I have one of the first ES350's bought in May of 2006. It is a top of the line UL and has been in the shop more than any other car I have owned.

I just got back from a trip from Florida to Charleston and had my PCS fail for the third time. In case you don't know, the PCS is the pre-collision radar system. When it fails you lose the cruise control. I had to drive I95 for almost 1000 miles without cruise control.

I have had it in the shop for wind noise, navigation failure and transmission firmware. Most of these required multiple visits to find a fix.

It is back to the shop tomorrow and I have told them to keep the car until they figure out how to make a permanent repair.


Beware the desire for new gadgets. Those with the stock ES350 only contend with transmission and wind noise problems.

 

its just the little gadgets that are failing.. the car itself is still in prime shape.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. I bought my car the 1st week in May '06. It's a 4/06 build and it's been problem free to date. I don't have the PCS, but no nav, wind nosie or trans problems. I hope that your dealer is able to get things fixed for you. Good idea to just leave it until things are fixed.

 

wind noise?.. no havent had that problem

 

I think the bottom line is that a consumer should not purchase a vehicle during its first model year, no matter what make or model. Let the manuf. get all of the bugs out during the first year.

I really thought the above rule only applied to American cars. I thought Lexus was safe.

Well, consider it lesson learned.

 

someone has to buy the vehicle..... =] if no one goes for it then the manufacturer will pull it out... and there wouldnt be a second year for it.

 

Sorry to hear about that..

I will tell you first hand that the PCS systems are very difficult to calibrate. I have had a handful of vehicles come back on me because the calibrations I performed did not stick. Lexus gives you a VERY detailed and complicated way to perform this. It really should of been a lot more simple.

As you know, the transmission issues are pretty widespread, but if the dealership is knowledgable on the issue, it should be no problem to handle a transmission properly by now.

Unfortunately, as the vehicles get more complicated, new issues start to arise. As interiors get quieter and quieter, things like road noise and wind noises start to be more obvious than before.

Hopefully your dealership can take care of your vehicle this time around.

 

gappel,

I hope you get your issues resolved quickly...


MD...,

The concern of new model release crossed my mind since lately the Genesis has gotten my attention.

I realized though that thanks to the internet one needs only wait 6 months since a new vehicle release and then read manufacturer specific forums by owners like here to figure out right away a model has multiple, serious and widespread issues and then avoid it.

These forums beat Consumer Reports, J D Power etc. by 6 months to a full year with quality info. It was obvious the ES had widespread issues from the content here and elsewhere for that matter amassed within 6 months of it's release, the various problems were listed and discussed by numerous owners, attempts at disinformation of number of vehicles having issues, the rough treatment of owners trying to get resolutions, was all here within 6 months for anyone interested to review as part of their potential purchase decision making.

I'll screen for the above from forums and of course always use our member created pre-purchase check for/drive first list for any car decision I make in the future.

 

Plus, you want at least 6 months for the initial demand to go down so dealers will be more reasonable in price.

 

Good point. Wish I'd done that!

 

What you said is an excellent method and I know more and more people who lurk specific car forums just looking to see what new owners in general are saying about the cars but at the same time we bought the ES350 on May 1st of 2006 and did not even stop to think about problems.

I know the ES has trans problems but back in 2002 when I purchased a V8 4Runner with an all new 5speed I took the gamble and figured Toyota knows what they are doing so when purchasing the ES I did not even think anything would occur with the 6speed.

 

Have the transmissions of 2008 been any better? If you have very infrequent flares, is it just better to wait since there warranty coverage goes for 6 years?

 

I had a call from the dealer service manager yesterday and they have decided to replace the radar system. They are ordering the parts and he estimated that the job would be completed by Tuesday. He mentioned that the parts cost about $5000. Good thing it is under warranty. I will post the results next week.

 

gatorcb, I got my 08 ES UL in Dec 07. At 20mph during deceleration and sometimes at 40mph there seems to be a slight transmission flare but nothing that is so annoying that I would get rid of my car. In fact, the flare seems to help in certain circumstances (like in snow up a hill, etc). Not sure why. But it wouldn't stop me from buying again. If my interior "creak" continues though, that may stop me from buying again....gonna have it checked out at 5000 mile check (dealer has not seen my car yet but I am hopeful they will take care of it).

 

I have a 2008 ES350, build date of 8/07, purchased in late Sept. 07. It did have minor flaring issues up until the 2000 mile mark. Now, for reasons unknown to me, it hasn't flared since - I'm at the 3700 mile mark. I drive the same way, in fact the flare stopped in the middle of our winter. Interesting.

No wind noise here.