Hey guys.

Boredom at work has led to this post

So we all love our ES's. That's a fact. But out of all the things to love, are there any qualms you have with your car? I don't mean run-of-the-mill maintenance issues or anything, just the little things that bug you.

I'll start with the front doors on my 4ES. The good thing? They open wide. The bad? They open wide. . It's like the first stop is barely enough for me to squeeze through the gap, and the second stop is at full open. I have whacked several cars because of the door's tendency to open so wide. I mean it's great for people with mobility issues or taller/bigger people, definitely enough room to exit the vehicle, but you need to be super careful when in any sort of parking lot.

Another thing that bothers me is the kick you get from letting off the throttle at about 20-30MPH and immediately getting back on it. I heard it was a gas-saving feature built into the computer, to shift the tranny into neutral and when you get back on the throttle it kicks back and forth between neutrl and first gear. This seems like a silly issue that should've been thought out and caught at the factory.

The drive by wire system could be a little more responsive as well. It took me a few weeks to get used to this. It takes a whole new kind of control on the gas pedal, if you try and drive it like a regular cable-to-throttle vehicle you'll jump the car at every stop light. Same issue with going over speed bumps. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's the way the drivetrain was designed, if it's abnormal for this to be happening let me know... lol!

Other than that I LOVE my car!! I look forward to driving it for many years to come! So what are your experiences?

 

I feel the same way about the frameless windows on the 3ES. I love how they look, and it's nice to be able to reduce the size of the door by half, in certain situations. On the other hand, because there is no window frame, the glass is not very sturdy and it doesn't seal as well as a regular door would. So as a result, you get this hollow sound when you slam the door with the window lowered. Also, you have to remind people to not push on the glass, when they open/close the door.

The shifter design is very outdated, I wish it was a little smaller. The shaft is too square and plasticky, and the grip is too wide. It just seems excessive for what it's meant to do.

Lastly, the cupholders are a complete joke. They remind me of what the Germans used to do with their cars. They were only there to please the American market, so not much thought was put into the design.

 

+1 MrBooby: Cup-holders!!!! Does Lexus not know what the purpose of a cup-holder is?

LOL, aside from the cup-holders there isn't much that I can complain about. Like mentioned above, the drive by wire system takes some take to get adjusted to, but once you figure it out, it's not too bad. The only time I feel a weird jerk is when I'm barely on the throttle going 30 mph. So to avoid that I just get up to speed quickly and then maintain it, but if it I crawl up to that speed (traffic) then I'll feel two quick judders. Aside from that, no issues with DBW. With everything else this car has to offer, I can live with it.

Honestly, I get compliments on the ES300 all the day. Many people think it's new, there isn't much to gripe about on this car. I used to like the 3ES classic styling more, but the 4ES is really growing on me.

One more, I wish my particular ES had VSC and traction control. The other day I was spinning tires for quite a while merging onto a freeway. I'm used to my AWD RX which hooks onto any type of pavement, even at WOT no matter the road conditions.


BTW: I hope you don't mind but I'm going to steal your idea and create this same thread over on the RX First-Gen section. lol

 

I thought every ES had that. Isn't the issue in the tires?

 

Part of the issue lies with the tires. But, VSC would have cut power a bit and helped me regain traction. Whereas without VSC and TC I was just spinning my tires and barely moving, I had to let go of the throttle, and then re-apply slowly.

I think VSC and TC was an optional package. What I can't figure out is why the original owner didn't get it, according to the original sticker it was only $650. But instead they got the rain sensing wipers, HID's, the wood wheel/shifter, etc. I don't get it why not spend the extra money on safety rather than other goodies.

I've been driving cars without VSC and TC my entire life, so this isn't really anything new to me. I just thought it was funny that's all.

I will likely make a thread on the VSC and TC asking if there is a way I could install it. I don't really want it, as like I said I've been driving cars without these nannies for many years, but if I can install it that will lower my insurance for the car by quite a bit. So, it would benefit me financially to install it, if it's possible.

 

nobody mentioned cupholders? haha

 

I never thought Lexus would make something like that optional in 2002. It was probably optioned by the dealer, so they picked all the attractive electronics and saved some money by not choosing TC. Not many people would notice that there was no TC on their brand new Lexus.

 

Yeah, I would have thought that TC was standard. I would understand if VSC was optional, but TC is pretty basic and should have been standard especially on a premium luxury brand.

I knew right away it didn't have VSC because the 4ES has a button by your knee that will allow you disable it, obviously that button is only there if you have it though. So when I looked at my ES at the dealership I noticed that it didn't have that button, so I figured it didn't have it. Then I looked on the dash during startup when all the lights come on, and of course the VSC and the swiggly lines didn't light up.

But, yeah I think a regular car owner wouldn't notice that they don't have VSC or TC. But, they will raise hell if there stereo isn't loud enough.

 

1) Cup holders
2) DBW throttle response
3) Only 2 12V power outlets (Camry has 3)
4) No Aux input or MP3 playback (even CE model Toyota's had that).
5) Can't see the EL gauges in bright sunshine and/or with sunshades on
6) Front end looks too much like Camry (lol)
7) No place to put my cellphone
8) Over-sensitive auto-tinting mirrors
9) Subs not as Bassy like 3ES

But, I LOVE my 4ES!

 

few thing on my 2000 ES:
- the wind noise @ hwy speeds..just annoying and for that sometimes i have to reduce my speed
- the doors just wont stay open especially when parked on uphill..they tend to swing back shut
- i wish it had split rear seats ..I mean my Volvo S80 has that SO does the front passenger fold too..wow
- And it bugs me when i turn on the reading/map light ..both the driver and passenger are turn on @ same time...commmooonnn...i need the map light not the passenger side too.

other than that i l o v e m y E S.
Also i can understand the cupholder thing not very "supportive". What i did was i put in Velcro.( only half of it). One on the base of cupholder and other other on my water bottle. So i am stuck with using/refilling the same water bottles. Thats fine with me @least now the bottles wont fall.And they are not "stuck" to the Velcro..jsut perfect

 

What bugs me about my ES is the sloppy manual shifter due to cables being worn (which is expensive to replace), lack of a LSD, Ivory interior is a pain to take care of, and that infamous sag on the front bumper. Everyone who owns a 92-96 model knows that. I still love my torque blasting and tire burning 5 speed ES300.

 

• Wind noise (sometimes)
• Outdated looking shifter
• cup holders that don't hold
• Trunk is a bit hard to close, nothing to grab onto unless you push down on the top of the lid
• Wooden steering wheel never offered in Canada, had to import one from the U.S.
• Fuel economy not great in city driving

Can't really think of anything else that really bugs me. Driving around today I was thinking to myself, this engine is very smooth and quiet. No odd vibrations or harshness, and sounds nice when pushed. Easy to take for granted, many cars (even new) lack that refinement, they tend to sound coarse and not so pleasant when you really dip into the throttle. If I had to change one thing it would be the frameless windows, the styling improvement is not worth it. I don't get terrible wind noise, but off and on when the negative pressure draws the top of the glass from the seal.

There are some weak(er) points compared to the absolute best cars. The sway bar links don't last very long, same with some of the other bushings. The engine management is quite picky and throws codes when stuff gets even mildly out of range. Sooner or later some part of the EVAP system will go bad, could be a fairly cheap fix or expensive if you have to start replacing canisters. But all in all an excellent car, compare it to other cars of the same year and the ES really stands out. The only other cars that compare really IMO are other Lexus models of that year.

 

I'll echo the comments about cupholders, they are ridiculously shallow. Dumped an iced coffee first time I used it. Now I know they are only suitable for straight ahead driving or stopped. Plus the whole thing rattles you can hear it buzzing from inside the console on bumpy roads, not very Lexus-like.

Headroom/legroom is short on this car, I'm 6'2" 36 inseam, I have the driver's seat all the way back, still could use a little more, I know I need a haircut when my hair brushes on the headliner, I can recline the seatback more but I don't like the laid back driving style.

I find the wind noise is fine and the frameless window sealing is fine, but I came from a WRX this car is silent compared to that. 3ES is quieter with less wind noise than the wife's Outback as well.

I think all my other gripes are technology related not really the cars fault...I wish the pass side mirror was auto dimming, the rear windows were auto up/down, and I could open/close the windows from the remote like you can with the key in the door. My newer cars had nowhere near the equipment that this car does so I can't really complain.

I hate when a mfr does that, removes a feature when they bring out a new model. TRAC was standard on the 2001, though VSC was optional. Lexus is a premium brand though so it is not often they do that, the more mainstream products you see it all the time.

 

Dude that is WIN

lol @ all the cup holder comments, the rest of the world can't understand why we would possibly need to do anything while driving besides drive

I don't like the fact that the cupholders allow water to drip all over my center console. Makes a big mess. I haven't used them in a while though since my butt broke it while trying to slide over the seat

 

well its def a design flaw..i think the cupholders are not deep enough to hold the bottles in place..If you look @ newer ES ( or any other car) the holders are very deep. And almost like 40% of the bottle is "sink" into the holder. I think if our ES were deeper then it would def hold any bottles in place..