BALOO BELLE

lunch break! ..... the plastic molding around the wood lifts off. start the end by the cup holder. you wont break the clips just pop it up. now do i switch to the cool white leds like the interior... even change the footwell led chips you have to sodder them :P u guys have pics of diff colors in the gear shift? i just think it might look lame since the radio a/c will still be green

thanks, weekend project! im so freaked about scratching the wood. the plastic trim around the console looks like it should pop off to get at the wood easier but i guess its more crap to come apart. the bulbs size is #36 12v 1.3w dagram calls for 12v 2w but you cant buy that at the auto store. #76 is too big for the green cap and 14v

i searched our forum and got nothing. does anyone have a link to diy gear shift bulb change. i remember there use to be a diy folder somewhere on here. this is the only bulb i didnt change when i got this car!

i noticed my idle has been a little rough when sitting at a light. the normal hot range of 500 rpms. i noticed yesteday that it is due to the ac being on. when i turn the ac on it spikes 100rpms and drops back to normal and the idle is rough like an evap leak. it doesnt sputte/jump like bad gas. turn the ac off it spikes and drops back to normal and runs smooth. is this an accesory belt issue or more a part issue? the higher the fan speed the more rough the idle but it remains at 500rpms

I have had the car check out by a cert lexus/asc master mechanic who says the double enguage isnt uncommon but no one has ever complained about it. My car actually moves front to back when it finally hits the gear. Im wondering if anyone has/had this issue if it is a precursor to transmission failure, an wear and tear issue, or if there is a fix?

The company below only makes Lexus/Toyota parts and uses the head control touch screen/radio for hands free (well not really) operation of the ipod./xm/serius. the es300 is not able to use serius which sucks cause i have a lifetime subscription. Every thing is plug and play it updates the OEM software for you! and when you version goes outta date you can pay $50 and update the firmware for more options etc Both the ipod/xm are fully functionally through the MD (muli Disc - disc changer) setting. The newer generations have more options when it comes to controls/menus and you can browse by album artist. Newer versions are linked through the regular radio and uses the steering wheel controls. Newer gens also have the option of a hard drive box thing that you can store your music on w cd covers etc with stereo sound. You can skip the hard drive and simply use an usb port for a flash drive, ipod, or other usb music device to read your files from. Newer gens or diff model cars have the option for xm vs serius Basically it is one option or the other you cant not hook both xm and ipod and use radio/touch controls for both. The ipod box has an aux option to add satellite but you have to use the sat receiver controls. And if you go xm then you have to use the ipod through an external radio transmitter. I’m not sure how the direct ipod plugs work to know if there is an additional way out of it. I hope this helps some. Gen 2/3 es300 ipod SL2-IUP xm SL2-XMT www.vaistech.com ALSO if you are looking for a new dvd email this guy. 2010 is $80 w no overide but 08 w override is $60 yodaling@hotmail.com I found that through a toyota site

i shouldnt have said rough idle i should have said strong enough to notice throughout the car. and that the transmission symptoms are getting worse weekly not the vibes. no probs w filters or injectors. no skipping or jumping. its smooth and quiet as the day i got my oil changed. i use mobil one synthetic lucas stabilizer and always run mobil premium and a lucas fuel cleaner each oil change. and i dont run it under a 1/4 tank so i dont mess up the fuel filter and i clean the k & n myself every 5k. I DID THE ROAD FORCE and it told me nothing that i didnt already know. i had one minorly bent rim in the back which was causing the bounce. the steering wheel still vibrates back and forth, it is better though. i opt to have the rim fixed cause i can feel the bounce when i slowly come to a stop even w them road forced. i can say new tires get me about 50 mile more per tank though my avg on the odometer didnt go up. and now w the road force ive on driven 50 miles but the avg has gone up so this will be great if my mileage goes up! I HAVE TWO VISIBLE BAD MOTOR MOUNTS. why the morons didnt check when i asked is another problem i will deal with when i get my rim back. i had a friend who owns s few car dealerships spen about 45 min w me n the car. it wasnt on a lift so cant tell if the trans or the fourth mount is bad. the dog bone and the top mount is bad agian.. now the top was supposidly changed 2years 35k ago so im guess non rotated tires, bent rim, and a bad dog bone wore it out agian or they changed the 4th mount that i dont know where it is. i was told it was the top i though at the back of the engine where the cabin is. what ever they tightened the steering... so im guessing the mounts are whats making the steering wheel vibe back n forth! i knew i wasnt crazy!and im now going to the 3rd shop at least someone knows this mechanic.

steve your post are !Removed! things up. lol not sure if you will be able to open this. after your posts there is a lot of empty formatted screen. things i noticed outside of the mount clunk not thinking about it being related just in the same time span. i realized the steeing wheel was rough like a bad tank of gas. and i run mobil premium. im able to feel more idle in park and in drive. in drive i can feel it througout the car door pannels, brake pedal, steering wheel, seat,and console arm rest. it seemed like it dropped into second today but could be cause i stopped accelorating. i dont remember feeling vibes like this other than the wheel and maybe the pedal. i need an oil change soon. not horrible yet but noticable decline. it honestly seems like the mount gets worse by the week. i do have a 40 mile commute on bad highway and city roads. constant cracks and bumps. im at 105K but the mount had extra wear from driving w rotating, unrotated tires when i got it. the steeting wheeljerked r/l for 5k then finished up at 10K. my arms would go numb from the movement in the begining. since then ive had one issue or another.. never right! im sure that helped break it down premature and i already changed the top mount at 70K when i got it and the steering tightened. its just setting things up to get it done, when, and what order. my next oil change is in 1k so its then or the next one. ive lost weights off the back tire agian. the bad one is the back right so it will be easy to check. it will need to be fixed but not sure if the trans mount would help it toss the weights since rim guys says its not the rim. the guys at the shop want to dismount the tires and make sure the tube beads? are in the right place since they didnt do the install. that shop doesnt have a road force machine but said they said they did it in a way it was the same. matching heavy to heavy that they didnt need the special machine. dude also said the tire on the bent rim was bad since it molded to the rim that i would need to go back to sams after the rims fixed and make them replace it....???? the guy at the desk said no. now what? it rides good except a minor bounce when coming to a stop from the weight loss. steering wheel still vibrates r/l certian speeds and pavements. it has gone from a jerk w the old tires, to a decent vibration, to a noticable vibration. it changes everytime they touch the tires but never goes away I was gonna start w the trans mount n oil change in 1K and have the back tire rebalanced and see if it looses the weights. then if it does get the rim fixed, (change the tire?), and then toyota for the road force $99. Or do I start w tires first... i just dont want to waste money if the mount is gonna toss the weights on the bent rim.

i cant open my last post. I noticed on top of the jerky clunky in low gears that i can feel the idle in the steering wheel, brake pedal, and center console when at a light. i thought it was a tank of bad gas or that i need an oil change. no vibes in the shifter unless at high speeds. it feels more like the road than vibes. there are no ride vibrations other than high speeds on certian pavement when the steering wheel vibrates (not jerking) right/left. I specifically asked multiple times if it was my mount since i had started noticing symptoms the last month!!! they have rebalanced my tires like 4 times for free. I think they just like seeing me every weekend. so the question is which of the two mounts at lexus is for my car? The parts guy had my vin and wouldnt tell me since im not having it done there. one part number is the same mount as a v6 camry. toyota is much easier to work with! is it safe to assume the other mount is for the black chrome/sports? package or did they just use two diff types for that platform? do i need to order both and return what i dont use? also is it safe to use quality aftermarket camry mounts? Can I wait 6k since its not showing signs of wear, they told me not to change it at this point. annoying yes, safe maybe? They said it wont screw up my alignment etc.. ill have to have it balanced agian. es300 camry 12372-0A040 $164 es300 unknown 12360-20090 $164

THe guy at JM Lexus accesories dept said that the rim is discontinued!!! it was a dealer upgrade. The shop I have been going to knows another shop w three but they wont come off them unless i buy all of them :( And the spare is oem. I drove on the spare w the bent rim off for 2 days and it still did it but, changed circumstance agian. And that is the only one that is bent I'm told. i havent hit anything, there are no impact markings, or road rash on any of them. Ive been working on this for about a month now. its frustrating cause ive noiced the trans mount is starting to go though the mounts arent showing wear yet. would that affect the steering wheel shimmy? i know changing the top mount tightened the steering.

Im going to the toyota dealer next month when my oil change is due since they have better equipment. They road force balanced them w a regular machine it rides like its right but my steering wheel still shimmys back and forth on the highway on certian pavements. They have rebalanced the tires over and over so it keeps changing speeds and pavements but isnt going away. It has gotten better by 50% but still there. they checked all the suspension and cant find anything. so it might be a steering gear.. something isnt right and im not so sure i want to know what it is.

ive called the two local lexus dealers and they have never seen the rim. it was a dealer upgrade. I had the rim sent out to be trued (bent back) but they are saying its not the rim its the michelins primacys that are the problem. they need to be road force balance. which the shop i had them installed at doesnt do. so they will rotate the tire 180 degrees on the rim and rebalance them agian. this is like my fifth weekend in the shop :( thanks for the info on getting the serial numbers. at this point i dont know if its the rims or tires... i bough michelins so i wouldnt have this problem but evidently michelin doesnt warranty this tire the shop does because of where or how they were made. they sell them to the wholesale club w no warranty. or at least thats the story im getting

Does anyone have the in channel shades for the windows? I am more interested in using them for the FL heat but I hear they reduce wind noise and the sunroof deflector too. I have dad other shades that were not in channel that seemed to make the car louder. I would not want to use them if my car will be louder even w in channels. I have never had a sunroof deflector an wondering on opinions on them? I get more noise from the windows but if I buy them together for $160 i get free shipping. I use the pop feature rather than sliding the roof open so it may not be useful for me. does anyone know about the brands? the only ones i can find that are in channel are made by weather tech and cost 99 or full windows n 60 for the sunroof. i know i can use toyota camry ones but in channel is the problem

I have a bent rim and have no idea how to even find one since I don't know what they are called. 16in chrome factory rim. i have only seen one other car with them and they werent chrome. the car is originally from AZ if that makes a diference and does anyone know of any good classifieds with a lexus forum? i didnt see one here..of coarse i need a name first

i swear the info worked different. now i think im crazy. ive been doing my home work... fyi you can access ISO copies of v9.1 online :) and i found a link that explains how to copy the override file from v6.1 or earlier so you do not loose the option. I have a friend working on it as im not familiar with ISO or have a dvd burner. I also says to use verbatium dvds not memorex. I have the link to the site i found the info on at work if anyone wants it. once i have the burnt dvd i will copy it to my computer so i can always make another if it goes bad... the speaker isnt the only thing the sun shade works for :) good stinkin

Hello ohhh la la new site look!! lol When i disconnected my battery the navi setting returnd to factory. i have found all settings but one.. the setting i am looking for is the music information banner when you hit the info button when the display is turned off. the music banner used to pop up the first time you pressed it and then the second time the info maintenance etc screen. now i only get the maint screen when i hit info... i cant find it!!! its not the screen transition menu or in the setup menus. also looking to up grade the dvd any cheap sites? or any one know how i can get a burnt copy... i hear ebay occasionally. i can get the dvd version from the navi menu. is that the info i need to use to know which version generation i have? 02 es300 does anyone know where to get a fitted touch screen cover... not sure what they are called. but so you dont scratch the screen. i found some but they are for diff versions. not so keen on having to cut one

i called my mechanic to figure out where to start and what i was looking at $. I explained history and symptoms. he by the sound at least one of the back tires is out of round, a broken belt. which matches what the guy at firestone said. " i can tell by looking at the way the tire is worn you will always have a bounce to this tire no matter how its balance the treads not even." the only tire he looked at was my rear left one. i looked at it and one part is flat across and the other side is rounded higher in the middle. crappy tires!. i knew i wasnt crazy that it was the back seat jumping. if i took it in anywhere and told the history and symptoms, 98% would hit me up for every penny they could. i know that suspension cost a lot of freaking money... mounts too. plus tires caa ching

omg!! would this be why....??? when i got the car the tires were never rotated and badly worn on the outer treads. i was told to rotate them that i didnt need new ones. i had them rotated and the steering wheel jerked right left about 1/2. It took over 5k for it til they wore down. the right left in the steering didnt stop complete til about 10K. i could take my hands off the wheel and still go straight with the jerking. i was told jerking would not hurt the car. so i am assuming the back and forth wore the mounts out left to right giving it extra play. which is causing the bounce w out any drastic shifiting or knocking and the back n forth on dimpled roads. it sucks being a girl when it comes to cars. and then i drove another year over inflated n not balanced. what the hell... ive never felt the way this car should drive and ride

gosh cant she just be better yet !! ... well tires have to wait a few weeks. i just made a 4grand credit card payment... boo i see most places carry the energies not primacies.. and word on the energies? i heard they are not as good im not feeling any engine shift like a trans mount or knocking from at stops like on other cars i had. no excessive vibrations from the front or in the steering wheel. hmm maybe they are just starting to give out. im sure driving it around super bumpy for the last year didnt help. or the unroatated and bad alignment that i put 20k on when i got it. whoo hoo i see a light.. thanks dudes EDIT: yeap that makes sence now.. bad mounts would contribute to the steering wheel jerk at 80 on dimpled roads. its not knocking or clunking but still moving. and thats why its got a slight bounce, pulse, and slight vibes. why it hops like a pogo stick on the smoothes black top now since its balanced is weird. ill have to pay attention if its the whole car it seemed like the back. but that bounce matches the pulse n bounce at diff speeds and road condidtions... hmmm we did it!

not vibrations... the ride is still a little rougher than i would like and seems to have a little bounce but they are a POS and at the wear bar. so its not gonna be a great ride. not motor mounts. already had the top one done cause it looked a little cracked at 70k. there are no abnormal vibes in the steering wheel or front. it feels like i have two kids jumping around in the back seat making the car bounce. only 35 and below, decleration on super smooth road. i got mad and started cursing the first time it was so bad. ive been paying more attention and on normal roads there is still a rotation pulse rythm in the seat. and i can still feel a minor bounce rythm at various speeds 45 to 65 that dont seem to be from road issues. i didnt notice it until i started looking for it so its not horrible. its still not balanced perfect. i know the feeling! car has a little vibes but nothing at all like it was and not in the steering wheel i took it to firestone and the guy looked at the tries and said it doesnt matter how many times you balance them they will still bounce. he says they are worn uniformly but not even cause the outter and inner tread is feathered. crappy tires arnt worth their time so at this point they are staying how they are. i bet if he spun the back two tires w the current weights on, they would be off... if not more weight in the same spot, another minor spot in a diff location. and if it is the tires why didnt they do that on smooth surface before? that doesnt make since but what ever! Im happy they are hella better than they were... firestone recommended insignias for 89$... Im not doing that agian.

i have all new brakes its happens coasting from 35. it stops when i hit the brakes to stop. usually at 15mph when i hit the brakes... so im not sure if it keeps going below 15.

SO I said at least partially for a reason... at 30psi i would have to say these tires are still not balanced or there is something wrong w the tires. no vibrations, pulling, or swagger. i dont know what these tires should feel like to tell if the ride is right. only on new blacktop when coasting to red light when i hit 35mph to 15 when i hit the breaks the car bounces... very noticably i caught it the first time but took two more times (a week) to figure the circumstances. it takes a perfect condition so it doesnt happen often at this point do i say screw it cause i only have 5k more? or do i make them redo the balance til it right? will they strip the weights and redo it. i dont want to risk the tires being worse after redoing it. or can they spin w the weights to see if they find another weak spot? i think these tires are a case for road force balance!

thanks if i get the same feeling w a new tire i know im not crazy and its not the tires. i didnt think i would be able to tell in the city but you dont get as much bounce when you get any kind of imperfection. humpity bumpity not shock bouncy im thinking michs it a safe bet. hell my moms rockin em on her f150 and they cost lesst than mine will.. lame. if kuhmos are half the price thats scary cause yokos were 107 + fees.

im livid. from the two mile trip home from the closest shop at what ever psi they are at, my tires were never balanced from the begining!! had it been pressure or weights i would have figured it out. but both from the day i picked it up w new tires, i blamed the tires. ive been unhappy for a year but i guess its my fault for not counting the weights wtf was i thinking!?. thats why i miss my xes mechanical skills. the only problem will be the wear which since its even shouldnt be from the balance? there is nothing wrong w the tires in city i will deff take it to high speeds this afternoon. my baloo belle is back or at least partially! alignment was done w the new tires...have the paper work to prove it! will be done agian in w new tires. out of the 3 times they did the oil/rotation it was on lift and they were looking for money, no one spotted missing weights? thats 45$. once i got it to pressure i realized what it was since it had no swager or pulling the reviews i read on this tire were pretty good 7.5. only one or two 5.5, those people probably went to the same shop i did! people were getting 30 to 45K w these tires w spirited driving. i drive like a granny and will get about 21k. i really have no basis for compairison on this car. the yoko yk20 on the car when i got it were never rotated w bad wear on outter front tires. i had no complaints after they evened out but did slip a little in smooth wet parking lots at the end but no complaints on ride. hell they were dry rotting so i know the went the miles. i put 20K on them. i think i will check out michs since im all about luxury and dont want issues. yokos are decent for a budget but im a little leary now. my mechanic said he wouldnt put michs above yokos. but also pointed out that i should talk to the shop cause it is not normal wear for the mileage and need new in 5k. funny the shop didnt tell me that either! i thought kuhmo but dont know anyone w them except on a g36 which are ecstacys? ill start checking reviews n pricing. toyos versados rated great but are a 30m drive to a diff county so thats a long day of waiting and probably not worth the money i will save but there were no prices online either. goodyear tripple treads come w a 80$ rebate if you use a gy ccard. 40 off any tire at tire kingdom. i dont want to bargan my way to another crap tire and at this point i hate all shops. my mechanics honest (30y county mechanic) but works weekends from his garage. regular maint i do at shops since it saves time. hes always busy!

they used the metal 7.5 bendies on the inside maybe they used smaller stickies on the other side that fell off? i spent 20m crawling around trying to find them. i already figure id get to tire kindgdom this weekend. maybe i can finally get a true feeling for these tires. now i know what it is i can pick up on a bounce, rythym in the seat on top of the vibrations on normally worn roads @ 65... nothing wrong w the car just the very slight rythmic bounce? from the balance that i didnt spot before since the overall ride has sucked in more ways than one...combos anyone? what does this story tell ya... just cause you pay someone does mean you dont have to double check everything!!!...and know what you're doing. im so over it already