tnedator

Out of curiousity, why did you get another, and why are you sticking with it, since you seem to dislike it and Lexus so much? I just don't get it.

DrDrilZ

i wondered that too.
more than 50% of posts in every thread about a problem with a es350 is his

ES350Bob

On my view of Lexus: I'm defending the GS on this thread as I believe it to be a good car, have past said/posted Lexus is a company that is otherwise capable of near perfection, ES350 issues/defects and reasons for same notwithstanding, recently referred people to Lexus dealers and yet it is stated/implied I dislike Lexus, that needs more thought I believe.*

In spite of some less than professional treatment or worse by some affiliated with Toyota including off the wall responses on here to me by an affiliated as above even going back to when I was right in the middle of my former ES nightmare which was not at all helpful, I view it as any other public conglomerate and it would be very narrow minded for me to assume that the entirety of a huge public corporation is entirely represented by the actions of some affiliated with it.

Unlike you and tred and others I had no prior understanding of the problems that can arise with these before or when I bought my first one, not even a full understanding of the depth and degree of them when I went for the more than generous offer from that wonderful dealer to bail me out of the first one who also assured me they would handle any problems for me unlike my virtually solo prior months of experience. I learned of all this and continue to learn due to active participation in this forum, back and forth spanning many months of time with many other CL members.


More details on my ending up in this car I'm in now are in my self created thread about me getting my 2nd car replacing the first, you must have overlooked it in reviewing my posting details you mention above.**

osokuko

Bob your right, we have been like other new arrivals to the ES forum long ago, very excited and proud of our purchase then. But as we know problems developed very early for us, and as the others continued to develop the same problems with end weeks of each other (what a downer!) we found our self’s coming together working on several major issue at the same time. I know I was glued to the computer every night for the latest insight. I’ve become very proud of this ES350 forum as it has shown togetherness, respect for each other, and professionalism. Many of us from the May-Sept flare group have moved on into other forums here or have had our cars replaced. We have learned a lot together about our cars and that experience has turned into knowledge to help others coming into the forum. There is nothing wrong with passing on knowledge of an issue provided it was asked for, that’s what makes this forum the best. So I hope the Trans and other major issue will be fixed very soon once and for all, and finally allowed to fade away. Also I have been very well treated by Lexus and very lucky to have an exceptional dealership that is supporting me at this time. I guess it’s a matter of how things work out for each person, but right now I feel my confidantes for Lexus has been renewed. Ok enough said. Thanks for reading my .02 cents.

TRI H2O

Bob

when you state
I learned of all this and continue to learn due to active participation in this forum, back and forth spanning many months of time with many other CL members.

this may be the case, but there is no need to slag lexus in every thread on this ES350 forum. I am with DrDrilz and tnedator. If this car is really giving you so much grief, move on to another brand.

I think most of us here really enjoy our 350's. Like any brand, there are always niggly little problems in the first year, but generally, these don't detract from the great ride, performance and fuel mileage of this car. I personally have only experienced the cold start shift flare. This is not an issue for me as I am sure there will be a fix shortly - in the interim, it can hardly be considered a safety issue.

ES350Bob

I answered their curiosity, let's wait till they actually have their ES350 and see what their participation in this forum is.

I believe it was Dr who came up with a very sharp pre-purchase idea in stating in a post he was going to have the dealer put in writing the first hint of transmission trouble and he gets an immediate buyback to avoid the hassles associated with that process that many have posted about on here, which would also mean he would not be inclined to post his experiences if he ended up in that position.

kingofire

Ok, I am going to defend Es350bob. From reading countless threads, what i have seen here is the new members coming on for advise to see what they need to know about the car and ES350bob just answer their questions with honest about his experience. Now the next new person comes on board and starts a new thread about what they need to know, again ES350bob, wanting to be helpful with re-iterate the same experience. If 2 people ask the same question in 2 different ways and 2 different thread, how is it his fault that his answers are viewed as same repetative responses. Rather than it being ES350bobs fault, its the OP's fault for not searching the ES350 boards before asking the same countless questions. Now if i ask a question about "body side mouldings" and ES350bob chimes in that thread that this car is "cannery works" diesel knocking, wiper arms rocking car bad and that body side mouldings should be his/her last worries, thats when even I would blame HIM...I just had to defend you ES350bob, because if it wasnt for you "few complainers" i might have joined "you few complainers" on this board but people like you helped me making a $42,000 mistake. I hope you dont mind me defending you.

LexBob2

King, you sound 100% sure that it would have been a $42K mistake to buy a new ES. That was the right decision for you. What about all of the satisfied owners out there who bought one of the 70,000 ES's that will be sold this year, and are happy with their decsion?

e-man

Well said. Well said.

dunnojack

a forum like this is helpful in pointing out problems. we need this. it does more good than harm.


What i can't believe is that lexus didn't extensively test this car, it seems.

didn't they ever put this car in the wind tunnel and sit in this car and hear the wind noises? or at least drive the damn car over 75 mph on the freeway?
There's wind noise whistling through the front windows, and it shouldn't be. That's why we pay the premium over the camry.

or did they hear the wind noise and say "egh. design flaw. live with it until the next design cycle in 5 years.."


as for the rattles, my 350 has more noises than all my previous post-1990 cars combined. Doesn't lexus have a shaking machine to shake the ***** out of the car during testing?


so far, the only problem i have escaped is the transmission flare.


if i could just silence the diesel engine clatter and get rid of the rear windshield rattle, i'd be a happier customer. I know i'd probably be happy with an Ls460, but i just don't need that kind of car right now.

I hope lexus comes up with better fixes in the coming years, before my warranty is up.

kingofire

I dont like to assume anything. When you say "all of satisfied owners" I doubt you have any data supporting this statement. When i talk to the service advisor they indicate differently, so i can only speak from what i know and what he is insinuating is that there are more unsatisfied customers than not. He'd been very nice to me and went over the car thoroughly with me for a full hour because of my apprehension of buying a car that i had not researched. Today I sent him a bottle of Baileys as a new year gift and he called me and let me know that i made a wise choice in taking the 2006 over 2007. That is the reason why i am 100% sure i made the right decision and not because the 2007 would be a mistake, more so that my job demands me to be there long hours(being a medical resident),there are times I work 72 hours straight and the last thing i need is to spend 2 hours at the dealers trying to fight tooth and nail that they are going to say its normal. I am 100% sure it was better for me to go this route. Every individual is different. I just needed a car to be reliable, without many dealer trips and at this point after reading this forum and the MSN feedback and some edmunds feedback, I believe that I had a better chance of the 2006 ES to be less headache than the ES350. I did the first year model thing with a 2004 acura tl, and that was a total nightmare. The car had some major quality assurance problems.

2007es350