ukcats

So, I foolishly sold our 2022 Lexus GX460, and I have regretted it ever since. I could get another GX, but, went to the dealership last week and put a deposit on a new ES350 Ultra Luxury. I am aware of Lexus legendary quality, and long lasting vehicles, but, I am wondering if the the made in Kentucky 7th Gen ES will last 250-300k miles? What do you guys think?

lesz

Over the last 20 years or so, I've had about 14 Toyota/Lexus or Nissan/Infiniti vehicles. Half were built in the US and half were built in Japan. I had always felt that, whether built in Japan or the US, the quality was excellent, but I thought that those built in Japan were just a bit better. More recently, however, I've changed my thinking.

I had 2 Generation 6 ES vehicles, one built in Japan and one built in Kentucky. There were no mechanical issues with either vehicle (each of which I owned for about 3 1/2 years). The fits and finishes on the Japan built car were okay, but they were far from perfect. Some interior and exterior panels were not aligned as well as they could have been, and there were a couple of annoying rattles/squeaks that I had to deal with. On the other hand, the fits and finishes on the US built car were about as perfect as can be, and there wasn't a rattle or squeak to be found on the car.

I also have a 2021 RAV4 Hybrid that was built in Kentucky, and its fits and finishes are about as good as can be.

Thus, based on those experiences, even though I know that the sample size is small, I would not hesitate to buy a Lexus or Toyota vehicle built in the Kentucky plant.

Jack1986

At least you’ll get better mpg with the ES. What was your reason for switching from an SUV to a sedan?

ukcats

Hi Jack. The GX was purchased for the wife, but after a month of driving it, she decided it wasn’t for her, and I ordered her another Jeep Wrangler. I took the GX for a couple of months after her Jeep came in, and one day got a wild hair up my….., er, I decided to trade it for something more fuel efficient. Big mistake, as honestly, I would rather drive something nice more than something frugal. I also tend to prefer cars over SUV’s, but I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase another GX. I love the tried and true V-8. The ES does seem like a better fit for me though.

Jack1986

I can understand wanting something nicer and of better quality than a more fuel efficient vehicle. My number one reason for trading my Honda Accord in was to have a more reliable car, but I also wanted something nicer. I too prefer cars over SUVs, as I’ve never owned one. I like the RX 350s, though.
I don’t know much about the GX, but they do seem nice. Who knows, if gas goes up to $6.00 or 7.00 a gallon, you may end up being more happy with your decision, especially if you already got more than MSRP for it 🙂

lesz

I had a 1st Generation (2005) GX. I kept that vehicle for over 15 years until I finally traded it in late in 2020. It may have been the most dependable vehicle that I ever owned, and, with its full time 4 wheel drive, I've never driven a vehicle, including more recent 4 wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles, that made me feel safer and more secure on snow-covered, ice-covered, and otherwise slick surfaces. Over the 15 years that I owned it, the only non-maintenance repairs that were needed were repairing a leak in the air conditioning refrigerant line and replacing 2 turn signal bulbs.

But, by 2020, the technology was feeling very dated, and I realized that I was on borrowed time with regard to other repairs. I knew that, had I kept it even for 1 more winter, I was going to need new tires and a new battery. After 15 years and with almost 100,000 miles, it still had the original brakes. So, I knew that it was going to need brake work in the relatively near future, and I was especially concerned about the suspension, which was still fine, but I was concerned about deterioration of the air bags, which would have very expensive to replace.

So, I figured that it would not make sense to spend $3000-5000 on a 15+ year old vehicle that no longer was worth a lot of money, and I thought that it would be nice to have some newer technology. But there is a lot that I still miss about that GX. About the only things that I don't miss are the old technology and getting 15-18 mpg fuel economy.

LexFinally

Yes. I'm so sure of that, I bought one myself.

The key element in durability is the drivetrain, and the ES 350 has the bulletproof V6 with nearly 20 years of refinement behind it. I've also seen the squawking about how the American-built Lexuses don't measure up to the Japanese ones, but Lexus uses premium components and trains its US workers the same way as the Japanese ones, right down to flying in Japanese managers to do so. My own car has trim and seams that line up, beautiful paint, no rattles or squeaks, and one inconsequential problem (a seat memory that needed a simple reset by the dealer). I say, buy with confidence.

703

The issues you see are typically related to supplier quality problems. E.g a gasket that prematurely fails. Can happen regardless of where it is built, but more on your luck on the batch used for your particular car.

LexFinally

Anything is possible, but in Year 4 of the current gen, bugs should be fewer. Other than the Prius, the Toyotas on the new TNGA platform are not quite as completely trouble-free as their illustrious predecessors, but nearly all of them are close.

703

Yes. They don’t built them like they used to. Just take a look at NHTSA for the RAV4. Man, it’s an endless list.

E46CT

I dunno, a lot of NHTSA complaints are vanilla grandma's complaining their cars wander when the wind blows (duh) or things are beeping at them. Stupid silly stuff that don't justify complaints.

And yep... searched it Rav4 nhtsa..."My windshield is cracked." yeah... stuff is out there and hits stuff.

"I can hear wind noise when i drive" yep... wind is out there.

It's just silly vanilla/layman people that don't know how things work or expect Rolls Royce performance out of their mass-produced grocery hauler. People are just silly silly silly.

TNGA is the best Toyota/Lexus platform to date, by far.

E46CT

The hybrid will last that long. The V6 would last long too but you start to complicate the curve when you toss in a stepped auto. if you can make that last long, then you should be able to pull off 300+

There's already a few hybrids deep into the 8s and 9s with zero issues. (and when i say hybrids, i mean the a25)

LexFinally

To clarify for OP, I gather from a quickie web search that the a25 is the 2.5 liter engine used in Toyota hybrids bigger than a Prius. Yes?

703

if you filter out the non sense. Still plenty of real issues over the years for the unlucky.

E46CT

examples?

the accords (new ones) are blowing headgaskets and CRVs have fuel dilution issues for example. anything big like that or we talking stupid stuff like tire stickers are peeling off