The G Man

The 05 doesn't require premium either. The manual states, minimum octane 87, for better performance, use 91. I dont understand, the 05 and the 06 have the same engine, the 06 requires premium and the 05 does not. The 06 4runner V8 has the same engine, but it does not require premium either. I just try out the 1st tank of 87 yesterday, so far so good, didnt notice much difference.

Congrat, you made the right decision.

The Kelly's blue book value for that car is $42000 for private party sale. Personnally, I would never buy a 3 year old car just to save 7000 dollars. The 06 GX are selling at around invoice now, so it is quite a bargain comapre to the used 04s. Another problem you might want to look out for is the drive shaft cluck on the 04s. That is the sensation of the car jumping forword a little bit after it comes to a complete stop. The cluck might be one of the reason why the owner wants to sell this truck. Good Luck

Sounds like the only option this car has is the Nav, which comes with the ML system and the camera, and the 3rd row seats. This car is almost 3 years old. You can buy a brand new 06 with same option for about $7000 more.

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.

There has been bunch and bunch of people who converted their headlights on the GX to HID. The projector on the GX is perfect for HID. I have seen HID conversion on a GX and the beam pattern is perfect. I agree with someone who posted earlier that the HID you got is indeed a H8, not a H11. I do understand that every re-based HID bulb can have a slightly different beam pattern, but your beam pattern is way way off. There is just no way that a H11 bulb can project a beam like that. Your beam pattern looks like a fog light pattern, which is what the H8 is design to do.

Why do you say that? Is you low beam different from everyone else's?

Hoens are guarantee for a year. Usually they last anywhere from 1 to 3 years depending on how much you drive at night. All high performance bulbs will burn out much faster than OEM bulbs with the exception of HID.

Those 20" looks nice, and they fit the truck very well. In my opinion, they look much better than some of 22" or bigger rims I have seen. They just look too big and makes the truck look like a pimp moblie. I guess thats fine if thats the look one is looking for.

Why dont you take the GX and give her the LS, I bet she will want the GX back in the winter time. Either way, you cant win. :cries:

One of the biggest advantage of that type of armrest is that no matter how much you put the seat forward or backward, the armrest is in the right place, I believe that is the intend behind that design. With that said, since I am just about average height, I perfer the center concole type of arm rest, but it is definitely not a deal breaker for me. I just wish they have the optional wide folding arm rest like the Honda CRX.

1400-1500 rpms is too high for normal idle, is this the RMP during or after the engine warms up? My GX idles at arounf 700-800 after it warms up.

Thats a new one to me, I dont have this problem. Have you check your tire pressure?

I heard of people who install after market stereo system on the GX had rear headphone/volume control functional and antenna problems. The GX has 2 antennas.

The GX is 4 inches wider and have bigger mirrors too.

Hmmm counterfeit GX470 huh. No wonder I got my GX for so cheap. My GX also seem to have more problems than usual and it is also lacking in horsepower. I am going to take off my engine cover tonight when I get home and take a look. If it does turn out to be a counterfeit GX, does anyone know where and how I can get my money back? :D Have a happy holiday everyone.

After trying out the Hoen titanium for 2 weeks, I am not too happy with them. They are definitely white like HID, but the intensity was not as good as the factory bulb. They did get brighter after about a week of use but not bright enough as a low beam in my opinion. I just bought a pair of the Hoen Xenrange bulbs, which are rated at 3700 kelvin. They are much bridger but not as white. The Xenrange are much bridger than the factory bulb and they only have a slight tint to them. The lesson learned here is that if you were trying to much the high beam or fog lights to your HID, then the Hoen titanium will good a good job. If you want more light output out of your low beam and at the same time looking for a bulb that is less yellow, then the Hoen Xenrange is better suited for that application. The Hoen Xenrange along with my PIAA fog lights brighten up the road very nicely. The projector on the GX also focus the beam very well.

Here is the part # for the K&N air filter for a 04 GX: http://www.knfilterchargers.com/search/appsearch.aspx I believe they are all the same, from the 03 to 06. I had K&N filters in everyone of my car until recently when I was reading a thread on aftermarket air filters. There was a post with a number of sites for references about how a clean factory air filter actually out perform after market so call high flow filter as far as flow rate and air cleaning capacity. So I did some research myself and found that most independent research had the same results. The only result that was in the aftermarket air filter manufacturer's favor was provided by the manufacturer themself. My conclusion is that I will change the OEM air filter every 10000 miles and get maximium flow and protection from the OEM filter.

I had to drive thru that same strom in Massachusetts. I just want to say that the GX is one amazing SUV in the snow. It handle everything I throw at it. It went thru un-plow road with a 30 degree slope. It went thru a road that a Honda CRV got stuck in. One thing that really impress me was the stability program in the GX, you really have to try hard to spin out the back, and it makes a noise when the stability program kicks in, which is a nice feature. I remember my old MDX with the stability program use to spin out going straight at 5 MPH with like 6 inches of snow. In my opinion, the GX is every bit as good as my 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the snow, and the Jeep had off road tires.

Just pop the Hoen titanium H11 in there to replace the PIAA. The Hoens are much whiter, to the point where the light is almost light blue. The Hoens doesn't seem as bright as the factory H11, but my PIAA was the same way at first then it got brighter after a week or so. I figure I give it a week or so to see if they get brighter, not sure if there is a burn in period with these bulbs. I also replace the parking light with PIAA LED, the color is white from the front but a hint of blue from the side view. It looks much better than the factory 194 bulbs which was way too yellow compare to the Hoens. I will let you guys know if the Hoens gets brighter next week.

It is a common problem with the 4runner V8 as well, below is a thread of one man's experience with it: http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?s=&...=New+Driveshaft

There is one TSB out already by Lexus and it fixes the problem some of the time. Most later 05 and the 06 already has this TSB install.

The hoens are coming in next tuesday, I will let you know how they are. Like I mentioned before, the PIAA H3 for the fogs are very nice and I even have PIAA LED wedge bulbs in my parking lights next to the DRLs. It is just the PIAA H11 that was not up to typical PIAA standard. :cries:

Just installed the PIAA extreme white bulbs in my low beam and fog lights. The fog light looks good, pure white and nice lumens. The low beam ,H11, was disapointing, not even as bright as the stock. It is not as white as the fog lights or the 9006 PIAA extreme white I had on my last car. I am going to try Hoen h11 bulbs next, I will let you guys know how it turns out. I just want to warn anyone out there that are thinking about buying a PIAA extreme white H11 bulb, don't do it, they are garbage.

I live in New England and it is pretty cold here now and the heated seats works just fine. My last car, the MDX, was too hot and the heat dry out the leather on the seats causing cracks.