SW03ES

If you do it now the wash should take care of it.

The ES and Solara have the same head unit, the Prius is different. I've been told by installers that the kit WILL work and I'm working on setting up an installer here as a trader so he can discuss it with members. The dealer won't install it though.

I'm actually not contradicting myself, there are two issues. One is a shift flutter at 40mph, there is a reprogram to fix that. The other is what everyone is talking about here, hesitation when applying throttle which is a behavior of the DBW system.

Thats how all the Lexus dealers around here are, you have to specify you want a loaner before you schedule and you usually have to schedule a week in advance, but you can have a loaner for any service. I can specify an ES, RX, or IS if availiable. I usually take RX330s just to drive something different. Beating on it by the previous owner however is not going to be covered, thats something the selling dealer should have addressed. Corporate called the owner/general manager of the dealership and he/she kicked the service manager's !Removed! ;) They wont ask for credit card info, you'll just describe/show them the problems and you'll be on your way. If they don't give you an estimate than they must by law call you and get verbal confirmation before performing any repairs at cost to you. Are you getting a loaner?

Actually a quality paint job would include painting all the door jambs and underhood area. You'd never know it was once black. You can also specify a clearcoat when its resprayed. Not all black has no clear, only Lexus' ;)

I don't think anyone is saying it isn't a design flaw. The question is what can Lexus feasibly do about it, replace all of the engines in their most popular model? Toyota would go out of business. You've got to be reasonable. 8 years is more than the national average legnth of time people keep vehicles. Personally I have seen and see plenty of older ES' on the road with hundreds of thousands of miles that are operating just fine. We have a family friend that has 3 ES, a 91 250, a 94 300 and a 96 300. The 91 has over 300k, the 94 over 200k and the 96 over 100k. No smoking, no adverse signs of wear or gelling or whatever. Just well maintained cars that have lived and continue to live out their serviceable lives well. All I'm saying is its not the huge across the board issue you're saying it is, if you maintain the cars properly you'll most likely be fine. If you feel this strongly about this, strongly enough to ressurect a 7 month old thread to discuss it then why do you drive a Lexus product? Here's the thread I was going to quote you BTW http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...6205&hl=gelling

Yes and its big enough for two pairs ;)

If it is partially in the transmission then all Lexus transmissions behave that way as do all transmissions on BMWs etc. To me when driving back to back a car with drive by wire and a normal throttle cable, the normal throttle cable is MUCH smoother. The hard shift at 35MPH is odd, I don't have that. That sounds like what the reprogram was supposed to fix, a flutter around 40MPH. Trust me, Lexus will never have any fix for the hesitation when accelerating, its simply the way the throttle by wire systems are. I don't understand why automakers insist on using them. blake- The 98 had both, it had a electronic throttle (first year) and a backup throttle cable. Modern Lexuses dont have a backup throttle cable.

In all fairness though Jay, you want the navigation system to do things that very few other owners are interested in... ;)

I never said the manual called for 3k changes, I said it called for 5k changes. As for it "always happening" according to our resident Lexus tech (who does not work for Lexus" this is not true. I will find you some quotes.

No you dont want black 93, black is the hardest color to maintain. Silver is probably the easiest.

My Lexus is certified. If I don't service at the dealer, does that void the certification in any way? Thanks No, as long as you keep the reciepts the warranty is 100% valid no matter where the vehicle is serviced.

No idea whether its combined, city, or hwy.

But what can they recall? Its the way the engine is built, do they replace all the engines? The problem only happens when owners fail to follow the reccomended maintenance schedule. So what they've said was continue to follow the reccomended maintenance schedule, if the oil still gells they'll replace the engine. That seems pretty sporting to me. In fact Lexus even will cover the engine if the owner is able to produce receipts for YEARLY oil changes, thats less than 35% of the oil changes Lexus reccomends. I don't understand why people think Lexus is slighting them on the oil gelling issue. If you don't follow the maintenance schedule the warranty is void, we all know that as car owners. If you follow the reccomended maintenance schedule the oil won't gel. So whats the problem? I dont get it.

What were you using to dry windows if it scratched the glass Glass is very hard to scratch, you can clean glass with #0000 steel wool.

Actually the engine oil gelling problem was addressed when the engine was upgraded from 3.0 liters to 3.3 liters.

I'm 23 and I don't notice the lag ;) I don't think its neccisarily the youth or aggressiveness of the driver, its how they habitually apply power to the throttle. Its simply different ways of driving. I can see what they're saying. Its not really a transmission issue its the electronic throttle. If you drive some other cars with electronic throttles (other Lexuses, BMWs etc) they behave the same way. There may honestly not be anything they can do. My dad's 98 LS was that way, my 03 ES is that way, and his 04 LS is that way. In normal driving I don't notice it anymore. What Lexus is saying is that 10% of owners don't like the way the throttle operates, not that they are experiencing a problem. I would definately buy my ES again.

Sounds like good news to me...

Set a destination then go to menu, edit route to Route Preferences. In the route preferences you should have a list of types of roads you can allow or detour, Interstates is the top one, toll roads is under that. If its set to detour from interstates it would always try to get you off of whatever highway you're on.

Actually I've been surprised by how many people don't know Lexus is made by Toyota. My cousin in law to be (I think lol) has a Rav 4 and has done a lot of research about Toyotas and he was very surprised to find out Lexus was made by Toyota. I showed him how his Rav 4 and my ES have the same exterior door handles ;)

Yeah thats what you'll pay to have a car like the LS painted. I sort of agree with the guy though about moving out of NY, if its just going to get damaged and in that state again within a year... Maaco doesn't do good work. Generally its sloppy, low quality paint that fades quickly.

No holes, only on the Lexus L.

You sure it wasn't directed off interstates or toll roads?

Well a dealership can certainly refuse to do any sort of service they are independent companies that are simply licensed to carry the Lexus name. Sort of like a franchise. BUT I believe they have done one thing that Lexus will admonish them for. 1. Loaner car. GENERALLY Lexus dealers will give you a loaner car for any service. I ALWAYS get a loaner car even for an oil change otherwise its just not worth it to take my car to Lexus to have it done. For an oil change I drop my car off at 5 the prior day, pick up the loaner, and pick the car back up at 5 the next day. I may pay $130 for an oil change but its very convenient and I get a loaner to offset the cost of the service. Now, Lexus dealers do not HAVE to do this and I'm sure somewhere there must be one that doesn't. The Lexus original warranty (which should include everything there but the alignment) states that for ANY warranty work you must recieve a loaner, for the CPO warranty its work over 8 hours. He's getting around giving you a loaner because he's saying its all elective at cost to you work. Shady. Personally I don't get that dealership, they have the opportunity there to earn your service business for life and they squandered it. If those people worked in a dealership I owned they'd be in the unemployment line. I can see the dealer's point about the warranty work. Technically I doubt its warranty work, its work the selling dealer should have performed before he put the car up for sale as a CPO Lexus, thats why the local dealer is directing you back there. Technically the DEALER needs to pay for those repairs not Lexus. Still though, if it were my dealership they would find a way to keep you from having to drive all the way back to Albany...

Yeah a simple repainted bumper cover isn't a big deal. In fact some Lexus dealers repaint the front bumper covers on all their CPO cars before they are sold.