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

Hello I just recentl bought a brand new lexus gx 470. I found a thump or clunk at 400 miles. Im really disappointed with lexus. I didnt know this was an ongoing thing. If I would of known I wouldnt even thought about buying this vehicle. What can the dealer do with the car this new besides replacing a driveshaft. Nobody want their new car to be torn apart.

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.

the problem with these forums is that when your standing around a bunch of people claiming there sick then you must believe your sick also. some have legimate problems and others believe they must have them too. so they drive there gx, rx, es looking for anything they may seem like a clunk, transmission lag etc. Lexus is a customer friendly company. the best in the business. if there is a problem thet fix it. in the engine gel case in the previous es and rx 98 out of every 100 cases had no service history... but they backed it up anyway. automobiles are machines and you can never guarantee they will be perfect. hence warrantys. as far as the gx there are no original parts in the truck . the truck was made from all existing lx and 4 runner parts. so if the problem was widespread it would have surfaced before. i do know they were anxious to put kdss into every gx starting sometime in 05. to improve ride quality. enjoy the 268 good things about the car and try and forget about the 1 thing that comes up only when the car is doing 45 mph during days where the temperature is below 64 degress fahreinheit. as lexus says we pursue perfection so you can pursue living. if its broke they will fix it.

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.....

I think my cluck problem is going also, I guess that makes two of us thats numb to the pain. :D It is entirely possible that as the drive shaft wear in after a while, it could run smoother.

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?

speaking of the thump, i think mine's slowly going away. Fix or solution, I dunno?!?!? lately it hasn't been annoying so i don't know if it will eventually go away.

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.

I'm in the market for a new GX470 and this post caught my attention. Since I've owned a 4x4 for 14 years, I have chased rear driveline "thumps" or "thunks" with some success. Driveline "thunks" can emerge from various sources, including the rear springs unloading the driveline after a complete stop---sometimes before or after releasing the brake.

My friend's new LR3 does the same...

So when a tech says "all suv's do this" they are somewhat correct ... but it's no excuse for a poor design. I've spent $$$ modifying my Jeep Cherokee chasing the "thunk" and found the slip-yoke was the main source of the problem. As a result I installed a slip-yoke eliminator, with a redesigned driveshaft, and the problem never returned.

I'm not familiar enough with GX470s or LR3s to really comment on their particular designs... but my experience tells me the input yoke on the TC where the driveshaft mates-up is the source of the "thunk". So it doesn't surprise me when the tech greased the splines and the "thunk" went away for awhile... an old shadetree mechanic fix.

I'd like to hear more about the Lexus tech that polished the splines... was it on the TC output or driveshaft ??... and did this really fixed the problem? After spending thousands on my old Jeep, I'm not in the mood to pay $55K on a new SUV and find myself chasing rear driveline "thunks" again.

I hope this isn't a chronic problem ... my test drive today almost had me sold on a new GX470.

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

Hmmmm.  I know I'm not helping by asking more questions but how did you conclude that the problem you feel is caused by the KDSS?  I am not mechanically oriented so relating a problem that feels like a shock absorber to sway bars control is confusing.   :(

←

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.

YESSS!!!! I think my dealer finally solved all my thump/brake problems! (for now)

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.

i wana know if it is jst my dealer, or if the problems really come back after a while.  :cries:    If they jst come back, WHAT IS THE REAL FIX FOR THESE PROBLEMS???  :chairshot:

←

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.