nyc11370

I am the unlucky guy in this post. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161693 The car is still in the dealership, so far the dealer cannot fix the windshield noise problem. I complained to the service department manager today and he said he will have Lexus to look into this problem. It is a brand new GX470, I picked it up on Feb 28th. This car is out of service for more than 30days for the same problem. This time 19 days so far 1st time 7 days 2nd time 6 days 7+6+19 = 32 days so far Can someone please kindly give me advise what’s the best way for me to pursuit the lemon claim with the minimal financial impact? Thanks for your insight

I bought the 05 GX 3 months ago First Problem – Windshield creaking noise Within the first week, I heard creaking noises came from the windshield around the rearview mirror area. It is especially noticeable during nighttime driving because outside is quiet. Some days I hear the noise but some days I don’t, so the problem is on and off. It is very annoying because the car is new and it’s not cheap. The 1st time I took the car in I cannot duplicate the problem so I took the car home without fixing it. The 2nd time I took the car in, I was able to duplicate the problem to the “road test technician”, but he disagreed the source of noise, he said it is from the dash not the mirror. Anyway I didn’t argue because he is the professional dealing with the cars everyday. I schedule the appointment w/ loaner car for the next week. First Attempted Fix A week later I took the car to the dealer as scheduled even I did not notice the noise that day. I picked up the car a week later. I started to notice the windshield creaking noise again the next day. Also, I found the same mileage on the odometer, so very obviously the “hands-on” tech did not test drive before and after. Further more I found out very likely the “hands-on” tech did not talk to the “road test” tech because the service advisor told me the “road test” tech was on vacation when I took it back. Second Problem – Messed up interior trims I notice the interior trims are messed up due to the 1st attempted fix. Originally I told the “road test” tech the noise is from the windshield mirror but he thought it is from the dash. So the “hands-on” tech removed the dash trims and put insulator to ease the noise. Obviously, the hands-on tech fixed the wrong place and he did not test drive before and after. Furthermore, he left screwdriver marks on the edge of the plastic trims, scratch on the window buttons console, the front wood trim don’t level with the surface, big gaps betweens panels and I can see the insulator tape sticks outside of the gaps. I will post some pics. I complained to the SA and he said he will have the leather guy to check out the next time. So I made another appointment for the noise and interior problem. Third Problem - Passenger side rear door upper hinge/joint welding peel I didn’t take the car in for the 2nd appointment (yesterday) because I didn’t hear the noise for the last few days before the appointment. I was hoping the noise problem disappeared and I don’t want to fix the interior because I know the tech will do more damage (use screwdriver to pile the wood trim again). Unfortunately I heard the noise again last night and I found another problem when washing the car. The passenger side rear door between the upper hinge/joint and the chassis, the welding is peeling off so only two screws are holding the upper hinge from the chassis. This is dangerous, if the upper hinge may break apart from the chassis, the door may come off. So finally I took it back to dealer today, hopefully they can fix all three problems. I think I am the only unlucky one GX owner. Can anyone here share the Lemon (Law) experience?

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/t...ion%2F&lp=ja_en I think the Japan version has the auto folding side mirrors option.

http://www.precisionautoworks.net/paint_repair.html Look like these guys can fix the scrapes without repainting the whole panel. Keeping the factory paint as much as possible is good idea because the factory paint is more durable and color match sometime is difficult, example: silver. Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After

I totally agreed with you. I will look for something that is more functional.

I called up a few dealers in NY, CA and TX. They all told me no need to change oil below 5,000. So this is offical, it is printed in the user manual too. I will stick with the 5,000 interval. No need to chicken. Today's technology is far better than 10-15 years ago.

I called up a few dealers in NY, CA and TX. They all told me no need to change oil below 5,000. So this is offical, it is printed in the user manual too. I will stick with the 5,000 interval. No need to chicken. Today's technology is far better than 10-15 years ago.

Manheim Wholesale Auction Results For Week Ending Apr 01 Above |Average|Below Sale Price $7,780|$6,154 |$4,528 Mileage 80,271|126,486|172,701

is it now mandatory to get the third seat?? I heard you can still order a unit w/o the 3rd seat. ← You know the dealers does not like special order. (1)takes too long to get (2)the customer may change the mind and cancel the deal I checked eBay for a few months and did not see 1 GX without the 3rd row.

"4Runner V8 Limited" devalue more compared GX470 after 2 years. I am trying to compare both cars with realistic minimum options. I only have the 2003 wholesale prices since these models are only 2 years old. I got the estimated invoice price from Edmunds.com and then added the following dealer markup: $3,000 Lexus Dealer Markup $1,000 Toyota Dealer Markup GX470 $45,489 - 2005 Base Invoice w/ Mandatory 3rd Row + Destination + $3,000 Dealer Markup - $38,414 - Manheim Wholesale Auction Average 2003 GX470 Price = $7,075 - 2 Year Depreciation 4Runner V8 4WD Limited $37,656 - 2005 Base Invoice w/ Mandatory Option Package A w/ 6 CD + Destination + $1,000 Dealer Markup - $27,567 - Manheim Wholesale Auction Average 2003 4Runner V8 4WD Price = $10,089 - 2 Year Depreciation I don't use Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds.com for the used car values. The Manheim averages are more accurate based on real transactions. One of my friends is a Toyota sales and he confirmed the GX470 auction prices are high.

Cheaper Labour $$ in China doesn't necessarily mean less in quality. I don't think the Toyotas in China are less in quality compare to the Toyotas in the US. The keys are product design and QC - Quality Control My previous car was Mercedes CLK430, made in Germany, expensive but too many problems. That car is not better because higher labour $$ in Germany. Why the US made Toyota/Honda and etc. are more reliable than domestic cars in general. Not because the labour $$. It is because of the higher standard in QC. I have a friend working in a car part factory in Toronto. He told me how sloppy the domestic car companies QC don't inspect the parts throughly. The Japanese car companies QC inspect the parts throughly and they will reject the whole lot even if they find 1 unit is fault.

The Prado/ 4runner, Lexus GS & LS430 are built in the Tahara plant, which is the top ranked factory in the world, according to the Detroit Auto News. (BTW, the LS430=Celsior, GS=Arista, Windom=ES; new GS looks like the new Crown w/ the AWD; Crown has an aluminum underbody/hood, not sure if the GS does). One big advantage of the GX over the Prado (in terms of power) is the 4.7L V8 [2UZ]. Prado comes w/ a 3.4V6 (same engine [5VZ] as in the prev. 4runner) as the largest engine, otherwise a I-4 gasoline (150hp) or 3.0L turbo diesel (pulls a little better than the V6, but 24mpg), all for better fuel economy. http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/...2/a15-70498.htm http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/about_toyota/manufacturing/ I think you're thinking of the Landcruiser that's being built in China for the local market. It's the Landcruiser 80, sold worldwide from '91-97 ('96-97 LX450). Araco (owned by Toyota) built (maybe still build) the real landcruisers in the past. ← I think 1990LS400 is right. The China Toyota website listed two types of Prado: - Import Series (Made in Japan) http://www.toyota.com.cn/carlineup/prado/car_pra_app_01.html and - Domestic Series (Made in China) http://www.toyota.com.cn/carlineup/prado_c...pra_app_01.html Also Toyota doesn't sell LC80 in China anymore. They sell the same LandCruiser Series 100 V8 4700 as US and Japan. http://www.toyota.com.cn/carlineup/landc_c...100_app_01.html http://www.toyota.com.cn/carlineup/landc_c...100_spe_01.html

I took my GX off road over the weekend. I didn't notice a rock and it cracked the driver side running board rear end. The rear of the running board got ripped out about 1 inch as well as the rear door lower plastic panel. I will go to the dealer to fix mounting clips this week. Does anyone here has a good condition use running board for sale? My color is silver. I tried the junkyards online and no one has any. I don't want to buy new because the aftermarket paint is never as good as the factory paint.

Some nice features offered in the Japan merket: 3D Birdeye View Navigation Arm-rest Beverages Cool Bbox Better Arm-rest Computer Guided Backup View Better Trip Computer All Weather Cargo/Trunk Plastic Mat Auto Folding Sideview Mirrors Parking Sensors

I found these pics on a Japanese Website. Too bad I don't know Japanese. I want to find out were to buy. http://www.geocities.jp/ts2ya/