OceanView

I'm looking at a used 3rd gen ES300 with 150K miles on it.
Looking at the Lexus service history, there is one area that has me concern.
At about 141K miles, the service tech wrote,

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT * CUST STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON/TRACTION CONTROL ICON ON. OCCURS ON START UP AND WHEN DRIVING. ICON OFF AFTER FEW MINU TES. WHEN ICONS ILLUMINATE, LOSS OF POWER/CAR DECELERATING AND A SHUTTER/SHIMMY IS FELT THROUGH STEERING WHEEL. CHECK AND ADVISE. * VERIFIED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, FOUND CODE P1354 FOR VVT SYSTEM. STUCK ON/OR OFF, VVT1 ACTUATOR. * REPLACED OIL CONTROL VALVE, CAM SENSOR VVT CAM ACTUATOR. CODE CLEAR. OKAY AT THIS TIME. NOTE * TECH NOTED TAPPING NOISE FROM LOWER SECTION OF ENGINE AREA.

The owner had the car another 8K miles without any incident but I'm concerned this could be a ticking time bomb. I've listened for any noise when the engine was running but didn't notice any tapping noise.

Thoughts?

lostape45

I'm wondering if the note is pre or post repair. If it's pre repair, that's what the engine sounds like when the OCV/VVT solenoid is malfunctioning. The engine is misfiring and basically running on 3 cylinders and it sounds like a sewing machine gone wild (same thing happened to my car). So if the note is before the repair, that would make sense. But if it's post repair, I have no idea what it could be.

OceanView

Thanks for the reply.

I have no idea if the tapping was before or after the repair. I'm really hoping that it was before as I really like this car and want to purchase it. My 98 ES300 was rear ended in December and it looks like the Insurance company is gonna total it. I was thinking about repairing it and keeping it but with all those miles and the unknown, I elected to spend a little more and get another Lexus.

lostape45

Yeah I would hope so too. I would think you would be fine as long you get the car checked out and everything seems fine. You can always ask why they're selling it too, if it's a person. 97-98 are supposedly the more robust years in terms of the transmission, at least from what I've heard, just something to think about too.

OceanView

I wasn't aware that the transmissions on the 97-98 were more robust then on the 00-01's. That may explain why the car I'm looking at had a new tranny put in around 100K. My 98 was on the original with no issues.

The car checks out pretty good with all services done at the proper intervals.
I have never bought a used car so this is a bit unnerving for me, especially a 14 year old car with high miles.

speedkar9

The transmissions were changed in the 99 model year when they switched from the robust A541E to the U140E tranny, which were less reliable. VVT-i was also added in 99 for more power.

Check out my video series on what to look for when buying a used car for some tips on inspection and procedures:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...-used-car.html

If the car checks out okay and is in decent condition for a fair price, I say go for it, just keep an eye on the tranny.

Have you considered a 4ES?

OceanView

Thanks for the video. I've seen many of your videos which are very helpful. I'll watch again and get re-familiarized with the inspection process.

I already have a 4ES and I really don't like it so the wife drives it mostly. I don't like the drive by wire set up as it has a soft throttle.

Maybe I should keep my 98 ES? Mechanically it's solid but I know I will have suspension issues coming up and the front 2 seats are in bad shape with tears in the leather. Exterior Paint has started to fade in some areas and both bumpers are scratched. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to move on. Car has lots of miles and isn't worth much.
I've only kept it to see how long she will run.

lostape45

How many miles does your 98 have? And honestly I would just get another 98 if yours is on its last leg, but finding one in good shape may be a challenge. The transmission is more preferable on the 97-98, but the engine (99-01) and slight exterior upgrades (00-01) make the more preferable. It's honestly up you to make a judgement if its worth it to fix yours.

OceanView

My 98 has 342K miles on the original engine & transmission.
I'm not looking for another 98 model cause I'd rather just keep mine and fix it than go that route.
I just happened to find a nice looking ES300 that was in great condition for a few grand more than what I was gonna get for my ES and thought it was worth getting but now I'm not so sure.
I didn't realize the 00-01 models had transmission issues. Been reading some of the threads here and seems like these things go out without much notice leaving you with a huge bill for a rebuild.
As previously mentioned, the owner got a new/rebuilt transmission around 100K miles so this one may last another 50k-100K more then it may be toast.
As for my transmission, who knows how much it will last. Odds are it could go on a bit longer.

Need to decide soon.

hypervish

With 342k miles, any automatic transmission is ready to fail at that mileage.

The U140e is not a bad transmission, but when you factor in bad driving habits, poor maintenance, and "harsh" driving conditions, they can all add up to failure.