There are lots of bugs around here (Tennessee). It could have just been a bug or two hitting the exact right (wrong?) spot.

 

You hit the nail on this!
I was between ES and Mustang.
Transmission is one of the reasons I didn't want the Mustang.
I wouldn't mind the 6 speed auto Mustang as it is based on the ZF 6 speed but it was too old for me(2017 is the latest one you can get with 6 speed auto).

 

6- According to the owner's manual, 6 should be normal.

 

I have a '24 ES also. Love it. I am squeek free. Tranny is smooth - but I do 99% highway driving.

As for the wind/road noise. I suspect a lot of that is perception. I came from 15 years of driving pickup trucks. From my perspective, the ES is as quiet as a mouse! LOL. I actually did decibel tests to compare. It is 20db's less than the truck I owned prior.

Love this car.

 

I may be in the honeymoon phase with my 350 ES but I'm generally pleased and without major complaints.

Auto wipers could be more precise but during a rainy drive they kept me from having to do any adjustment which I was thankful for on the busy interstate.

I haven't noticed any jerky shifts except for 2 to 1 when slowing down. Sport mode seems more natural but I'll have to experiment more.

I'm coming from an SUV so the interior seems very quiet, no rattles or squeaks. Wind noise is at a minimum and lets me enjoy the sound system at low levels. Only noise I've noticed was on a section of road that had the surface ground for new paving. The whole car was vibrating and it set off a buzzing in the passenger door but this was the only time I've heard it.

The pano roof is quiet. Never having one before I don't use it much but so far so good.

I've always been very **** with new vehicles but the ES doesn't give me cause for concern in the first 900 miles at least.

 

The 2 - 1 trans jerk is the big annoyance with this trans. A bit surprised that since 2019, it still hasn't been addressed but perhaps they can't do a thing about it.

 

My experience was basically similar to yours, and surveys show it's typical. I'm not criticizing those people who've had more problems than I — when I have, I've posted too — but thousands and thousands of people buy these cars. And if the car does exactly what they expected, most feel they have no reason to post.

 

Or, more likely, they figured it wasn't a big enough problem to be worth fixing ($$$). It's all a cost-benefit analysis.

 

I don't know if they tinkered with the programming at some point since your '19 was built. As you know, carmakers often make small running changes of this kind without any fanfare, partly because they don't want to draw attention to the fact there was anything to be fixed in the first place. But my '22 has only exhibited the rough low-speed downshifting behavior maybe twice so far in my ownership.

 

Here's to hoping the OP can have these problems fixed to his satisfaction and get on with a good ownership. I've had vehicles that weren't as expected it's not a good feeling to experience.

 

I really wouldn't describe what I am experiencing as a jerk but rather I haven't learned to feather my speed when slowing for traffic or a sharp turn. It seems that the car wants to come to a stop while I'm trying to only slow so when I re-accelerate the car goes from nose down to the weight shifting to the rear unnecessarily. Hopefully with experience I can probably anticipate this and correct.

 

Just wanted to give an update. I dropped my car off at the dealership last week and had a drive with one of the service folks who heard all my problems (#2-4, above). They gave me a loaner and kept my car for a week. I got the call today saying that they finished the repairs, drove it around, and all sounds were gone. I picked it up, and, well, none of the sounds were gone.

The pano roof sound is still there although not as bad as it was very early on after I got the car. It's louder than any other ES I've been in (and much louder than the loaner) but perhaps on par with what you might expect in a Sentra. They said they greased it, but....

The driver seat creak is still there, although it does seem muted and less frequent than it was. They said they identified some cover underneath the seat that was making the noise and replaced it. But the creak still occurs.

The passenger side rear door sound is still there and just as bad as ever. They said they replaced the entire sunshade, and my inspection confirms that. However, it--or something--still creaks pretty regularly.

I called them about 30 mins after I'd left and told them the bad news. I was told they're 3 weeks out for loaners and they would schedule me to have the service manager sit in. So I'll be back there in three weeks. Until then I'll be enjoying my car and trying to ignore the various creaks.

For the other items I've decided the transmission is just how it is and it's fine. The wiper issue has not occurred again. The high beams issue is just how that is, and is not worth worrying about. And, finally, the wind noise was clearly less than the loaner (which was a base model ES) and so I'm happy with what I have there. I'm guessing wind noise was just more apparent because other noise generators (engine, road) were so low that I actually noticed it. When I think about how 74mph is the threshold for a storm to be considered a hurricane, the fact that at highway speeds I have a literal hurricane-level wind constantly roaring past my vehicle and the noise is as low as it is could rightly be called a miracle of technology.

Anyways, here's hoping in a few weeks the creaks will be gone!

 

I'm sorry to hear they haven't fixed your noise problems. I give them the benefit of the doubt that they thought they did; noises can come and go. I know when I had a creak in my driver's seat bottom, it only happened in a specific range of temperatures somewhere around 65, which forced me to try 3 times before it finally got fixed for keeps.

But your noises aren't normal, aren't consistent with what you have a right to expect from a new Lexus, and you deserve to get them fixed. Keep bothering, returning, documenting, insisting, even though I know it's a pain in the @ss. It's only under warranty once. And if this dealer doesn't satisfy you, try another.

 

Thanks. I plan on doing that.

Can you give more details about the creak you had? Do you know what they did to fix it? Knowing might help me locate my issue.

 

It was in the seat bottom. Like finding a cricket, it was hard for me to locate it, and it took me a while. For a while I thought it might be from the base of the console. Once i did narrow it down, I took it to the dealer on a day it was making the noise and made them listen to it, even though they couldn't fix it that day (just like you did). This helped me later when they did the usual dealer service "couldn't find the problem," because they had to admit one of their own had heard it themselves.

I think it turned out to be at a joint inside the seat frame, maybe deep down in the crease where the buttom cushion meets the side bolster?, and they told me they stuffed it with something to stop the noise. All respect to them, though. They weren't sure that was the fix, and they admitted as much, but it worked. In the end, a good job.