DaveFL

Hello All,

I have a 2002 ES300 that is literally disintegrating, so I am just trying to keep it afloat at this point and I'm tentatively out of work. Very disappointed in a car of this calibre with only 127K easy miles.

LSF inside door handle broke yesterday. I can see the RSF handle's chrome started to blister, so it is also going soon. Rears are like new. Does anyone know where to get replacement handles at a reasonable cost? I read a bunch of stories stating the Lexus OEM handles are outrageously priced (although no numbers were given). Ebay only has up to 2001 models. No 2002.

Also, have a thumping, roaring sound starting at 20mph which gets louder as we go faster. Changes tone a little when on a curve. It's gotten worse and now I can feel it in the steering wheel and brake pedal. Have had front end checked and everything is solid. Had tires and wheels checked. Sound does not change after tire rotation. ABS no longer seems to work. I'm thinking wheel bearings? Any opinions?

Thank you all very much.

Dave In Florida

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

Where in FL are you? For sounds liekt hat, you really need someone in person to hear it for a correct diagnoses. I have some friends in the Ft. Lauderdale area that can probably take a quick look at it for you.

As for the door handles, thats mainly due to the FL heat. Even with the Camry's, they break 10x as often in FL as they do here.

smee

Hi Dave,
My immediate thought once you said you feel it in the steering wheel and its a "thumping" and gets louder with speed is: Rotors
It's possible you've got bad burn marks and slightly warped rotors from hard breaking at high speeds. I would have those checked out!

DaveFL

ASG14 - thanks. I am in the Tampa Bay area. Now that you mention it, I had to replace a door handle on my son's '99 Camry last year. Any idea how much these handles cost? I have got to fix the drivers door. It's embarassing to have my wife walk around the car and let me out.

Smee - new rotors, new pads, complete brake job all around about 4-6 months ago. Sound/thumping was there before and after brake job. It's been there since I got the car back in 2006. Changed tires twice now. Had the wheels (alloy rims) checked carefully with a dial indicator and found a bent rim and replaced it. No change (which the tire store predicted because even the bent wheel balanced out perfectly). New inner tie rods (really needed them badly and took care of a lot of steering wheel shake, but the thumps remained).

It has gotten much worse just recently. It went from just a "turn the radio up" annoyance over 6 years to "man, this sounds like the wheel is gonna fall off".

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

Looking up the part right now, it;s weird. I;m getting a list price of about $44......That seems way too low to me. Honestly, call your local dealer and ask them. Should only take a couple minutes. Make sure to have your VIN ready to give them when you call. Worst case is you just say no thanks.

For the noise, I think it may be the wheel bearing, which IS a safety issue at this point as you describe. When they start to go bad, they make a groaning noise. When they REALLY go bad (Recently had to deal with my friends '01 Impreza for it), the bearings desintigrate, and then there is a lot of play in that wheel, which is dangerous. On my friends car at the stage where the bearing started to desintigrate, I could move the wheel 1" in any direction. Try jacking up the car and seeing if there is any up/down or front/back movement. There should be zero movement. If the shop looked at it when it was just a noise (and no driving issues), it is hard to diagnose a bad wheel bearing at the begining stages. Check it out today, and this week, bring it to a good mechanic before something happenes please. Be safe.

smee

Yikes man! Sounds like ASG might have found your answer though!

DaveFL

Done and done. I'm taking it in this week for sure. Thanks for the advice and the reality check, guys. I will let you know what they find.

Thank you!

Dave