Lexus cars and trucks

I recently bought a used 91′ ES250 and there seems to be a problem with the
accelerator pedal. It’s extremely hard to push down and the performance
seems sluggish. I have to push pretty far down and with a lot of pressure
before I get any response.

I own a 2002 GS300, and, besides having, to some degree, the acceleration
issue that everybody else seems to have with the transmission or whatever
causing the car to hesitate from time-to-time, I have another issue I wonder
if anybody else has ever seen or heard of.

My problem is that you can’t drive the car at highway speeds with either or
both of the rear windows down. To do so causes a violent vibration in the
roof and rear window of the car. The vibration is much worse when both
windows are down as opposed to just one or the other. It is so bad with both
windows down that, in my opinion, to drive in this condition for more than a
few seconds would cause the rear window of the car to fail! That’s how bad
it is! I swear I’m not kidding!

I recently took the car to the local Lexus dealership here in Omaha,
Nebraska, Lexus of Omaha, and had a service advisor go for a ride with me in
the vehicle so that I could demonstrate this problem for him. The car
exhibited the same problem with him in the car that I described prior to our
test drive. After the test drive, I got the advisor to admit that they had
some level of awareness of this issue, but that it has been more of a
manifestation on RX300′s or EX300′s (sorry, I can’t seem to remember for
sure which he mentioned at this moment), not so much with GS300′s. They
called the Chicago Zone Office on my behalf who pretty much parroted (so
they said) what the dealership told me that day. They also basically said
that there was nothing that could be done since this was an airflow issue
over and/or through the vehicle and had to with the actual design of the
body. They said that the roof of the vehicle, under these circumstances, was
basically mimicking an airplane wing and that this is what was causing the
vibration. I suggested that perhaps a headliner change might be in order. I
got the impression that this potential fix had been tried before on other
vehicle(s) to no avail, although they didn’t come straight out and say so.
They suggested that I crack either of the front windows if or when I would
ever care to drive the vehicle with either or both of the rear windows down
in the future. Doing so does make the problem disappear immediately. They
also suggested to me, and I agree, that most owners were not likely to often
be driving their vehicle with just one or both rear windows down often, if
at all. Because I think they are right about that, I believe that this
problem is probably far more pervasive than they are either telling me or
that they realize.

Has anybody else ever heard this one or something similar before? How big a
deal does everybody think I should or should not make of this? The
dealership was awful nice that day while they were basically telling me "
Gee, tough shit!". There’s nothing in my owner’s manual that says "Warning!
Do not drive vehicle with either or both rear windows down by themselves as
catastrophic failure of the rear window may result!" It is unfathomable to
me that a car that costs this much would not have been extensively wind
tunnel tested so that any issue like this could have been designed out of
the final shape and design of the body. Then again, after first hand
experience with the "design" of the dry cleaning hooks in the back of the
car and their "usefulness", maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Don’t the
Japanese ever get anything dry-cleaned? Nothing, EVER, stays on those hooks
for long!

Commentary??? I’m looking for some good advice from fellow owners here so I
can make some intelligent decisions about what, if anything I can or should
do.

Greetings:

This week I became the proud (and very happy) owner of a 2003 RX300.
Believe me, I think if everyone owned one of these things, "road rage"
would be a thing of the past. My blood pressure must drop dramatically
during my commute when I’m in it.  Was it President Bush’s father who
said he wanted a "Kinder, Gentler Nation"? Well, if everyone had an
RX300, his desire would’ve been fulfilled.

Before I bought the RX300 I rented other SUV’s including BMW’s X5.
There are two things that the RX300 does that the X5 didn’t do, and
I’m wondering if they are unique to my vehicle or true with all. While
the RX300 seems to want a "Kinder, Gentler Nation" the X5 felt like it
wanted to run everybody off the road!

1. The Automatic Lights.

I have the headlights set for "automatic" I park my vehicle overnight
in a dimly lit  heated garage. When I start the vehicle in the
morning, the headlights go on. When I drive it out into the daylight,
the headlights stay on, and remain on for my entire commute even on a
bright sunny day!  Is this normal? I’m not talking about the daytime
running lights, I’m talking about the headlights. The X5, in
comparison, shut the headlights off immediately when I drove out of
the garage.

2. The Automatic Climate Control

My garage is heated to 80 degrees F. When I start my RX300 and have
the climate control in Auto, the A/C starts up blowing cold air to get
the temperature down to my pre-set 70 degree F.  When I drive out of
my heated garage, and into the "world" the outside temperature is now
25 degrees F. but the RX300 continues to send me an ample supply of
air-conditioned air. It takes about 10 minutes for the outdoor digital
thermometer to get down to 25 degrees, and it takes several minutes
for the system to shut down the a/c and realize that it should start
the heat.  The BMW that I rented IMMEDIATELY switched from A/C to heat
when I pulled out of the garage.

But, I’ve got to say, that even though the BMW might be engineered
better, the Lexus is likely to be MUCH more reliable and that matters
a lot to me.  

I’m curious though.. Are these "glitches" unique to my vehicle or true
of all RX300′s?

Bob

PS Was it George Bush’s father who said he wanted a "Kinder, Gentler
Nation?"

That’s correct no warning, no indication the trunk is open
The problem is if your lights are on auto, the headlights will stay
on all night if your trunk is left open.
This happened to me, the trunk does not pop open, just stays ajar.
I contacted my dealer, they agreed on my findings, but will not address
this.

My (I did this, not dealer)solution was a fiber optic cable from the
trunk light within
the trunk and installed it in the rear brake light housing facing front.
When the trunk is open, I see a dot of light in the rearview mirror..

What would happen if you packed your trunk full, and for some reason
it did not latch. You start driving, something falls out at 50 mph
big accident, possible fatality, lexus did not seem to be concerned.

Not what I expected. perhaps a car&driver magazine would like to look
into this?

Opinions?  Is it worth the upgrade from the Toyota 4-Runner?  Also,
what are *most* people able to buy this SUV for, with or without NAV?
I currently have a 2001 IS 300, which I like, but I am finding I have
grown out of it.  

Overall, I like the size of the SUV, engine, and new design, plus I
think ANY foreign vehicle has a much better interior than any American
vehicle … for instance, I looked at Ford Expedition and I swear I
was looking at the interior of an 88 Ford Bronco.  I don’t think
they’ve changed the buttons or switches any in the last 15 years.  

Appreciate any input this group may have to offer.

SN

I’ve owned my 2003 RX300 for five days now, and I really love most
things about it. But I HATE the audio system. It is ridiculously
boomy, especially on CD’s to the point where I don’t like listening to
it. I had an Infiniti G20 before the RX300 and it’s audio system was
excellent. The audio system in the 2003 Honda Accord also sounded
excellent to me. Even the BMW X5 that I rented for a couple of days
had a very good audio system though it managed to be a touch boomy yet
lacking in deep bass. The 2001 RX300 that I rented had the Nakamichii
Audio system which I thought sounded excellent. But the audio system
in my 2003 RX300 seems like having a Hip Hop Concert and the
Metropolitan Opera House. This vehicle  is so relaxed and sedate. Why
did Lexus  think RX300 owners want a BOOM BOX as their audio system?

Bob

What is a good, effective wheel cleaner to use on the Lexus IS300 stock
wheels that is also safe? I’ve seen people ruin the finish on their
wheels with some of the acid-based wheel cleaners that CLAIM to be safe.
Even some of the more popular brands can do irreversible damage. I’m on
the brink of giving my new baby its first bath and I don’t want to start
out by damaging what I consider to be some sharp-looking wheels.

Lexus ads in the UK press this week pointing out that a German car isn’t
top in Germany. Must admit there must be something good with the IS200
having come top in the UK one this year too! Although the IS300 doesn’t
seem to sold that well and "BMW 3-series v IS200" debates in 1999/2000
in UK press, in particular, now seem to have died down.

Mvh
Vidar

Does anyone know where I can find a text-based (digital) format of the
recommended Lexus maintenance schedule for a 1998 Lexus ES300?  I
found a few on the web, but they’re all from European sites, in
kilometers.  (I know, I can convert the kilometers, and I will, if I
can’t find anything in miles.  I can also retype the schedule from my
owner’s manual).  I thought I’d post here before having to do resort
to these alternatives.

I’d just like to cut and paste the schedule into my palm pilot.  You
know how us palm geeeks are.

By the way, I called the Lexus Customer Service 800 number
(800-255-3987) and they were not interested in helping me at all.
They basically said "we don’t have it", and didn’t really exert any
effort in helping me.  Their tough s**t attitude really surprised me.

Well, thanks in advance.  Happy holidays!

Nick from NJ