McKrevice

iTrader: (1)

I am thinking about purchasing one of these cars. I test drove an 01 last Saturday, a Coach Edition. I liked it. So I am here looking at advice from you guys. I do have a GS400 which if you look in that section you will find a plethora of advice how to fix things that go wrong, which is a list longer than I think it should be...but whatever.

So I come here looking at the sticky to find out what problems plague these cars, and it looks like really...nothing? Are these cars that reliable and that well made that there are very few if any issues I should know about?

I am looking more into the 00-01 but would go back further if the miles were low and the price was right. I am trying to find one with about 50-70k miles on it, and they're out there, but now I have to decide if I want to pull the trigger on one.

Here's my other dilemma. I am torn between this car an the same gen Avalon...95-99. They are both really nice cars. Guy at work has a 97 and it's pretty nice, and I do realize that the ES is built on the Camry platform, but in my opinion they feel very similar, probably the same engines and I would assume same or similar transmissions. I like both cars, I already own a Lexus so it's not about the name. I want something FWD to get me through the brutal winters here and both of these cars seem to fit the bill.

Any advice? I know it's alot. Thanks for the replies.

GoodRevs

When I looked at the 2000-2001 ES I came to basically the same conclusion...not many issue's people were posting about. It's a pretty solid car, few problems to be concerned about which is why you'll see a lot of people with upwards of 200k on theirs, and others with far more. I'm not sure about 97-99 though.

You'll probably want to wait for input from some more knowledgeable folks, but I never found anything that stuck out with these cars as major issue's. BTW cool that you have a GS4, I really wanted a 400 or 430 but couldn't find a low mileage one in my area. I never got far enough into the process to dig up major problems that they had, anything serious? Really cool cars though for sure.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

That year avalon had the similar, but not the same engine. Engine code may be the same but the 00-01 ES300's received the motor with VVTI, and increase in power to 210hp. Previous 97-99 did not get the VVTI and have a few less ponies.

My advice, is to get all the fluids changed [if you're really picky] make sure all the maintenance was done on time!!!

I couldn't be happier with mine, just turned 115k yesterday. To date, i had to change a couple of bearings.

The suspension in the rear 'creaks' - simple fix, bad bushings so you can get new ones, or modify the originals with some urethane. <- common 'issue'.

Transmission, i changed up the fluid.

Brakes, i had them turned and new pads.

Changed all fluids.

Regular oil changes.

This is all i had to ever do in the 6 years the car's been in the family, and put over 45k with it.

GL on the hunt!

ES3_Ray

it was the 99-01 models that have the VVT-i motors in them. from my experience. (owning a 98-00) none of them had any problems worth mentioning.

if you do grab one with higher miles on it, just go out and grab some rubber hoses and replace the vacuum lines.

McKrevice

iTrader: (1)

Yup, I have a GS400 that has 45,000 on it. They apparently have ball joint problems and some nasty steering wheel shake that is hard to get rid of. I don’t have either but my car does not have the miles, so we’ll see. There are also more problems, I just can’t think of them now. But more than I think a car of this price should have. But all in all, it’s a nice car. But it’s RWD, and too nice IMO to drive in the winter. Not saying the ES or Avalon is a pile by any means, but that FWD, plus an engine that does not need premium and gets better than 20mpg is what I want.

I don’t think I am going to buy one with higher miles as I have found a few with about 70k on them for around 10k. That’s still too high IMO due to the cars being 10+ years old and not that many people have that kind of money laying around, and no bank will borrow that on a car that old.

Thanks for the input.

JTS06Z06

I also recommend the 00 or 01 models and preferably the Coach or Platinum Series as they had the IMO slightly better looking wheels, black chrome emblems, wood steering wheel in 00 etc etc. I also like those years becuase you can get the auto leveling HID's.
I bought my 00 Platinum last month and so far its great. very quiet and smooth riding car.

James

JamesBond1

Common problems:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/re...model=ES%20300

McKrevice

iTrader: (1)

wow engine sludge? That blows. There will be no way for me to tell when the oil was changed, unless a private party or dealership has the receipts.

I wonder how long those people that had those problems went before changing their oil? Or if they ever replaced their PCV valves?

JamesBond1

Who knows ...Thats why I took pictures when I took off my valve cover to change the gasket and seals - to prove to the potential future buyer of my car that it's sludge free.

But I must admit that I didn't even check it myself when I bought my car used...I took a risk but it ended up being well taken care of

AMAlex

I had my '01 checked for engine sludge and was pleasantly surprised. Purchased mine with 54k miles if I remember correctly and I am very VERY happy with it, it gets me where I want to go with tons of comfort.

Lex1Dallas

I just purchased (July 2010) a 2001 ES with very low miles (55K) and had been told of the potential sludge/gelling issue by a Lexus trained mechanic...so in my pre-purchase inspection I asked my mechanic (also Lexus trained) to pull the Front Valve Cover off to actually look inside the engine....he said it was "immaculate" no signs of sludge or gelling at all. Apparently there is the potential for this - and as a result - one should be "religious" about oil changes every 3,000 miles or so I've been told, but as long as you do that it shouldn't be an issue at all. Also my hometown mechanic said he recommended going ahead and using synthetic oil in it from this point on - any comments there ??? I got a great deal on this car, even though it's 10 years old - it's in terrific shape - reconditioned at the Lexus Dealer - mechanic said it was an extraordinarily "clean" car and engine, drives great, and loving it so far - but if anyone knows how to "disable" that damn Auto-Volume thing on the Stereo - please tell me !!!
Is there a way to control that or just turn it off altogether ???

(I had a 1994 ES 300 for the last 7 years and finally sold it to a college student with
just 133,000 on it - still running great !!! )

slvrboolet

I didnt know this. I have been looking at some es300 as they are pretty cheap wasnt aware of this sludge problem but i guess i know what to have looked at now.