SW03ES

Any car wash that sprays soaps use harsh detergents, its the only way to ensure the cars come clean without any detailed hand work. This is true of the DIY bays too. I'm not POSITIVE that its the carwash, but it may be. It also may just be oxidation that can be removed. I've used carwashes for years and have never seen anything like that. I don't run my Lexus through one though. It may be some sort of detergent stain, that happens with carwashes sometimes. If thats the case it can be cleaned off. I'd contact a detailer or bodyshop in your area and let them look at the paint and give you an assessment. Talk to a detailer first. Seeing it in person will let them tell you much more than we can. Probably if its some kind of paint failure there wont be anything you can do. Once paint starts to fail its like cancer and its very hard to stop it from spreading all over the panel.

You can have it hooked up using the kit designed for the LS430/Solara/Prius but its going to cost you $700 plus. You're going to have to convince the Lexus dealer of that too as Lexus hasn't marketed this kit for the ES yet. It will however work on ANY 2004 Lexus. As far as I know its only XM, which is then $9.99 a month.

The problem with Mercedes, and to a far lesser extent BMW is that they're not willing to spend what they need to spend on the material content of their cars. IMHO Mercedes has become the Chrysler of the luxury world (which is no surprise). The cars are visually beautiful, but the tactile feel of the interior just isn't there. The plastic feels thin, grainy, and cheap. The swithgear the same way. They just don't have the same heft and soft quality materials that Lexus has. To me, even a Lincoln feels higher quality than a Mercedes. The Mercedes is all about the look. BMW is far better, and Audi is even better than BMW if you like german. In fact I would say Audi interiors are just as high quality as those from Lexus, and have a little more flair. If I were to buy a german car I would buy an Audi or BMW, I wouldn't even really consider a Mercedes. You pay 20% more and what do you get? A car that doesn't feel as high quality. IMHO to get a Mercedes that equals the quality of a entry level Lexus interior you have to get a designo S class or a AMG or 600 model. My fiance and I sat in a brand new E500 and then got back in my car, and she definately noticed a difference, and my car cost $25,000 less...

Probably not LOL

A pure polymer won't bond over the #7. Really if you're using the 476 theres no point to using a partial polymer underneath as it wont add any durability.

The WD-40 shouldn't hurt the paint. I think the culprit here might be the automatic carwash. Carwashes use high pressure rinses and very strong solvents that really wreak havoc on car paint. Some are better than others. I can tell you more if you can post some pictures.

Yeah I've been playing around with the stations, PLENTY to listen to!

Mop'n Glo on the wheelwells, I'll have to try that out...

Oh yeah! I just found the gain setting on the tuner and turned up the sound level, now it sounds GREAT! What an improvement. I can't wait to hear it with the direct FM modulator.

Thank you, thank you.

Yeah basically you just gotta read, read all the howtos on the lexuscarcare.com and just read all the back posts in here. Welcome and congrats on the car!

Dark colors ARE tedious (no can be lol) but they're the most rewarding when done IMHO.

I always do. She's using MF applicator pads anyway, which can definately go in the washing machine.

First off, I apologize for how dirty my car is, its rained nonstop here for a week. And I apologize for the picture quality, rainy and dismal does not a good picture make. Here it is: On top, notice how the backlight and the buttons match the rest of the car. The other little box isn't part of the unit, its a pen. Antenna: The interior when the armrest is closed, you'd never know it was there. So whats everyone think?

Well with the help of the good people at www.siriusbackstage.com (A very nice Sirius enthusiast board) I bit the bullet and installed my Sirius satellite radio myself. All together it took me 3-4 hours as a good bit of custom work was required, not including all the driving around getting all the parts. This is the unit I used: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZQoxMT4eziK/c...a=0&cc=01&avf=N Right now its hard installed in the upper center console, power is run down to the power point in the lower console that conveniently is only hot when the car is on. The antenna is run down the side of the console between it and the passenger seat, under the seat, underneath the lower mouldings, up the side of the backseat, underneath the rear parcel shelf and is placed at the base of the rear window. This seems fine for now, but we'll have to see if I get any dropouts, if I do I will run the antenna up to the roof around the weatherstripping. Right now its communicating to the radio via a wireless FM modulator. I am very impressed by how this sounds, its only a little flatter than normal radio. I'm going to have either a direct installed modulator put in by a professional or use a Soungate adapter to do a direct line in, we'll see how that goes. For now though, it sounds great! I'm quite proud of myself. I never do anything on my cars myself, I always pay professionals. This involved removing the armrest and center console tray, and drilling several holes in the console tray, running wires etc. I think it looks awesome, I can't believe I did it myself! Pics to come ;)

Oh yeah the Explorer is the most popular SUV on the road. Lasting long is kind of a relative concept, it really depends. Mine was just in the shop for $2600

Autopia runs our detailing store, many of the articles can be found at www.lexuscarcare.com

See thats just the opposite here. People are extremely rude to me in the Lexus vs the Explorer.

Wash them all in the washing machine on the perminant press setting, hot water, with a good detergent like tide. No fabric softener! After its done, wash them again using only a cup of vinegar in the water, the vinegar will release all the wax from the fibers. After that just dry them in the dryer on low.

That buffer isn't going to have anough power or cut to remove any surface imperfections, let alone break down DACP probably. You'd probably be better off learning how to break down polish by hand. I usually tell people that are interested in buying those to just spend the money on a nice set of towels instead. Pretty much the only way to remove swirls or scratches outside of a rotary buffer is a PC. I know its expensive, but its the only way. I also wouldn't say rotaries are only for professionals, but they're not for the novice. A PC is a good place to start, you can get results with that.

I think its supposed to be a 3 series convertible competitor.

I find the only people that try to screw me over because I own a Lexus is the Lexus dealer, oddly enough lol. An oil change aint worth $200.

Check out all the how to's over at www.lexuscarcare.com they'll give you a good baseline. Basically with black just just have to be very careful, use a high quality sheepskin mitt, two buckets (one for rinsing) and don't touch the car unless its with a soapy mitt (no dusting).

I just did some checking, according to www.driveclean.ca.gov the Toyota Camry Hybrid comes out in 06, I'm sure the ES400h will also. I might have to get me one of those... That is, unless business picks up and I can afford me one of those LS500h's ;)

Well supposedly this is straight from Lexus, but its third hand information so don't shoot me if it turns out to be untrue. Sounds pretty plausible to me. The headlights will probably be projector and may have the adaptive feature seen on the RX and LS. I'm sure it will have new wheels as well and would be surprised if they didnt tweak the taillights somewhat. So we'll all have to run our 02-04s into something so we can have the new front end installed lol. I'm going to hold off either until the new LS430 comes out in 2007, or until the ES400h hybrid comes out.