my antenna doesnt close for some reason. I think the motor of the antenna just died. So i bought an Hirschmann AUTA-2040 antenna with motor. Has anybody replaced it before. If so please tell me the instructions. If its not the antenna's problem what do i have to chang. because i can return the radio antenna. Thanks for your feedback.

 

i think there have been some posts on changing the antenna, try searching first

 

Yes, I've changed the antenna and the motor. It cost me 70, which is not that bad. I had a professional change it. You probably should too, but do it yourself only if you are sure how to. Me, i don't. Hope that helps.

 

If it's a 92-96, I can give you detailed instructions on how to do it yourself; I've done 4 of them on our 2 ES's, so I know how. Also, it may not have neccesarily been the motor for the antenna so much as the mast; does it make noise when you turn the ignition on for approx. 30 seconds or so w/o the antenna doing anything? If so, you're mast is broken, not the motor. If I'm not mistaken, it's not very common for the motor to go out, I've only ever had problems with the masts.

 

well when i push radio it pops i/4th of the way and starts makng loud irritating noises. The antenna really never even opened up all the way. The highest it has ever gone is up halfway. I dont know much about changing the parts in a car. Mine is a 1994. So if you would please tell me what a mast is and how much it costs it would be greatly appreciated. What happens if the motor breaks?. If you could post the detailed instructions up that would be excellant.

 

I fixed my antenna mast from going only half way up by having someone in the car turn on the radio while I pulled up the antenna by hand(helping it up). I then squirted WD-40 on the mast, then turned the radio off again, then on again to help the WD-40 oil up this binding situation. It worked very nicely. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

 

Yeah, try amf's suggestion first, but it sounds to me like you just have a broken mast and always have. The mast is the actual metal part that goes up and down, and it works by a plastic rod inside which has "teeth" on it, much like a gear would have. These teeth allow the motor to "grab" the mast and pull or push it, and often these plastic rods are what break. Sounds like you spent way too much for your problem; you should return the motor you bought and go to Pep Boys (if they have those where you live) and get a $15 replacement antenna mast for a Toyota; exact part and much cheaper than Lexus charges ($60 I think..) Now, you say you're not too good at workin on cars, so this may not be something you'd be interested in fixing, but I can give you detailed instructions on how to fix it; It's not really hard, and I've told dozens of people on Lexus Owners Club of America, where I normally preside, how to fix it and so far no problems. If you live close enough to me (TN) and you could at least remove the assembly from the car, and would pay shipping, I'd be happy to replace your mast for you, no charge. I'm willin to "help a brother out" lol. Just let me know.

 

I think the mast is built into this. i mean it has the actual antenna which goes up and down plus the motor.If u look at what i bought it is a Hirschmann AUTA-2040 with motor and the stick that goes up and down.

 

Oh I'm sure that it does include the mast. All I was sayin is that you didn't need to buy the whole motor assembly as well. I'd return it if I were you b/c I'm sure it wasn't cheap. All it sounds like you need is the mast, not the motor.

 

i paid $40 including shipping.

 

Oh! Well if that's all you paid, then that's cool. I was just thinkin new, Lexus oem part, $$$ but that's not bad at all really. Cool. Well I guess then all you need to know is how to replace what you have with what you've got right? Well, it's quite simple really. First off, I'd remove the trunk lining on that side of the car. This means you must first remove the black luggage scuff guard on the top of the trunk opening. Do this by simply starting at one of the edges and basically just pull up hard as you can till you get the 2 or 3 outer clips undone. Once you start getting close to the middle on one side, start from the other and do the same towards the middle and remove the whole thing from the center once the ends are loose. Next, remove any clips that are on the back wall of the trunk by turning them with a screwdriver; they will not come all the way out with just the screwdriver-you just turn them and then pull the screw part out till it stops. Once you've done this for all the "screws" they should let the lining come off easily. Be careful not to loose any of them though! Next, locate the clips that hold the lining in on the passenger side-there should only be one up top near the trunk hinge and one down nearer the bottom which just looks like a round plastic cover. Remove the top one with a flathead screwdriver by gently prying it out, and disregard the lower one; it shouldn't cause you any pain, but if it does somewhere along the way, it can be removed by simply pulling outward on the lining till it pops off. Now you should see the antenna motor assembly back inside the rear quarter panel. Your next step is to remove the chrome nut on the outside top of the antenna hole. This is the part that is chrome and has 4 "slits" in the top of it. Remove it with a pair of vice grips or other such wrench, but be careful not to scratch the lower rubber grommet on the outside just below the nut! Once this is removed, just disconnect any connectors (2 or 3 if I remember correctly) on the motor assembly and remove the 2 or 3 nuts holding it in and you should be able to remove the whole assembly, assuming of course that the antenna is retracted. If you can't retract the antenna, then this may be a pain to remove. If worse comes to worse and you can't get the antenna to go down, just break it off since you have a new one. Now just go back with your new unit in the reverse order that you took it out. Be sure and lube your new antenna just for good measure; WD-40 should do the trick. Just spray some on the antenna when it's fully extended and put it up and down a few times while spraying it. Lemme know if any of this confuses you or if you have any problems and I'll try and help ya out with em. Good luck!

 

My antenna died a while ago, but am/fm reception is still good with my player. Imo the antenna looks fugly when up...

 

thanx for the great info. The quality is good. its just that you can hear the motor trying to pull the antenna up which is really loud.

 

Yeah, definitely sounds like the motor is still good, but I'd just go ahead and use the completely new unit, since you've bought it. Say, where'd you find good parts for a Lexus for a reasonable price? I didn't know such a thing existed!!

 

The link is http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2444916602 I just searched on ebay for "ES300 antenna" then i found this one. It is a buy it now auction. I was a bit hesitant since if i bought it, it would be my first thing bought from ebay. I did a search on the internet and found out that everywhere else if was for $$200. Another place had the same thing for $40 but it was completely black, and i wanted chrome. I dont trust the auctions even though i havent done it before. Sometimes it could be opened and not working. But this was a brand new one which was never opened, with a 30 day moneyback guarentee. I was also looking for some good mods on a 1994 ES300. If you could provide me some info on where to get that. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2444916602