adriandj

Hello everyone!

This is my first time in this forum and first time posting. The reason I joined this forum because I have few concerns about our Lexus GX 470. On August 22, 2009 I will be taking my mom's Lexus on a road trip for work traveling from Northern California to Salt Lake City, Utah back & forth.

1. I was wondering if I need to buy a separate luggage rack for the roof? or is it safe to just tie down our luggages with the roof rack that the SUV came with?

2. Its about 2,000 miles drive back n forth, what do I need to get checked just to make sure everything is working fine.

3. The lexus has a height adjustment correct? for a long drive, do i go higher or lower for comfortability.

4. For me to be able to use the SUV and carry fellow business partners we need to get it have a routine check to make sure the car is safe stuff like brakes, thread life?, hoses, liquids ? stuff like that? will the dealership offer that kind of service?

5. At around 70+ the steering wheel kinda shakes, not normal kinda shake but its rather strong. Kinda feels like when you brake and when the ABS kicks it. That kind of shaking like its this strong feedback. What is that? & how do we get that fixed?

Any advice for this long drive? It's my first one so I am really excited! Thanks!

stiles_s

A few questions:
- what year is the gx, and how many miles does it have?
- what was the most recent service?
- how many people are you carrying? do you really need to put stuff on the roof? I'd recommend avoiding it if possible

re: #3: the height adjustment is only functional at low speeds (<10mph, IIRC), so this is moot

#5: does the shake get worse when you hit the brakes? If so, likely warped rotors. if not, likely a front wheel badly out of balance.

itsZep

Do you have stock wheels and tires?

Bob GX

My GX always seems to need the front tires rebalanced after each tire rotation - I'd have your tire shop take care of that before the trip. That kind of vibration takes the fun out of a road trip.

I'm not a big fan of putting luggage on top - can scratch the paint, creates wind drag & noise, hard to get to, etc. When I have a load of people and not enough space for luggage I use a platform that goes into the trailer hitch (if your GX has one) - see attached photo. These are available from outdoor/sporting goods or trailer/camping kinds of stores.

pickle

For a 2,000 mile trip, I would avoid placing luggage on the roof, because it raises the center of gravity of the vehicle, and reduces the handling characteristics of the vehicle. It also reduces fuel mileage due to the aerodynamics, and can scratch the roof, and make it difficult to retrieve items from the roof. If you MUST place items on the roof, you will need to purchase a Thule container to avoid some of these issues, but it will still cause the milage to be reduced some, and it will change the handling characteristics. Place the lightest objects as possible on the roof.

The vibration at 70mph sounds like an unbalanced wheel. if you increase the speed to 80 mph and the vibration stops, then this is definitely the cause, and it should be addressed to avoid tire wear, and to preserve wear and tear on the drive train components.

As far as what should be done prior to the trip for maintenance, I would not recommend anything special, just the routine maintenance to the vehicle that should be carried out every 5,000 miles as per the owners manual. Take the vehicle to a reputable garage, not necessarily a lexus dealer, and have them do a full inspection. Just don't fall for stupid things like muffler bearings needing replacement. To list everything that should be inspected would take all day, but a reputable garage should be able to ensure your trip is a smooth one without a hassle.