2002 Lexus ES 300 consumer reviews

I bought my 2002 ES300 in 2004 and have driven it daily. At the time it had only 28,000 miles on it. I have not had to do anything to this awesome vehicle besides regular maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes). It just keeps on running. I just changed my timing belt and water pump at 168,000 - not because anything was wrong, only because the mechanic that did the annual inspection for my sticker said it was recommended maintenance at 90k -100k. I probably could have driven it to 200k or more but didn't want to chance it. TO THE PERSON THAT SAID THE TRANSMISSIOINS ON THESE CARS WERE JUNK: You probably don't own this car. I've never had a transmission problem in 10 years.

Bought this car in 2009 with 50 k miles. still driving and didn't do except oil change, brakes and tires once. This car never breaks, very comfortable, very quiet, still get 29 MPG on highways, 24 combined. Wanted to buy a newer car, but figured I would loose a lot, not worth buying a smaller car and still make $250 + in car payment. Its a keeper, I know I can drive it for another several years with no worries.

What else can I say. I bought this car in 2003, used with 11k miles. The check engine light went on twice, once because of a sensor that needed replacing, covered by the warranty, the second time, no reason for the light to have been activated. Unfortunately they still charged me the basic fee to run a diagnostic, but fortunately there was no reason for the light to appear. Moving past that....if i told you the car drove as good today (119k miles) as it did the day I test drove it, would you believe me?Well it does.

Even with the mileage, this car still drives like new. I have always owned Lexus and Infiniti cars and I would buy another one because its a brand I know will worth every penny I pay for.

All in all, a very capable car that more than fulfills our requirements. I'd definately recommend anyone to take a very close look at these cars. Basically a fully-loaded Toyota. I bought this car with 120k on the odometer, so I'm going to rely a great deal on the reliability and longevity. While looking for an ES300/330 I noted quite a few that had 200k+ and even one around 300k priced very close to the one I ended up purchasing. My wife and I had a list of features we wanted in a car. Efficiency was high on the list, heated seats (we live where winters reach -20F) and reliability. I'll drive it until it collapses in the driveway. I'll take care of it, but I don't want a car that needs an inordinante amount of upkeep. We also like a smooth ride, I'm not a sport driver. I used the owner reviews on this site and others to see the actual owners' opinions and balanced those with the professionals' ratings and the generalized consumer ratings. From that I determined a specific list of models and years for which I searched. The ES300 rated VERY high all around. It qualified by meeting and exceeding our requirements and than gave me things to like above and beyond the logic. As much as some of us like to say we're logical about our purchases, emotions are why we buy. I love the Lexus instrument cluster. The way the needles glow red and the glow of the lettering. It would be nice if the gear indicator, rather prominent in the cluster, would also dim. The leather seats are of a high quality. Heated of couse. It seems that unless you purchase a car from the deep south you're going to get these in a Lexus. The wood (evidently real wood) accents are well done and lend an organic feel to the interior. Climate control, set it and leave the car to do what it needs to do to keep you comfortable. I've had this feature before and prefer it to anything else. Auto headlights, very nice feature. Driving in the morning, I start in the dark and arrive when you're not seeing if the lights are on or off. It's nice when the car can take of that for you. Auto wipers. The wipers take some getting used to, in auto mode the wipers don't always have a consistent rythum. I've not had them during a melting where other vehicles are throwing dirty water up on the windshield. I'm curious how the auto wipers will handle that. Auto dimming mirrors, very nice. More and more I get knuckle-draggers behind me with their brights on. It doesn't bother me too much anymore. Real combined fuel economy has been around 23 mpg. On highway only driving I get over 30 mpg. Very nice. I used ethanol to start, but I was seeing only around 19 mpg in combined driving. Premium seems to work better and the extra cost balances the difference in mpg. The ES300 I bought has the optional nav system. Decent, but it uses a DVD in the trunk. Our DVD is from 2001 so our development isn't even on the nav. Setting "home" isn't going to happen. A new DVD is around $600. It isn't a priority at this point to fix something that I can shut off and I could buy a very nice add-on nav for much less. It'd be nice if the nav were updatable without the DVD, I'd probably use it then. The nav system also changes the interface from a "normal" radio control head to a touchscreen. Now I work with touchscreens as part of my job and so I know they tend to wear worse than normal keys. I really didn't want this as a feature, and I would have gone without it if given a choice. You insert the single CD and tape behind the nav screen, hit open and the screen slides out of the way to give you access. Drive is smooth. No complaints there. The only interior complaint I have is my kids like to read in the car. There are no reading lights in the back. My wife suggested the little clip-on lights and we'll probably do that. The tires needed to be replaced on the front. An excellent tire for this car from a good supplier was $120 a tire. Very reasonable. This isn't a sport tire, but a multi-season high speed rated tire. Good price there. The trunk is roomy enough to keep my cold weather emergency gear as and still hold all the groceries for the two week period. It can get tight, but it all fits well. The spare is under the trunk floor along with a nice assortment of tools and a small first aid kit. Tools - nice. The first aid kit? Whatever.

These vehicles are very nice in every way except for their drivetrains. The transmission is the biggest problem with them, for they shift inappropriately in stop and go traffic. These cars average about 18-20 mpg with mixed highway/city driving and have little acceleration unless at full throttle. These would make a very nice road car averaging about 25-26 mpg(all highway) but they are a bit small inside for longer trips. For anyone looking for a reliable and smooth daily driver/commuter car, they WILL be disappointed in the 2002-2003 ES300.

Brought new, 137,000 miles later still running quiet and smooth. Best buy for the money. Regularly serviced at the Lexus Dealer. Timing belt replaced at 124,000. The plan is to drive it atleast another 2 years.

THis car had 90k when purchased.I look forward to driving it everyday.After 2 yrs and 16k later, just had it detailed and the car looks great.Gets 30+mpg on trip and rides smooth.I would like a newer model but hate to trade mine in.

I purchased mine preowned on the 4th of January 2006 and I have loved every minute I owned this automobile. I want to upgrade to the ES350. Still finding it hard to let go of the ES300. When I purchased it I refused to purchase the extended warranty and the vehicle has never broken down. Other than changing tires and doing the timing belt and water pump at 120K miles, I have never had any need to spend much on this vehicle. I love the Lexus ES

My 97 Jaguar XJR was quickly becoming the most expensive woman in life (and that really says something!) and I needed a replacement. I went to a local dealer to look at a Jaguar S-Type, a Mercedes Kompressor, and a BMW 5 Series. Having test drove them they seemed a little too cramped and he mentioned that they just had another one come in that I might be interested. I test drove it and it was love at first sight. The interior was very comfortable and all the instruments had a logical layout. Very smooth drive/ride and plenty of room and has a full size spare. I've found that if driving carefully which I did not do in my prior car (It was an XJR!!!) I was actually able to get around 30mpg highway. The only complaint I've had is the center cup holder. I snagged part of it on my jacket and snapped it off as it was a little flimsy. I'm pretty tough on vehicles and it has stood up well. I bought the car with less then 10k miles and currently have put an additional 106k miles on it over the past 4 years and it still is a joy to drive. It's hard to go wrong with this one.