Vulkan132

So I just picked up a 97 Lexus es 300 as a new delivery vehicle. It's got 190k miles on it. Runs like a dream I fell in love as soon as I got behind the wheel. I'm amazed a car with miles like this can feel so new. So any issues I should keep an eye out for whit h it being at this high of mileage. Also Im trying to figure out some minor things I can replace to increase gas mileage.
Love this auto though it is amazing.


Any type of feedback is much appreciated

JDMSteven

Nice car man welcome to the forums! Deff buff your headlights, they make your car look so much better. I also got clear corners for my white 99. Only 145k here and loving it. Cool thing about my car is the last owner had it repainted so there is no two tone anymore, all white!

BDSL

What kind of fuel economy are you getting now? If you are getting 28mpg on highway, then there is nothing wrong.

Things that affects gas consumption
- low tire pressure
- brakes dragging
- faulty thermostat
- wrong engine / transmission oil
- stuck fuel injectors
- faulty ignition components
- clogged / leak in the intake / exhaust
- etc.....

JDMSteven

My ES is like a Prius compared to my other dailies, an 04 Ford Expedition (5.4 V8) and a 99 Expedition

Vulkan132

Yeah I'm deff gonna buff the headlights soon. Found a DIY method that doesn't involve taking the lens apart. Where can I pick up clear corners?

Vulkan132

And I do needa go over and replace the coils for sure. Also I saw something about cleaning out the air intake? Don't really remember what it was

Megafast13

If you get some electronic cleaner spray and soak your MAF sensor with it, it will definitely improve your gas mileage, I just did mine a month ago.

Best option for headlights is the new Meguiars Headlight Kit that comes with a clear coat spray. Otherwise the best option is to lightly sand, polish with compound, and properly apply coats of a Clearcoat spray pant that is safe for Plastic such as the Rustoleom for like 3 dollars. Welcome, and let me know if you have any more questions.

Vulkan132

Oh the car runs great maybe my expectations are just unrealistic on the mpg. But when I do put my foot in it she goes that's for sure. But I don't really drive hard. I'm checking the plugs today since I finally got the time. But the lot I got her from had full service records leading up until when I got her. So she's been regularly maintained. Thank god. Think the longest service gap was about 25k miles.

Vulkan132

And I'll deff spray that maf sensor today too

PFB

Since you just got the car, you may want to reset the ECU by disconnecting the Battery for 15 min or so.

Ths will allow the ECU to sart fresh and to learn yur particular driving style. You may notice some MPG improvmens after tag.

It's always better to scan for any pending engine codes in memory prior to resetting the ECU.

Phil

Vulkan132

Thanks for the tips guys. I went to clean the maf but I wasn't to sure if I should once I pulled it out so I went ahead and disconnected the battery and reset the ECU because of that. Also took your advice and got that headlight cleaning kit. Here's the results

Warchant

Wow. Cleaning the headlight haze made a world of difference.

Its nearing sale or trade-in time for my 1998 ES300 and I may have to do that. Only 165k miles but its had a hard life, including my completely destroying the paint when I first moved to a cold climate and decided to scrape ice off my roof with the windshield scraper.

Vulkan132

Does it still run good at 165k?

funcrusher

Which headkight kit did you get? Do you have a picture of the same one

Warchant

Like a champ. Truly not a single engine issue or concern.

I bought it in 2007 with around 75k miles and aside from brakes, I have replaced the air filter once, two batteries, my starter ($35 and 20 minutes of my labor), and the alternator belt ($18 and 30 minutes of my labor). I've never done spark plugs, anything with the transmission (not even a flush), or any sort of big scheduled maintenance. Also had to spend a weekend replacing some stupid $15 A/C part...expansion valve I want to say.

The bad is the destroyed paint (years of Florida sun and then moving north and scraping the roof with a windshield scraper - I'm an idiot), inability to deal with the wind noise from my front doors, and most importantly, I have the electronic adjustable suspension and I DESPERATELY need new shocks and all which gets near $2,000 to replace all 4 corners with adjustable shocks. If I don't use adjustable it will throw a check engine line. Additionally, in later years I got pretty rough with the interior and stopped conditioning the leather so the seats are cracked and quite a panels are a bit sloppy from loads changes to the audio system.

It sucks to be nearing the end with her, but I've had 8 years and 80k+ trouble-free miles. Never a big repair expense and never left me stranded or anything. My next car will absolutely be another Lexus, likely an IS 250 and not another ES due to my need for AWD.



I went way overboard on removing crap to get the expansion valve





Way, WAY overboard