Hello,

I am in the market for a DD Lexus ES. I would like to find an 05-06 with less than 80K miles on it. I know the 90K service includes the timing belt and water pump.

Are there any potential pitfalls in these model years and with this mileage?? Any guidance would be much appreciated.

I have a Land Cruiser and am very involved with that forum. Forums include a wealth of information and I am looking forward to contributing to this one as well.

 

I just bought my '05 in October, did a bunch of research. The only issue that I am aware of is with the shifting of the transmissions. There is another thread in here with a lot of posts. I do have to say that I do notice the issues that others talk about, but I'm aware of it and I drive accordingly. I still don't like the flare in the 1-2 shift.

I bought my car on eBay, it was in Houston TX, and had it shipped. I couldn't find one around here with the equipment I wanted, with low enough miles. I also didn't want black (inside or out) so that eliminated a lot of the candidates.

I assume you mean IH8MUD.com. I'm also more of a Cruiser nut, although I don't currently own one, I sold my FJ62 a few years ago. I'm much more into the mini-trucks.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I have read about the transmission shift points. I have only driven 1 2005 and I didn't notice it happening...but I only drove it a few miles.

It is looking like I am going to be buying one and having it shipped as well. Can't seem to find one around me that fits my criteria. I also want to get a southern car. Seen nightmares on the Mud forum from members buying a LC from the rust belt.

You are correct. I had a signature that gave the specifics but it was removed since I don't have 30 posts or been a member for 30 days. I have a 2000 100 series. I am buying the ES so that I can mod my LC and not have to have it as a DD. Also hoping to ease some of the pain at the pump from the LC.

I enclosed a pic of my current ride and hope to post a pic of my new ride within the next 2 weeks....

 

For some reason there are TONS of them in the Houston and Austin TX area, lots on eBay. Overall my long-distance purchase was a positive thing, turned out OK, although it was definitely stressful dropping a big check in the mail and hoping I was gonna like what showed up on the trailer a week later. Shipping price was $900 to get it to my door. I also paid $125 for a local inspection company to go take a look at it and give me a report with lots of photos. They did miss a few minor things, but it was worth the expense as they deemed the tires worn out so I was able to get the dealer to cough up for a set of new Michelin Primacys.

I seriously (very!) considered a UZJ100/LX470, but in the end I couldn't justify the poor gas mileage. No kids at home (not counting the 2 Westies), so we don't need the room. I love those trucks though.

There are a few weird things with the car that I just wish I could call up the engineer responsible and say "what were you thinking here?". The interior and trunk lighting is pathetic, for instance. I'm not crazy about the automatic wipers, especially since there is no override setting to force them into a timed delay. Sometimes the sensor is too sensitive, sometimes not enough. I also need to cough up the $200 to upgrade my Nav DVD.

Overall though, I do really love the car. Very comfy and quiet on the road. Twenty years ago I would have said it was too boring. I see no need to drive like an idiot anymore, I try to enjoy the ride. Driving a 23+ year old underpowered pickup will teach you patience, that's for sure.

Old pic of my Cruiser:

 

Good looking 62. I like my 100. It is built like a tank and cruises well on the interstate. It just loves the fuel too much.

How many miles do you have on your 05? What is the life expectancy of the struts? I know they are fairly expensive to replace. Have you had any work done other than routine maintenance?

 

I have only had my car since last October, the only thing I have done to it so far is change the oil and give it a thorough wash and polish. I'm at about 68K miles now. I did register on the Lexus Owner's website and look at the maintenance logged by Lexus and I can see that it went in for it's regular checks every 5000 miles, like clockwork. I did also find and talk to the previous owner, a very nice fellow in Houston. He said he buys a new ES every 5 years, so this one got traded on a 2010 model. He never had a single problem or issue with the car. He even remembered that he still had the wallet key for my car, which he nicely mailed to me.

Actually, I did have one failure already, a few days after I took delivery the CD changer in the center console failed and the magazine of CDs got stuck inside. The changer would no longer play either. I had to tear the console apart (easier than it sounds) to get my CDs back out. I really didn't care, I find CDs are a total nuisance in the car, besides there is a single-disc player behind the display in the Nav unit, seems kinda redundant to me. I bought another entire center console off of eBay for $50, swapped out the "bucket" in the console and tossed the changer in the trash. Now I have a lot more storage in the console, plus I added an unswitched accessory plug in there next to the switched one. The console I bought was the wrong color, so I sold the leather armrest part to a fellow on here, tossed the rest, and I was only really out $25 on the "fix".

This summer I will be looking hard at the various devices to get my iPod or my Droid connected to the audio system. The only option my car is missing that I wished it had is the Satellite radio add-on.

No idea on the struts. My previous ES had a nifty adjustable suspension option on it, it had about 140K on it when I sold it, I'm glad I never had to replace those, I'm sure they were not cheap.

 

Interestingly enough I have a cruiser too, but it is pretty much used as a van. I just don't like the jerky shifting on these ES lol, however, my friend go one and say he doesn't feel much and doesn't bother him.

 

That's great the you were able to verify all the service and even speak to the previous owner. I don't think that happens very often. From what I can tell, these cars are not too expensive to maintain.....I hope that turns out to be the case!!

 

The transmission was a concern when I started looking but is not a deal killer for me. It seems like it is something that you can overlook.

Are you a member of the Mud forum for your LC? Its one of the best forums I have ever been a part of. Everyone is knowledgeable and more than willing to help. If you are not a member, I would suggest checking it out.

Thanks for your response.

 

Well I found one. This is the only pic I have at the moment. We have had terrible weather this week.

Its an 05 with 76K miles on it. I bought it in Dallas and had it shipped to MS. I felt like I got a good deal on it. It has an after market Pioneer Navi unit. The PO did the work although this ES did originally have the ML system with factory navi.

I have noticed the transmission hesitation. I am trying not to let it bug me.....Hopefully I will just forget about it after a little time.

 

Nice ride! Looks almost just like the one I just bought ('05 with 57K miles). No nav or satellite (yet) on mine.

 

Thanks. I have been happy with it so far. It's much different that my LC and has taken a little time to adjust to sitting so low to the ground.

 

Finally got around to taking some pics.....

 

I just bought an 05 ES330 with 120k miles on it. Bought from Lexus of Reno. Very disappointed. Car seemed OK on the initial test drive but now I realize that the hesitation in the transmission is extremely frustrating. I see it most on rolling stops, etc., where as it kind of seems like the tranny has not finished down-shifting entirely. Don't really seem to notice it after coming to a complete stop and then taking off again.......almost seems like it is able to complete its "down shift cycle (?)". It also has a 'lunge' in it from 3rd to 4th gear when just holding a steady gas pedal at about 30-35 mph. When I called the dealer, they said "oh yeah, those cars just do that". Really? and do you mention this to customers, that the car hesitates, before they drop the $35-40k on a entry level luxury sedan? I would never have bought this car if I knew about this problem before hand. Check the other posts in this column for tranny problems on the ES330's....theres a ton of them. Best I can tell, some people recommend getting the ECU "flashed" for some kind of revision/upgrade but I also read where a lot of people thought it made it worse than before. Also looks like I may have a problem with my auto climate control or the A/C system. Kind of get the feeling that this car could be a money pit and that repairs could prove costly. I really, really wished I would have stayed with my beloved Nissans like I originally wanted to do.

 

These symptoms you mentioned are the exact same ones I am experiencing. i did a little research on this car before buying one and I sort of feel like you do about it. I didn't dig deep enough in this forum first. I read a few of the threads about the transmission but didn't expect the transmission problems to be so pronounced. I have had it check out by a Lexus dealer and an independent shop. Lexus told me to do a transmission service. total BS. Haven't heard back from the independent guy yet. Will report then. guess I am stuck with this car for a while.

Its shouldn't be like this though being a Lexus.