jay swinger

My brother has an RX400h that's a year old. I drove it once for three hours on the highway and I found the seats to be too firm for my taste.

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 problem may be that your lights are staying on and draining your battery.

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?

have noticed a musty type smell when i run the a/c and a smell when i run the heater . . . . so does anyone have any ideas what it might be??

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.

[this survey invitation is ok'ed by SK to be listed in the ES section, thanks!]

Dear friends,

We are a research group in the Department of Computing and Information Science at the University of Guelph, Canada (http://www.cis.uoguelph.ca). We are interested in understanding users' satisfaction with in-vehicle navigation systems, and would like to invite you to participate in our survey. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. If you are interested, please go to User Satisfaction Survey of Navigation System.

This research is part of a Master's thesis and is unrelated to any business interest. We really appreciate your input!

Regards,

Tracy

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Is this a secure site?  With a name like that it gives pause. Maybe there is a way to maneuver to it through uoguelph?

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?

What do you mean? How to figure out if it doesn't contain a particular address? Or do you mean POI?

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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.

If you drive from one region to another, will the navigator automatically sense that you have done so and change the region accordingly in the system?

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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 have 8000 km on the tires, and they are horrible, my 01 altima came with tires that were twice as good.  I want to replace them already but I don't feel right replacing tires after 8000 km 

I went to the dealership and saw a bunch of the ES's equipped with michelins, Why this bad luck, why?

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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 dont have an idea on how to fix it so unless I want my lid to be continually open I have to replace it. Buying it from the dealer it is unfinished and it costs 55 . I m guess my best bet is to go junk yard hunting because I cannot find it online. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to keep it at least closed until I get a replacement. The reason I cannot repair it is because I broke of the plastic clip. If anyone has a repair suggestion that would be even better. 1994 ES300 Champagne colored. Or has someone on the forums wrecked their car recently and has parts to get rid of?

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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.

If the nav unit you have is anything like the GX470 unit, your right, its not user friendly.

I consider my a quick learner concerning computer & electronics, and seldom have to open the book on operating a unit. I found that reading the book on the GX470 NAV (and all the car tibits for that matter) is a must, and once you do, while practicing with the unit everytime you drive, itll become easy and enjoyable. It is an impressive unit with lots of capabilities Ive found.

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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?

Just wondering what it was that made you think of getting a Lexus instead of the other millions of cars on the road today.......was it a hard decision? I know it wasn't for me  ;)

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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.

Is it just me or did it take you a really long time to get used to the navigation on the es330? I have no problem on the rx's but this ES; ughhhh.... My wife has no problem, my 14 year old daughther loves it!! I feel so dumb!! Why is it that the younger generations "get" things as we so called "older" people don't LOL  And i'm only in my early 40's  ;)

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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.

I have a 1996 Lexus ES300 and the wireless remote sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. When it works it works for a week or so and then it just stops working. I have installed a new battery in the FOB and I'm wondering where the sensor is actually located in the car. I'm thinking that maybe the sensor is being obstructed by something. Does anyone know where the sensor is located?

Thanks.

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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.

I am new to this forum, as well as to Lexus ownership.  I just purchased a 1996 ES300 for $8500.  I believe I got a good deal because it only has 46,000 miles and has been regularly serviced.  I do have one question.  When I have the climate control in the "auto" mode the AC button light comes on and stays on.  This is true even though the temperatures in New Jersey have been in the teens.  Do I have a problem?  Thanks to all who share info in this forum.

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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.

Hi,

I have the 2005 SC430 and came with the nav and all.

The phone is great (besides for some of the motorola limitations with bluetooth).  A couple questions:

(1) Can I set it so that I can use the dial pad or 1 touch dial feature while the car is in motion?

(2) I often use the GPS to get to places I have never been to.  But while I am using the phone that is integrated with the nav system, it won't continue to show the GPS navigation.  So I often have to call the person back after I know I have 5 minutes or so of no turns to chat.  Any idea on how to have both going?

Thanks.

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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.

There's a distinct bad odor coming from my air conditioner just after it is turned on.  I tried spraying Lysol in the air ducts and no change.  Any suggestions?  :chairshot:

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