SW03ES

Its nice here too, I washed the ES and put a coat of Poorboys on yesterday, getting ready to go put another coat on now. And I heard wind of another product for you you can buy in the store, "Durashine" makes a pretty good sealant, they should have it at Autozone. I havent used it but it comes pretty highly reccomended by the REAL gurus ;)

If that statement is true than how come after driving an 2004 Audi A8L I couldn't replicate this jarring or hesitation that Lexus's exhibit? I could push the accelerator down either fast or slow and this transmission downshifted and found the proper gear with ease! I didn't have to concentrate on doing everything correctly.....this car just did it! I will NEVER be convinced that it's not possible to have a Lexus "drive by wire" system follow the input of a driver without nursing it along. I'm sure that this technology will be completely corrected in future models. IMO. I rode in the A8L yesterday but didnt drive it so I can't comment on that. However I did drive the 2004 LS430 and the 745Li and BOTH had the jarring from the drive by wire system. I met my dad for lunch and we went and test drove some cars for him. Probably just an example of different systems at work, are you sure the A8 even has the drive by wire system?

Blake, you can order Poorboys online with a secure e server at www.premiumautocare.com. Unfortunately Steve at Poorboys is having some health challenges so the only way to get Poorboys products right now is through Premium Auto Care. He's recovering though and soon will be able to take orders again. Its 100% safe really, as long as you use a secure server. I've spent probably $10,000 online on credit cards and have never had a problem. I had a credit card stolen once, and that was from a normal transaction, the *BLEEP* that I paid for gas had a card cloner. Its safer then using the card in person, really. If you have to buy in a store you're going to be really limited. Meguiars has good products that are sold in stores, as does Mother's. Meguiars even has a layerable poly sealant, #26 I believe... You could also try and find a specialty detailers store in your area, check the yellow pages. Something like Klasse, Platinum, Zaino can be substituted for the Poorboys, and they're more widespread. Poorboys is still a pretty small operation. As for the clay, ticman got it down!

Yep sawing with the dental floss works great. heating with a heat gun or hairdryer first works best. There are no holes in the "Lexus" or "GS400" badges, but there are two holes behind the "L" badge.

Thats common with a lot of tires. The Michelins on my ES are the same way. The tires get a flat spot as they sit and then the rubber warms back up and smooths back out.

I plan on it ;)

I'm thinking her vibration could be either the harmonic balancer or simply a malformed drive belt. I've also had it go in my Explorer, and it definately was a scary as hell sound, no warning there either.

The story about the engine gelling is legitimate, like I said in the other post. I suppose its possible that there's a vibration coming from the drive belt... Does the noise go away when you turn off the A/C? You also be the condeser cycling. The ES and the RX are the only Lexus that use an old style cycling condeser.

You can get the pen from www.autosharppen.com The Langka is to remove the excess touchup paint. It allows you to level off the paint you've touched up with the surrounding paint so you dont get that bulge that you get a lot. With the pen you wont need it, but you'll need it or something like it if you're using a brush.

All curbs are not created equal lol, at least around here. We have some fricking huge ones that are almost funny.

The jarring is an effect of the throttle by wire system, all Lexus have this. My dad's 98 LS400 has it, my ES300 has it, the 04 LS430 I drove today had it. You learn to adapt by not jumping on the pedal, you ease into it. The tranny fix wont help that. All cars I've driven with an electronic throttle have that jarring. As for your other problems, I dont know what to tell you, mine doesnt do any of those things. Its smooth as silk when it starts up, the cupholders pop out perfect, and the windshield clears just fine. I have a little rattle in the moonroof but its the rubber seal, a little grease on the seal quiets it right down. Have you tried a different brand of wiper, have you tried a different Lexus dealer?

Both of my parents are from West Virginia, my parents grew up literally across the river from each other and never met until both of them moved here. I was born here in suburban DC (Maryland side) and have lived here ever since, although I consider West Virginia home. Eventually my fiance and I are going to move somewhere closer to the beach, maybe somewhere in Delaware or maybe Ocean Pines, MD. We both love water and boats, and we both hate the traffic of being so close to the city.

Yes, gelling in the 3.0 V6 is very common, also called "sludging". I mentioned it to you when you asked about the Synthetic oil. Synthetic oil is much more resistent to sludging. If you change the oil every 5k miles at least you'll never have a problem. What happens is the engine is designed in a way that its hard to get ALL the old oil to drain when you do a change. It builds up over time. If he suggests an engine flush he's probably right.

I do LOL. Please, try the pen first! All I ask!

The spraying is the problem, I really think that on a small area like that, the pen is going to work a LOT better. Also, there's no reason for putty because there's no dent. You should be working 100% with paint.

acf, You should never rub your car in a circular motion, always up and down that way if you introduce microscratches you can't optically see them from as many angles. m2pc, I use the Clay Magic bar because its big, and it doesnt come with a lube spray, because I dont use them. Mothers is equally good. I didnt like Zaino's claybar it left clay on the paint. All claybars aren't created equal ;) Yeah I'd just get the Mothers bar.

Yeah the Novus is awesome stuff. You'll probably only need #1 and #2, #3 is pretty abrasive stuff. I put the Poorboys on the wheels, and I use Meguiars Endurance gel on the tires. happy with both.

I can tell the difference. The LS430s with the 17 inch wheel have a stiffer ride, more tire noise then the LS430s with the 16 inch wheels for instance. I can definately tell.

Amanda, me too, an "upside down" frown? ;) sk, Thats why I always back into parking spaces. Way more clearance in back then in front. The front of the Lexuses are all really low. My fiance and I met my dad for dinner about a week ago. He parked his LS right next to my ES. It was a whole row of spaces, but only the first 4 (our spaces included) had parking curbs, the rest you could drive right through straight. Well, we walked out from dinner, he got in his car we got in ours. I started it up, and put it in reverse. Before I know it, he's driven forward figuring all the spaces didnt have curbs, up over the curb, and down with a loud bam as the curb smacked the underside of the car. he had to spin the rear wheels to pop back off of it. We were laughing the rest of the way home lol.

They charged you for washer fluid?!?!?! I've never serviced a car anywhere, at a dealership or an independent shop, not my Explorer, my Lexus, my father's Lexus or my mother's VW that didnt include "top off fluids" as a complimentary service. Thats REDICULOUS! I suppose its possible that you're hearing some resonation that is just part of the engine's normal operating pattern. Can you describe the vibration again? You say you can hear it, can you feel it?

Its very possible that it wasn't the regular but you just got some bad gas. My family is from the mountains of West Virginia, and you have to be careful where you get gas because bad gas thats been sitting a long time, full of water etc makes the car drive like hell, warning lights etc are not uncommon.

They're telling you that sanding and priming is 100% of the job, Amanda they're talking about real bodywork involving primer and putty. You're not capable of that job, you dont have the experience or the equipment to do it properly. Again, I strongly strongly urge you to rethink what you're doing. You could be costing yourself thousands of dollars in future repair. Modern paint has several stages, primer, color coat, clearcoat. You're talking about removing those stages and replacing them. Its going to look different then the rest of the paint, I 100% guarantee it. Thats why body shops repaint the whole panel and then some into the other panels, becauseyou can't spot spray paint like that and make it the right level. It is possible to do what you're saying but you're not going to be able to make the area smooth, its going to be uneven because you dont have the equipment to wetsand, or a rotary polisher to use graduatedly abrasive polishes to bring the paint back up to gloss. I talked to some detailing people that do what you're talking about here. They agree it can be done, but you have to wetsand and polish with a rotary afterwards. You dont have the equipment or the experience to do this job right. Its going to be uneven and miscolored. There's at least 2 hours of work on the area that has to be done AFTER the steps you're about to do. Okay how about this. Order the pen. Anything you do with the pen can be easily removed with laquer thinner or Langka (Langka is just thick laquer thinner, so it doesnt run). If you're not satisfied, send the pen back THEN try the spray paint. I'll even buy you the pen. I just hate to see people screw up their cars...

Stopping the odometer from rolling is a federal offense, we can't have people discussing illegal activities on the forum. And also, just as advice, theres no way to stop the odometer and get away with it, there are myriads of checks and failsafes. You'll get caught, and you will go to jail.

Best ride... Lexus has been very reluctant to up the wheel diameter of their vehicles because of the impact on the ride.

Are you SURE that you're not misunderstanding people Amanda? This is the quote from the AutoSharpPen website. You took it to mean spraying on your own car with a spray can. This is NOT the case. They're talking about when the paint is originally sprayed onto the car at the factory, or by a body shop. The act of repainting is called "spraying" Again, I have never heard of someone spraypainting chips on their own cars. Yes, detailers airbrush chips but an airbrush is much more precise than a spray can. As for the sanding, yes detailers and bodyshops wetsand vehicles, but this is a VERY precise skill that takes years to master and requires constant running water. It also requires paint thickness gauges and stepped abrasive polishes applied with a rotary to return the finish to its original shine. I dont think you're prepared for what you're going to do, you're going to have overspray, dulled and marred paint, its going to be a mess. I strongly advise you reconsider. Touchups are never going to look perfect whatever you do.