mhawkin1

I would not recommend that product; I would take it to Ziebart and have everything 24" from the tip of the nose covered in Venture Shield (as well as the side mirrors and the lip on the trunk). Not just the hood, the entire front nose. I have owned my car for 20 months and I literally do not have one chip. I would never own a car without it and after owning many new Toyotas/etc., the paint will chip with relative ease and it will make you sick. Shouldn't cost you more than $500. By the way, mine hasn't yellowed or anything; no problems thus far.

I replaced my engine air filter recently and had the same concerns. Just pry it open enough that the filter will come out; the three clips are all that need to be removed. It is a very tight squeeze, but it will come out. I thought I was going to brake something as well, but after checking with the dealer, it sure enough just came right out. (My cabin filter was disgusting at 20k miles; the engine filter was dirty, but not nearly as bad.)

If your dealer will not do that for free I would switch dealers. Must be lucky here in Indy, the dealer is fantastic.

My dealer has 2010's now. They are WAY less offensive in person than in pictures. I generally like the car, wheels, lights, front end, etc., a lot more in person than from the pictures. The fog lights and the steering wheel are bad in my opinion but I think the other things look good and it is a nice refresh overall. The wood over the glove box that I disliked very much in the pics looks very nice in person. The chrome outlining of the wood on the doors I could do without.

I would say if they are offering it, then it will not save you money. Five years, and how many miles? Need more details.

It is indeed; my car only has 20k miles on it as of now though. I just think in general that 30k is relatively low mileage to change the brake fluid - but I thought I would check with others as I may be wrong.

Same in Indiana...

Any thoughts on the brake fluid change at 30k miles?

After my 20k service on Friday I detailed my car; I also checked the cabin air filter (which the maintenance guide recommends being changed at 30k) which was covered in debris and solid black. I then checked my engine air filter, which I could not see light through but was not as crummy as the cabin filter. I drove to the Lexus dealer Saturday morning and bought new filters ($88.74). (I tried to buy the filters for the V6 Camry; it appears the same filter is used for the engine (but they also cost the same) but the cabin filter was a completely different density for the Lexus as opposed to the Toyota. I bought the OEM filters from Lexus. I am posting this because when I replaced the cabin filter I could immediately tell the difference in the air quality/smell in my car. I would recommend at least checking these filters before 30k (they are incredibly easy to remove). After reviewing the 30k service (which is upwards of $500) the only other non-“inspect” item I see outside of the air filters, oil change, tire rotation is the brake fluid needing changed. Does the brake fluid actually need replaced at 30k miles? This seems very early to me. Should I just request that they do a normal service and add the brake fluid change since I have already changed the filters (and will be changing them myself in the future)?

Congratulations on the new car! It is great to hear someone so excited about their new Lexus. I think with all of the miles you drive you will be happy you purchased the Lexus over the other brands. I can't answer your question about the backup camera; my Lexus doesn't have one... but our Rav4 came with one! Grrr! :)

I always thought you could get different wood/or not packages in the Audis and BMWs, whereas Lexus just has a standard wood trim in certain models?

To be fair, it isn’t so much a $10k discount but more that you already paid for the depreciation costs in your lease agreement. At this point, I would buy it. Low mileage, you know where it has been, how it has been taken care of and then you won't be in the endless no-equity cycle that is leasing. If leasing cars wasn’t more financially beneficial for Lexus than you, then wouldn’t offer leases.

Guess if you have spent "hours" trying to fix it, it wouldn't have been so stupid to take one hour and drive to your dealer and back.

Well, I am glad you like it! I am SURE it will sell well, it is a great deal/package and these are all very minor changes. Just because people buy it, doesn’t mean they like the changes. I have to be honest; I was really looking forward to seeing the triple-stitch on this interior! I was referring to the color of the new buttons on the steering wheel... they aren’t the same color as the main wheel? On that note, I was in a new LaCrosse CXL (MSRP $38K) today. O.M.G. busy busy interior, the biggest A pillar I have EVER seen and when I grabbed the fake wood (plastic) steering wheel and the no power steering column I was done. Totally disappointed! Whoever was touting that car and dogging Lexus needs to refund the money Buick must have paid them!

These pictures tell a more detailed story: http://lexusenthusiast.com/2009/09/18/2010...al-information/ So, I feel like the stitching doesn’t look any different than my car? Can I just not see this clearly? Also, what the eff with the black carpet with the gray interior? I hate to sound like one of those people that say "I like my car better bla bla" no matter what, but the only thing I like better about this car is the glove box operation. The wood trim is too much, the steering wheel doesn’t 'flow,' the wheels are HS looking, the front is hennas, the back is fine but not really better or worse in my opinion. This to me, again, looks overcooked, like they were just sitting around saying “well, I guess we need to change things, let’s add trim and chrome." Sorry... I really like Lexus, and the ES and I am totes disappointed. Fingers crossed for 2012 because I give this refresh three snaps in a Z formation. **After reading many comments on the updates on different sites, it seems the predominate portion of people agree with me. I predict this refresh is not going to be a hit like the 05-06 refresh was for the previous cycle.

I think my all time favorite is the 1998-2000 LS400; that to me was Lexus at its best. Oh well - those are now at least 10 years old. Jeeze.

Indeed - her's is a mossy green on the outside and tan on the inside. The wood is a bad color. I just don’t feel the interior on the 02-06 – no need to go through all the details. The fact is I probably would have bought an ES sooner if they would have put the power tilt/telescoping on the older models. That is a deal breaker on a Lexus for me. Kind of like your triple-stitch! I LOVE the deep cherry wood.... and black interior is always my favorite. Maybe your black doesn’t have a wear issue - but remember, I have the ES with the cheap leather and single stitching! :)

Hopefully you know me well enough to know that my legally blind comment was in a joking fashion - never my intent to be rude. Speaking of co-workers/friends though, every time some non-car-aficionado has been in my car they say "Oh, I thought the ES was the one that looks like a Buick." One of my good friend’s mothers has a 2006 and it is very nice, but when I get in it I always think "I know people make fun of me because my ES is an old person’s car, but this is ridicules." Definitely a leg up on quality though. I think I like the black interior on the starfire. My only concern would be how the leather would wear in the long-run and how hot it might be in the sun; maybe it would be fine. I think the reviews giving the LaCrosse an advantage in quality over the 350 were being very generous. I am happy to hear that GM is making a car that can even be mentioned in the same sentence as Lexus without people laughing hysterically. I think they have something with the AWD though. I would definitely like my 350 to have AWD; especially here in Indiana. Again, my intent was not to be rude as I value your opinion(s), even if your delivery is rather terse on occasion; my comment was more intended to be flippant. Like being legally blond.... you know... legally blind. Ah well. :)

I think I know what you are saying and I can agree that the leather/dash materials etc. etc., were better quality in the pre-07 ES's. If I were legally blind I would probably like the 02-06 better than the 07-09 (until I needed to pass someone of course). If I get in a car and it is great quality but looks like a Buick LeSabre.... I would still not be into it. Hopefully when I sit in a new 2010 it will feel like your car and look more like my car – then we will both be happy. 

Although I respect your opinion, we clearly have different tastes in general. I thought/think the inside and outside of the 02-06 was horrendous, at best. I agree on the triple-stitch for sure; the extra trim over the glove box etc., just looks overdone to me. I don’t think an extra line of stitching or some extra trim ensures the interior is of better quality than the 07-09. I had a 1993 LS400 and I think, in general, Lexus autos are not what they once were. If I didn't care about the exterior I would probably buy a TL with AWD. If the exterior was of utmost importance, I would buy a BMW; I think Lexus is a good mix of both.

Ok, I see the differences in the interior now. I think the outside must be much more important to me than the inside. To each they own!

Wow - I must be missing something. The inside looks almost the same to me. I don't mind the taillights, but the front fascia is bad in my opinion.... and I am not into the wheels. I like the 07-09 better....... maybe I will like the all new 2012. :) Just checked out the HS in the showroom also…. not a fan of that either. Hmmmm….

Not sure about the answer to your question, but the same sensor went out on my car when it had 308 miles! :)

I must either A. live really close to my dealer or B. be really lazy; I would have driven directly to my dealer and had them fix it. One of the greatest joys I find in owning a Lexus is that I literally don't worry about anything... I just have the dealer do it as they don't really charge for anything outside of normal maintenance (when the car is under warranty).

On the other hand, I think if it would actually hurt the car Lexus would not have used that specific wording - knowing that many would take it to mean 87 oct was just fine. I personally use 93, but this is really just a Camry V6.... we can try to make it different or better, but fact of the matter is, it really isn't. Use 87 oct and you will get 268 hp; bfd.