Reggie

I use this switch on my tractor. For the Lexus, there would be two shortcomings. Fist would be that every time you want to turn the switch on or off, you'd have to open the hood. Second is that the battery is hidden under the engine cover. You'd need to remove the cover it and replace it each time. It's held by (IIRC) 8 clips. Otherwise you can just leave the engine cover off. Here's my method for maintaining the battery charge. I use a battery tender. But instead of the Lexus way with the plug hanging out of the grille, I have installed an always-on 12V power receptacle under the dash. The receptacle is wired directly to the battery terminals via a wire running through the firewall. if the LX is going to be parked outside, I put my Battery Tender brand solar panel on the dash, and plug it in to the receptacle. If the LX is indoors, I use a standard battery tender with a cigarette lighter plug and run the cord from the battery tenderunder the driver's door seal.

About six months ago using Lexol. I use this on all the cars in my collection. This car is only a year old with light use by a 100 lb woman...... Yep, brushing across the side bolster will lead to premature wear. Other premature wear areas are the handle on the A pillar and the door pull. Body salts and dirt contribute to the friction. If the 100 pound woman driver wears shorts or a short skirt then her bare legs contribute to the problem; it's not entirely weight but also frequency and length of contact. Another factor is the sweat factor of the person. Some of us just sweat more than others, particularly when pressed against a leather surface.

It's not at all unusual for the 1982-1988 BMW 5 series (Model e28) to be running well at 200,00-300 miles. I understand the newer models are less reliable and shorter-lived. Check out the following to site for more information about the BMW e28. mye28 web page Roadfly

Well, I took the GX in this morning. Had a new to me service writer who understood everything about the clunk, and wrote up the service order for new driveshaft and control arms. Picked it up about 8 hours later, and it finally drives like a Lexus should. Other problem was the sunroof. The auto open and close feature to the switch had quit working. Also, the automatic position changing of the wind deflector had quit as well. Neither the service writer or the tech who worked on the car knew the wind deflector had this feature, and it took a trip to the owner's manual to make it clear. Seems the wind deflector feature is tied into the switch, and reprogramming the switch solved both problems. Finally, evething that was a problem with the vehicle at delivery 34,000 miles ago is resolved. The rear AC problem took 25,000 miles, and the tire inflation indicator light problem took 20,000 miles to solve. I honestly don't think I'll ever buy another Lexus. I'll likely go back to BMW. I've had good experiences with my local bimmer dealer, from whom I bought an 86 5-series 20 years ago. It has 225,000 miles and is still going strong. It required a new driveshaft after only 195,000 miles!

Remember those customer satisfaction surveys you get in the mail shortly after taking your Lexus in for service? I don't get those any more. After 25,000 miles of problems with the tire pressure warning sytem, the rear AC, and the kick in the seat transmission on my 2004 GX 470, someone at Jim Hudson Lexus of Augusta, Georgia has evidently decided to omit both me and my wife (an ES owner) from corporate service quality surveys. Is this corporate denial, or is it just the dealership? Any Lexus corporate reps lurking out there who can address this?

Thanks for the advice. I'd change dealers if there were another in Augusta, Georgia. Unfortunately, the nearest dealer, in Columbia, South Carolina, is also owned by Jim Hudson. Regarding Sewell Lexus in Dallas - I've bought floor and trunk mats, and the navigation system upgrade from them on ebay. They are a quality dealer; I'm just sorry I'm not 600 miles closer to them. Please see my new post about service surveys. Is deleting unsatisfied customers from the mailing list how Lexus boosts its reputation for quality?

The topic of fuel economy is relative. My previous vehicle was a 7 liter Chevrolet Suburban. I used it to both commute to work, and to tow a two-horse trailer twice a week. The Suburban got 10.5 mpg during my commute. It also got 10.5 mpg towing the horses. I had the Suburban equipped to seat 11 people, with an optional center front seat and a rear-facing two person fourth row seat. That allowed me to both tow, and to take my office staff of 11 women out to lunch every Friday. About two years ago, preparing for retirement, I decided to downsize. My wife had just purchased a Lexue, and was pleased with it, so she arranged for me to drive a GX470. It looked like it would tow the horse trailer, and since I was near retirement, I didn't need the seats for 12. My commute is now 35 miles to the barn where my horses are stabled. It is mostly interstate highway. Setting cruise control on 75 mph I get 20.1 mpg. On a 65 mph setting I get 25.1 mpg. Towing the trailer I get 16.5 mpg. On the down side, trailer towing with the Chevy was comfortable and quiet. Adding the trailer and the horses didn't change anything except my view in the rear view mirror. Towing with the Lexus is an uncomfortable adventure. Constant gear changes, downshifting two gears to climb interstate hills, vibration when going over 55 mph. If I had it to do over again, I'd keep the Suburban to tow the trailer twice a week, and pull my garage queen 1986 BMW 528e out of mothballs to do the drive to the barn the other 5 days each week.

Rear AC noise has been a problem since delivery of my 2004. Every time I took it to the dealer, the report was "unable to duplicate problem." My wife and I have both heard the noise, as have my entire office staff of 12 people, who have ridden with me from time to time over the past 18 months. In fact, the first time I took the new 2004 out with my office staff, one of my nurses, who was in the back seat said, "there's a funky noise coming from your air conditioner back here." So, I subscribed to alldatadiy.com and read the TSB's for the GX470. Sure enough, there is a rear AC problem, and a TSB with how to address the problem. Last time in to the dealer, Jim Hudson Lexus of Augusta, Georgia, the service advisors still refused to believe there was a problem. You'd think a business with a reputation for service would listen to a customer, particularly one with two Lexus vehicles in the family. But, no! Finally, today, I was driving near the dealer when the noise started yet again. Just a rehash of prior dealer service problems. It took Jim Hudson Lexus 15 months to finally find and replace a tire with a slow leak from day one. The rear end clunk was also finally addressed after 15 months of denial by the dealer as well, but has returned after the lubricate it quick fix. I bought the Lexus to replace a Chevrolet Suburban, hoping for better service from Lexus than from Chevrolet, but Jim Hudson Lexus has not lived up to its reputation. Is my disappointment with Lexus service unique to the Jim Hudson Lexus dealership, or is Lexus in the US just practicing corporate denial that the GX470 has problems?

I tow a two-horse trailer with my GX about twice a week. Unfortunately it causes a vibration and front end shimmy above 55 mph that was not the case with my previous tow vehicle, a K2500 Suburban. With the Suburban, I could tow on the interstate comfortably at 70-75 mph. With the Lexus, I have to stay below 55mph.

I've been using my GX470 off-road about twice a week. It has accumulated its share of side scratches from branches, and unfortunately a cracked windshield. If anyone has helpful hints from their experience, please post them. I'm thinking of switching tires to a more aggressive tread, and I'm also thinking about adding a brush guard and a winch. Anyone done any of this and have recommendations? Thanks.

I have the Husky cargo liner on my 2005 GX. It fits great. I wonder if you received the wrong liner. I'll share this with you so you can avoid a problem I created with my previous SUV. I decided to shampoo the carpet before I put down the cargo liner. Evidently the carpet had not dried completely when I covered it with the mat. The result was mildew, and lots of it.

One of my original tires evidently had a slow leak, so every week or so the low pressure light would come on. At first, re-inflating the tire turned out the light immediately. After the first year of this, and the dealer unable to find or stop the leak, the pressure light started staying on for two days to sometimes two weeks after the tire was inflated. Finally, after 15 months of this aggravation, the dealer finally replaced the tire. They knew I was not happy, so somehow the dealer has been able to stop sending me the customer satisfaction surveys. Has that happened to anyone else? The unhappy customer being removed from the survey list, I mean?

My vehicle came with the receiver and trailer plug connector already installed. All I had to do was splice the ends of the dealer supplied wiring harness for the electric brake controller into the brake control, and plug the opposite end into the socket above the driver side trim panel. The Lexus/Toyota connector came with great instructions. The process took about 30 minutes.

Nope, backing is not a problem for me either. Though, I cannot remember the last time I had to parallel park.