The idle valve was replace at 140,000.
Leaky valve covers fixedat 175,000.
Radio LCD display was replaced at 150,000.
It is the most reliable car that I have ever owned. My waterpump lasted 175,000. My brake pads lasted 120,000!
The ride is super smooth and very quiet.
I get 26-28 miles per gallon while cruising at 75-80 mph.
I am just curious... does the car have to have premium fuel? I am 16 yrs old and am about to purchase a 1998 Lexus ES300 but Premium gas prices scare me!
The ES300 doesn't require premium fuel. My 98 ES300 runs on regular. My 2001 LS430 requires premium. I think the 300 series from Lexus doesn't requires premium, but the 400 does.
RE:premium gas prices.. if you think about it premium gas is not that expensive, maybe 20-25 cents more than regular... your car only has about 16-18 gallons of gas space.. so do the math if you put premium gas your only spending between 3-4 dollars more everytime you fill the tank, not that costly for better gas, your car will run a lot better with higher octane and cleaner, I've had 2 lexus es300, 96 bought it with 90,000 miles drove it for 2 years sold it with 189,000 miles.. never had a problem.. always used premium gas and synthetic oil, also had a 99, sold it with 181,000 miles with no problems, take care of the car it will take car of you, less than $5 will not kill your pocket.
I agree that using premium fuel and synthetic oil will make you car last a lot longer. I'm 18 and 2 years ago my parents bought me a 1994 SC400 for my 16th birthday. It had around 60,000 miles. I've only used synthetic oil and premium gas and now have close to 140,000 miles. I drive between 3000-5000miles a month sometimes more. It will pay off in the long run to spend a little more money. Premium in Cali where I'm from is a bit on the pricey side, but I've stuck with it w/o going broke.
While I highly recommend the use of a good premium synthetic motor oil over any conventional, such as Amsoil, I must disagree with the recommendation to use premium fuel when it is not required.
If the manufacturer recommends fuel of a specific octane, use that kind of fuel only; using anything more is just throwing your money away. Use premium fuel ONLY if the manufacturer requires it for your vehicle, if you modify the drivetrain in such a way where premium fuel is required for it to run properly, and/or if you are REALLY low on fuel and the gas station you're at only has premium.
Prolonged use of premium fuel in a vehicle that may not require it could cause carbon build-up in the combustion chamber, which can cause problems with pre-ignition.
Also, if you have a car that only needs regular, but you have to use premium to keep it from knocking, then that indicates a need for service. Using premium fuel to keep a car requiring regular from knocking is only working around its problem as opposed to fixing it.
In addition, just shop for the cheapest gas around that's needed for your car. Gasoline is gasoline; the only difference are any proprietary detergency that may be added on top of the minimum detergency required by federal law and the octane levels (87, 89, 93, etc.). In many cases, gasoline is shared between different distributors (such as ExxonMobil sharing gas with Shell, and etc.). - Reinhart.
I just bought a 97 Lexus ES 300 and the LCD display is very bad. I can't read anything on it.Also, the clock is very faint. Sometimes I can read, other times I can't read. Can anyone suggest what the problem is and how I can get it fixed? Normally how much does it cost?
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