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).

Well, I can only comment on the Michelin Cross Terrians. I tow a snowmobile in the winter time and they were flawless in the snow. That tire coupled with the GX's 4-Wheel Drive System, makes it a dream in the winter conditions. Ice is another matter though, and any tire (unless it is an ice specific tire) will slip on icy roads and does.

True in most cases, but I use mine in the snow and off-road. Especially early and late in the winter season to get my snowmobile into good snow. I also fold back the rear seats and sleep back there on my weekend snowmobiling trips. Don't think the FX35 would work for me. I do agree that the FX is a contender for on-road, but for true off-road the Touareg is the closest as far as a car based is concerned. And your concern that it is a VW is what kept me from seriously looking at it. But I think that may have been naive. Sure the customer service isn't up to Lexus, but the Touareg has been getting rave reviews from all the car and off-road magazines. It even beat out the GX in Car & Driver.

And for that reason, I think the VW Touareg would be the top choice for the mid-size if you are looking for a car based SUV but with the off-road capabilities of a truck based mid-sized SUV.

Yeah, I am regretting not getting the KDSS option now, this thing does have some tracking issues, and dispite the Lexus touch to the suspension, it still very much rides like a truck. I almost looked at the VW Touareg before purchasing the GX and now wish I had. It has all the off-road capabilites of the GX, plus 4-wheel independant suspension, 4-corner air shocks, and bi-xeon headlights. I just couldn't get past a 50K VW, but that may have been my ignorance for not at least giving it a serious consideration. Might look into a trade maybe next year though.

Ok, have 300 miles on the new GX now and have a question on the transmission operation. When I stop accelelarating and let my foot off the gas the RPM drops to idle for a second, then jumps back up to the proper RPM for whatever gear you are in for that speed. The odd thing is it doesn't do it everytime, just about half the time. The rest of the time the RPM just drops to where it should be for the current gear and speed. I don't remember my 03' doing this, is this part of a new software interface, or do I have a potential issue? Thanks

1st Lemon law case - 01 Corvette Z06, to many problems to list but the major ones were Excessive oil loss (GM TSB replace rings in cylinders), total brake failure (luckily not while it was being driven), total clutch failure, ABS/traction control/activing handling systems malfunctions X3, etc. the list goes on and on. Very fast car and handled better than anything stock under 100K, but very weak quality and service. Epecially didn't like my engine being torn into with only 10K miles by the local dealership service monkies 2nd lemon law case - 00 Dodge Dakota 4X4, would stall going from Reverse to Drive, dealer tryed 4 times to fix it and couldn't. This is the reason I went to Lexus, as people raved about how good they are, and they are at least customer service wise and car wise too, just not the GX. Just my luck. Yes I did my research and a lot of these problems were not well known back then. I even went to the Lexus event that they put on to show the off-road capabilities of the GX.

Not sure where you live, but in California the laws are pretty specific. Do a search on lemon laws in your state and it should tell you. I know them for California, as I have successfully lemon lawed two vehicles in the past and won both cases. However that is too much to type. Anyway good luck.

I concur. I have had my GX in for service 7 times in three months. TWICE for M/L system problems, TWICE for the driveline vibration problems, THREE times for the driveline clunking problems. Also during those visits had the inaccrate temp. gauge, creecking seats, and a pulling to the left hand side when I accelarated worked on. Now Jacksonian that may be acceptable to you, but it is not acceptable to me. We as Lexus customers pay a premium for a Luxury vehicle, the Lexus name, and the reliability that is supposed to go with it. If in fact you do think that is acceptable Jacksonian, then it is people like you who justify to the manufactors that releasing a shotty product and charging a premium for it is ok. I for one will not curl up in a ball and accept this type of shotty product. I am one appointment away from filing a lemon law case on my GX and I will win too.

If you win your case in full, then you get back.... your down payment, tax & license, all the payments you have made up to turn in, and any expenses you incurred because of the problem, like car rental fees, towing, etc. On one of my cases I even got reimbursed for the aftermarket stuff a added like custom mats, emblems, and the like. The two things they take out us your refund will be an attorney retainer fee (which in my case was a $1000 flat fee) (the manufactor pays the court costs) and a mileage off-set from the time the problem first started and was documented by your invoice from the dealer. Make sure you keep ALL paperwork from the dealer. Yes the clunk qualifies as a lemon law issue, however it is NOT a safety issue. Safety issues only require 2 attempts to fix before you can qualify for the lemon law. In non-safety issues like the clunk in the drivelline it required 4 attempts. You may also want to go to different dealers, as some dealers if they see you often enough for the same problem will refuse to work on your vehicle. Most service managers know how the lemon laws work (as they are the ones you will turn the car into if you win your case) and don't want anything to do with it. Some people try arbutration with the manufactor first, but I have never gone that route.

Not sure where you live, but in California you need 4 attempts before you can lemon law it. If it is still present AFTER the 4th attempt. DO NOT GO BACK TO THE DEALER, GO TO AN ATTORNEY. The problem needs to exist at the time you sue them. I have been through two lemon law cases and have won them both. One with GM and the other with Chrysler. I just got the 3rd attempt to fix the driveline thump and it is still there. 1 more try and lemon law here I come. Lexus normally is very reliable, but on the GX they did not do the proper R&D and testing and released it a year too early.