gx470forme

Well, I have the Michelin Cross Terrians and tow my snowmobile with it. There are some times when I need to load up and the Sno-Park is not plowed. It has performed flawlessly so far. It does great on the roads too, but all the safetly features cannot change the law of physics, I still drive as if I was driving a 2WD I am most impressed though in the unplowed deep snow, it plain rocks!!! You drop into into low gear and lock the diff. and it will go just about damn near anywhere

No, you are not missing anything. That system is just not designed well and is very rudimentry in how it works. What it should do is keep the brake applied until you step on the gas. However what the system does is roll backwards a little then starts beeping at you and then slowly slows you down. All the while you are hitting the car behind you, defeating the purpose of it in the first place. Not really a useful feature.

Normally it is held in late June/early July at Alameda Point. That is the time frame and place it has been held for the last 2 years anyway.

That is NOT true if you do not have the rear entertianment option. The standard 6-disc changer does NOT have DVD capabilities. THE ONLY WAY YOU GET A DVD PLAYER FROM THE FACTORY IN THE IN THE GX IS IF YOU HAVE THE REAR ENTERTAINMENT OPTION. PERIOD. AGAIN, THE STANDARD 6-DISC CHANGER DOES NOT READ DVDS

The front screen CAN play DVD's with the E-brake engaged ONLY if you have the ML/Nav option Coupled with the Rear Entertainment Option. If you DO NOT have the Rear Entertainment Option, then there is NO DVD player in the vehicle.

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. ← Yep, it does come back. I am on the second round right now on my 04' The fixes, no matter if it is drilling holes, lapping stuff, new driveline, they all thump again after a few thousand miles. no permanante fix as of now.

Actually the GX is not holding the brakes while descending, it is doing the same thing that GS400Jon says his ES does. It downshifts the tranny. I really enjoy this feature when towing my snowmobile down from Lake Tahoe.

Ok, an update is in order. Lexus just replaced my driveline, as the first fix (vent hole and lapping) didn't take for long. After the driveline replacement the transmission is a lot smoother and lots more consistent as well as the thumping being gone. I am not holding my breath though on this fix being permanant. It seems the drivelines only stay smooth for about 2K to 3K miles. Until Lexus finds a permantant fix, I will be requesting a new driveline every 3K to 5K miles.

Did your thump manifest itself right away when the vehicle was new, or did it take some miles for it to show up? ← It took some time, when I first got it, it was very smooth. But that was because everything was new and tight. Again, now that the driveshaft is new again it is smooth again. Also as a side note my transmission is shifting more smoothly more consistantly now too. I think until Lexus finds a permanent fix, I will be requesting a new driveline everytime it starts up again, which should be every 3 to 5K miles. Lexus better start stocking up on driveshafts.

My GX is an 04' and has the thump too. Just finished with the second time in the shop. The first time they drilled a vent hole and lapped everything. The second time they said that Lexus wasn't recommending that anymore and replaced the driveshaft. So far so good, but it has only been 2 days. In my experience, the fixes last about 2 to 3K miles before it comes back. The shop forman did say that Lexus is seriously starting to look into this problem because the amount of complaints are adding up.

Don't have any solutions, but it is a fact the the seat warmers are just average. The back part of the seat warmers is almost non-exsistant. I can get average heat from the bottom, but not the bottom.

I forgot to make a very important point in my above post about the transmission inconsistancy and driveline roughness. When I bought my GX it was also very smooth, from driveline to tranny. However at about the 3K to 4K mark is when the issues started popping up. My GX was smooth as glass in every aspect when new, but after the parts have worn in is when the driveline and tranny started getting slop in them. Also the transmission inconsistancy started after I had a couple of aggressive near full throttle accelarations getting out into freeway traffic.

The direction that SUV's are going (including the off-road & full size models) is on a unibody frame with 4-corner air and IRS. This gives you the best of both worlds. Drivability of a more car like ride while keeping the off-road capabilities of a truck. Ex. is the VW Touareg, while next quite the level of Lexus in some aspects, they are on the right track with the Touareg. Frame designs are such now that unibodies are just as strong and rigid as ladder frames. The GX on its ladder frame is quickly becoming absolete. I would expect that when Lexus redesigns the GX for 07? 08? that it will move towards this direction.

I don't have a problem with the transmission shifting, it is more of how it shifts. Sometimes it shifts so smooth that the only indication that it has shifted up a gear is by looking at the tach. and there is absolutley no lag in accelaration or movement from inside the car to indicate a shift. Totally seamless While other times when it shifts the car lurches forward and/or has a momentary dead spot in accelaration. Very un-seamless Now you may be thinking about different accelaration rates, but I have tested this by accelarating at the same rate and making it shift at the same rpms and some times if shifts smooth and other times not. I have even played with ambient temps., car temp. and have found no pattern.

Best Features: -Mark Levinson Stereo system ( It just plain rocks for a stock setup) -Interior Quality (Ivory against that [real] maple wood) looks absolutley stunning -Lexus Service is top notch Worst Features: -Driveline is NOT Lexus smooth and was under-developed and has just received bandaid updates to date -Transmission inconsistant. Shifts smooth as glass some times and jerky/rough other times -No Indenpendant Rear Suspension (With today's modern technology it is possible to have off-road capability/robustness and car like drivability with a IRS setup) Overall I give it a 7 out of 10 While not one of Lexus's best products, it is still one of the best choices for its class, but needs some added "pursuit of perfection" If VW had a better reputation for customer service, I might be driving a V-8 4-corner air Touareg (sp).