I just purchased a brand new 2007 ES 350 with nav, AFS, park assist, premium plus pkg, etc ($41.7K MSRP). I'm not sure what the build date is but the sticker has a ship date of 08/22/07. While driving it home I noticed a couple of things:

When I'm driving, certain times I noticed that the RPM needle would spike up (no accelaration pick up to match it however) and then come down. This was especially apparent when I had it on cruise and would go through "hilly" areas. It's too soon to notice any patterns but the fact that I noticed it is worrisome. Could this be the infamous "FLARE" posted all over this forum? Even if it is, shouldn't it be fixed by now??

Second, a couple of times, when I put the gear from "P" to "R", I heard a loud bang before the gear set to reverse. It only happened a couple of times and I have not been able to reproduce it. Then again I only have 125 miles on it. Is this a problem?

I didn't notice it but someone also told me that when the car starts, its cranking noise doesn't sound normal. And another small problem was that the car appeared to pull to the right while driving so I always had to rock the steering back and forth to keep the car straight. Is that normal on this car?

Hey, this car costs lots of money and I'm becoming very scared very quickly. Should I be worried about the above experience? What if anything should I do? I'm certain the dealer won't take the car back for a refund. What is a buyback? I purchased the car for it's reliability and years of maintenance free service and here I am day 2 posting on this forum.

Any other insights any of you can share to alleviate my pain or give me guidance will be greatly appreciated.

 

1) that doesnt sound like the flare. its just the tranny "learning" your driving habbit and its just eager to shift down. sounds like regular downshifting to me.

2) getting that sound when shiften from P to R usually happens when your parked on a hill, so see if it happens then.

3)im sure the cranking noise is fine...lol...although what is considered normal?

4) no its not suppose to drift to one side, but that is a common probably to lexus cars. however, sometimes its just the road. you have to make sure it is completely flat before you say that it is drifting.

a buyback only happens when there is repeated warranty issues. they have to be big problems too, not sure a "weird" sound from the cranking.

 

Many roads are crowned for drainage (i.e. the road is pitched off to the sides to aid water run-off) so depending on where you are on the road the car may drift to one side r the other.

Also, you may experience tramlining on some grooved roads where your car feels like it is drifting back and forth as if following the grooves or riding on train rails. This may also be impacted by the type/brand of tires you're rolling on.

Both of these conditions are normal.

 

But if you're an experienced driver and know what is normal vs. abnormal pulling to one side, just take the car back to the dealer and have it aligned.

Pulling to one side is not normal for this car.

 

My 2008 is only 10 days old & has 150 miles on it. My xmission does not spike in any way and with all that has been written here about "flair" I keep my eyes on the tach all the time.

I would think that your pulling problem is tire related. Just rotating them would tell you if that is the problem.

Good luck.

 

2 days only? dont you think it's too early to REPORT problem-like issues? I can understand if you drive the car out of dealership and, all the sudden, your engine caught on fire or 1 of ur tires fall off; then that's what I call a PROBLEMs.

But hey, dont worry that much for now. Give it a bit more time and if those things you noticed still happening, bring it back to dealership to find out what's going on.

 

I didn't know there is a certain length of time in which it is inappropriate to post to the forum about problems with your car, or that the problems have to be of a certain type to warrant them "important" enough to ask questions about them.
IMO, if the OP has issues with the car, be it on the first day it's driven or the 100th day, he or she has the right to post whatever and whenever he or she sees fit.

 

I would say it's never too early to report a problem. I would strongly suggest you watch for the pattern, then get a digital video camera (Many cellphones can record video) and record what's happening. Post it for us so those that have experienced the flare can tell you if it's normal or a flare.

I also encourage you to keep careful notes on everything not right. If it's normal you'll figure that out or it will go away. if it's not, you'll have made your case should you pursue lemon or buyback.

 

Thanks for the replies folks. I will drive it some more and provide detailed feedback if the same keeps repeating. Stay tuned..

 

A couple of things to keep in mind about ES350 flares. As it was described above, if its really just a spike of RPM while you don't feel/hear any engine rev (my ES350 flares felt like someone briefly put the tranny in neutral while pushing gas pedal) than it might be so-called learning. Also, noticed when those happen during the day. Very commonly it was after a cold start before engine warms up.

Cold start cranking noise is a "feature" of this car Loud bang going from P to R is not normal, but if its very rare and inconsistent than don't panic yet. Give it a little more time. With pulling to the right, use your judgment in comparison with other cars you drove on the same route. It never hurts to bring it back to dealership and request alignment check, tire balance check, etc.

Oh, and you must be a brave soul to read all the comments about ES350 in here and still buy this car

 

Let's hope that some of what your experiencing is just not being used to the vehicle. If you do feel that there is an unsafe condition take it back and get it fixed.

While I have been here for about 4 months and have seen several folks with problems with their cars, Mine has been rock solid. Its a 1/07 build UL that now has almost 4K miles on it. It has a dash squeak that's not too bad, and I hope the dealer will fix it when it goes in for the 5K service.

I must say we have really enjoyed the car this summer. Wonderful ride, good looker, good performance, and great gas mileage. We also own a 2000 GS300 that was bought new. It also had minor issues when new but it has been the best car we have ever owned by far. I hope our ES350 is even better.

 

After years of sterling reliability, Toyota is showing cracks in its armor, according to data from Consumer Reports' 2007 Annual Car Reliability Survey. By contrast, Ford's domestic brands have made considerable improvements.

The V6 version of the company's top-selling Camry, and the four-wheel-drive V8 version of the Tundra pickup, both redesigned for 2007, now rate below average in Consumer Reports' predicted reliability rating. (This rating does not apply to previous model years.) In addition, the all-wheel-drive version of the Lexus GS sedan also received a below average rating. Because Consumer Reports does not recommend models with below-average reliability, these models no longer make CR's "Recommended" list.

The same ole 6 speed automatic transmission with the famous shift flare.

 

What happened to the OP? Looks like they posted and disappeared.

 

Am I the unlucky one? Bought a 2007 ES in end of August. 2 months so far, 5 weeks in dealer for rattle fix. There were 5 or 6 rattles from front to rear. A tough one was right front door stricker (U shape door lock). It took totally 6 visits and finally done. Now there's a new rattle coming from either front decklid or windshield. Oh god, when can I finish the fight with rattles?

Wife's car was Honda CRV and now Odyssey. She is very lucky (or sigh, Honda's quality is very good). Neither of both went back to dealer except maintain. They are just rattles free. My previous car was Nissan Maxima and it rattled but less than ES350.

So far my ES doesn't have tranny flare (or I didn't find it yet), no engine knocking. But these rattles are quite annoying. However IMO, Lexus is still with its reputation. For this part, perhaps it stands out of other Japanese luxury brands (I comfort myself with this when I hear rattling ).

 

Your noises.. if they are squeeks are very common. Many ES350's have a dashboard squeek. Most dealers will pull out the dash and use felt to help stop the squeeks.