Got an ES330 loaner car today - compared to ES300 loaners I've had before
09-30-04, 07:35 AM
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Got an ES330 loaner car today - compared to ES300 loaners I've had before
Well I bought my 99 GS400 to have them figure out where a loud popping noise was coming from that happened after I ran over a small curb at low speed (you know, when you turn into a drive way and just barely clip the corner a little too short). It should not have caused any damage, but I think it was probably caused by my aftermarket sway bars not being tightened enough.
Anyhow... about the ES330 compared to the ES300 loaners I've had in the past. Most everything seems to be the same, except:
-The transmission is much better. The ES300s I've driven in the past (2002 and 2003) have just constantly felt like they were slipping when they shift... like the trans was filled with mayonaise. Furthermore they had a bit of a hesitation when first taking off which made acceleration from stop lights feel a little tricky to get to be 'smooth'. And the shift logic could have also used some work... it didn't really upshift and downshift when it made the most sense. The ES330's transmission is very livable. Much crisper yet still very comfortable shifting, no hesitation when accelerating from a stop, and the shift logic seems to be better but still needs some work.
-The extra power from the 3.3L V6 is most definitely noticable over the 3.0. I also notice that for stop light to stop light acceleration, the motor doesn't have to rev as high as before.
-The exhaust/engine noise seems to be very similar between the ES300 and ES330. The reason I'm surprised by this is that I noticed in the RX330 loaner I had a while back, that the noise when accelerating sounded and even felt quite a bit 'coarser' than the RX300... like it was trying to be sporty even though the 3.3L V6 really isn't a sport-tuned motor, and the transmission most definitely isn't. So apparently this is not a function of the motor, but rather of the redesigned exhaust specific to the RX? Or maybe I just haven't noticed and the ES330 is louder.
-Rattles! I'd say about half of the ES300 loaner cars I've had in the past have had one or two minor rattles when going over bumps. This ES330 I have has more minor rattles than I can count... most when going over bumps, but a couple of them pretty much just at random, coming from all over the inside of the car. And this car only has 2200 miles on it, whereas some of the ES300s I've had have had 5-6 times as many miles. And on top of all the rattles, the driver's side seat squeaks like crazy when I shift my weight front or back or if I go over bumps. I mean it sounds really bad.
Overall I'm very impressed with the improvements to the transmission and motor, although in the transmission's case, it was just a matter of going from "Definitely unacceptable for a 32k dollar car" to "acceptable for a 32k dollar car".
But am very unimpressed with the interior build quality, and if it's this bad at 2200 miles, I'm having a hard time imagining it would be holding up too well at 100k miles.
Anyhow... about the ES330 compared to the ES300 loaners I've had in the past. Most everything seems to be the same, except:
-The transmission is much better. The ES300s I've driven in the past (2002 and 2003) have just constantly felt like they were slipping when they shift... like the trans was filled with mayonaise. Furthermore they had a bit of a hesitation when first taking off which made acceleration from stop lights feel a little tricky to get to be 'smooth'. And the shift logic could have also used some work... it didn't really upshift and downshift when it made the most sense. The ES330's transmission is very livable. Much crisper yet still very comfortable shifting, no hesitation when accelerating from a stop, and the shift logic seems to be better but still needs some work.
-The extra power from the 3.3L V6 is most definitely noticable over the 3.0. I also notice that for stop light to stop light acceleration, the motor doesn't have to rev as high as before.
-The exhaust/engine noise seems to be very similar between the ES300 and ES330. The reason I'm surprised by this is that I noticed in the RX330 loaner I had a while back, that the noise when accelerating sounded and even felt quite a bit 'coarser' than the RX300... like it was trying to be sporty even though the 3.3L V6 really isn't a sport-tuned motor, and the transmission most definitely isn't. So apparently this is not a function of the motor, but rather of the redesigned exhaust specific to the RX? Or maybe I just haven't noticed and the ES330 is louder.
-Rattles! I'd say about half of the ES300 loaner cars I've had in the past have had one or two minor rattles when going over bumps. This ES330 I have has more minor rattles than I can count... most when going over bumps, but a couple of them pretty much just at random, coming from all over the inside of the car. And this car only has 2200 miles on it, whereas some of the ES300s I've had have had 5-6 times as many miles. And on top of all the rattles, the driver's side seat squeaks like crazy when I shift my weight front or back or if I go over bumps. I mean it sounds really bad.
Overall I'm very impressed with the improvements to the transmission and motor, although in the transmission's case, it was just a matter of going from "Definitely unacceptable for a 32k dollar car" to "acceptable for a 32k dollar car".
But am very unimpressed with the interior build quality, and if it's this bad at 2200 miles, I'm having a hard time imagining it would be holding up too well at 100k miles.
09-30-04, 08:12 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Nice to see you've noticed differences in improvement on the new engine and transmission of the ES330 vs. the '02-'03 ES300. I've yet to test drive or loan out an ES330, but I've heard good things coming from it 
IMO I try not to base too strong of an opinion on Lexus loaners because they are just that, loaners. They're meant to be driven hard and aggressive with little to no care for quality, and so it's not surprising to witness a few interior rattles in an otherwise totally quiet luxury car.
IMO I try not to base too strong of an opinion on Lexus loaners because they are just that, loaners. They're meant to be driven hard and aggressive with little to no care for quality, and so it's not surprising to witness a few interior rattles in an otherwise totally quiet luxury car.
09-30-04, 12:29 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Originally posted by lexusk8
Nice to see you've noticed differences in improvement on the new engine and transmission of the ES330 vs. the '02-'03 ES300. I've yet to test drive or loan out an ES330, but I've heard good things coming from it
IMO I try not to base too strong of an opinion on Lexus loaners because they are just that, loaners. They're meant to be driven hard and aggressive with little to no care for quality, and so it's not surprising to witness a few interior rattles in an otherwise totally quiet luxury car.
Nice to see you've noticed differences in improvement on the new engine and transmission of the ES330 vs. the '02-'03 ES300. I've yet to test drive or loan out an ES330, but I've heard good things coming from it
IMO I try not to base too strong of an opinion on Lexus loaners because they are just that, loaners. They're meant to be driven hard and aggressive with little to no care for quality, and so it's not surprising to witness a few interior rattles in an otherwise totally quiet luxury car.
09-30-04, 12:40 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Originally posted by Threxx
I don't care how hard you drive a car... unless somebody took it on a 2 mile long offroad trail, no car should be rattling this much at 2200 miles except maybe a Chevy or Dodge, and that's why I don't buy those cars anymore. Even if it were a Camry, this much rattling would be more than I would expect at 40,000 miles, much less 2200.
I don't care how hard you drive a car... unless somebody took it on a 2 mile long offroad trail, no car should be rattling this much at 2200 miles except maybe a Chevy or Dodge, and that's why I don't buy those cars anymore. Even if it were a Camry, this much rattling would be more than I would expect at 40,000 miles, much less 2200.
Any other features you like so far about your ES loaner? Have you taken a look under the hood and seen the factory strut tower brace installed in all '02+ ES?
09-30-04, 02:43 PM
#6
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Originally posted by lexusk8
Understood. I completely missed the "2200 miles" point you made in the 1st post, so my fault
Any other features you like so far about your ES loaner? Have you taken a look under the hood and seen the factory strut tower brace installed in all '02+ ES?
Understood. I completely missed the "2200 miles" point you made in the 1st post, so my fault
Any other features you like so far about your ES loaner? Have you taken a look under the hood and seen the factory strut tower brace installed in all '02+ ES?
09-30-04, 05:19 PM
#7
I've had both ES300 and ES330 loaners and noticed basically the same things you did. But the thing I loved was the most was the ride quality, man it was awesome. It's a night and day difference in regards to my 96 ES.
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09-30-04, 06:21 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Originally posted by Threxx
I don't care how hard you drive a car... unless somebody took it on a 2 mile long offroad trail, no car should be rattling this much at 2200 miles except maybe a Chevy or Dodge, and that's why I don't buy those cars anymore. Even if it were a Camry, this much rattling would be more than I would expect at 40,000 miles, much less 2200.
I don't care how hard you drive a car... unless somebody took it on a 2 mile long offroad trail, no car should be rattling this much at 2200 miles except maybe a Chevy or Dodge, and that's why I don't buy those cars anymore. Even if it were a Camry, this much rattling would be more than I would expect at 40,000 miles, much less 2200.
09-30-04, 06:43 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Originally posted by chuckb
Have you ever seen a loaner? I recently had an 04 es330 w/9k miles and it looked like it had 50k. I don't even think they clean them until they are ready to sell. For the car's credit it drove fine except, if you were at a dead stop and floored it it would literally sit there for a second before violently taking off.
Have you ever seen a loaner? I recently had an 04 es330 w/9k miles and it looked like it had 50k. I don't even think they clean them until they are ready to sell. For the car's credit it drove fine except, if you were at a dead stop and floored it it would literally sit there for a second before violently taking off.
10-01-04, 07:04 AM
#10
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
OK, yeah I saw the STB before I dropped it back off at the dealer... pretty cool!
I floored it a couple of times and noticed it shifted way before redline. Is this normal? Do you have to shift manually to defeat it? Is there a point in defeating it or is this the optimum shift point for that motor in first gear?
The only other observations I have about the car is: (and I've already mentioned these in the past when I created a writeup on the ES300 loaner I had)
-It's night and day completely different from my GS4 in the way that it rides and drives. My GS4 just feels noticably heavier, but noticably more 'solid' too. Hard to explain really. And then the obvious difference in motor/transmissions.
-The ES300/330 is flat out gorgeous. The exterior and the interior especially just look killer and look like they belong in a brand new car costing twice the price. I most definitely like the looks of the interior in the 02+ ES300/30 better than the interior on my GS400.
I floored it a couple of times and noticed it shifted way before redline. Is this normal? Do you have to shift manually to defeat it? Is there a point in defeating it or is this the optimum shift point for that motor in first gear?
The only other observations I have about the car is: (and I've already mentioned these in the past when I created a writeup on the ES300 loaner I had)
-It's night and day completely different from my GS4 in the way that it rides and drives. My GS4 just feels noticably heavier, but noticably more 'solid' too. Hard to explain really. And then the obvious difference in motor/transmissions.
-The ES300/330 is flat out gorgeous. The exterior and the interior especially just look killer and look like they belong in a brand new car costing twice the price. I most definitely like the looks of the interior in the 02+ ES300/30 better than the interior on my GS400.
Last edited by Threxx; 10-01-04 at 07:05 AM.
