lexusk8

From my past research and recollection, the '01 ES had never been taken into a Lexus dealership for any kind of service (not even the 60K). I bought the vehicle exactly the last year of this month, and it came with 64,000 miles (all highway, originally used as a business/corporate vehicle). As such, the wear-and-tear is not really an issue as opposed to an everyday, city-driven vehicle. However, the spark plugs will have to be changed since it should've been done at 60K.

I've just been informed by my service advisor today that the 90K tune-up is estimated to be $935 (not including items like oil change and A/C filter which I had already done). So this is already a great savings price for the big 90K I'll fill in on details when I get the car back hopefully tomorrow.

Toysrme

Should I mention that I talked to the service manager at Hoover Toyota I bought my '93 from about the 90K service & he told me it would cost:
$140 for the tune up.
$345 for the RMS if I wanted that done.


Tom WIlliams Lexus wants $60 for two chrome lug nuts... For $100 more you can get a full tune up @ Toyota place... Rip Off.

lexusk8

$140 for a 90K tune-up from your Toyota dealership is really cheap. My Toyota quoted me $495 for the 90K (not including timing belt). Totalling all the items needed to be done is approximately the same as the Lexus dealership, so I eventually went with Lexus for the service

BTW, what is RMS?

chicagoblknazn

My first car was an 1997 ES300. I loved it. The stereo was better than the one in my GS. Louder and tighter bass. I think it's engineered to the car better. Also, it was a lot softer than the GS. I love my GS and am starting to tune it now, but I do miiss my forst baby.

I got a 2004 ES when I had my 45K maintenace and I loved the stereo in that one as well. The suspension though, left me a little less confident in turns but the enterior is really luxurious. The leather is gorgeous and you gotta love that pretty wood. It took me a little while to get used to the car but I couldn;t wait to get back in my GS.

chicagoblknazn

Good write up BTW!!!

lexusk8

It felt great to get my car back after approx. 3 days with the '03 loaner ES (didn't want to get too comfortable with it) But the feeling was a bit overshadowed by the price tag, which came to $2,750 (includes the 90K, window switch, and rear brakes). Here's the breakdown:

1) 90K service: Everything done except wipers, battery, engine oil/filter, tire rotation, air filter, A/C filter and tranny fluid. TOTAL = $752.

2) Window switch: Driver's side was not working properly, and entire master switch assy had to be replaced. TOTAL = $465.

3) Rear brakes: Brakes not bled properly, and required full replacement of pads, shims, rotors and calipers (the old ones seized up). TOTAL = $1,370!

Including tax, grand total came out to $2,750. Believe it or not, originally it was gonna be over $3,200 but I talked the service advisor into bringing down the price

It's an inevitable fact, Lexus (or any dealership for that matter) charges insane prices for service rates, not to mention the typical dealer mark-up on their parts. And before anyone says anything, yes I could've gone to a body shop or a mechanic to do the job at a cheaper price, but I personally don't know anyone who's willing to work on Lexus using OEM Toyota/Lexus parts. Plus, the brakes must be done at either Toyota or Lexus only (Midas would not touch the job), so I pretty much had no choice

I guess the nice thing about it is that my brakes improved immensely from before... better stopping power, smoother and more consistent braking. My window switch works great on all windows, and I don't have the rough idle problem anymore (due to either replacement of spark plugs, timing belt, cleaning of fuel injectors, or something). Service as always is top-notch, and now I guess you could say I'm a veteran over at the dealership, having done the 90K service on 2 different Lexus

Hope any of the info I provided here helps you guys should you reach the 90K point in your ES.

Toysrme

lexusk8 glad it got back...I'm curious about the rear brake thing, did you do that or did they? Not like there is much to go wrong in bleeding brakes heh.

I should correct myself, that's for just a basic anytime tune up, however I can't imagine them raising that more than triple to replace everything, seeing is how a $4 oil filter isn't marked up to $30.

lexusk8

Lexus performed the brake job, thus the high price tag of $1,370 (the parts accounted for most of it)

If I had more knowledge of installing brakes, I would have considered doing it myself and saved myself lots of dough.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

lexusk8, were they the original brakes that needed replacement? or was there an intermediate brake job that wasn't done properly thus leading you to the major overhaul?

$1370.......wicked ouch.

I think I have found a Lexus certified independent in the next town over. So far he has done well by my friends.

steviej

lexusk8

I think I mentioned in the past post that the rough/low idle issue was corrected after taking the ES in for the 90K a couple months ago. Well, it actually hasn't (car doesn't start up "normally" at random occurrences), and I've done the following things in an attempt to correct the problem:

- insert fuel injector cleaner fluid, Chevron Techron
- changed K&N filter back to the stock one
- cleaned throttle body with carb/choke/throttle body cleaner
- replaced spark plugs

A couple days ago, I brought the car back to the dealership where I originally purchased and asked to have the repair fixed under warranty since I have extended warranty up to 100K miles. I got the news from my wireless yesterday that they had finished fixing my car and that I can go down there and pick it up this morning. Well I went down there today around 9:30AM (in a Hyundai rental) , and the guy told me in a sorry look that my car could not start this morning. He replaced the MAF sensor, but apparently that didn't seem to change the engine start-up problem.

It sucks that I drove all the way down there for nothing , but it looks like the ES will have to stay for another 2-3 days and until he figures out where the actual problem is. I'm guessing it may have something to do with inside the throttle body like an idle air control valve, but I don't want to say anything to him since I think it's best for him to find out for himself where the problem is, and not to undergo a trial-and-error process

flipside909

My last loaner car was an 03 ES300 for my 15k service. It did have the wood trim on the steering wheel and all the standard goodies. I had an ugly beige one with the ivory interior. It was Longo#4 if I recall. They ran out of RX300's and 330's that night.

flipside909

Wow, you guys get GS loaner cars? We only get the regulars, IS, ES & RX. Time to ask Longo Lexus to step up to the plate and add GS loaner cars to their fleet of 100+ haha.