Once You Get To A Stop, There Is A Kick

[gary10]

Hey everybody!

I just switched from GS 300 to GX 470. I am very careful with my cars.

Once i buy a new car, i always do a full maintenance on it including:

tune up

all fluids

Timing belt ,water pump(109K)

Filters.

ANY RECOMMENDATIONS?

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION:

Once i get to a stop there is a kick, It seems that it is transmission delay shifting ( Does not look like a suspension)

Is it common on Lexus GX 470?

Thank you in advance

[TulsaLexusSC430]

Sounds like we have similar methods - I bought a 2007 GX470 about 3 years ago and had few issues. Mine sometimes has a small kick in the transmission when starting off though. Been like that for years and mechanics found nothing worth fixing.

I found a loose chromed plastic part on the drivers side luggage rack rail. There's about a (guessing) 4" end cap piece at the front of the rail. I couldn't tighten it so I siliconed it. Glad I found it or it would have flown off for sure.

I bought Weathertech custom floor and cargo mats that really add to the looks and utility. The fit nice.

Had some missing fasteners on the plastic cowling engine & radiator covers. heres what I found and purchased from mylparts.com

search: GX470 clip push-pin retainer fastener cover rivet

Front above the Radiator - 12 nos - 90467-08217
Right side over the Air Filter - 5 nos - 90467-07117

Left side Driver Side - 4 nos - 90467-06155 ( Push button Type)

[eugene.s]

Gary10, your maintenance scope seems OK but -- I think I saw in GX owner's manual details about maintenance and at which mileage (what to check/what to replace) -- from my recollection, there was much more to "check" (especially on a car with high mileage).

If you get a kick when you stop - as if someone drove into the rear of your car, this might be the famous "clunk" issue which GXs built in certain years had. Simply speaking, defecting rear drive shaft assembly caused the shaft to move forward when you stop, making a clunk. There were some discussions in this forum in the GX thread, people said this was not safety-related.

Check with your dealer if there's a Lexus TSB (technical service bulletin) for your car VIN. Alternatively, you can try this (but no guarantee that you'll get any non-safety related TSBs): register on My Lexus (have your VIN with you); log in; point the cursor to "My Lexus" tab, you'll get a drop-down menu; select there "Safety Recalls & Service Campaigns" and see the results.

BTW, via registering at that link you can also get your owner's (pdf) manual for free and check for your vehicle history as was reported by dealer(s) to Lexus, etc.

TuslaLexusSC430, fixing covers of your roof rack legs on sealant is always a good idea (at least, for any Lexus, they become loose too shortly).

As to floormats, I found Weathertech mats better than Lexus ones (those which are designed for the rain/dirt). One can found the proper ones on their website. Though, they are still expensive and are not always covering enough on the outer sides of the cabin (at least for me).

Recently I moved to using cheap (maybe $30) "any size" Chinese mats (not fake but some Chinese brand) - they are made of reliable and easy-to-clean rubber (covered with some drop-resistant stuff) with their edges made of small squares/triangles/etc. which you can cut out to fit any vehicle. One needs to be careful to cut out enough under the driver's pedals -- there were a number of incidents reported in the last year or so when even stock mats made the gas pedal stuck, causing serious accidents (actually, after that Toyota/Lexus have cut out everything on their brand mats under the gas pedal, which is not very practicable as all the dirt gets under the pedal but is fool-proof). Have been using such cheap mats for half year and am very happy about them (sorry, can't remember the specific make/model).

As to any replacement parts for our Lexus, you can find diagrams and stock part numbers (and average prices) here. (if you need to see diagrams but cannot see them, try going to that website via any proxy -- there are many free proxies on the net).

[gary10]

Thank you very much for responses.

I think it may sound as a Rear Drive Shaft assembly. Is there any way to fix it. It irritates me. If it doesn't kick once i stop then it kicks once start driving.

Thank you again.

[eugene.s]

Gary10, what you described seems very much alike this clunk issue. I had a US GX470 2005 with this issue for years. If I tried to stop smoothly, no clunk. But if I then start (slowly or rapidly) - every other time I got a clunk. Sometimes it disappeared maybe for a month (usually, in summer) but it always came back later.

The fix must be per the official TSB for your particular truck -- but it's always to replace some parts in the rear drive shaft assembly. In different years, there were different TSBs of Lexus. I don't know how much this may cost on your car.

The last GX470 was built in 2009 and everyone who cared of the issue must have fixed it under warranty (=they probably don't know what to advise you on this as everything must have been done by dealers). Re-read my earlier msg and follow the advice: (1) you may expect TSB advice from the dealer free of charge (2) My Lexus website (3) look up at the GX thread of this forum

[gary10]

Thank you very much. I think that you are completely right. Those are the right moments when then they click.

Will look into it to see if i can try to fix it.

[denslexusgx470]

This is clearly the CLUNK issue that the GX was notorious for. There is a TSB pinned at the top of this GX forum. Take it to your dealer and have them fix it. It took my GX 3 different driveshafts, 3 different lubing techniques until they finally fixed it for good. The driveshaft I'm now driving on is coated with Teflon, I believe.

[WGF]

I had this same problem. I was told by the dealer that it was a) nothing; then b) the A/C; then c) a problem that was not really a problem with the drive train. I don't think it is any of those. After some delay, I got the air shocks on the rear tires replaced. The car not only runs more smoothly, the kick is gone!