hilchan

I'm finally happy with headlight height but now my problem is the width aim. Basically, I do not enough light in the middle but most of the light is concentrated outside, so the right side of the light will point most of the light on the next lane to my right instead of the middle. I tried to using the side screws and HID is still pointing the lights outwards. Can anyone help me figure out who to properly adjust the width aiming of our headlights. Thanks.

There are plenty of phone now a days with built-in PDA functionality. So there are a lot of concern with security on bluetooth such as your e-mail, password to whatever and most threatening are viruses or trojans that could destroy your phone OS and disrupt your daily activity. But for non-PDA bluetooth phone, I supposed they can only steal your phonebook info and add your buddies number to someone's else telemarketing list. It really depends on how malicous the code is.

My wife have a ES330 that allows the windows to rolldown when the unlock button on the remote key is depress for some time. One thing I didn't like is that is actually opened all the windows and sunroof so I took it to my local lexus dealer to see if they can program only to open front windows but instead my remote window rolldown capability was completely disabled. Does have the remote programmed to have only certain windows to open.

I also got my NAV updated on my wife 04 ES330 last Jan. 2005 to version 4.1 One thing I notice that on certain area, it will route to a wrong turning direction. (which is not very different with the old version) Such that even when the destination is on the right side of the road it will tell you it's on the left. Also, I wanted to confirm what is involve with the NAV upgrade. My understanding is that they simply swap out the DVD media to a later version, but I notice when I remove and reinsert the dvd media the routing accuracy to the exact same location changes significantly. But one thing I'm now happy about is that my home street is finally on the map. Overall, I'm much rather have a newer data so I don't have to drive in to a out-of-business destination.

I know the brand of tires makes a difference due to different compound being use, but I've never upgraded to a plus one tire and didn't realized it would make that big of a difference, now I have a good excuse to change my rims after it hit at least 20k miles. (I'm at 12k) I stopped by yesterday at the Lexus dealer while they are upgrading my nav software and replacing my seatbelt switch all under warranty and asked about the transmission fix again, of course they don't have any fix yet. Thanks for the advice guys.

Took my wife's 04 ES330 for warranty work and got a new 05 ES330 with less than 4k miles on it as a loaner. This is what I notice immediately: Improve handling. The handling seem to improve a lot over the 04 ES330 without AVS. I haven't heard of any suspension change so it could just be 17" with Toyo tires. I have a 16" with Bridgestone Potenza (crap) and AVS. I know having a lower profile will improve handling. But with the 05, I will be happy without the AVS since the ride is still smooth and still maintening good handling. Transmission delay is minimal. Delay seems to be minimal to a point where the car feels more responsive. I know there is no engine upgrade. This is a delay I can definitely live with. On the 04 ES330 I've experienced a good 1.5 - 2 seconds delay which is very dangerous. Got to a few close calls with this delay. On the 05, there is a few millisecond delay that is not that noticeable and I would consider safe to pass. Overall, I enjoyed driving the 05 ES330 so much and was bum I have to drive my 04 back with the bad throttle response. Anyone else experienced the difference between 05 and other models with delay problem.

I have a 04 ES330 with the factory HID. I'm guessing the OEM HID bulb are only 4000k. I like to change the weak factory HID bulb to a brighter 6000k HID bulb. Can I simple change the bulb to 6000k using the existing ballast without causing any problems.

The same thing happened to me during the delivery of my ES330, I'm talking about one day old vehicle, the Lexus of Concord swirl my car all over. The worst thing is, when I complained to the service writer, the service writer don't think they could have don't it but buff the car out instead without a care. Besides the whirl marks, the same Lexus of Concord overfill my engine oil by 1.5 quart and use the wrong oil grade(10w-40). I have heard plenty of complain about this dealership in the pass but I just don't listen until it happened to me, the dealer is so close to my home and was in denial. I now drive the extra mile to go to a another Lexus dealer. Maybe we should have a another subject about which Lexus dealership to avoid to warn fellow Lexus owner ahead of time.

Sorry, I don't agree that a little magnet can affect the operation of the air conditioning system. It must have been a coincidence.:whistles: ← You can believe whatever makes you feel better. I've install and reinstall the oil filter magnet for testing purposes before coming to this conclusion as I find it hard to believe myself at first.

I've used a magnet that attaches to the oil filter to attract metal shaving on an old Mazda as it sounded harmless. Guess what, my AC stops cooling and couldn't figure out for the longest time why, so I tried to start from scratch and remove all aftermarket parts that I have added and found out this magnet was the culprit. AC starts working good again after removal of the oil filter magnet. I've also used this on my Infiniti and have some minor problem that I no longer recall the exact issue, but I have remove this magnet junk since. Just save your money and get a better oil and filter instead.

In my point of view, There is more demand for german vehicle since they are perceived by most people as more cool. My wife insisted on getting a bimmer despite knowing how unreliable these car was. I insisted on a Japanese luxury since I'll be the one dealing with the problem and to be honest I didn't want the 04 ES330 model as it looks just like a camry on the front and side view and couldn't justify 40k out the door with a camry look alike. I almost got persuaded with the 5 series but they didn't have the NAV model and have a 6 months waiting period at that time and the price was significantly more with dealer mark up. But my point is, I was willing to pay more for the german brand because it's a bimmer and it drives better in terms of performance. In the end, we got the ES330 and not exactly happy with the @!#@ transmission delay either. But we were able to save 10k plus, no 6 months wait for a navigation system and future reliability issues. Would I buy another Lexus? Well the transmission delay really got to me so maybe not. But I will still consider a bimmer on my next purchase.

Voice command is great setup. I have a 04 ES330 but does not have the microphone for the voice command on the NAV. Do you know if we can simply buy a toyota mic and connect this to a 04 Nav system? It can be frustrating that Lexus disabled the destination screen input while the vehicle is moving. I know it's for safety but the passenger can always enter this for the driver. do you happen to know if a microphone can be plug-in on a 04 nav and get the voice command working as most of this unit already has voice command capability and was just simply disabled.

If Lexus wants proof, how about the next time this happens you slam the transmission to neutral and let it rev high enough that it registers on your computer. (Unless we have a rev limiter, your engine could get damage from over reving.) I know it's easier said than done, specially in the heat of the moment but just a thought. This is the exact problem that almost killed my sister and brother in law down a twisty road in Napa on their brand new Dodge Durango couple of years ago, which they've gotten rid of since and got an Acura. Your post is now making me more cautious driving specially in front of pedestrian on my wife's ES330. I'll keep everyone posted on the first sign, but I had mine for 9k miles and have not experienced this issue. But I do have plenty of acceleration delay thought.

Stevie, Those rims look great. The extra tire width and chrome makes it look so aggressively sexy. Hil

Stevie, Do you have picture of your rims. I'm decising between a 17" and 18" rim but feel that the 18" might have too little sidewall. so yours would be 235/40 The widest I'll most likely go is 225. So it would come out to 225/50 17 or 225/45 18 whichever rim size I end up with. Thanks. Hil

Since the day one on my ES330, I have been keeping track of the accuracy of my computer and happy to say that it has been accurate. One thing I did notice is that, on the first shutoff of the pump on the tankful of gas the computer is accurate to +/- .3 mpg. but when you continue trying to add more fuel after the first pump shutoff, the accuracy changes to almost 1 mpg. Try measuring the mpg both ways and see if you get a more accurate reading.

Took my ES330 on a long drive and almost got into at least 2 would be fatal accident because of this delay. So I finally filed a complaint today at NHTSA knowing that Lexus will not do anything else.

Your absolutely right Jay. I had the odor problem years ago and read on "Click and Clack" about turning off your a/c and placing your vent on fresh 1 - 2 miles or 2 - 3 minutes before your final destination to clear out moisture from the evaporator that causes all this mildew to begin with. And this advice has been working for me stop vent odor while help me save fuel as well. I would forget to turn off my a/c once in a while and I can get a bad smell the next time I return to the vehicle. but I just need to place in on fresh with a/c off for an extra 5 minutes and everything is fine.

0 psi, tire would have come off the rim. I take my Infiniti QX4 off-road and the lowest I run it down is 21psi, some hard core are at 10psi. Have seen a something less than 10psi come off the rim on hard climb. For the sake of argument, let's assume we are all using a standard tire size that came with the car maker. I don't think you should go by the tire max pressure but rather using manufacturer recommended pressure as a starting point and work your way up not pass max tire pressure of course. As pointed out earlier by HRP, the wrong psi will cause uneven wear. I've experienced the center tread wearing off first when I was driving my first car in college and have been making sure to balance the tire pressure ever since. Having too high of pressure also changes the load capacity of individual tires. 35 - 40 psi? 40psi is unusually high, my max pressure on the Infiniti tire is only 35psi. I hope no one actually pump their tires all the way to 40psi without checking the max tire pressure located on the tire sidewall since not all tires can handle this type of pressure. More tire pressure just makes the tire sidewall flex less and tire rounder, thereby getting improve handling and fuel economy, but running at a dangerously high pressure level will only lead to trouble. I've been running 33psi on my ES330 hoping to get the most life on my tire by even tread wear, but this is experimental for now. Mburnikas, no offense, but I notice on all of your posting that I have seen so far, you tend to be defensive and even insulting at times on all your postings that I've encountered. I don't think there is a need for that as everyone in this forum is providing a fun and free service advice that will benefit everyone.

I will try to locate a few more dealers with ML system on their ES. So far, it seems to be hard to find an ES with ML system without being sold before I get to the dealership so couldn't compare the problem. I'll verify with someone from the dealer and eventually call Lexus headquarter and will keep everyone posted on the incident turn out.

Anyone has the ML stereo that sounds below ML standard? I bought this vehicle for my wife 3 months ago and notice from day one that the sound system seems reserved. When the volume knob is twisted clockwise to increase sound volume a crackling sound can be heard on the speakers. I listen to mostly jazz and instrumental so no heavy bass is used to damage the sound system. I have owned a few high end audio and thought that maybe it just needed some break-in but this sound is worst than a regular stereo. I tried to listen to materials with more bass and the speaker sounds badly distorted. I suspect that this problem might be cause by some buyer trying to crank up the system pass its limits and could clip the amp and eventually damage the speakers as well. or a faulty connection terminal (at least that's what it sounds like). Anyone having some issue with their ML system as I described above? I will be calling another dealer to check on this as another vehicle with ML on an SC sounds much better even with top down. For the Lexus owner in the Bay Area, watch out for Lexus of Concord service quality. The Concord dealer got my car scratched from their wash center during 1st delivery of my vehicle, fill in a wrong grade of motor oil during the 1st oil change and now using more fuel, sales have no clue on what they are selling, service writer (lisa) is insulting to customers and I can go on....

Before test driving the ES330, I tested the 04 Acura TL and 04 Infiniti G35 and love their handling and I know these cars are being marketed as sports sedan. But after driving the ES330 without an AVS, I walked away from the dealership as the ES330 has too much body roll. Later found out about the AVS option and was lucky enough to test drove the only available AVS on the lot and was sold after that. The AVS will not handle like G35 or TL but you will see improvement over the standard ES330 suspension as if give you more confident on sharp turns due to less body roll with stiffer suspension. Anybody else tested with and without AVS ? The difference to me was big enough not to purchase this vehicle if AVS wasn't available.

Stevie, Glad you are ok and found a shop to take care of your baby. Looks like your side curtain airbag did not deploy, I guess this has to be something like a direct impact on the doors.

Thanks Steviej, should have look closer. Anyway for those with 04 ES330, it's on page 378 - 379 of the owner's manual.

No wires to run or holes to drill, that's sounds good Stevie. Is this something I can find in the repair manual. If so, I will be ordering one soon.