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Hi all. I joined almost 3 years ago to look into ES 350's after telling my wife she could get a nice sedan to replace her SUV in a few years. I still had 6 months before her birthday when it was promised, but decided to surprise her early.
It is a very nice 2016 L/Certified, 19,500 mile Nightfall Mica. All the options she wanted. Weather has been snow and freezing rain since I picked it up last week, but she loves the heated seats and steering wheel.
Now get the color-coded side moldings from the dealer. They'll protect the doors and give some definition to the blank look of the sides of the car. They're cheap (~$50) and stick right on.
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Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 XF (X250) Portfolio AWD
pab12,
I was thinking about doing something about that. Are they available from the dealership already painted to match?
It seems door dings are inevitable.
Hello fellow forum members. I'm Doobster6, and just recently have made the leap from European luxury cars to Lexus. Hopefully, this is going to turn into..
.......THE SMARTEST CAR BUYING DECISION I’VE EVER MADE!
This is the 34th car I’ve owned over fifty years of driving, which should give me some cred in matters such as this. I've been a lifelong buyer of only pristine used cars (I never buy new), and have finally, and I think permanently, ditched my ‘European car’ habit and especially, BMWs. I have come over to Lexus, specifically; an immaculate, and Lexus-certified, 2013 ES 300h Hybrid with only 19k miles, and I (so far) believe it is the smartest car buying decision I’ve ever made.
An article online on the ‘YourMechanic.com’ website confirmed suspicions I had long been ignoring; that European cars, and BMWs especially, are the most expensive used cars to service and maintain. According to their research BMW sits atop a totem of thirty manufacturers as the ‘most expensive’, quite in a class by itself, fully 40% more expensive than the gaggle of European cars following it, and way more costly than that for everything behind those. The actual average annual dollar amount cited in the article’s research for aging BMWs matched my own experience within 1%!! Meanwhile, at the bottom of that same list, claiming the crown for lowest costs of long-term ownership, are all three of the Toyota brands. For this soon-to-be-retired manufacturing executive, this was the nail in the European’s coffin; I couldn’t ignore it anymore. And so after decades of spending literally thousands of dollars each year to keep my once beloved BMWs ‘properly sorted’, I’ve finally come to my senses.
Here’s the thing; it seems to have come at no sacrifice whatsoever to those qualities that I’ve always prized most about any car; its chassis dynamics. Lucky me; it turns out that the 2013 Lexus ES model had been redesigned to “..handle more sharply…” and Lexus seems absolutely to have succeeded. Pushed to the slightly enthusiastic speeds I sometimes drive, the Lexus is the equal of the much heralded E60 5-series I’d been driving these past few years. It feels absolutely as well planted through turns and over road disturbances, and corners every bit as flat on highway exit-ramps, only with even better ride quality in between. I’m certain that it doesn’t have the same extreme performance limits that the Bimmer might display around a track, but I’ve never driven at those limits anyway. For the style and manner in which I drive my cars, my Lexus might as well be a Japanese 5-series.
The fact is I hardly ever even pushed my 530xi very hard. I’m the guy who ferociously ‘baby’s’ his cars, subscribing to the philosophy my old Tool-and-Die-Maker Dad taught me; that in the absence of mechanical abuse or needless stress, and with appropriate and regular maintenance, machines will reward their owners with a long, satisfying and trouble-free life. So, for example, wide-open throttle runs have never existed in my world, and I tip-toe around potholes and manhole covers as though they were IEDs. For my day-to-day driving needs this Hybrid has all the chassis composure and power I, or frankly most people, will ever need. As for being a hybrid, many people might never even realize they’re driving one; Lexus has done such a superb job of integrating the electric and gas motors that it’s virtually seamless. It's what actually sold me on this Lexus instead of the GS350 AWD I was also considering. I can only imagine what the newer cars feel like compared to my 2013. Sure, I notice that slight, and almost completely muted little rumble when the MG1 electric motors spins and gets the gas engine up and running, a near instantaneous event that is anyway accompanied by the MG2 electric motor helping propel the car forward with more than a modicum of alacrity. But my wife the passenger doesn’t notice. And when I switch the tachometer on sure, I observe it sitting still at its optimum, constant RPM while the car nevertheless accelerates as the e-CVT seamlessly changes its gear ratios. But if I don’t pay attention to any of this, I wouldn’t notice it, which was Lexus’ intention.
It's been very cold here in SE PA during my first couple of weeks with her and so I'm not coming anywhere close to the EPA mpg ratings. My true 'gas pump' calculations (not the car's optimistic display) says 25.6 mpg over the first 70 miles of 'non-highway' driving since I first filled it up (Yes, I was eager!) The car calculated 29.7!! But I'm not disappointed; my 530xi would only have been around 17 over the same routes so I'm already 50% better than that, and I know it will only improve in warmer climes.
Everything else about the car says that it is simply a better handling Lexus. It’s my first so I can’t attest to this from the perspective of a prior owner of the brand, but I can absolutely tell you that it has superior chassis dynamics over any of the older Lexus sedan I test-drove. Its interior is absolutely gorgeous, and the exterior also boasts understated flare and style. And being as how it was built on the same wheelbase as the Toyota Avalon, the backseat is a wonderfully spacious place for passengers of almost any proportions. It is supremely quiet, and even the ‘standard’ radio sounds excellent, especially when listening to the Sirius/XM stations. Of course, I'm preaching to the knowledgeable choir here; you all know this already.
Sure, I sometimes miss the kitten-purr of BMW’s famously balanced inline 6-cylinder, but that’s about all. The Lexus’ seats are more comfortable and the car rides noticeably better without sacrificing handling. Online enthusiasts actually criticize the car because it is so refined and evolved that the perfection it nearly attains has stripped it of the ‘personality and character’ that these people mistakenly attach to fussier, less reliable and more demanding cars that make you ‘pay-to-play’; a phrase they invoke to defend their choices as though it is some sort of badge of honor to have your bank account picked clean with regularity. I for one certainly won’t miss spending over $2,000 (and climbing) every year on repairs and preventive maintenance that don’t actually seem to prevent anything.
NOW THEN, having bored you needlessly with a commercial for a brand you already love, here are my QUESTIONS:
- How reliable has this model car actually proven itself to be? 2013 was the first year of the ES hybrid, which would normally be a gamble with any other manufacturer.
- What does go wrong, and about when?
- Based on what I can see from the car's design, only the power control unit seems a liability, and a slight one at that.
- Have the hybrid battery packs proved to be as long-lived as evinced by Toyota/Lexus bumping up their warranties on newer cars?
- What about the eCVT, which seems a model of simplicity, at least compared to modern automatic transmissions?
BOTTOM LINE....with proper maintenance, I'm hoping to get to at least 150k miles before anything truly expensive visits my bank account. Given the car's very low miles, it could take another eleven years (or more) to hit that number. In contrast, I was anticipating having to pay out over $15k to have kept my (also low miles) BMW running to those same miles. I'm expecting to pay a lot less with this Lexus. Have I gorged too much on Toyota's reliability Kool-aid?!?
>Are they available from the dealership already painted to match?
Yup, they come color coded. Just have you VIN handy when you place you order.
=================================
My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 Jaguar XF (it's aubergine)
Just picked up my 2016 nebula gray pearl ultra luxury beauty on Saturday.
26,300 miles for 26;500. Got them to throw in a spoiler, window tint, and a years worth of remote start. Looking forward to learning here, and making this car my own. Pictures to come once cleaned. Kat
Just picked up my 2016 nebula gray pearl ultra luxury beauty on Saturday.
26,300 miles for 26;500. Got them to throw in a spoiler, window tint, and a years worth of remote start. Looking forward to learning here, and making this car my own. Pictures to come once cleaned. Kat
Hi,
I see that you have a 2013 ES350. Have you had the recent secure connect campaign/recall done which come about in November of 2019? I'm trying to connect with other similar owners to see if they have had it done and if they experienced any problems thereafter with the nav system, assuming that you have the nav system.
Harold
I own a 2013 ES350 and I'm reaching out to other similar owners who have had the recent secure connect campaign/recall done which come about in November of 2019? I'm wanting to see if other similar owners have had it done and if they experienced any problems thereafter with the nav system, assuming that you have the nav system. I had it done and I'm now having problems with the nav system operating slowly and with various other issues. If you have had a similar experience I would like to hear from you. Harold
I own a 2013 ES350 and I'm reaching out to other similar owners who have had the recent secure connect campaign/recall done which come about in November of 2019? I'm wanting to see if other similar owners have had it done and if they experienced any problems thereafter with the nav system, assuming that you have the nav system. I had it done and I'm now having problems with the nav system operating slowly and with various other issues. If you have had a similar experience I would like to hear from you. Harold
There is a thread on this already. Search SOS Recall. Best not to change topics on an existing thread, known as a thread hijack.
Hello fellow forum members. I'm Doobster6, and just recently have made the leap from European luxury cars to Lexus. Hopefully, this is going to turn into..
.......THE SMARTEST CAR BUYING DECISION I’VE EVER MADE!
This is the 34th car I’ve owned over fifty years of driving, which should give me some cred in matters such as this. I've been a lifelong buyer of only pristine used cars (I never buy new), and have finally, and I think permanently, ditched my ‘European car’ habit and especially, BMWs. I have come over to Lexus, specifically; an immaculate, and Lexus-certified, 2013 ES 300h Hybrid with only 19k miles, and I (so far) believe it is the smartest car buying decision I’ve ever made.
An article online on the ‘YourMechanic.com’ website confirmed suspicions I had long been ignoring; that European cars, and BMWs especially, are the most expensive used cars to service and maintain. According to their research BMW sits atop a totem of thirty manufacturers as the ‘most expensive’, quite in a class by itself, fully 40% more expensive than the gaggle of European cars following it, and way more costly than that for everything behind those. The actual average annual dollar amount cited in the article’s research for aging BMWs matched my own experience within 1%!! Meanwhile, at the bottom of that same list, claiming the crown for lowest costs of long-term ownership, are all three of the Toyota brands. For this soon-to-be-retired manufacturing executive, this was the nail in the European’s coffin; I couldn’t ignore it anymore. And so after decades of spending literally thousands of dollars each year to keep my once beloved BMWs ‘properly sorted’, I’ve finally come to my senses.
Here’s the thing; it seems to have come at no sacrifice whatsoever to those qualities that I’ve always prized most about any car; its chassis dynamics. Lucky me; it turns out that the 2013 Lexus ES model had been redesigned to “..handle more sharply…” and Lexus seems absolutely to have succeeded. Pushed to the slightly enthusiastic speeds I sometimes drive, the Lexus is the equal of the much heralded E60 5-series I’d been driving these past few years. It feels absolutely as well planted through turns and over road disturbances, and corners every bit as flat on highway exit-ramps, only with even better ride quality in between. I’m certain that it doesn’t have the same extreme performance limits that the Bimmer might display around a track, but I’ve never driven at those limits anyway. For the style and manner in which I drive my cars, my Lexus might as well be a Japanese 5-series.
The fact is I hardly ever even pushed my 530xi very hard. I’m the guy who ferociously ‘baby’s’ his cars, subscribing to the philosophy my old Tool-and-Die-Maker Dad taught me; that in the absence of mechanical abuse or needless stress, and with appropriate and regular maintenance, machines will reward their owners with a long, satisfying and trouble-free life. So, for example, wide-open throttle runs have never existed in my world, and I tip-toe around potholes and manhole covers as though they were IEDs. For my day-to-day driving needs this Hybrid has all the chassis composure and power I, or frankly most people, will ever need. As for being a hybrid, many people might never even realize they’re driving one; Lexus has done such a superb job of integrating the electric and gas motors that it’s virtually seamless. It's what actually sold me on this Lexus instead of the GS350 AWD I was also considering. I can only imagine what the newer cars feel like compared to my 2013. Sure, I notice that slight, and almost completely muted little rumble when the MG1 electric motors spins and gets the gas engine up and running, a near instantaneous event that is anyway accompanied by the MG2 electric motor helping propel the car forward with more than a modicum of alacrity. But my wife the passenger doesn’t notice. And when I switch the tachometer on sure, I observe it sitting still at its optimum, constant RPM while the car nevertheless accelerates as the e-CVT seamlessly changes its gear ratios. But if I don’t pay attention to any of this, I wouldn’t notice it, which was Lexus’ intention.
It's been very cold here in SE PA during my first couple of weeks with her and so I'm not coming anywhere close to the EPA mpg ratings. My true 'gas pump' calculations (not the car's optimistic display) says 25.6 mpg over the first 70 miles of 'non-highway' driving since I first filled it up (Yes, I was eager!) The car calculated 29.7!! But I'm not disappointed; my 530xi would only have been around 17 over the same routes so I'm already 50% better than that, and I know it will only improve in warmer climes.
Everything else about the car says that it is simply a better handling Lexus. It’s my first so I can’t attest to this from the perspective of a prior owner of the brand, but I can absolutely tell you that it has superior chassis dynamics over any of the older Lexus sedan I test-drove. Its interior is absolutely gorgeous, and the exterior also boasts understated flare and style. And being as how it was built on the same wheelbase as the Toyota Avalon, the backseat is a wonderfully spacious place for passengers of almost any proportions. It is supremely quiet, and even the ‘standard’ radio sounds excellent, especially when listening to the Sirius/XM stations. Of course, I'm preaching to the knowledgeable choir here; you all know this already.
Sure, I sometimes miss the kitten-purr of BMW’s famously balanced inline 6-cylinder, but that’s about all. The Lexus’ seats are more comfortable and the car rides noticeably better without sacrificing handling. Online enthusiasts actually criticize the car because it is so refined and evolved that the perfection it nearly attains has stripped it of the ‘personality and character’ that these people mistakenly attach to fussier, less reliable and more demanding cars that make you ‘pay-to-play’; a phrase they invoke to defend their choices as though it is some sort of badge of honor to have your bank account picked clean with regularity. I for one certainly won’t miss spending over $2,000 (and climbing) every year on repairs and preventive maintenance that don’t actually seem to prevent anything.
NOW THEN, having bored you needlessly with a commercial for a brand you already love, here are my QUESTIONS:
- How reliable has this model car actually proven itself to be? 2013 was the first year of the ES hybrid, which would normally be a gamble with any other manufacturer.
- What does go wrong, and about when?
- Based on what I can see from the car's design, only the power control unit seems a liability, and a slight one at that.
- Have the hybrid battery packs proved to be as long-lived as evinced by Toyota/Lexus bumping up their warranties on newer cars?
- What about the eCVT, which seems a model of simplicity, at least compared to modern automatic transmissions?
BOTTOM LINE....with proper maintenance, I'm hoping to get to at least 150k miles before anything truly expensive visits my bank account. Given the car's very low miles, it could take another eleven years (or more) to hit that number. In contrast, I was anticipating having to pay out over $15k to have kept my (also low miles) BMW running to those same miles. I'm expecting to pay a lot less with this Lexus. Have I gorged too much on Toyota's reliability Kool-aid?!?
Thanks all!
Hi Doobster6,
I have a 2013 Lexus ES300H as well; bought it new. I have over 130,000 miles on it now with no issues...not even the hybrid battery. Although, I have had it serviced at my Lexus dealership from day one. You shouldn't have any problems as long as you maintain the maintenance; which is a low price to pay.
Hello. I purchased a used 2013 Lexus ES350 at the end of October 2019 from Craigslist. A little about the car.
Matador Red Mica
Black interior
Luxury Package with Heated steering wheel and rear window shade
Navigation
17 inch wheels
163,000 miles
One previous local owner
I was in the market for a vehicle after totaling my 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport through my own stupidity. I took the insurance money and decided to try to find a used vehicle for less than my payout. I never considered a Lexus before, due to cost, but started reading more about reliable used cars and liked what I read about the Lexus V6 and 6 speed transmission. Also, I got a bit hooked when sitting in used ones at my local Carmax lot. This one popped up on a Craigslist search so I contacted the owner. Long story short, I decided to buy it after some consideration and a pre-purchase inspection. I paid many thousands less than other cars in the market, but there weren't actually many local ES350s in the 2013-2014 model year to choose from. I figured even if the 160,000 miles turned out bad, worst case I would get a newer transmission and still come out a few thousand ahead. Time will tell.
So, I'm researching by reading through the forums and figuring out what tweaks and checks I want to do myself. My main sore points are a transmission whine that I didn't perceive at first, and an engine that sort of sounds like a diesel when I listen at traffic stops. It could be my imagination running wild, but I'd like to see if I can do any maintenance to help it quiet down any.
The car had all the maintenance done at the local Lexus dealer. The main issue was a failed ATF temperature sensor at about 120,000 miles that was replaced along with the ATF computer. Other items have been taken care of like spark plugs, brake fluid, coolant, regular oil changes (10,000 mile intervals). The battery is only a few months old.
I'm itching to check my ATF filter and fluid by dropping the oil pan and checking it out. I figure at least I will know the fluid state and can change the filter and fluid to start a clean baseline.
I'm also looking to shine it up and correct cosmetics where I can with spending a fortune. There are some paint issues after it has been repaired through two hail storms. It needs paint correction and stone chip fixes as well as some dirt nibs and poor clearcoat work. The leather seats up front are a bit worn, with the driver side bolster pretty broken down. I noticed the sunroof rattles a bit, which stops if I press on the glass. Probably a worn gasket. Also, there is a random rattle from the center cluster that's probably a loose screw.
I look at it as a good chance to learn more about some light restoration and see what I can do myself as cheaply as possible. I don't want to co crazy. I mainly would like to see if I can get that Lexus reliability for several years to come.
I haven't cleaned it up much since the purchase, other than a wash and some interior cleaning. It's been too wet here to really dig into the paint corrections and interior scrubbing. Here are the Craiglist pictures that show its condition when I bought it.
Last edited by Lexmart; 01-11-20 at 10:20 PM.
Reason: Adding pictures
I'm itching to check my ATF filter and fluid by dropping the oil pan and checking it out. I figure at least I will know the fluid state and can change the filter and fluid to start a clean baseline.
Welcome, suggest you search this forum for
transmission fluid
you'll find extensive discussions about the intricacies/challenges/advice of changing transmission fluid.
12-19-19, 01:40 AM
New Lexus Owner
