will behave the same way. They can't fix it, they would have to redesign and replace the entire throttle system and they're not going to do that because some owners complain because it drives differently.

I'm just saying if you take the time to try and adapt your driving style you can drive the car smoothly even in emergency situations. My car has the hesitation for sure. I'm not trying to excuse Lexus, I'm saying that you have a choice. You can adapt your driving style and enjoy your ownership of the vehicle, or you can choose to refuse to do that and shake your fist at Lexus at every stoplight.

"MY BRO" has been banned. If he is "moms lexus'" brother then comong on here to argue with him was innapropriate, if he wasn't then his behavior was still innapropriate. Jeepers are perfectly welcome here, as long as nobody tries to start a forum flame war.

That depends on whether or not you prefer the platinum edition. It cost more when it was new so it'll effect the price now. The platinum edition includes different badges, wheels, wood, leather, and floormats.

Oh yeah, if its white my bet is its blooming. You may not be able to get a very good pic unless you have a digital camera with a good close up setting. You may be able to remove it by claying and polishing out the paint.

Yes, thats a C_BEST setting, it can be deactivated by the dealership. The 99 model is absolutely programmable.

Right, if you don't have the master key the new key cannot be programmed. They can always make you a new key as in cut it, but it won't start the car.

I just wanted to add that I'm not trying to diminish the aggrivation that you guys feel over this at all, I'm just trying to help you enjoy your vehicles. You can, really.

Really? I'm rarely over 19! I get between 24-26 on highway trips, maybe my readout needs to be flashed with the new update.

93 octane isn't going to do you any good in a car not designed to run on 93 octane. You should be able to use 87, try a few tanks and see if you notice any pinging or decreased performance. I use 93 also, but its not neccisary unless the car has a lot of compression, which this motor really doesn't.

Well you can upgrade, its just extremely expensive and requires many hours of labor splicing wires and installing components. You'd be better off to install an aftermarket nav system.

Yep, thats because of how our system of visual perception works. We automatically focus on whats nearest to us in the direct center of our visual field and we automatically focus on the thing that seems to be moving the fastest or moving the most inside the visual field. Thats why heads up displays are so bad, because people THINK they're watching the road when in reality they are focused on the readout projected onto the windshield and thus, have accidents. Wipers cause much of the same phenomenon because the wiper itself is moving on the glass, closer in our visual field than the roadway, and its moving the most compared to the road, cars around us, etc. I don't have access to Ovid anymore but I'll see if I can get an e-copy of his study.

You can't really go by the EPA ratings, I've never had a car yet that got mileage to EPA specs, our Prius gets 20MPG less than the EPA spec. The ES doesn't get very good mileage around town mostly due to it being relatively underpowered for its weight, thats why your Cadillac gets better mileage, the LS Lexus gets better mileage too. Like others have said though you've got to give the car 5000 miles or so to get broken in before you can expect gas mileage to be all it can be. Thats part of why they changed the engine in the ES330 over the 2002-2003 ES300 was because of the poor mileage so I wouldn't be surprised if you saw an increase of 2-3MPG. You may also want to try running mid grade or premium fuel and see if that makes a difference.

I drive in Washington DC, some say we have worse traffic than NYC and Los Angeles, I've never encountered a situation where I've felt the car has behaved in an unsafe manner when I've called for full power. There's also never been a reported accident because of this hesitation either. I'm not saying the hesitation isn't there, I'm just saying it can be compensated for. Like I've said many times, it feels strange to me to drive traditionally tethered throttles now.

But he's looking for a place to do the touchup, not just somewhere to buy paint. I'd call around to some local detail shops, most big shops do touchup themselves.

Its a Pioneer stereo and its 86 watts.

Dealer won't let you spend time in the car, then you wont buy it its that simple. If you tell them "If I drive this car for 2 days and like it then I will buy it, if you can't let me do this then I wont buy a car here" they'll let you do it, I have never once been turned down for this. Especially an ES when they can just give you one of their loaners. You can't let the dealer take control of the situation, you have the money. They have some car you can get anywhere in the country. Only one person has your money, you. I even had one dealer waive their policy that buyers under 25 not test drive cars alone and give me the car for an entire afternoon. They didn't want to, I headed for the door and the sales manager didn't want to see that happen. Its certainly not entirely the consumers fault, but it is partly. You can't expect them to refund your money because you suddenly don't like the way the car drives now that you've bought it. I've driven several other makes with this hesitation, BMWs, Audis, Nissans, Acuras its not something specific to Lexus. If you give yourself a chance to get used to it and you WANT to get used to it and enjoy the car you can, I promise you. Or you can do what some members here have chosen to do which is to refuse to adapt to the vehicle and then their $40,000 has been wasted. If you're easy on the throttle the car will not hesitate. If you were near me I would meet you and your wife some afternoon and gladly show you how I've adapted my driving style and can drive the car smoothly.

Lexus paint does chip very easily, I agree with that. I advise everyone who purchases a Lexus to invest in a chip protection film for the front end, I wish I had. This is common on japanese vehicles, its just a difference in paint composition. Harder paints resist scratching but chip easily, softer paints dont chip but they scratch. Lexus paint is pretty middle of the road when it comes to hardness. curt- What color is it? That may be "blooming". Blooming occurs on new cars when corrosive particles (rail dust and the like) become embedded in the paint surface when shipped to the dealership. If they aren't removed by claying the paint surface the imbedded shards of metal can rust and cause rust spots in the paint. Post pics if you can and I can give you better advice from there.

They're great cars and at that mileage if its in good condition with the nak (which is rare) that seems like a good price. The accolades of these cars are spread all over the forum, just gotta look for em. One peice of advice, be weary of the 5 series BMW. They are deceptively small inside, in fact their interior volume is slightly smaller than a Toyota Corolla, so I don't know how 2 car seats would fit in the rear. Probably the best car to get for this would be a BMW 740Li but they should fit in the LS400 too.

Yep that just speaks to the quality of our membership. Check out similar threads on CL, they're downright emberassing. I'll go through for you the differences I see between the 98-00 LS400 and the LS430. Personally for me the greatest difference between the LS430 and the LS400 is size. I put many many miles on my dad's 98 LS400 (I loved that car, I still miss it and wonder every once and a while if I should have gotten an 00 CPO LS400 instead of my ES) he now has an 04 Ultra in the Flint Mica (great color Flint) which I have driven substantially less (as I do not live with him like I did when he had the LS400 etc). They're both great cars but I can't help but like the LS400 better, maybe because it was my first experience with Lexus, who knows. I'm 6'1" and he's 6'0" and both of us felt comfortable in the LS400 but we both recline our seats more than most people, I think an inch or so taller than me and you'd be tight to fit in the LS400. The LS430 has 3 or even 4 more inches of headroom so thats not going to be an issue at all. The LS400 also has a pathetic trunk for a car its size because the gas tank is between the rear seat and the trunk, but they moved the tank for the 430 and its much larger. As for styling, I dislike the 01-03 LS430s but like the styling on the 04-05 MUCH better, the 98-00 LS400 is still the best looking LS though IMHO. As far as interiors go, both cars have great interiors, the 430 obviously has more wood and you either like that or don't. The seating position in the 430 is also more upright which gives you a better command of the road, similar to the previous gen S class actually. The 430 also has much better seats like SK said with the adjustable seat bottom legnth and the addition of more levels of heat (the 400 just has on and off) and cooling. The 430 obviously has the edge with features (400s are pretty gizmo-less actually) with the advent of the Ultra package. As for stereos I personally don't see a difference in the Mark Levinson found in the 430 and the Nakamichi found in the 400. The reason Lexus switched was that Nakamichi refused to allow their stereo to feed through the navigation system (thats why you can't get a 400 with nav AND Nakamichi, all the nav cars have the standard stereo) not because of sound quality. Both are great stereos. As for nav the 430 has a much more advanced DVD system and nav is probably not worth getting on a 400. As for ride and drive they are very, very similar. The main draw towards the LS and Lexus in general has always been its trademark (and un-duplicated if you ask me, nothing rides like a Lexus) smooth and silent ride. This is pretty much unchanged between the 400 and the 430. The 430 is stiffer (not stiffer in ride but the BODY is more rigid meaning more solid) and the 430s have the added benefit of a sport suspension option which is very rare between 01 and 03 but more common on 04s and 05s (which come with great 18" wheels) if you like that. You may like that coming from a firmer car like a Benz. In the power department the two are similar again, the LS400 is a little bit quicker and has a higher top speed. So there you have it, thats how I see it. If you like the upright feel of a Benz and value interior space and trunk room or gadgets or the availibility of factory suspension choices or navigation I'd look at LS430s (and do an 04 if you can afford it) otherwise you'll be very happy with an LS400. They truly are wonderful, wonderful cars.

Yes I'd say thats true, its several hundred pounds heavier.