jay swinger

Driving a 2004 ES330 I agree with you on the assessment of the seats. I was ok with them for a while but finally had to fashion my own extra cushioning. My guess is that there just isn't enough space from floor to ceiling for them to add more thickness. Historically it wasn't an issue in Asia but it is in the US. I am not sure I would not buy the same model again because of all the other factors but I will definitely be judging this aspect in the future.

This sounds suspiciously like a problem I had to cope with on a different brand of car. Be suspicious of the wheels! They need to be checked to see how true they are. There was more than one which was not perfect but only one which did not meet specifications on my car. After replacing one, I found a position for the other wheels which was smooth. As years went by and tires were repaired and replaced I despaired of trying for the exact best location of each one and decided to just live with it since the car was then "old." These wheels were also steel and would allow air to leak enough that I needed air every month. I vowed I would not buy cars with steel wheels again - which I haven't. Especially if there is more than one driver, I think curbs get hit and sometimes it deforms those wheels. Tires do get "scalloped" and you need a thorough look at all the tests for new tires you can find so that you do not get a brand that is more likely to develop this.

The first ever problem with my 2004 ES330 happened yesterday and that was almost exactly it. I took the car out in the afternoon and parked it about two hours before sundown. That evening about 8:00 pm, and after dark, a neighbor reported to me that my lights were on. Checking the switch, it was exactly as I intended -- in the automatic setting. I switched it off. Since the lights were shining brightly when I checked, I feel sure I have plenty battery left, but I may yet get another surprise. The only other thing I have noticed different about the car is that the day before I noticed the windshield wipers were making a slapping noise at the end of their sweep to the left. Anybody have anything like that happen before?

IF and WHEN you get the fungus out of your ventilating system there is a way you may forestall it coming back. About three minutes before you are going to stop and get out of your car, force your a/c system to stop but keep your fans running. This will help remove any condensation from your air handling system. You can find reference to this on one of the Asthma sites on the Net. Use your search engine. I think its initials are AFAA or AAFA or something like that. Wishing you well.

It works for a 2004 ES330 with version for the end of that model year. See a bit more in another thread.

It works on a 2004 ES330 if it has the update for the end of that model year. Maybe it is a matter of touching the correct spots in the corners.

What do you mean? How to figure out if it doesn't contain a particular address? Or do you mean POI? ← My question is, what changes if you are putting in a street address and its database doesn't have it? For example, you key in 2601 Elephant St (two different lines) and it doesn't have this range of numbers or doesn't have this street? It has been five months since I asked this and I have seen some different responses but I wouldn't bet on what it shows onscreen. At the time I typed this I was having trouble getting any response that would tell me the system had received what I typed.

I want to commend you and the spirit in which you offered this help. I don't know if there can be any better aid to other people than that which is given with illustrations. This is great stuff.

I will continue to guide you. For you to have destinations in the new region you would have already had to change regions in order to set them. Evidently the database has to be kept to a certain size so that you can set destinations in a reasonable length of time.

I check tire pressure once per month, as soon after the first as I can and know that pressure on all those on the ground was just one or two psi above the manual recommended 29 psi. In fact, I remember that the tire I will tell about was 30 psi. One day I kept hearing a strange sound and thought it was from a coarser road topping. It got worse and I knew it was not the road causing it. I thought I would have to reverse my route and go directly to the Lexus Dealer for warranty service. Just about that time, I got the unmistakable feel of a flat tire. The tire was ruined worse than any I have ever seen. I have seen and fixed hundreds if not thousands of them. The Bridgestone Turanza looked like someone had taken a laser and cut a precise semicircle through the sidewall. I don't know how in the world the rim was not damaged but the bead must have stayed in place. I am convinced this tire failed on me. The Bridgestone dealer said it was evident that the tire had been "run on flat," and therefore no adjustment could be allowed on this tire with 17,000 miles. I know that this tire was checked 8 days previously, but I could not swear that it was not low the day this happened. Just remember this friends, the Toyota insulates you from outside noises and if you DO hear a dull noise - especially if it increases - it may pay you to stop and look at the tires. Already, the specific tire had been discontinued by Bridgestone so the tread pattern was no longer available. In addition, the Bridgestone price was almost twice the price of other competitive tires of the same or better ratings across the board. It finally dawned on me that I could leave the former spare on the road because the tread and all other characteristics matched exactly. The rim that had the flat could become the spare. I chose another brand, another dealer, and have an equivalent - if not better - spare as far as ratings are concerned. When I need to replace tires next time, I may have the chance to match the tire I now have as a spare or I can choose to leave it as a spare again provided I buy two tires to match. Sorry this is so long but it would take me 4 x as long to shorten it.

A little bit of abrasive was needed. A few years back there was a product called Glass Wax that included a very fine abrasive. When it was first issued the solvent in it was ammonia, later petroleum distillate. It would work for nearly every case. I heard that the Plexiglas? canopies in fighter planes needed to be repolished every so often. It could be someone with this experience could tell us.

Hey snidehockey, why don't you copy your message and paste it again in another post with a SUBJECT heading. There are guys out there who are only looking to help you if they see something like: AC/Valve/Evaporator Repair problem, please help! They are not going to be curious as a harmless non-mechanic like me

This is a reply to amf1932 who asked whether the hesitation adjustment was needed on Canadian-bound Lexuses. Sometime in the month of May on one of the messages in this thread the actual instruction to Lexus technicians was linked. If you will download this you can find out from your specific vehicle whether it has the original settings or not. The number of the Technical Service Information Bulletin (originally issued Aug 4, 2003) is TC004-03R. The R refers to revised. I cannot find the date of issue of this revision, but it is evidently within the 2005 model year. It does look to be issued for compliance with Federal Emissions mandates but does not otherwise have any reference to the U. S. or to Canada. I am going to check the numbers it shows on my vehicle today AND if I had a unit that originally was shipped to Canada I would still depend on these numbers. Correction: The bulletin is dated April 1, 2005.

I think I would try Velcro. Others will know what adhesive to use. You can also get velcro with adhesive backing at hobby stores. Use a bit and when it begins to wear out (loosen), remove it and apply new bits on both sides.

What we need is a system that had a Windows, DOS, & Mac counterpart we can practice on our other computers and not solely within a parked car. That includes being written to a framework we are accustomed to. Can this be done by the programmers they have now? If it can, can a programmer tolerate close association while writing it with a person whose first language is English? This person is to create the manual while the program is developed? I was able to scan my NAV manual into PaperPort and have it index it. I can locate any wording within the manual except what appears solely in the graphics. That didn't help as much as I hoped -- but if Lexus would prepare a CD like that some others could be helped. An updated DVD helped more than the indexing. Apparently there were some critical bugs in the program. Having more up-to-date data was also an advantage in a few cases. I discovered recently that the system could search for a location based on phone number (has to be about three years old without change) or on an address. It seems mysterious when it doesn't work because it doesn't give you a clue, it just refuses to take another step -- OR -- it takes another step and you cannot tell that it has. It doesn't work when the number or street name is not in the database. My next job is to use it repeatedly until I discover how to detect when it does not have the item in the database. Anybody have any help with that?

It was one of the only two reasonably priced cars in town with a built-in navigation system. One other model was a good choice but its brakes took longer to stop and that kept driving me back to the Lexus.

HEY! HEY! HEY!!!....CALM DOWN... WE ALL HERE BELIEVE THAT "YOU DID TEST DRIVE THE CAR AND PLAYED WITH THE NAVIGATION....BEFORE YOU BUY IT...RIGHT???" Hey again back! Nobody can check out a powerful program entirely "in the store" before they buy it. There are lots of surprises. I knew that but I still bought it because I have to consult maps as I drive by myself. Better that they be where I can glance at them than I have no NAV at all. I believe the NAV systems present such a problem to the dealers that they are happy to get them off their lots. That is my opinion. I believe the only way possible to get a good NAV demonstration is to contact a dealer as soon as models change and tell them you are interested as soon as they have one available to demo. This may give you the time to find out but on the other hand they may not respond at all, knowing that it much better to take as few NAV units as they can and to get rid of them asap. Another reason to contact dealers at the beginning of a model year is to allow a six-month span of ordering time if the car has to be built in Japan. Getting a unit that will recognize your spoken commands while in motion IS a good idea. "Voice navigation" is NOT what that is called; that means it gives YOU commands to turn, get in left lane, anticipate a second quick turn to the right, etc.

You are 100% correct! It was excruciating learning how to use this NAV system. It is so UNLIKE windows which is one of its major problems. A second problem is both an advantage and a disadvantage: it is built-in which is much better for convenience sake [you don't have to remove it to prevent theft], but it is a lot harder to get any practice on it because you have to do that in the car with the engine switched off. Then, it has its eccentricities and bugs. Some cities [or communities] are not in the database and you have to go to the map mode to locate them to set a route. I have been trying to reconcile the way all routing and navigation systems operate and I suppose it is the amount of memory or disk space that would be required for a system to simply be able to zoom in and out optically. Anyway, it is hard with the space allotted to see what we can see with a printed map because it continues to simplify the display. Enough! I wish they were better. But one thing that did confound me over and over again was the fact that it does not retain more than five destinations for a route. This is not stated ANYWHERE in the instructions. I like to take blue highways across country and I had to go back to my old system of memorizing turns.

I feel sure there are parking lot accidents. I discovered yesterday that I have more visibility when looking to the right as well. Somehow it hadn't registered on me that I was unable to see directly behind me when attempting to look directly back in the car. I got a better view BOTH left and right with that monster gone. "Where there is no vision, the people perish . . ." [somewhere in Proverbs]

the danger is . . . The SIZE of these monsters. I can find no other reason that the Lexus anti-whiplash head bumpers are so large than the idea that someone wants to get a monitor in them for back seat viewers. There must have been outside influence of electronic manufacturers wanting to get their products into cars. THEY RESTRICT YOUR VIEW of the rear of the car. Consumer Reports complained a year ago or more about the right rear view from the driver's seat of the Lexus ES. Since then, the left rear view was also obstructed by the size of these "bumpers." Two days ago, I had to recline the driver's seat in order to remove this thing and I now feel more comfortable backing up. I know, I know, it is meant to protect ME. But, I now get a good view in this direction. Otherwise I might cause an accident, and that does NOT protect me.

Yes, someone please answer WHERE that sensor is located on the car. That can help explain why it sometimes does not work.

Even on a 2004 ES330, this is one of its little ideosycrasies. When only heating is needed, I press the A/C button to be sure that part of the system does not run.

It would be SO great to have a unit that could be detached from the car so you could practice somewhere else. Also, it would be great if the software were something like windows so you could GUESS how to operate it and succeed about 95% of the time.

One of the most frequent problems is MOLD odor from the A/C ducts. You need professional help to get rid of that. There is a way to prevent it. When running your air conditioner as often as you can turn OFF the compressor in your last three minutes of driving time and make sure the fan is working for that three minutes. This ventilates the ductwork. You can check this at a web site devoted to allergies and asthma, something like aafa.org or the like.