Toffy

Hi Guys,

I'm looking at a 2007 ES350 w/ approx 40,000 miles and read all the horror stories about the transmissions. Is there any sure fire way to detect if the car is suspectible to a potential tranmission issue during the test drive. i.e. looking for rev's between 3/4 gears? Its a 2007 model. Is there any specific VIN's that were more susceptible than others i.e. early model year vs. later?
Thanks for your help

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

It was a trans RPM flair problem that has been fixed.
The '07 was the first year of the ES 350 and the model did have some first years bugs.

Macklin

Early build '07s had the tranny flare, but not all. Look at the build date on the sticker inside the driver door. Mine was minor, but the TSB reflash cured it. Cold engine noise was another common complaint, but mine does not have that. One other problem with most of em is the dash rattles. TSB fixed that too.

The first two present themselves only on cold start up. So make sure the car has not been driven before your test drive. Then watch the tach closely during its first shift through the gears. If it shifts smoothly you should be good to go.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

My '09 RX has the cold weather piston slap noise until engine warms up.
Odd,some engines have it and some don't.

kg19989

Toffy... Be aware that when you bring your new baby home she will ping in the mornings. That is typical of all of the 3.5s whether ES, RX, etc...

kg19989

Well... I see Joeb already addressed it.... I noticed it on my ES350 and on my RX350 (loaner)

Toffy

Is there a range of VIN's published that are more suspectible to the tranny flare than others. Where can i get this info.

Thanks,
DT

LexBob2

I had an early build (4/06) that didn't have the flare. I don't think there is a list of VIN #'s to identify the problem.

The dealer service history of each car is available online. If you can get the VIN # of a potential car you could look it up and see if it had the ECU flashed.

If an '08 is an option it might be a safer bet if the flare is an issue for you.

Toffy

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback, just came back from the testdrive. Everything seems good no transmission flares etc. The one thing i can't get over is how cheesy the shifter is. The car is so nice , but has a wood shifter handle (nice) but then the stick itself looks like an old radio antenna. I'm trying to get it for $26K Canadian, tax in out the door. Its golden almond metallic and i'm not crazy about the color so i think i'll hold firm. (they want 28k)

Thanks for the help.
Toffy

kg19989

Maybe you should hold out for a different color then... you cannot easily change the color and you will have to live with it.... When I bought mine I waited until they had the one I wanted and then added chromes...

kg19989

btw... that's blue, not black....

and I agree... they skimped on the shifter.

Macklin

The shifter? Really?? Oh and the color? I'ld go for color.

They all have the same shifter.

IS350jet

Might want to have your car looked at. I work for Lexus and have NEVER heard or had anybody complain about pinging in any 3.5.

LexBob2

Quite a few '07 ES owners reported cold start noisy engines, that went away after the engine warmed up. Pinging wasn't the word used to describe it though, more like a tapping, chatter etc. There was a lot of speculation as to what was causing it.

kg19989

I will go along with that... Sounds like a wind up car until it heats up. Then she purrs....