crubrexus

Hello All,

Well, my 05 GX is in the shop today for it's third try at a fix to level it. Servco Lexus here in Honolulu is bleeding the KDSS hydraulics. I've theorized that it may be low on fluid, allowing both KDSS cylinders to compress and causing the tilt. Although others have written in that bleeding did not help, I've asked the technician to level the truck with a floor jack first, before adding/bleeding the fluid out. My theory on this is that this will allow both cylinders to expand when fluid is added, giving the proper capacity for the system. I'll try to explain this more clearly if anyone is interested.

In the meantime, I thought I'd upload some photos of the "before" condition. For those of you who are not experiencing this problem, you can see what it looks like. For those debating the KDSS option, in fear of the tilt, you can see if this is something which will bother you or not. The first photo shows the rear of the vehicle, the second is the same photo with red horizontal reference lines drawn. Note that the mudguards are not at the same height, also note the red reflectors in the bumper, as well as the seam between bumper cover and body at the left and right sides of the vehicle.

Opinions, thoughts, and speculation welcome.

Pat
ps: Yes, I just realized that my license plate is mounted a little crooked. I'll fix that myself later.

https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...t/508/size/big
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...62987/size/big

GXPrado

Maybe it's the photo but it doesn't look like there is anything wrong with it. The ground could be slightly tilted or uneven... but I still dont see it.

No car is perfectly level and what do you think happens when you sit in the car and add 150-250lbs to one side?

In any case, photos can distort things so I hope you find a satisfactory resolution.

The G Man

If you reference the bottom of the tires to the red lense on the bumper, there is about a quarter inch of difference. Thats not really alot for a SUV with this much of wheel travel. Never the less, I would have the dealer try to fix it.

Good Luck

crubrexus

What my eye gravitates to whenever I walk up to the back of the truck is the mudflaps, and the space between the bottom of the flap and the ground, or another thing I notice is the amount of tire exposed between the mudflap and the ground. I don't have my GX now to measure, however using the "measure" tool in photoshop I come up with 1.1 inch difference at the mudflaps (calibrating to the height of the truck at 74.6 inches).

One other symptom that does bother me is that if I park on a sideways slope at work, the truck sags noticably more on the drivers side if that side is downhill. If I reverse-park the truck so that the slope is opposite, the truck is level to the ground!

Thanks for responding, even if your opinion is contrary to mine -- it's a good reality check for me. I don't want to make mountains out of molehills, but it does bother me some. I'll see what the dealership does when I pick it up.

Pat

Rx900

whew, at least it wasn't as bad as this...



https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hlight=leaning

purplehazek4

another thing to consider is that the gas tank and KDSS unit sits all on the left side under the vehicle. the 20+ gallons of gas the GX can carry alone would make the car slightly lower on the driver's side than a GX with less fuel. add the weight of the kdss system and it would seem it would be very possible the car would be slightly uneven.
of course this is nothing more than my opinion, but something to think about.

dan

flyfishman

Have noticed the lean/tilt on many LC/LXs as well. My Sequoia has a slight left tilt, too. Have no idea what it is related to or if just by design. I will look at my wife's GX and see.

crubrexus

Just reporting in on the tilt issue with my 05 GX with KDSS (sport package). I took it in for repair last week, and got it back in level condition today! Repair consisted of bleeding the KDSS hydraulic system, to remove any air and restore fluid volume to proper level. I've been examining the KDSS system and reasoning out how it works, and figured that if it has air in it, or if it has insufficient fluid, the cylinders at the front and rear sway bars would both compress, causing the driver's side to sag lower than the passenger's. I asked if the technician would level the vehicle with a floor jack prior to bleeding, allowing both cylinders to expand to the correct volume as fluid is pumped in. This may be the difference that allowed this repair to work, as others have written in the bleeding did not help. I made the assumption that the truck is bled while on the ground, but if it was on a lift this obviously wouldn't help. I did not get feedback from the technician to see what the case is.

Anyway, if your's is tilting, you might want to suggest this if taking it in for repair. If anyone knows more information regarding bleeding procedure, please post and let me and others know. Before and after photo is located at:
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...63474/size/big

Both photos taken in identical conditions. Garage floor is level. Truck is empty (no cargo, driver, or passengers). Full tank of gas in both cases.

Note the red lines indicating tire bottom and mudflap bottom. The before case (top) shows the tilt where it is most obvious (at the mudflaps), and where my eye gravitates to whenever I walk up to the rear of the vehicle. The after case shows that it is pretty much level -- I'm very satisfied with the result.

Pat