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Has anyone else ever tried to tow something with there LX?

We recently purchased an 03 LX in hopes that it would tow well. It has a hitch mount, it just didn't come with the ball mount that goes inside of it. We've towed things with a van before and wanted something a little better. We put the the ball mount into the Lexus, which was just a universal mount, and it didn't go in far enough. We got out the tool kit and repositioned the spear tire under the car so there would be enough room for the mount but it still didn't fit. So we went to the Lexus dealer and found out that they don't carry them because they are $600.00 and you can get one for $20.00 at a local RV shop. So we went to the RV shop, picked out a very nice Aluminum ball mount and went out to put it in (to see if it would fit) and it didn't. In most trucks they have steel hitches but the lexus has some sort of cast material and the corners were too round and it was bigger at the bottom than at the top. So we went back in and picked out the cheapest one, which had the roundest corners, and it fit into the hitch but it didn't go in far enough like our original hitch. Then the RV shop offers to cut off the end so it will fit in if we give them $300.00 plus the price of the hitch. Having not choice we agree. So the cut it off, but then they ask what we want to tow, and we tell them a 2 ton boat. Then they tell us that with the end of the ball mount cut off (which they already cut off) it might not be able to hold that much weight so they tested it in the shop for us. It didn't hold enough weight.

After that we go to a toyota dealer in hopes that they might have something to fit a land cruiser but they don't. We ask them if any toyota or lexus dealers in the state carry anything that will fit so they call. None of the dealers in the state had them. They said they could order one from the Lexus plant but we needed it that weekend and they couldn't get it that fast.

By this time we were really *BLEEP*ed and wishing we had never bought the Lexus because it can't do the one thing we intended it to do. So we take it across town to a truck shop which the RV shop recommended we do and we have them edge the corners down on the hitch to accomodate the aluminum ball mount (which would be strong enough to pull the boat if the end was cut off, which we had to do) which costed another $400.00 because it was cast and not steal. By now everything seemed to be working. We got the ball mount and pin in without much difficulty. When we try and connect our boat, all is well until we try and connect the wiring. The wiring harness in the Lexus is too short, it doesn't come out far enough. We took it back the the trailering shop to see if they could do anything to the Lexus but they said they could try and extend the wiring on the trailer. So we leave it over night and they have it ready the nexty morining but eh wiring is all sticking out, almost dragging on the road, so we just had to duck tape it to our new boat trailer.

The wiring also costed $200.00. which makes the total amount we spent on the hitch more than it would have been to buy the awfully expensive one from the factory.

So, word of advice, DON'T BUY A LEXUS FOR TOWING!

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What's this $600 item? If its a 2003 LX with the tow hitch in the rear bumper cover, all you need would be the tow support attachment, ball mount, and ball. The tow support attachment and ball mount generally came with the vehicle stored in a box. If you need all three, it doesn't add up to $600, maybe half that.

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