Sorry for the delay in getting an update to you. It's been a crazy couple weeks between catching up at work from my time spent with car stuff and getting the GX ready for its first camping trip this weekend.
I'm still a huge fan of the GX. It's tons of fun to drive and has just about every amenity that I could imagine. In the last couple weeks, I've done the following:
- Got a road hazard warranty on the tires at Discount Tire. It was $270 to get all four tires warrantied + free rotation/balances. This is about the retail price of one Michelin Latitude HP, so seems like a good deal.
- Bought a cargo carrier, hitch rack, and bike rack from http://www.stowaway2.com/. I currently have the cargo carrier on the GX in preparation for the camp trip I mentioned. All in all, it took 3 hours to assemble, but instructions were easy to follow and it seems very high quality.
- I noticed a slight tire balance issue and noticed an slight pull to the right on the alignment. When I talked to the dealership, they recommended that I drive 500 miles and then bring it in if there is still a problem. I'm at 300 miles at the balance issue has gone away; however there is still a pull to the right, so I'm guessing it will be going back for a free alignment job.
- This is the heart breaker...on the second day of ownership, I messed something up. You guys know about my 4WD Low ambition. Well, I wanted to try out 4WD Low on pavement so that I would know how to use it in the event that the opportunity presented itself this weekend. I read the manual, pulled to the side of the road, followed the instructions to engage 4WD Low and then slightly accelerated. At about 12-15 mph, it started making a LOUD screeching noise (could perhaps be heard over a block away). I immediately stopped and put it back in park and the noise went away. I tried again and the noise came back as soon as I put it in 4WD Low. Scared out of my mind, I took it straight to the dealership. The shop foreman tried it out in 4WD Low with no noise whatsoever. He said 4WD Low was meant to be for less than 10 mph. I asked if there was any way that I could have messed something up during my experiment and he said no. ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT HAPPENED? I couldn't find any stories similar to this.
- Lastly, I've become a huge fan of Destination Assist. I didn't think I'd use it, but it rocks. Very convenient!
Things I'm still thinking about:
- I'm thinking about getting the http://www.prestigioussociety.com mod for the nav system so my passenger can use it while I drive. I've heard that it will also play a DVD on the center nav screen if you have the ML audio upgrade. DOES ANYONE KNOW? This would be awesome since I didn't get the DVD screens in the back.
- This is likely a RTFM issue...is there a way to start the engine with the remote start and keep it going as I get in the car? Unlock on the key fob kills it and I think when it unlocks from the door it stops as well. Minor issue, but I don't like having to start the engine twice if I want to use the remote starter.
- Voice recognition hasn't been so great. Perhaps it a southern accent or something, but it rarely recognizes what I'm saying. ANY HINTS?
That's all for now. I'm looking forward to the camp trip this weekend!