Bigrick

Premium is a waste of money. The only reason to move up is to avoid pinging.

If it's the carpet behind the driver's seat, it's probably a blocked AC drain.

It was the EGR valve. I was able to get the car to the dealer while it was acting up. Tech tapped the EGR valve and it ran smoothly. They replaced the EGR valve and I have not had any problems since. Total cost: part $213 + $45 labor. This may be a good way to rule out or confirm a bad EGR valve.

For a while, my '97 ES300 will, after fully warmed up, start to run very roughly. If I shut it off and let it sit for awhile, it will start sluggishly and then run perfectly for several days. At first this happened about every 3 months. But now, it does it every 5-10 days. It does not seem to be affected by the weather. The dealer service advisor says that I should bring it in when it happens again, but this is easier said than done. The car has 102K on it and has had all maintenance performed by the dealer. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Go for it. It looks like it has been dealer maintained. 5,000 mile intervals for oil changes is fine. 90,000 was major service like timing belt.

Thanks for the speedy reply. I called Lexus parts. Based on my vin, I have the oxygen sensor only, not the AFR/oxygen sensor. FWIW, if I can return the Bosch sensor, I will go with the Toyota brand, which is the same as the Lexus. It's $50 more than the Bosch. So maybe I'm wasting money, but I'll have more peace of mind. By the way, "bigrick" is not a euphemism. My son is also Rick. Even though he is bigger than me, I am bigrick because I'm older.

I am still confused. Does anybody know if my (generic?) Bosch oxygen sensor will work in my '97? Or should I buy one from Lexus? Thanks.

I got the Bosch oxygen sensor (part # 13354) as recommended by Auto Zone for my p0135 code (bank 1 sensor 1 oxygen sensor). Is this part OK?

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...997&catalogid=2

I bought mine on Ebay. It's been a while, but I think I paid $15-20. Do a search there.

If you go to Radio Shack, they'll probably put it in for you. Mine did.

I pried up at each corner first to release the clips and then pulled forward. Worked perfectly with no broken tabs.

On my '97, it is above the radio. The wires plug into the back of the part of the dash removed to access the radio

I had the same problem when I changed the display on my '97. I forgot to plug the 4-way hazard switch back in.

After a lot of research, I replaced my Michelins with Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. They are quieter and have more traction in wet weather. I have about 10K miles on them and am pleased so far. :D