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Hello everyone! I recently bought a 2005 ES 330 with 110K. The dealer gave me a checklist which says all the parts and fluids were fine. I am the third owner and from the maintenance records it doesn't seem like the transmission fluid and coolant were ever replaced. Should I bother asking the dealer about it and have them recheck? Also, I think the ride is a little bouncy. Would I notice a difference if I replaced the struts? I've seen some posts which said with replacement struts the ride will never be quite the same as it was from the factory. I know it's an old car but I would like to breathe a little life into it. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am not very knowledgeable with car maintenance.

My rule on replacing fluids is if I don't know when then were done I consider them due. On struts, you can replicate the original ride only by using struts from Lexus, naturally the most expensive option outside of exotic parts. KYB=high quality but a 20% stiffer ride. Monroe will be similar to the original ride but their struts are not known for longevity compared to KYB.

FYI there are many threads here on replacing suspension parts so do a search.

You can check the transmission fluid. It should be cherry color. If brown/black or smells burnt, you can do couple of drain and re-fills
If you are planning to do timing belt & waterpump, coolant will be changed during that service.
Scotty Kilmer mechanic on youtube has a 2002 Lexus ES and he says the original struts on his car (Even after 17 years) are better than some aftermarket ones he tried. Lot of strut threads on this forum.

Don't use Quick Struts. My ES330 came with Quick Struts and the ride is pretty bad.

+1. No way to get around this.

If after the transmission drain/fill (presuming you do that), if it makes a nice difference, repeat it in 15k then maybe longer intervals. If it makes a BIG difference, then do it again pretty quickly, then as above.

Kyb cartridges in the rear would be the most economical choice, +/- as L2k said above. OE quite a bit more. Choose one of the two but there's nothing else worth doing IME.

This came from a Lexus dealership or from another one? What's the t-belt status?

Thanks everybody for your responses and suggestions. I bought from a Lexus dealership. I will double check on the timing belt as well. That was supposed to be replaced about 90K miles.

I'm not sure if the timing belt on my 2ES was changed and I haven't done it myself yet. Any way to check if it ever was replaced? Also, what are your guys' thoughts on KYB quick-struts? I am looking for a stiffer ride, but I keeping seeing people complaining about quick struts. What makes them so bad?

Quick type struts have all kinds of issues, car rides too high, springs sag over time, upper mounts make noise and/or fail. The only ones I've heard are decent are made by Moog but that's only hearsay I have not used them. On the timing belt only way to know is remove the upper cover and look although that is not definitive an old belt can look okay but break shortly after I've seen this happen. You can make a good guess anything over 100K miles and the belt will likely show signs of wear, except if the car is always highway driven then it's harder to tell. Always city driven makes the belt crack due to the frequent stop/start cycle.

Enter your VIN on the Lexus owners site if you're lucky it will show a service history. If not then make the assumption you need a timing belt service.