GXRemorse

Stinky Pete Buzz must have lasered you good for you to think this "whack from the back" issue was not too bad. I shouldn't talk though, I was well aware of the problem and still bought an '04 on the assurance that the "clunk" had been fixed. Arbitration with Lexus was a joke. Big Wig they sent from LA called it a "characteristic" and not a flaw as we all know it to be, and the panel of "non-partisan" arbitrators were biased to the nth degree. They were paid by Lexus Corp. for goodness sake.... My dealer in No. CA has been sympathetic and very forthcoming in telling me that the new '07 will not have the new control arms already in place and that the control arms will NOT be a perfect fix; that there will still be clunking, although not so drastic. I'm actually nervous now to get the fix that is on order since this will be my 4th drive shaft in 2.5 years. I'll have to find Naive Lexus Buyer of the Universe in order to off-load this thing. Silent for many months but furious again after reading all this.... GX Remorse

New drive shaft won't help. I've had three already. Each one lasts for a few thousand miles, then the thump comes right back.

May I interject with my far too knowledgeable opinion on this? I experience the highly obnoxious clunk almost EVERY time I let off the brake. It doesn't have to be 28 degress outside, I don't have to slam on the breaks, and the car doesn't have to be at a certain angle. I have taken Lexus to arbitration after having three new shafts installed in my '04 (one after only 4K miles) and the final installed by their "Master Mechanic" imported from Los Angeles. The clunk was highly audible AND the arbitrators felt the jolt at every stop but since they claim it's a characteristic and not what it actually is, a design flaw, they did nothing for me. They don't listen, they don't care, and they certainly don't pursue perfection. If you would like to get an idea of what the rest of us are experiencing at every stop, try hitting the height adjustment after driving a short distance (come to a stop first, of course). Clunk, jolt, hit-from behind feeling! Great fun in a 50K vehicle*&*@Y&$%% My husband's company Ford Freestyle is a dream to drive compared to this piece. Is Lexus "Best in the Business" ? I think not. I had an ES300 that I loved. I bought the GX after knowing that the '03s had problems with the shaft design. Lexus ASSURED me that they had taken care of it with the '04s. Even provided me with VIN # after which the "new design" had been installed. As far as I'm concered, it was pure and simple fraud! I was mislead into buying this vehicle even though I think of myself as an informed consumer from a research perspective. Maybe that's why I'm so ticked off.....

Mine has 28,000 miles ('04) but maybe only 15K since a Lexus master mechanic replaced the shaft for the third time!!! How many does yours have?

You've got to be kidding me?!?!? My guess is that you have become numb to the pain. Since you seem to write on this subject quite often and presumbably also read the other threads, you must know that Lexus doesn't have a fix for their "vehicle characteristic". It won't simply go away either. It's as Alex said, the design of the two piece shaft makes it impossible for the clunk to slowly dissipate. I have it each time I step off the brake. Highly obnoxious. For those of you who are on the fence regarding purchasing this car, don't believe Lexus when they say they have fixed it. I'll let you all know when and if they do. In the meantime, I actually have to consider paying MORE money to extend my warranty in order to be eligible to get the freaking patch when they finally pull their heads out and design one.... Geez, rough day. Sorry.

Does the '04 have an "override" button?? I'm not familiar with it.

The sensation is that of a hydraulic piston releasing pressure. Which is how the KDSS works, by shifting hydraulic fluid to the opposing side/ front to back. It just feels like a sticky piston. As I mentioned earlier, I could be wrong on my conclusion. But, from past experience and some mechanical engineering knowledge. That is my floundering logic. :) I have not been able to reproduce this on command, and it only happens occasionally. Once that is determined, it will be easier to rectify. ← The analysis sound good but here's the problem. I don't have the KDSS system and neither do the 2003 and early 2004 owners. This is clearly a problem with the two part shaft system since I can feel the clunk happening under the seats whether I'm sitting in the driver or passenger side.

What did they do differntly then the prev times that fixed it this time? ← that, i truthfully have to say, i don't know! ;) but the tech who did it finally used their knwoledge they learned at Lexus school and finally applied it to my GX! :cheers::cheers: ← Please shed some light on this. What does your repair reciept say?? Thanks in advance. ← Probably only that they applied more lube to the works. After having ALL the currently known patches/splints/bandaids installed to mine including new shaft, lapping and drilling (what the heck kind of a fix is drilling through the center of my shaft, anyway), they now only squirt more lube in and it takes the problem down a notch for around a thousand miles. Then it kicks back into defect mode.

It comes back! I have an '04 purchased in June. By mid-August I had a new drive shaft that was lapped, lubed, and drilled. 1k later the thump/clunk is back, albiet intermittently but when it's there, it's there...... On my last service report, the dealer actually wrote that they have tried all the fixes available and that nothing more can be done at this time. What a disappointment! I loved my ES300 and had NO problems in 6 years and 125K but this is pathetic in a "luxury" car.