Hi,

This will sound strange, but I'm having difficulty getting used to my 2023 ES300h after four months. I'm doing better now than I was previously, but still want to list out my gripes, annoyances and differences and see if I'm just missing something in terms of settings / whatnot.

I'm coming from a 2019 Hyundai Sonata Limited / Ultimate. I wanted out of the brand due to the troubles with the 2.4 liter engine and all of the theft issues. My car was not susceptible to the thefts, but a thief might try anyway not knowing. Also I had some concern that all of these lawsuits on the part of municipalities might affect the company financially and their ability / willingness to honor warranty claims. I was also getting annoyed with how difficult it was at times to schedule service. I think there are so many issues with their vehicles that it is jamming up their service departments. I worried that WHEN my engine went (it's not a question of if) that I would have to deal with a ton of hassle to get it fixed. I have some legitimate concerns, but secretly maybe I was coming up with rationalizations in order to find a reason to buy a Lexus - lol.

I wanted a Lexus due to the reliability of the brand and the higher level of customer service in addition to luxury features.

Initially I had trouble getting used to the seats - I felt that they might not be comfortable and they might be a little small. That was my initial impression, but at this point, I am over that and find the seats to be comfortable. Ok here are the gripes, annoyances and differences:

1 - The glovebox is a little small and it's somewhat inconvenient that the orientation is straight on vs something that is hinged at the bottom.

2 - I miss my panoramic sunroof and don't think the hybrid Lexus ES is available with one for some reason.

3 - I would prefer a simpler way to turn off the home screen than having to go to settings, display and then toggle off the screen. The Hyundai had a button that could be programmed for anything and I used the button to make it a turn off the screen button. At night especially I don't like a light coming from the screen in the cabin.

4 - There seems to be slightly less leg room in the back - not a big difference but just a little more difficult to fully stretch my legs out - nothing can be done about this obviously.

5 - The Lane Keep Assist seems to put me closer to the left side of the road rather than the middle - at least I perceive it this way. I didn't notice this was the case in the Sonata. This could be that I favor that right more than the Lexus allows.

6 - The gas milage of the hybrid is AMAZING

7 - The radio doesn't stay on when I shut the car off. If I was on a phone call or listening to something on the radio in the Sonata I could cut the car off and continue to listen until I opened the door.

8 - The blind spot assist system lights up when a car is next to you, but there is no auditory alert if you turn on your turn signal.

Thanks for reading my post. If you know of any solutions to these issues in settings that I may have missed, please let me know!

Thanks,

Mark

 

The glovebox isn't hinged like it may be in other vehicles because the air conditioning filter is located in the dash directly behind the glovebox. There's an access panel at the back of the glovebox that you remove to gain access to the filter for the periodic removal and replacement of the filter. (See page 338 of the 2023 LEXUS ES300H OWNER'S MANUAL for details.)

Have you tried using a voice command to turn off the display?

I don't have access to a vehicle with the (new) Lexus Interface Intelligent Assistant voice command system implementation to experiment with but try something like (or variations of something similar) "Set screen display off", Or "Settings Display Screen Display off" which is a verbal stating of the menu item chain to the on/off display toggle. (You might try asking the voice command for "Help display settings" to see if the help system will give a clue as to what might work.)


Although it isn't as range flexible as the blind spot monitor system (BSM), there's a "...possibility of a collision with an overtaking vehicle in the adjacent lane is high ..." function in the Lane Tracing Assist (LTA) system if you have the LTA turned on. That functionality is part of the Lane Departure Alert (LDA) function (as well as the steering assist function when turned on) which is always on when LTA is turned on. You get the "possible collision" warning even if you have the turn signal on. You can set the warning for LDA to either warning buzzer or steering wheel vibration. (Personally, I've got mine set to steering wheel vibrate since the warning buzzer can get lost in the stereo audio output when I've got the stereo turned up.) (I've also got steering assist turned on since when a lane changing "possible collision" is detected that function wii produce a few subtle steering nudges back toward the lane being departed from which is a pretty good assist warning "don't change into that lane right now".)

See page 195 (for LDA functionality) and 196 (for steering assist functionality) of the 2023 LEXUS ES300H OWNER'S MANUAL for details.

 

Thanks for the ideas! I will try the voice assistant to turn off the screen and will let you know if that works. I did notice what you were talking about with the access panel for the cabin air filter. That will be handy when it comes time to replace that. My wife's car and my previous car had to have the glove box removed downward in order to gain access, so certainly this is a more convenient setup.

Mark

 

5. There’s a possibility that the cameras need to be recalibrated.

7. When you come to a stop, leave the gear lever on R, N, D…turn the car off (single press on POWER), shift to P, the radio/telephone will stay on.

 

I had two 7th generation hybrid ESes.

Agreed on the lane change thing. There needs to be advances on that. My car will give me an audible alert, highlight the car in red, and even steer/jerk the car away from the incoming car or if i'm going towards the car (like its in my blind spot) the car will correct and swerve back if it senses. it saved me one time from a little Miata ND that was in my blindspot and i was about to run over it. lol it was coming up fast in my blind. imagine if all cars did this=less accidents on the road and more safety.

in terms of the seats, it's a very common complaint about the ES seats being hard. agreed.

Gas mileage==good job getting the hybrid. very good gas mileage most love.

other than that your other observations are pretty spot on. post pics of your new car.

 

Can your car assist this guy with the Ford EV:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/technolo...m-modern-times

 

That worked! Thanks - doesn't shut off when I open the door, but I can remember to hit the power switch and turn the car off - good solution!

 

Thanks for all of the help everyone - here is a picture of my new ride on the day I got it back in April!

 

According to the 2023 LEXUS ES300H OWNER'S MANUAL (see page 151) there's a 20 minute timer when the vehicle is left in ACCESSORY mode like that that will automatically turn off the power switch. The manual discourages using this "Auto power off function" since it "...cannot entirely prevent the 12-volt battery discharge."

 

I can't speak for Ford EVs but sounds like he made an impulse purchase and is salty about his lack of research.

 

I have noticed one minor caveat to that procedure. When I complete that process, the parking brake doesn't automatically engage. So when I shut it off, I have to manually set the parking brake.

 

I pretty much agree with OP I’m at 10,000 miles on my 23 ES300h Premium. Mostly it’s the skinny seat bottoms I dislike about the car and it only bothers me on a day with lots of seat time (I’m in real estate and spend a ton of time just sitting in the car on the phone between appointments).

Honestky I was happy with the car until I bought my wife a 23 IS350 F Sport which is fantastic although sort of overpriced for what it is. I realized how much I used to enjoy sporty cars when I was younger and am considering trading my ES for something else maybe even an ES with F Sport Handling Package because those two things would fix most of what’s a letdown in this car for me.

Still I’d call the car a 9 out of 10 for what it’s trying to be. Mostly love it.

 

Thanks everyone - great discussion!