My expectations were exactly like MD350. I actually get better treatment at my local Chevrolet and Jeep dealer. I get the feeling that if you don't have an LS, you are second tier.

My '07, purchased in early-May '06, has been problem free and met all of my expectations, which are high. In fact, it's been back to the dealer for service just once, and that was for the complementary 5K service. We've taken it on three extended driving vacations and have been impressed with the comfort, performance and gas mileage. There are other good cars out there in this price range which I'll probably look at for my next one, but IMO the ES350 is among the best for the price.

My expectations were based on an 11 year history of Lexus ownership and cannot believe the defects and the nonsense and outright deceit I was subjected to with/about the 2 ES350. I simply had expected the same or perhaps convenience improvements over prior year model, not anything like I did experience.

I do not know if other car manufacturers resort to the same deceptive tactics over obvious defects because I never experienced with a new vehicle what I did with both ES350.

My experience has left me aware that anything is possible from any auto manufacturer if Lexus could have pulled on me what it did and it's dealers did.

My July o6 build continues to perform to specks. My dealer has been dependable and I have had no dialogue with Lexus to date (haven't had any issues).

I've had the same experience with my April '06 built car...

You are very fortunate not to have experienced issues and the effort required to attempt to get them resolved. You would not, if present in your vehicle, get any resolution to wind noise or engine noise and as you can see from posts on the subject might have a cat fight to get to the bottom of a defective transmission, fabrications about the defects along the way only worsen the experience.

You are happy with your dealer experience because your car is running well. Would be a different story if you did have the tranny flare, engine knock, and rattles. The service departments have been trained to push back on to the consumer, as there is no resolution. Make 'em feel like complete idiots, tellng them it is normal operation. Sure, if I ran in for oil changes and tire rotations, I too would most likely be pleased.

Might I add the toll free customer service number is worthless as well. Unless you have an attorney, it is in one ear and out the other.

I am glad you are happy with your experience. I wish I was only so lucky. I have wasted a lot of my time on this car, with many trips to the service department. I stopped going. I live with the crap. I am waiting to pay down my loan some more, gain some equity, and off she goes!

FWIW: It totally dumbfounded me the degree to which customers could be bamboozled and I have concluded that for decades dealers got away with this stuff and the internet is going to make them change their ways but even that will take time.

When your sole source of income is one brand of anything it allows for some unscrupulous behavior to protect your ability to earn an income. "Never heard of that complaint" makes sense when to admit it might mean your source of income dwindles as a result of you being stuck paying for repairs because the manufacturer won't, or simply because the brand has too many re-occurring issues whether or not they do address them.

Just tell your friends, relatives, acquaintences etc what a problem the car is / has been. It will scare them away to another brand as two of our fellow churchgoers, having asked about our ES350 and the enigne noise as we pull up. They both bought 07 BMW 5 series cars (AWD) instead.

I am sure this forum has directed many potential buyers into other directions. I am sure some damage is already done. GOOD! Lexus needs a slap in the face.

I test drove a SGM UL one the other day. Holy crap. It had the noisy engine AND the tranny flared on all sorts of occasions. I saw at least 4 tranny flares. All about 800-1000 rpm. The only thing is it is a really quiet car so I only noticed cuz I kept one eye on the rpms. Most Lexus buyers would never have noticed. I didn't feel a surge.

An educated consumer is Lexus's worst customer! HA HA.

Well, goes to show the issues are not resolved. I assume this was an 08.

So, what did the salesperson say? Would love to hear their response.

Thanks for the update.

I didn't bring it up cuz I was shocked it happened so often. Plus, I had no idea where he took me on the test drive so I was concentrating on the road as well as the car.

It was an 08. I was debating whether I could live with the tranny flare if it only happened on the first 3 -4th shift like in that video you showed me. I figured once in a drive might not be too bad. But, after this test drive, seeing it happen all over the place (I couldn't figure out a pattern), I'm not so sure.

I was planning on e-mailing a bunch of dealers and then buying from the one that gave me the best price. Now, I'm not so sure about that strategy as I may have to test drive the car before I buy it. Means dealing with a sales person. Argh.

Yeah, I need to test drive more cars, but the problem may be worse than reported. The car is so smooth and quiet, if you don't have one eye stuck on the tach and anticipating when the car will shift, you'll totally miss it. I didn't feel the car surge or anything. Any prototypical Lexus driver is almost certainly going to miss it. Most aren't **** car fans who visit message boards like this.

I did find the heated/cooled seats to be quite comfy. Saw a ton of complaints about the seats but I'm not sure why. Seem fine to me. I haven't sat in the regular seats for a decent amount of time, but the difference in the quality of leather makes me not want to.

It is amazing that 08s are out there that flare. Glad you were able to catch it before you bought it!!

Keep us updated.

If only the flare would be so severe that it would miss a shift and over rev the engine, causing it to seize. Then maybe Lexus would listen up. Outside of the flare, engine noise, lack of standard remote start and satellite radio - it's a nice car!