Elan

I had my complimentry oil change at 5,000 miles. The maintenance schedule read-out indicated next change due 3,000 miles later. Why does my 2006 3 series BMW call for oil changes (computer calculated) in the 18,000-21,000 mile range? Same deal with the tire rotation. My 1997 5 series BMW manual said not to rotate the tires. I got 80,000 miles. My Lexus dealer wants to rotate my tires every 5ooo miles. I would think that cars of simular size and weight would get simular mileage using the same tire, driver and conditions.

On several occassions I have gone to my car to fine the windows down and the roof panel open. Ibelieve that this may be caused by items in the pocket or wife's purse pressing against the key fob. Never had this problem on other cars I've owned. Hope it doesn't happen while its raining.

No! My 2007 Es350 was wrecked at 1900 miles. The Lexus body shop performed the worst repair (six months they had it with many returns). Still isn't fixed properly. This is part of the Lexus experience. The body integrity is very poor. Parts not related to the accident are loose and poorly fitted. One of the major complaints I have with this care is the ergonomics. Many of the controls are not lighted at night (light switches, overhead switches, cruise control, etc) $300 steering wheel option with controls that aren't lighted, what a joke! When returning home at night you can't find the garage door opener. Interior lighting is unsat. Not good for a near luxury care.

I believe that manufacturing firms get their parts from various sources. It may be that some brake parts on one car may not come from the same source as another, thus accounting for different experiences. Supply, demand and prices drive the selection of parts. Even parts from the same supplier may be different depending on their manufacturing standards and quality control.

There is rust in the exhaust tips of my 2007 ES350. The exhaust sys was replaced after auto accident. I thought maybe the body shop replaced the system with non OEM parts (non stainless). Everyone says that the Lexus exhausts are all stainless. Not so!! I placed a magnet to my system and other Lexus cars on the lift at my Lexus dealer. The magnet held firmly to all of them except the stainless exhaust tips. Magnets will not stick to stainless. What gives? The salesman and mechanics didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Magnet does no stick to the exhaust of my wifes 2006 BMW.

When the time came to trade my 97' 5 series BMW, I decided to try Lexus quality. Consumer Reports ranked the 07 ES350 as the best. I bought the ES350 and the very next issue of Consumer Reports rated the car as only average. My wife drives an 06' BMW 3 series and our personal experiences indicate that the Lexus is not as reliable. If I hadn't been misled by Consumer Reports and other media, I would have gotten another 5 series BMW. This attitude is partly because of poor service from my Lexus dealer.

I was pleased that my ES350 had a tape deck. I have a large collection of cassettes that I collected years ago, some with music complilations that cannot be duplicated. By the way! I still have my 8-track player.

It appears that the screen on the GPS (2007 ES350) is dirty. When the light hits it right, the back side of the display appears dirty, smugged. The car just spent 5 mths in the body shop. Is there a protective screen in front of the display that needs cleaning or is the actual LCD screen exposed? How can I clean it without a dealer service visit?

After my ES350 spent 5 months in the body shop I noticed that the radio sounded very poor. I fretted over it and the dealer said there was nothing wrong. It sounded flat and thin with very little stero seperation. Today I turned the ASL off and the system came to life and sounded great. I turned the ASL off and on a few times and the system continued to sound fine. Problem apparently fixed.

Alan, thanks for the info! I have to say that still disagree and think there is an tone quality increase wit the increase in speed wiht the ASL on. Again, thanks, Jon

I bought my ES350 a couple of months ago. I entered the car to drive it away from the dealership and when I pulled the door shut I noticed a soft flimsy feeling material in the door pull. Unless this is some new material/technology that I don't know about I feel that it will wear very quickly. This is the only thing about the car that I would call cheap. Has anyone had problems in this area?

Sorry you feel this way about the forum. I have posted a few negative comments about the Lexus, not to knock the car but to provide some input that may help others better understand and enjoy the car. I like my Lexus better since reading the forum. I have more reasonable expectations about issues such as the NAV system.

Two months ago I bought the Lexus ES350. I traded a 5 series BMW and my wife drives a 3 series BMW. The problem is that the BMWs are really sensitive to brake input. You have to be gentle with it. The Lexus doesn't respond sufficently to what I feel is normal brake pedal pressure. I have had many near rear end collisions because of this. Two nights ago I barely got stopped in time to prevent hitting the car in front of me. After a sigh of relief I was rear ended by the car behind me. My car has 1990 miles on it with significant damage. If someone can tell me how to get diminished value compensation from the insurance company, I would appreciate it.

I didn't become aware of the Nav lockout feature until after I bought my ES350. I just knew that with Lexus's reputation that nothing on the car could be as disappointing as the Nav system. I have a Magellen 760 NAV system that is superior to anything I've seen except for its 3.5 " screen. I have found myself using it in my Lexus more and more. It has "speech to text" and waypoints list for three users. It isn't voice activated but the Lexus voice activation doesn't work well enough to bother with. I'm thinking of getting a Megellen 4040 (4" screen) for permanent use in my car as my wife uses the 760 in her BMW.