ckh1272

First, let me start off that I like my '93 ES, no matter what is about to happen to it this week!! Having said that, I stated on an earlier post that I had been having lag issues wit this car since day 2 of owning it (had it three months). After replacing many small things, doing a proper tune up and such, I was still having no luck. I wasn't getting a CEL, so I was a little stumped. After a little research two weeks ago, however, I decided to pull out the center cluster and investigate the bulbs. After pulling it out, I noticed the CEL bulb was missing, so I switched out another bulb and what do you know. The CEL comes on after I start the car back up. A scan revealed bad knock sensors. OEM sensors are in the $150-190 range here. I also discovered that it is a very time consuming task (a luxury i don't have much). A call to a good local mechanic here quoted $210.00 just for the labor. After the 2 sensors, the intake manifold gaskets, and labor, I 'm staring down the barrel of close to $650.00!!! All because of a check engine light bulb that was missing when I bought the car. I suspect the previous owner did this and not the dealer. The reason being, that I discovered duct tape around the end of the plug leading to the oil pan. Plugging that back in revealed an oil light ( bad sensor)!! Needless to say, I am not happy about this and I am going by the dealership to find out if the car was a trade in to him or where he got it from. I already have a carfax report and nothing foul was reported in regards to the car!! The way I figure things, he can fix this car or get me something else without extra money out of my pocket. I hope there is a way for me to keep the car, because I do like the way it drives and this site has been a very helpful resource for a Lexus newbie. I will let all of you know what happens!! Wish me luck!!

Lexucan

Yeah a bad knock sensor will definitely put the car into "limp" mode once it reaches about 2500 RPM. Obviously whoever pulled the CEL bulb wasn't prepared to do anything about it. Pretty scary when ur buying a car to wonder whether or not the cluster has been tampered with. Only an S.O.B would do such a thing. Either the previous owner did it to fool the dealer during a trade-in or the dealer did it to fool the next buyer. Unfortunately, pulling the cluster and checking the bulbs inside is not something that's normally allowed during a test drive.

Well, good luck with it. I hope things get resolved to your satisfaction.

3000

I've reached my limit too. (Well, the ES reached it with me)... after running so bad, and no one wants to buy it for $800... I'm gonna go ahead and throw in a used motor and then sell it for around $2500.

BadViper22

-sigh- That was just a cheap shot. Make sure you put pressure on the dealership on why they didn't check this out. When you turn on the car all the warning lights come on temporarily and they should've know that. I wish you the best of luck.

This just makes my heart hurt as well. But hey, if it's time to go, it's time to go.

3000

Well, let me just say this is my 2nd ES. YES, 2nd!!!! I loved this car as it was my 2nd car. The first one was in an accident beyond repair. This one, just too many mechanical issues and was neglected by the previous owner. I'm letting it go.

Peter_95

iTrader: (2)

i would think that the dealer should at least scan the car even though the cel wasn't on. what kind of inspection do they do?....

powerwave

yikes. sorry you're having such a bad time- this is the kind of deal that makes me very leery of used car purchases.

rgindallas

I wish you well with the dealer and hopefully they stand up and at least offer a compromise you can live with or just make it right.

Any pre-owned car purchase comes with risk but this one sounds like it was intenionally 'rigged' to bypass any integrity a seller has.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

RG

charley240

iTrader: (6)

yeah, thats pretty shady. well atleast you have it figured out now.

goodluck
Charley

TORTOISE

Wow whoever did that is a real *******. I wish you best of luck with this situation.

X72

You live and learn. Next time, you do the due diligence before buying the car.
That means an independent evaluation before you buy; like paying the local mechanic that you talked to $100 or $150 to look at the car before you sign the papers.

lej1447

Even if I pay somebody to inspect my car, there is no guaranteed that he may catch all problems or may have missed a certain spot that could have been part of my decision making process, such as to make or break the deal. There is no guarantee in any thing.

Sorry, I do sympathize your frustration. Most of the times, I feel this is similar to playing lotto in some extent. It has to do w/ luck. I may get a good one, and I might get a bad one. Regardless, good luck with trying to resolve the issue. We all need luck once in a while if not all the times.

byf43

Please believe me. . . I know what you're talking about.
My sister gave me her '93 es300 last year (July) because the radiator split (lack of coolant changes) and she didn't want to pay close to $1,000 for repairs.
Repairs, Maryland Vehicle Inspection and License Plates - $1,200.00

Well, I've since put 3,000 miles on this little gem, until it started overheating, again, April 25, 2008.
Strange.
The repair shop said it was the radiator caps.
Fine. Fix it. . . oh, and fix the oil leak. (Distributor "O" ring.) Total: $300.00.
(Sidenote: If your es300 starts leaking oil and it drips onto transmission, exhaust system and driveway. . . look at distributor. "O" ring goes bad. One of Lexus' quirks!)

Got the car back.
Next day, car started overheating again.
Overheating doesn't occur until driven about 20 -25 miles.
I thought it was the radiator fan motor (hydraulic, power steering pump). Not.
A/C 'cycling' switch.
Fix it. $310.00

Got the car back. Drove my daughter to work. . . . 5 miles.
Went home. Went to pick my daughter up from work later that evening.
Check Engine Light (CEL) comes on.
Back to shop.
Left main Oxygen Sensor bad. $361.00 installed.
Fix it.
While on a test drive . . . engine starts overheating.
Technician runs test on FRESH coolant.
CARBON MONOXIDE traces in coolant.
Test shows Blown Head Gaskets.

Tally up Oxygen Sensor replacement tab ($361.00) plus head gasket replacement. . . . total: $1991.37.

Fix it.



The car is back in my possession and runs like a new one.
The heads were pressure tested, looking for cracks and they are fine.

This last repair included:
Heads pressure tested and planed (trued), new gasket kit, new timing belt, new water pump, new thermostat, oil and filter change and new coolant, and new sparkplugs and wires.

I was considering either junking the car, or trading it in.

This car had been getting 28 mpg on the highway and between 20 and 24 mpg in the city (Washington, DC).
I can't afford to trade it, and now, since it runs so well. . . I gotta keep it.
(In spite of the PLUM paint job.)

X72

True. But a mechanic won't miss the obvious which the original poster of this thread did. This is no slam. Most people will not pick up the obvious and the money they spend before buying is likely to be a good investment for them.

Oh, the obvious. When you turn the key to the run position, the check engine light (MIL - malfunction indicator lamp) turns on to let you know that the system is working before turning off when you start the car. If the light doesn't turn on and then off, you immediately know that something is fishy. You could invest in your own code reader which may also tell you if the codes have recently been erased and some of the systems have not run their checks yet.

The mechanic would have scanned the car and picked up most of this electronic stuff. They also put it on the lift and tell you if the car has been in a significant accident and can tell you whether wear parts are in need of replacing, all of which you can use in the negotiation of the price.

llcoolpass

a CO test doesn't say both headgaskets are leaking

and why was it overheating all those times... which caused at least one head gasket to become damaged/head/block to warp. seems weird that you didn't have the head gasket(s) check at the very first instance of overheating. the timing belt and 02 sensors are routine maintenace.
you really should have spent under 1000 in parts and labor for the head gasket job alone. which is fair when a fool drives a car to the point of it overheating when the radiator breaks.