hoonami

As some of you guys know I just purchase 04 GX for my wife last week...and I have lots and lots of questions!! Hope CL Experts could help me out a little

1. Our GX is only 4-5 year old but it's SUPER RUSTY under the car I mean Rusty...where towing hook(under front bumper) is ready to fall off if i pulled it, and you see rusts everywhere if you get on your knees and look under, is there anything i or lexus can do? or any mechanic/bodyshops will be able to do anything about this?

2. If I am standing in front of the car, whole right side of the car is sitting higher than left side, it looks uneven. Now our garage is leveled evenly, seems like passenger rear suspension is sitting higher than driverside rear. Also what is wrong with this? It has 58k miles on it, anything could be done with leftover warranty? simple/easy fix?

3. When I start the car it makes really loud fan noise that goes on for about 20 second or so, is this also normal? maybe because of V8 engine? Sounds totally different than my 02 ES300 and 04 RX330(the one I test drove prior to purchasing a GX). When I start driving it gets quiter(at least inside does). How's your GX sound like during startup, idling, and driving?

I know I sound stupid with these weird questions but these things are really annoying me so please help me CL Experts!!

Thanks,
Tae

The G Man

....As long as it surface rust, its fine. Lexus' warranty is only for rust thru.
....Suspension sitting uneven is a common problem for the GX. I remember a poster had a brand new GX that was measure almost 2 inches diff. between left and right. Take it back to the dealer and have them check the rear shocks and springs.
.....The engine fan on the GX is very loud and for some reason, it drains a lot of power also, but all GX do that, so get use to it

itsZep

http://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp

hoonami

The G Man...
Okay Now, I bought it from independent dealer with 58k miles on it, can i take it to lexus to get checked out under warranty?
What exactly is considered SURFACE RUST? and what do Lexus Warranty cover as far as dealing with rust?
Here are couple of SAD pics I took last night at our parking garage

purplehazek4

Man if I saw any rust, i'd be under there with a gallon of that and a paint brush asap!

To the OP, surface rust is exactly that...rust on the surface. If the rust looks like it has eaten away at the metal itself, then you have a problem. Take a pic

Dan

hoonami

I've never had any car with RUST that looked like this... and it's only 4.5 yr old too what can I do about it? I haven't even made my first payment yet(sigh) I don't want it to fall apart after few years....I mean literally FALL APART!! Here is couple of shots of the SERIOUS RUST(I think) This really looks like it's from 1908s...

hoonami

purplehazek4

Overall, it's not that bad

Your rear tow hitch, i'd replace it unless you're not planning to tow

The rest isn't too bad, other than your front tow hook. They're all parts that can be easily replaced (f/r axels, brackets, etc)

One thing i'd make sure I do is LUBE! make sure your drive shaft and wheel hubs are greased up. And have your suspension bushings checked out (sway bar, ball joints too)

purplehazek4

Also, take some pics of the frame

hoonami

sorry for stupid q's...but which part is the frame? where is it located?

The G Man

At 58K miles, your bumper to bumper warranty is gone. Suspensions are cover under bumper to bumper warranty.

hoonami

so The G Man, what are your thoughts about these nasty rust? is it normal rust for its age? i really don't thinks it's acceptable at all... but don't know what to do...

The G Man

I cant see the picture because my work computer blocks it out, I will check out the pics at home, but from what I understand is that if there isnt any material lost, then its normal surface rust. I bet a good under coating guys can spray a coat of rust inhibitor and another coat of under coating on top of that and it will look as good as new.

The G Man

purplehazek4 is right, all looks like surface rust except for the hitch. What is that 2nd to last picture? What ever that was, it didnt look good at all.

BobsGX

Looks like your GX was left sitting in salt water. Also the spare tire is mounted upside down.