I am buying a 2002 ES300 w/67K miles. Please advise if historically this car has any common issues such as transmission problem, etc.

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Steiner

The only issue I'm aware of was the "hesitation" many owners complained of. Other owners said they'd never experienced the problem, though. The Lexus position was that there was no problem, and the drive-by-wire system merely was "learning" the driver's habits. They, at some point, issued a TSB to re-flash the firmware. Some, who had the TSB applied, felt an improvement, while others still complained.

I (well, my wife) owned an '02 and had the (non)problem. In my case, I noticed it mostly when accelerating from a slow, rolling stop situation - like when pulling out of a gas station. You'd slow to see if there was an opening in traffic, then accelerate to get out, and it would "hang" for a split-second before going as you'd expected.

I had the TSB done, and never had any luck with it. I wouldn't describe it as anything serious, but it sure was annoying. It was my wife's car as I said, and the reason she eventually got rid of it. I don't mean to scare you, though, and I only pass that on because you asked.

Walt

You looking at the car in Surprise?

Both my 06 and 07 ES's do that when I am pulling away from a speed hump. Seems to only happen when I am rolling at about 5 mph or so to go over the hump. (not a bump) They both definitely hesitate and then kick in and I am not gunning it, just normal acceleration. FWIW, 67K miles is just getting broken in. Many more scenes in that movie.
Good luck.

Is Surprise a dealership? I am in San Diego and not familiar with the name.

Your location says AZ. I thought you were in the Phoenix area. There is an ES for sale here with the exact same mileage that I saw. Surprise is the town its in.

Bret

Did you get the car? Keep us posted!

I have upwards of 113k on mine and have not run into any major issues. The only small issue I had was the flashing a/c light, which was an easy fuse fix.

I just traded in my '02 ES300, 39,500 miles
We had 8 trouble free years and were very happy with it