jay swinger

I believe those gentle first 500 miles benefit your tire treads and your brake linings as much as they do the engine. My guess is the recommendation to vary your speeds in that period have more to do with the engine than other things. I follow both of them religiously ever since I an MG TF back in the 1950s. All new cars have consequently lasted as long as I wanted them to.

We really want to know the answer, so when anybody actually does upgrade to the latest, please post here. Since retaining them can only be done by writing to memory of some kind, that may be the case. I do not think the units have the hardware to write to the DVDs.

It looks exactly like a Lexus Nav in a Lexus.

This is only a guess, but if it happened to me I would think they simply didn't have the part in stock. Second guess, they opened it up and it WAS dirty enough to replace and they didn't have the part in stock.

When you guys actually get the 3.3 version, please let us all know if they come with new instructions .

I have read here about '05 models having 17" wheels - ONLY. I have also heard that there is a sticker on the windshield that its tires are not designed to be used more than 20,000 miles. I would be pleased to learn from other 'members' whether these two reports can be corroborated. It sounds like bad news. Almost without exception the car rating reports have given the smaller rim size cars significantly higher ratings for the ride and the opposite for the larger rim size cars. My wife and I found that to be 100% accurate. There was a car we bought in too much haste (not a Lexus) and it worried the hell out of us with 17" rims until we traded it off before its time.

Call a friendly dealer salesman, OR go into a dealership when the 2005s are delivered and ask to see one with a NAV system. Check it out yourself. Chances are that it will still be 3.2 until mid-way in the model year. That was the case this last year. There is a difference in the age of the raw data between brands, AND there is a BIG difference in the software compared to routing programs like MS Streets and Trips. My opinion is that Toyota is concerned more with the points of interest (POI) than with the routes. The POI may be 100% certified on the DVD you get for your Lexus -- and that takes time for them to get and corroborate. Therefore the routes are further behind than on the routing programs you can buy for a laptop or desktop computer.

Those of you with a harsh ride on your 2004 ES 330's -- what are your rim sizes? Please answer.

Current version is 03.2 It is the version on 2004 ES330 for second half of the model year. I saw this same version on a showroom Lexus SUV about two weeks ago.

I have been trying to see if I could help. Maybe if you were to rephrase your questions and spell words out somebody could figure out what you are seeing / hearing or not seeing / not hearing.

It could be your mom may be able to detect the difference in ride. I am guessing now but seem to remember that the Acuras are supposed to be "sporty." If they do have a sporty ride, that may come from larger wheel sizes. I am convinced -- as I believe the testing groups are -- that ride quality is seriously degraded with larger wheel sizes (17-inch rather than 15-inch). My wife and I hated a Nissan with 17-inch wheels because of its ride. It was a great car in all other aspects, but it constantly reminded us of our mistake in buying it.

My guess is that the sensor DOES work because you get a different indication when it is empty than when it is full. What has happened is that two leads have been reversed so that you get the light on when it is full and the light off when it needs refilling. Changing the sensor should not change that. My opinion is that there is a simple correction needed in wiring. Two leads need to be cut and swapped before re-soldering. The electrician could also check it before resoldering to be absolutely positive this was the case.

I experienced the hesitation and thud the first day I drove my 2004 ES 330 away from the dealer but it is minor compared to my disappointment with another feature. The transmission acted just like a previously owned 2003 Buick LeSabre. I had gotten into some traffic just dawdling around 35 mph and when I was able to get away from that it acted just like a transmission that constantly hunts for the right gear. Still, I would buy the car because it is very rare that I encounter that. If I were to buy again, I might omit the Navigation System. I am disappointed with that. It does show where you are and allows you to touch the screen to see streets ahead and return to the present location, but it is limited in how much you can program for a long trip. I would consider getting one of the pedestals to mount a laptop computer instead. These are almost unlimited in the detail you can set before you even go to the car. The laptop programs are not limited by their database and the programs are MUCH more up-to-date. I estimate the databases for the Lexus are about 18 months old before the first cars are delivered in the U.S. In addition, there is a bias in the Lexus systems toward inputting a street address and city -- which is also very easy to mess up. It is very difficult to set destinations using the maps and you have to be in the car with the ignition turned to ON. There is something else which I believe could be applied to navigation systems which has yet to happen. There are programs for reading newspapers online which make the detail zoom in and out without features suddenly appearing and disappearing. When and if this is applied to maps, they will spring to life for me.

I haven't had your model Lexus to experiment with, but I feel the answer is yes. I was able to find it and turn the guidance audio off on a Lexus ES330 as well as a 2004 Honda Accord. It may require a fast reader going through the manual but there are some other ways to find it. Try Menu, then Setup, then go through all the screens using the ">" symbol. When I can get back to the manual I will see if I can get actual directions. If I don't find them, I will experiment and get back to you.

I am convinced the maximum is five on all of the Lexus cars using the latest "generation" DVD. This system is predicated on users wanting to set street addresses -- NOT map destinations. BAH!

You may want to check on this through a helpful law librarian. This was made illegal in one state a year ago if it is in the visual field of the driver.

I have not been able to set more than five points (Denso calls them Destinations) on this unit. If you have information about this, please post.

I had this problem years ago and have always worried about it. I and many in my family have numerous allergies so it was a specific concern. The news about certain molds being really hazardous made it even more so. After thinking about this for years, it finally occurred to me that if you could give your ductwork a thorough "airing" it might not occur. So, I decided that I could run straight outside air through the ducts at high velocity for a couple minutes before stopping the car. You cannot always tell when you are going to stop, but often you can. Then, for some other reason, I went to a website for AFAA (something like American Foundation for Allergies and Asthma) and discovered that exact routine recommended. When I find the exact site, I will post it. I religiously follow this routine. If I stop before doing this, I will stay in the car and let it run outside air for about 1-1/2 minutes. The Recirculation light will sometimes come on and I will stop it, because it is not in the cabin that I believe it originates but as close to the coils as possible.

Thank you for your answer. It looks like your Lexus IS a 2004 ES330, but I don't know for sure. It makes a difference. I can set about 106 "memory marks" also. I need to get more than five of them into route guidance which the nav system calls "destinations." Each time the sixth one is entered as a destination, it says no more can be set unless I delete some. When I delete one, it doesn't work -- and is NOT what I need to do for a long trip. I need a much longer list for cross-country routing. Are you getting AUDIO route guidance on six or more points? If you are, then I can conclude that my unit is defective and start the process to get it replaced under warranty. As it is now, I am still waiting on a dealer to get up to speed for only ONE of his customers. I believe most customers just use the nav system to watch the map. The equivalent for VCRs are those that just blink 12:00 the year around.

If anyone can set more than five destinations for this model, would you PLEASE TELL HOW here on this forum? Setting up a long-range trip is one of my greatest needs. Perhaps in a small country five stops are enough, but not if you plan to drive from the east coast to San Francisco. I received one good suggestion to set marks for all major points and to re-enter (and reorder) them as needed. I thank msmith1086 for this. I may have to use this method. There were other useful ideas in her / his post which I appreciate. Again, this is for ES330, 2004 model with latest DVD for US and Canada.

Yes. When I last looked there were at least two full-fledged ones: Alpine and Pioneer. These are available from the big box stores like Fry's, Circuit City and Best Buy as well as local Sound shops. You will have a screen about the size of the built-in ones. I have a 2004 ES330 with a built-in Nav System which has, so far, not been able to take more than five waypoints on a trip. As soon as you try to set the sixth one, it prompts me to delete some. I would now consider getting one of the laptop pedestals that can be bolted into the floor of the car and using a laptop. I know someone who used such an arrangement with a GPS antenna and Streets & Trips to navigate from a southern state to Alaska. I am going to get more information from him about this. I worked with Streets & Trips before my last trip and then found out about the limitation on my built-in unit. I am disappointed. I hope the dealer finds a way to get around this. One writer suggested I just break up the trip and reset the destinations in groups of five. If I knew it required this, I might have opted for the laptop pedestal in the first place.

I demonstrated the failure of the Nav system to take more than five stops (destinations). I am waiting for them to find out from Lexus whether this is all that is available for the 2004 ES330. There could be two answers: 1) that is the nature of the beast, like it or lump it; and 2) there is a defect and the computer or the DVD is at fault. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE OUT THERE WITH THIS SYSTEM WHO WANTS IT TO CREATE A ROUTE ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

Your model has a different system than an ES. Yours has voice control, I believe. Assuming mine is just defective and needs to have the computer replaced these are just not comparable. I am going to hope for the best in getting the car back tomorrow from the dealer, but if it needs to be replaced I may have to wait for parts to arrive. Have you seen the advertisement from Chevrolet that shows a console between bucket seats with a flat shelf just for holding a laptop? Well, we do need the larger screen, but it still needs to be right in the middle of the dashboard.

Sorry folks, mine failed again. It will be a couple days before I can get to the dealer to see if the technician there can set more than five destination points. I deleted ALL destination points first and then started over. After I set five of eight, it would not accept any more, asking me to delete some. I sure HOPE this is a defective unit and that I can eventually get this unit to function as it ought. If there is anyone reading this with this identical unit, please see if you can set a long trip with ten or so intervening points. For two trips within the last month my preparation was to use MS Streets & Trips on my desktop computer and then to zoom, crop, and edit various portions. Having this on the front seat was only insurance because by the time I finished with S&T, I had almost memorized the route. I am still very disappointed.

I strongly recommend that you try to get a demonstration if you can possibly do so. Try to get the dealer to set more than five destinations (stops or waypoints).