3ES Wood Shift Knob
 

Anyone aware if there's a matching dark woodgrain shift knob for a 97-01 ES? I'm guessing it'd need the shift button on the left and overdrive button. The 1st Gen RX woodgrain shift knob looks promising.

I had an aftermarket wood grain shift know, similar to an OBX shift knob, but the center button broke off and could not find a replacement. It was wood grain and chrome. Now I have a carbon fiber and chrome OBX shifter, but its also made of plastic, but is holding up better then the first one I had.

Thanks for the post. I def don't want a chrome shift knob since there isn't any chrome on the interior of the car, I wouldn't like the look. I'd like to retain the O/D button if possible, but wouldn't mind losing the shift button if possible.

Woodgrain + Grey leather is what I'm looking for.

EDIT: Here's the RX300 shift knob. Looks almost like a wood version of the stock one,

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LEXUS-RX300-WOOD-SHIFT-KNOB-SHIFTER-UPGRADE-99-00-01-03-/170502346862?cmd=ViewItem

Wow, thats a nice looking shift handle, if I needed the whole assembly then 250 bills wouldnt be so bad, but just for the handle seems like alot. So, a 2000 RX shift handle will fit a 3rd Gen ES300? If so, maybe I will look into finding one thru a junk yard.

I dunno, that's exactly what I've been looking into. It definately looks like it could fit in our ES's. Some guys were discussing it here years ago,

us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t13732.html

I believe it was the years 2001-2003 that had the woodgrain shift knob. Would look fantastic in our cars no doubt.

http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.562x421.jpg

Yes, that shift handle would look great on our ES, hmmmm, going to have to do some research on this.

Found a woodgrain RX300 shift assembly. We took it apart to get at the knob, and it's different than the ES's knob but similar too. Too late now but tomorrow I'll know if it can be done.

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/1...1007212335.jpghttp://img801.imageshack.us/img801/2...1007212341.jpg

Props to you for giving it a try and hope you make good progress. I might give this a try myself. Thanks bro.

Got it in there. Basically I needed to drill a hole in the base of the new knob because the original mounting holes are on the back (for the RX300 shift assembly) whereas on the ES the mounting are one the front. It was difficult finding the exact spot to drill the hole because it has to be exact, i.e. if it is too high up the shift button won't engage the shift rod and if it's too low it will always be like the shift rod is being pushed down preventing you from removing the key from the ignition when the car's in park. So it took a few trys but I seem to have got it. It still gets stuck occasionally but jiggling the knob seems to fix it, time will tell. The O/D wires I cut off and spliced together, and I had to make sure the wire fit into the little clip-in holder on the shift assembly so it wouldn't get stuck in the shift assemblys bolt at the base. The ES's stock grey plastic cover will fit underneath the RX's knob but I needed to trim down the little groove on the inside back, then it will lock in place. I was only able to get one screw in to hold the knob so it's slightly wobblier than the stock knob, but it is firmly in place.

The woodgrain isn't an exact match, but it's pretty close. It matches better than it appears in the pictures below, and shift knobs wear from use so I think it matches fine. Overall it took 3-4 hours but I attribute most of that time to matching up the hole in the knob to the hole on the ES's shift assembly so it would function. Unfortunately I can't give the exact location of where to drill the hole, but it's close to being directly opposite the original hole on the back of the RX knob. I tried tape attached to the shift assemblies mounting rail and I marked off the hole and created a notch right where the bottom of the knob was (see picture), I'm sure there must be a better method though.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7...2295115801.jpghttp://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4...2295125025.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/421...2295140333.jpghttp://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7152/img0726dh.jpghttp://img534.imageshack.us/img534/675/img0728wd.jpg

:eek2: Very colorful! :p The shift knobs wood appears to be a different color than the rest of the wood. The base of the shifter AND the radio/climate are different as well (but that's factory). I always found it odd and wondered why Lexus made the wood from the base area a different color than the radio/climate control unit. :confused:

IMO. Except from the 3 different color woods, it looks great. :thumbup: It looks OEM.

Great job and glad you have that much love towards your Lexus to do such an upgrade.

:thumbup:

Good Job GoodRevs, you da man, aside from the wood not really matching, I think you did a hell of a job, good work and thumbs up bro. So, what year shift knob from the RX300 do I need to get the wood and leather look. Im going to search for one and do this myself. :thumbup:

Thanks for the compliments. Look for 2001-2003. It seems in 2001 the wood shifter was introduced, but it also seems that the leather shifter was also available, so make sure to request pictures when ordering. I recommend browsing car-part.com, there are some decently priced assemblies on there.

Cool, thank you for the pictures and the write up on this. You've inspired me to try this out, my next project now, aside from finding a rear lip and getting new TSW Snetterton wheels for my car.

Browsing autotrader and I noticed the LX had a woodgrain shift knob. I can't really tell if it's different from the RX's but maybe the shift knob off the 2000's LX is slightly different and would be an easier fit,

http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.565x377.jpg

Uggghhhhh, decisions now, lol. Hmmmmm, didnt realize the LX had an inline shifter too. I wonder which shift knob is close in size to the ES. I have found several RX300 shifter assemblies and just a knob by itself, wood and leather, but different shades on the leather, priced from 50.00 bidding to 245.00. Now I dont know what to do, LX or RX?