lexuslhs

hi, just purchased a 2005 es330 "blue shale mica"..love the car except for two things...the trans shift points are not the same all the time..the rpms raise excessively between shifts..i read the post regarding the tsb#tc004-03..will this upgrade cure the problem?..now, the paint..the front and rear bumpers look a different shade at certain angles.. i know the bumpers were sprayed as part of the "certified" appearance maintenance..but should they look a different shade?..it is quite obvious, is this normal for this color?
any info regarding my above issues would be helpful..thank you...

IamThFEAR

I just got the transmission update. I think I'm definately happier now than before. About the paint, it's hard to match paint that's 4 years old. Mine does'nt look that much different from the rest of the vehicle. Just be glad they did'nt overspray the hell outta your car like they did mine.

lexuslhs

thanks for the response,do you know the tsb#of your trans shift upgrade? is it the same as the one i mentioned?..is yours the blue shale?..i made an appointment with lexus,the"paint" manager wants to look at my vehicle..im curious to see what happens..i will say this, im not happy..i only had the car a week..

tuan92129

The paint on the bumper and the metal parts of the car will always look slightly off, even with perfectly matched paint. There are flex additives in the bumper paint, and its not baked on as in the body paint. Theres also more orange peel, and after a while, the paint has a more faded look because of the plastic underneath.

Lexusfreak

Welcome to CL lhs! Finally another 05 ES 330 owner with the Blue Shale Mica (thought I was the only one lol). I had the corner of the rear bumper re-painted & it looks spot on if I'm honest.....they matched it just about perfectly.....can you post some good quality pics so we can get a better idea of how off the paint match is?

Get the tranny re-calibrated at the dealer & you should be good to go. Are you due for a tranny fluid change? How many miles on your ES?

lexuslhs

thanks for the response, thanks for the welcome to the club.. i purchased the car with 39,000..i took the car to my lexus dealer, they recalibrated the trans computer and they gave me a loaner..there going to respray the bumpers..i never owned a lexus before, i must say, im not used to being treated so well..the service manager said they had a lot of comebacks with there previous paint vendor..he reassured me that the car would be done correctly this time..
I REALLY HOPE SO, I LOVE THIS CAR!!!