SW03ES

Left or right.

Its because of the high RPM the engine idles at when its cold, this is totally normal. This is probably a lack of proper tension on the serpentine belt. I would insist that they replace the belt or at least adjust the tension... My belt was replaced about the same age as yours for the same issue. In fact I didn't even report it, it squealed upon startup at the dealer while it was in for something else and they just replaced it...

The tires probably need to be balanced. Tires need to be balanced regularly, I have mine balanced every time they rotate the tires. Your ES should only have stick on weights inside the interior barrel of the wheels, no clip on weights on the outside edge. It is possible that a wheel may not need a balancing weight...depends on the tires. Michelins in my experience need far less weight to balance. Lexus cars are VERY sensitive to even the slightest misbalance of the wheels. The lines are really blurred. I look at the overall specs of each tire before I look at the category the tires are marketed in. The ES needs an H or V rated tire...I personally think it rides best on grand touring tires...but the tires the above poster posted (the bridgestones) are ultra high performance tires and he loves them on his LS... My favorite tire on this car is the Michelin Primacy MXV4...

Probably!

According to people in the ES forum, the dealers are adding that program as part of a firmware update when they do the accelerator recall...

Reading the account of the couple with the 2008 Prius I suspect they know very little about the vehicle itself. The Toyota system however I have always thought accelerates way too strongly when you hit resume. I always accelerate myself. Sounds like thats the issue people may be experiencing.

The Mustang's not a fair comparison. What you need to go drive is a Fusion and a Taurus. The transmission thats in the ES and RX isn't the smoothest, theres no doubt about that. When you look at the transmission in the LS or the V8 GS though...they are pretty darn smooth... I have. The XF is a BEAUTIFUL car, I love it. However, the ES is still smoother and quieter, as well as bigger inside and a great deal cheaper. Compared to the GS the GS is a little roomier inside, the XF feels smaller and more race-car like...which is how its supposed to feel. Lots of weird quirks like the shifter design. The roof line is very low. Great car though. Jaguar's dealer network isn't as good as Lexus', at least around here. I think its the volume, all the Jag dealers are combo with other brands and aren't as high end feeling as the Lexus dealers.

Really though, I haven't driven anything that is as quiet and refined as a Lexus. Even when I drove the Genesis and the Lincoln MKS, as soon as I got into the ES350, and even back into my old ES I was struck by how much quieter, smoother, and more isolated the Lexus is. Compared to an LS? Nothing rides like an LS... Not for everybody...but obviously for a lot of people...

Its a new advertising section. eBay pays the site for the right to feature some Lexus-related ebay postings in that forum. I'm not sure whether members can specifically post their own Auctions...I will find out. I don't see why not...

Doesn't have anything to do with it really...

The issue is...I really think when you get out 100,000 miles on the new Hyundais, the new Fords, etc you're going to see the same thing...when you really get into these cars they are really well built, and the fasteners and switchgear even look beefier than what Toyota is using. These companies are really overengineering their cars much in the way Toyota did with the original LS400 trying to ensure they get up there in the rankings. Toyota has been suffering in this department too though. Look through the new GS forums, and the ES350 forum at the complaints about rattles and things like that. Our Prius has 55,000 miles and rattles and creaks so much I almost can't stand to drive it...and I've cared for that car so its had WAY beyond average maintenance and care.

That I definately agree with... A lot of people have been asking why the public and the media have been so hard on Toyota when other carmakers, namely domestic carmakers have had so many even more deadly design issues they have covered up for years. Thats whats spawned these conspiracy theories etc. My feeling is though its the many years of Toyota touting and marketing themselves to be so committed to quality and reliability, this is such a violation of that image and the trust that consumers have put in the brand it really feels like a betrayal. People sort of expect that from Ford and GM of old...but not Toyota. So in that sense I could see how you could say Toyota brought this sh!tstorm on themselves too...

Then I guess we should all go back to riding bikes?

I think its a combination of the two. Yes other manufacturers have REALLY been working hard to improve quality and have made great strides. But, all you have to do is sit in a 2010 Lexus and a 2005 Lexus and you can see and feel the difference in the weight and heft of the leather, the thickness of the carpeting, the thickness of the headliners, the feel of plastic in "no touch" spots like the steering column and around the gauges, undersides of the dash...there have definately been reductions in product quality. Its not media created, but it is media escalated. A lot of the irrational fear is created by the media, they have blown what really is an issue with a small percentage of cars and made people afraid to drive their Toyotas. Toyota is to blame for not getting out ahead of the issue, but I still firmly believe this is an issue that could have happened to any automaker...

Good luck...

Do you see the clip of the rubber mat pinning the throttle and the engine racing? I bet that has something to do with at least some of these issues. That rubber mat oversized for the incorrect model was in the CHP officer's loaner ES350. As for the LS, I don't know. The 98-00 LS has a pretty distinct kick to the throttle on takeoff, it sounds to me like he gave it some throttle and then backed off and was surprised when it kicked in. Those cars have been out a LONG time, if there were issues I think we would have heard about them...

Nothing wrong with Ultra High Performance tires on the car, it just depends on the model. Shops are always going to over-inflate your tires. You'll have to take air out of them every time its been in a shop. The sticker says "TIRE LOADING INFORMATION", the top part is in english, the bottom part in french. The pressure reads as 200 (29) the 29 is the PSI... You also might want to have someone do a good review of the front suspension. The car is 8 years old and some of the issues you're having with steering etc might be a suspension or steering rack issue...can you describe the "vibrating" better?

LMAO! You really have no idea what you are talking about. The Camry and ES sell like 10 times more cars than the Avalon. The Avalon is a lot bigger and more expensive than the Camry which starts at $18,000. The Camry is the best selling sedan in the United States. You can't just "do away" with it. Sorry to be rude... Anyways...its okay. The interior is a big improvement as is the rear. The front looks just like the Camry, which is a shame I actually thought the front of the Avalon was pretty upscale looking. Would I buy this over a Genesis or a Taurus? Absolutely not.

I think you're blowing this way out of proportion. This isn't as huge a blow to Toyota financially as you seem to think. The division that does the racing is a totally seperate division than what deals with product quality or general business operations, and the dealers are all independent so issues of dealer service and loaners etc are largely out of Toyota's control. You suggest less models when the Toyota line doesn't have a problem with cross modeling like say GM did. If they were to do away with models they would have big gaping holes in their product line and leave entire segments unserved. Combining Lexus and Toyota? That would destroy Lexus. Never going to happen. I personally think you are all over-estimating the attention span of the 21st century consumer. 6 months from now this will all be forgotten, the relentless 24 hour news cycle will have moved on. I, personally don't think this is going to be such a huge blow to Toyota's sales performance in the US. What I do HOPE it will do is inject some spunk into them to do something about the steadily diminishing quality we've seen over the last 5 years or so, and force them to be a little more aggressive in their product development. Time will tell, but I think it will have to. Like I've said before...Hyundai makes a great car. I'd go buy a new Lexus right now though. I've put getting close to half a million miles on these cars and they are great cars.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, and Toyota employs a LOT of Americans. What has really taken this whole situation to the next level is the coverage in the media.

LOL...thats pretty good

Johnny Quest is ALWAYS getting into trouble!

You'd have to replace the navigation system, and the XM module at least...

Absolutely, its your car and its your choice what is or is not done to it. They may ask you to sign a waiver.

Yeah thats exactly what my thinking was. Those are 21,000 hard miles on that loaner car.