ricehead

me me! please post some pics so I can see exactly how to do the intermittent (my sensor has the same problem as yours)

there are a limited number of things in the rear of the car that could truly be making that type of noise - my first hunch would be a bad fuel pump?

Camlex - thanks for the help. Are the LCD bulbs for the back-lighting on the LCD portion? Are the "knob" bulbs for the back-lighting on the buttons? My buttons are the ones that are no longer lighting up. Thanks for any help!

Hey, thanks for updating us. Do you know how many bulbs were back there that could be replaced?

hybridamp - fingers crossed for success! let us know how it goes... thanks for help

Some of the bulbs behind my 2003 climate control panel are burned out, so hard to see what the buttons are for during the nighttime. Are there any threads that deal with this, or anyone who has replaced them who can give me advice? Is it possible, and if so is it DIY? A picture is attached, showing what type of cc system I have. Thanks for help :( On a related note, was it a complete oversight for the designers not to put a light behind the buttons for the gas door and trunk pop, or are those burned out too!?

save your money and buy a true HID kit for a couple hundred bucks

$450 doesn't seem bad for a 60k service @ the dealer

Yes, that looks like it... what about this one? item number 160079992549 Looks like a PITA to replace!

2003 ES300, recently developed a pretty bad/loud exhaust leak. The leak is after the manifold, in between the manifold and the catalytic converter. It looks like a mesh sort of pipe area, and it is leaking badly. My local repair shop said the dealer wanted about $850 for the part, and they want to charge about 2 hours labor. All this on top of new brake rotors/pads and new tires... I can understand maintenance/wear items (I replaced all myself, was easy), but shouldn't a Lexus be holding up better than this - a $1000 exhaust leak!? I am a pretty handy person, I have rebuilt engines, made many repairs, etc. I am considering doing this myself, how hard is it? Maybe I can find this part at a junkyard? Thoughts? :(

Just recently started to happen over last 1-2 months or so. When I turn the steering wheel there is a sensation of a clicking/crunching noise that's happening within the steering system. It doesn't actually make any noise, I can just feel the sensation of it through my hands when turning the wheel. It happens mostly at low speeds, but maybe that's the only time you really turn the wheel enough to notice? I can make it happen while the car is sitting in park, or while driving around town. It's mostly just an annoyance, but I'm also assuming that something is about to fail? There is no hesitation in the steering so I think the power steering pump/belt are fine. Any thoughts?? <_<

There are only three kinds of people in the world...Those who can compose a sentence, and those who can't.....Wrte that down!.....ricehead ;)

Thanks for the info!! The OBD2 scanner from local part store seems reading codes only. However, interestingly, last fill up I got 163 miles out of 10.5 gallons regular-unleaded. So the gas mileage is still low but seems a big improvement. I noticed somthing after my last fill up: 1) I rotated the tank cap more ( more clicking sound ) 2) I replaced all 4 head lamps ( I noticed a broken hi-beam, I am suprised that there was no warning on dash ) 3) The weather in Metro DC area was very warm for couple days ( near 70 when it was usually around 40 or lower ). I would recommend replacing some emissions components as others have suggested, your gas mileage is till pretty low unless it was all city miles.

I would love to have a service manual for my 2003 ES300! Anyone have one they can link me to? Thanks!

Just purchased 2003 es300 with 67k, with xenon/heated seats/etc, great conditon clean carfax, for $12,999 :) A steal!