SW03ES

You're not going to get $5000 off on an 05 until somewhere around December.

My question though is if they're such an important safety feature, why can I turn them off?

Apparently many Lexus owners feel the same way we do (I agree with you) because on my ES300 there is a "DRL OFF" setting on the light switch stalk. Only problem is the AUTO setting retains the DRLs. BUT, figure this one out, on my dad's 04 LS there is only an "OFF" setting, DRLs are always on. There is some way to defeat them but it involves complex wiring and rewiring of the lighting circuit. Try running a search on this board and see what you can find. I gave up on trying to defeat these things a while back and have tried to get used to them.

I looked around for one but couldn't find it but what you need is a chenille car mop. just like a brush but made of soft chenille that won't harm the paint.

Yeah we're having problems with the garage page. Best thing for you to do probably is post on the SiriusBackstage board and ask their advice about placement. I do know of a member that installed one on an RX330 and it came out well. If you saw the pictures on that forum don't worry about the garage because they're the same.

I believe they only had a coach edition one year, 2003. They're pretty rare. sk- The LS had had a coach edition also, in 1997.

You've got to find out what it is before we can advise you. My hunch is its the heater core not uncommon on older LS 400s. As for the dealer, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Used cars, especially cars this old, are almost always sold on an "as-is" basis, a 30 day warranty which you had in this case (and which has elapsed) was actually pretty rare. I mean, it doesn't hurt to ask but the dealer has no obligation to help you in any way. A 13 year old car can't be a lemon, on cars that age a certain failure rate for components like the heater core and P/S pump is to be expected, Lexus or not. Sometimes these things can be seen and repaired before sale, but sometimes not.

Can our members know what purpose you're looking for an LS430 for?

Thats actually not all that surprising. Whether Lexus is paying through warranty or you the owner are paying, the dealership gets paid all the same. Its in the dealership's best interest to find all problems and get them covered under warranty.

The cracked wheels are some sort of defect in the manufacturing process of that particular wheel, I've also known people who have had it replaced under warranty.

I've been using Sanyo phones on Sprint PCS for the past couple of years now. If cars are my thing then cell phones are my other thing and I don't keep them very long. Sanyo makes a fantastic phone, very high quality heavy feel with nice screens and okay cameras. Just yesterday I was shopping for phones and wanted a Bluetooth phone so I could install a bluetooth kit in my car. Sprint doesn't have one and wont for the next couple months, the model they have coming out is not very appealing to me (I like flip phones). SO I defected over to Verizon (always wanted Verizon service) and purchased a new Motorola V710 Bluetooth phone with 1.5MP camera and all the doo dads. I'm still waiting for my number to be ported from Sprint so I haven't been able to make a call yet, hopefully within the next 20mins or so. Verizon crippled many of the Bluetooth features on this phone so customers have to use their pay services which isn't very cool, but I wouldn't use those features anyway. Currently it only kind of works with the Toyota/Lexus bluetooth because the crippling stopped the ability to import phone books and the phone won't ring, but Motorola and Verizon are working on a way to allow those features while still limiting data connectivity. I had a whole bunch of StarTACs a couple years ago, which were groundbreaking phones but never lasted very long, they'd only work for about 10,000 minutes and they'd get spotty reception and have to be replaced, then I had a Motorola Timeport (the StarTAC like one) which was the same way, then I switched to the Sanyo phones (I've had 4 now) and haven't looked back (which wasn't hard since Sprint stopped selling Motorola phones). To me Motorola has always been a kind of cheap looking and feeling phone next to the Sanyo phones (Samsung is the same way, cheap feeling) but this V710 is REALLY nice. Wish I could make a call on it...anticipation ;)

Using products that smell good just make the whole process nicer.

Headliners are really hard, you have to be sure not to get them too wet as that can lead to them falling down over time. I'd start with a foaming clenser like mentioned above and see how that works.

Look on the decal on the door jamb ;)

Wow... Hopw your house was at least for the most part undamaged...

I've heard conflicting reports, I'd try and get it covered under the CPO warranty. Thats very common on the LS400s.

Could be that way, not sure how they're doing it. I know they don't offer a "pre-sold" plan to Prius owners. As to whether or not you can get your money back, yes and no. Some dealers allow refunds some don't.

The issue is that "smooth" is in the eye of the beholder as is "luxury". Some say that Cadillac is unsurpassed in luxury but I don't agree, I don't find Cadillacs luxurious or smooth riding at all. Poor interior materials either overly boaty or overly taut suspensions do not a luxury ride make. Same is true of Lincolns. The Town Car is not only probably 2 feet longer than your ES and maybe a 1000lbs heavier it also is very softly sprung, has a ladder type frame, is RWD, and has an air suspension. All of these things make a difference when comparing ride characteristics. Another point to consider is that your generation ES is designed to be sportier with better handling than the LS which was the luxury offering at the time. Thats not the case now and the new ES' ride much smoother than gen 1 models, but they are several steps down in the handling department. I personally don't like the way Town Cars ride, I think they're wallowy and boaty while the Lexus is more solid and rides more like its on glass. Its all personal preference.

No, this wheel is an all new design and is different from the wheel used on the RX (and Camry Solara). You COULD use a wheel from an RX I'm sure but the wood wouldn't match, a swap with an all leather wheel should work fine. You'd have to buy the Lexus airbag though.

If you go into the setup screen you can change it from auto switch to nav.

Hmm... Are you sure that the phone's Bluetooth connection is turned on?

Well that will be Lexol, or Leatherique, or Connoly hide food etc. Really though there isn't much you can do to condition the seats on the concorde because they're coated, probably something like Meguiars or Zymol leather conditioners would be fine. You don't want to use an "old fashioned leather conditioner" because the leather isn't "old fashioned".

Man...I wish we knew! Damn!

No, the Lexus audio systems do NOT have an aux input open that is availiable for use. You might be able to purchase an adapter that would use an input already being used by your system but you'd loose the use of something else. A tape adapter or FM modulator is your only choice. I have my Sirius satellite radio going through a directly connected FM modulator and the sound is fine, the Lexus stereo seems pretty compatible with FM mod. signal.

A car with over 100,000 miles can be a smart purchase, but IMHO its not a $14,000 purchase. You can buy MANY much lower mileage cars for $14,000. Now it is true that these cars can last a long time, well into 200-250,000 miles BUT that doesn't mean that they're going to be maintenance free like new. Little things that are really wear items when you get into that kind of mileage will pop up here and there, not to mention extra electrical problems like dens mentioned. As for cost of maintenance well it can be much higher than something like a Camry if you use the dealer, or much lower if you use an independent shop.