SW03ES

Thats not true at all... There are plenty of other tires out there that are excellent.

The carfax is a small fee anyway, not a big deal. Interesting idea though...

Its an option through Lexus' C-BEST settings, they're dealer settings that can be changed with a pad at the dealer. You can get a packet of what can be changed, light timing, lock/unlock, stuff like that. The stock setting is that and the auto unlock feature off, someone just turned them on.

Very cool!

Lexus has long maintained that the timing belt be replaced at 60,000 miles. However, most mechanics and techs will agree that unless the belt shows signs of wear (cracking etc, thats how you know it'll fail) its not neccisary until 100k.

Woah Woah Woah Woah guys, some bad info here lol. First off, you need to be VERY careful with that rotary buffer. In the hands of an ameteur a rotary buffer can burn clean through the paint in a second. Also, you shouldnt be using the rotary to just apply a wax, theres no purpose in that since the rotary is designed to remove hard defects with abrasive polishes. All you're doing is risking burning the paint. Now an ORBITAL polisher is a whole nother ball game. I have a Porter Cable orbital polisher, and they're 100% safe. There's no way you could harm the paint with them because they dont spin and dont generate much heat. Short of banging on the car with the handle, you're safe. Fact of the matter is, most defects and scraches/swirl marks just can't be removed by hand, they require a machine. Some even require a rotary buffer. As for the clay bar, the clay bar is not designed, and will not fill in any scratches. All it does is remove imbedded contaminants. Does nothing to scratches.

We have male and female members on this board, singling out all female drivers and saying "men are better hands down" just plain isn't fair. Both men and women can drive equally well, there is no difference in abilities between the sexes that would account for a disparity in the ability to drive. Thats just a commonly held fallacy. In respect for our female members, I'd appreciate it if we could keep the "woman driver bashing" to a level of zero ;) Sorry to hear about the accident man, definately don't accept the $500, call her insurance co. 95-97 LS400 bumpers are some of the worst in the industry and there could be thousands of dollars is damages you can't even see.

Then get some OEM replacements... www.aaarims.com

I have a slim chrome frame on mine that keeps it straight.

Its a Lexus, definately take it to someone who does paintless dent repair. My Lexus dealer farms it out to a company that'll even come do it at the house, costs $70 per panel.

I may do the same on mine, I think a black or smoke tint looks best, but thats just me. I also think it looks best uniform.

Just for info, the Sunoco 94 octane is a complete waste of money. For one, the car doesn't require anything more than 91 octane, so even 93 (although where you can get 93, they dont have 91 or 92, we only have 87,89, and 93 here) isn't neccisary. Plus, 1 octane isn't going to make any difference at all. 94 is 100% a marketing gimmick, thats why Sunoco is the only company that does it. Ask any mechanic. As for me, I use Exxon 93 and get around 20-23 combined driving. I'm aggressive though.

I was in Jersey for my fiance's grandmother's 90th birthday party and missed your updates Steve but I'm glad that you got it worked out. I mentioned the bushings because they always fail to lube them on my Explorer, creating a similar noise.

So far my only complaints are as follows: -Lack of power tilt/telescoping steering wheel. The RX330 has this, the ES330 may too. -Lack of fold down mirrors when the car is put into reverse. This one totally boggles me, I dont get why they dont tilt down like all other Lexus models. -Parts bin gentex mirror. The RX, LS, GS, even the IS all have a nice color coded rearview mirror that is attatched to the roof not the glass, makes claning the glass much easier, and looks better. The ES and the GX (go figure) have parts bon gentex mirrors that come on Buicks. Other than that, the car and I are all smiles.

So Alan, would you say the upgrade makes the trans worse or just not quite as good as you'd hoped?

Is it a new car? You know that new car smell everyone loves? Thats whats causing that film. The smell is produced by the plastic "breathing" into the air, and it settles on the windows. Good glass cleaner is all you need.

The doors can be set to unlock when the shifter is put into park on the 02s/03s, dont know about the 97. And the memory seating on the new ones does adjust the mirrors. I find this pretty interesting, every complaint I've seen about the earlier models almost has been fixed in the new ones... Thats focus group engineering.

Heh, thats discouraging... We'll see what we can do about dancing smilies ;)

Collinite is longer lasting because in reality, it mostly isn't a wax, its a sealant that bonds to the paint. Similar results can be had with products like Poorboy's EX or Blackfire that are sealants with carnuaba for look.

Yep, I love mine.

I think the RX is more attractive, more functional, more luxurious, and more solid than the MDX...

Well on the second third and fourth gen just just bump the shifter over to "3" or "4" on the 3rd and 4th gen and it accomplishes the same thing, disabling overdrive.

Sounds to me like a bushing or a ball joint Steve. If its a ball joint it can be easily found by the dealer. The fact that it doesn't happen when its raining tells me it may be a bushing in need of lubrication. They're SUPPOSED to lubricate all thew bushings at every service, hence why its called "Oil and Lube" but sometimes they don't. if they don't they become dry and create a clunk like that.

Great! Keep me posted!

Just spraying isn't going to cut it, it wont remove a lot of the film or grime thats on the surface. Never use the brush, I just take two buckets, some soap and a wash mitt with me, fill up the buckets (one soapy, one clear to rinse) and do a bucket wash, using the power washer to rinse.