I have been a loyal Lexus customer and the GX470 is my third Lexus.(and it may be my last) I took delivery this past January and I have had many problems such as:

1) 3 recalls
2) sulfur smell no matter what gas I use
3) sometimes have slow shifting problems
4) Molding has fallen off around the doors over FIVE times
5) Sometimes when the GX is at a standstill, it feels like it gets hit by a car, I think it is some sort of gear shifting.
6) The Lexus headphones with the DVD system didn't work and they had to supply a Sony set.


Anyone else have the same problems?

 

Yes, They bought back my first GX and it had vibrations real bad, temp indicator way off, clunk when at stop like being hit in rear end. Paint was a mess. Milage was horrible! Now on my second one, as i needed a hitch. This GX has the vibration, clunk in rear like being hit. Milage is 5-7 miles better per gallon than the last one so don"t let them tell you there is nothing wrong when some get good milage and some bad. My new one also has Mitchlin tires which they said were supposed to cure the vibration lol. All these SOBs should go back on the Lemon law period. This is not a tire vibration folks.

 

About #5, It is some kind of thug. Mine has that also and am very annoyed by it. Did you ask the dealer if they know or can fix it? Because I'm afraid to show it to my dealer because they broke something last time i had a warranty service on the glove compartment of my rx300. They fixed my glove compartment rattle but created a new rattle somewhere in my dash. So that's why I can't bring it to my dealer right away because they would just start ripping it apart, just to look for the thug problem. If you got a solution for it, please post it here.

thanks.

 

As to the sulfer smell.

I heard some much about this from 4 Runner owners and GX 470 owners. In my GX 470 it was downright embarassing. Toyota blames the gas, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

I sold my GX 470 a month ago. For me the lowsy gas mileage, sulfer smell, bad temp gauge, and a few other things took away the fun in a 48K vehicle.

Now the kicker. I am driving a 2003 Nissan Altima. No sulfer smell, temp gauge works perfectly, and it cost 22K.

It's amazing in a 48K car that Lexus can't get rid of that smell. My opinion? The GX 470 needed another year before being introduced. Yes problems are normal for a first year car, but problems in a 50K car are another story. Lexus customer service did a terrible job handling a lackluster introduction.

Lexus customer service also left a real bad taste (and smell) for me.

Good luck to the GX 470 owners. It is a nice vehicle and I wish you all the best.

 

I have also had problems with the molding falling off around the doors. The dealer finally resorted to gluing it on. It took a few trips to the dealership for them to be able to get the glue to adhere. The "fix" is a bit kludgey to me.

I also noticed slow shifting problems which the dealership said was noise coming from the fan clutch. They are claiming it is normal but I don't think so. The only problem that you list that I haven't had is the sulfur smell.

The voice controlled navigation system has also given me problems. It responds to my commands less than 50% of the time.

Lexus will be rebuying my car due to the GVWR recall. I initially loved the car but I am going to rethink ever purchasing the first production year of a car.

 

do people ever look at past threads? most if not all of these issues have been coverd allready

 

Hi guys, this is horrible to hear consider how much I have teasing my girlfriend's 01MB and we are considering trading her car for a GX because of the comfort, reliability and dependable. Anyone knows if Lexus is trying to address all these issues?

 

Not at all! If they were interested in fixing the problems they would have fixed them on the assemblw line as my first was built on Dec of 02 and new one Aug of 03 and still has every problem first one had.

 

Has anyone written a letter and complaint to the Lexus headquarter. I found very hard to believe Lexus is not doing anything to try to find the remedies for all these issues. But if the issues are or were properly communicated to Lexus but nothing has been done, then I don't think I will trade our problem (C320) for another problem.

P.S. If none of you GX owner has written a letter to the headquarter, I strong encourage you guys to do that. I had couple wonderful experiences when I wrote to the headquarter (one for my 97' SC and one for my 01' GS) and I was contacted by the headquarter within 2 days with apporpriate action to address my concerns!

 

Yep..wrote letter of complaint & finally got some attention.

Guess what..they could not fix the problems & bought the vehicle back.

It's like they 'gave up" on trying to fix the problems!

If they can't fix the vibration with a trip to the service center then one has to assume that this is not an easy fix!

Lexus is lucky they have a bunch of loyal owners out there, but somehow I think a few are on a river in Egypt!

I went and test drove a new GX470 and it had the same vibration problem. The salesmen told me they all have the same "hum" as he called it! Right!

Maybe it should be renamed the Hummer 3!

 

What address did you send that letter to and to whoms attention did you send it too. I might be looking at the same boat as you for the vibration issue that is really unacceptable for a $50K Lexus and more importantly a luxury vehicle. Further more it is unacceptable that Lexus will not make a stand on this issue.

 

zoombie99
1) 3 recalls is a pain in the azz my rear air suspension took forever and 7 hours of my time waiting, if I was more PO I would sue Toyota.
2) the sulfer smell is on a lot of newer cars, probably has to do with the emission standards for cleaner running vehicles, my ES and 4Runner has it but the 4R after 7000 miles is gone, the ES I smell once in awhile if I drive it hard and get out fast and run around to the back but the 4R I just put the rear window down and step on the gas on the highway, how do you smell it in the GX when the rear window does not go down.
3) slow shifting, is it like the problem in the 02&03 ES, can you duplicate it when does it happen any rpm or certain gear, from a stop a rolling start from 5mph, from 40mph when you floor it to pass.
4) the molding falling off now makes you think how it will hold up in several years, the Navigators when they 1st came out had the molding problem to.
5) I got the same thud at standstill on the 4Runner, does not bother me and is not as bad as when 1st new so it is getting better.
6) I rather Sony

look at the bright side of things you don't mention the driveline vibration

modelaford
did you test drive the 2nd GX cause it seems to have all the same problems as the 1st but better gas mileage, did you properly brake in the 1st one, driving with your foot to the floor is not the best for a new engine or was it a demo you took, you sound like you wan to get rid of the 2nd 1 too.

hipcheck
the sulfur smell should be addressed better but Toyota/Lexus vehicles are not the only ones suffering with the problem, I don't understand how I had the sulfur smell and only smelled it with the rear window down but owners of GX's smell it and the rear tailgat window does not go down, my sulfur smell is gone, must be a burn in of the cats/exhaust.

Your bad gas mileage, it is a V8 in a pretty heavy vehicle where 1st gear is all torque so right their if you do stop and go your mileage is shot, I average 14mpg

You got a 2003 Altima for 22k is that a V6 with nothin or a fully loaded 4banger, you visit altimas.net cause some of the owners act like their cars are hand made from god, you also know that many of the members with 02 and 03 models had similar problems if not worse than the GX owners here, 03 models seem to be better than the 02.

How come you did not get a G35sedan.

gx470
so after Lexus buys back the GX cause of the weight issue what are you gonna replace it with.

GSXOTIC
don't you know people complain before they praise, bad news travels fast take everything with a grain of salt and test drive the vehicle your gonna buy, don't test drive a vehicle and buy a drifferent one their is no way the GX has some of the best sales for a truck based luxury utlity vehicle compared to other SUV sales in it's class, Im betting most of the GX's are fine and don't compare to the few in here I hope.

major1
they bought back yours 2, do you know how many GX's have been bought back

thats exactly what they want Toyota now has a following like Ford, the other night I was reading on a Ford Truck board and 5 guys with problems 10x worse then the GX got their Expeditions bought back and bought Navigators

On the testdrive you can feel the vibration and where is it, the pedal the drivers seat, and the salesman said hum cause thats what it sounds like.

The Hummer H3 will probably be in the same class as a V8 4Runner so fully loaded it will probably have an MSRP of 45k, I doubt it will even come close to the GX price range, thats H2 territory.

 

Gents

01. If you want to look at Lexus buying your vehicle back you need to politely pursue this with customer service and demand you speak with a "supervisor" who has "buy back" capability!

02. Vibration is mainly felt through the steering wheel (wood portion) which being a hard non vibration absorbing surface conducts the "vibes" as they occur!

03. Lemon laws are different in every state but you must accurately record or document your situation and keep pursuing them (Lexua) on the problems. You cannot wimp out because the service manager tells you that "This is new or unusual" etc.... This is a major well documented problem & well known about!

04. lastly if I pay 25k or 54k for a vehicle I would assume you would want it to be right! You are paying for it & there is nothing wrong is asking for it to be right!

I believe from what I heard, that somewhere near 300 GX470's are being bought back. They have a special independant company handling the buy backs which are then auctioned off!

Sadly a lot of folks accept the problems and get back in that river in Egypt!

 

modelaford
did you test drive the 2nd GX cause it seems to have all the same problems as the 1st but better gas mileage, did you properly brake in the 1st one, driving with your foot to the floor is not the best for a new engine or was it a demo you took, you sound like you wan to get rid of the 2nd 1 too.
No did not test drive as it came in from outstate and paperwork all done when I picked it up. Had 235 miles on it. The other one had 6 miles on it and i did not drive it hard during the 7k I drove it. i also have contacted lexus customer service many times and they will not even return any calls. I surely thought they would have fixed these on the assembly line in the 7 months between build dates. And why do most of them vibrate and some do not? I would be willing to bet the 04 will vibrate also. They may get this SOB back also.

 

i have had the sulfur smell twice in the same day about two weeks ago. this has never happened before and i have had the car for 4 months. hopefully it wont be a reoccuring problem.