As the recent purchaser of a GX460, I am pretty disheartened by the recent events. I also think it's rediculous that I haven't received a call from Lexus OR the dealership that sold me the vehicle.

 

You're not the Lone Ranger...

 

According to Consumers Report, the GX460 is not safe because it did not pass their test like the other SUV's.

How about this SUV that flips today in Orange County? Did it pass their test as being safe?
Ford Escape flips on Fullerton street
http://www.ocregister.com/news/escap...fullerton.html

 

Toyota announced they will suspend production of the Lexus GX 460 for nine production days:

http://economictimes.***************...ow/5812101.cms

Note that the phrase "... pushed to its limits ..." is used in this announcement, repeating what Consumer Reports says in their blog about how they 'flogged' their test GX 460!

This is additional good news for current owners as it means there will NOT be a glut of unsold units when sales resume after this issue is resolved. What is remarkable is how quickly Toyota is addressing this issue as we are now reading reports of a "fix in the works" after only a few days. It seems that a definite extent for the production suspension would indicate this matter will be resolved quickly, which is good news for all ... current owners and owners-to-be waiting for availability.
Regards,

SaniDel

 

Rest assured, I never claimed to be...

 

I don't know about you but forgetaboutit. I just got a GX for the family last week...and want nothing to do with it now or later when the download new "software."

My Lexus deal -- Lexus of Pleasanton, CA -- is acting like they would be doing me a favor in taking the car back since they will take a loss on it. They state they will do it if I will buy an LX 570 for MSRP -- or roughly 80k. Yeah, nice service eh?

 

Well the GX sales goal was 14k this year and I think yall said 6k or so have been sold thus far so its a much smaller production run to check/stop than the Camry etc headache/issue/recall.

Lets be honest here. One of Lexus main selling points is quality/being as trouble free as possible and it would make NO SENSE to sell a vehicle that could damage that. Also a Lexus has twice the stringent requirements of a Toyota.

Lets hope this is resolved quickly and I have complete faith in the product.

 

I understand you're and others reaction to all this and having a desire to get out of the GX460.

Let me tell you my story...
My wife called me Tuesday afternoon and told me to check the news,a coworker (who drives a Kia minivan and drooled all over our GX460 when she saw it for the first time) told her about the GX460 news story.
She and I had the same reaction lets get out now...We visted our local Mercedes Benz dealership Tuesday evening and drove the GL 450 (again) and after 3 minutes into the drive we both agreed "We are keeping our GX460"there was no comparision drive,ride, interior,exterior and price.
We remembered why we purchased the GX460 in the first place after shopping for months.

I am not sharing this story with you other then to say others feel (or in my case felt) the same way you do and to take a deep breath and see how this plays out (or not).
I would assume you shopped the market extensively and the GX was our choice and I still believe for good reason.
Nothing has changed except perceptions, no GX460 has actually flipped over not a single one.
From a media/marketing perspective it is being diffused quickly as the the entire Toyota SUV line is being checked which makes the GX460 not so much of a White Elephant.

Hang in there if you do make a change I'd like to hear what you decide upon as we are all still in the woods...

 

I think most, if not all, of the people here agree with your assessment regarding the overall quality of the GX; I know I certainly do. I purchased my GX470 in 2004, and after almost 6 years, a few oil changes, and new brakes, it's still "like new" with only 38K on the odometer. I plan to keep my GX for many, many years. What is bothersome for me is how Lexus seemingly has forgotton that it was the combination of the value, quality, reliability, and safety of its products that took that marque to the top of the automotive industry. Perhaps it was the complacency that sometimes accompanies great success that overtook the discipline for the excellence that Lexus was known for. If so, then this latest blunder could actually turn out to be a positive event to the extent Lexus uses this experience as a catalyst to regain its competitive edge. For those here who have decried the CR report as a type of vendetta or blasphemy against Lexus, I would remind them that there is no such thing as perfection, and that it's only the quest for perfection that can be truly perfect.

 

What I don't get is how CR can release a report, little more than hand-waiving explanation as to how they conducted the test, won't share details, Toyota hasn't yet been able to duplicate it, NOBODY has crashed a vehicle, yet so many of you guys are all "Toyota doesn't give a care about anything anymore, botched this, screwed up that, is arrogant, selfish, lost their edge, would like to kill us all, and I'm scared to drive my truck." Does what's been released so far really convince you guys of all that? Seems like a lot of evil and wrong-doing to deduce from what's been released so far.

 

I love that quote. So true.

 

Not to get into a back-and-forth, because I certainly respect your opinions, but keep in mind that the CR report is just the latest of many, recent embarassing missteps for Toyota. Without going into the litany, the one that really stands out the most for me was the recent revelation of the ignored joint memo that was sent to Toyota management from a group of Toyota engineers (in Toyota City, Japan) about their concerns regarding quality slippages. I saw CNN's interview of the spokesman for those engineers and in addition to discussing how Toyota's response to their memo was "no response", he asserted that it had become clear that the culture of the company was now more about being #1, than quality. I have been very loyal to the Toyota brand in my car purchasing life and the foremost reason for my loyalty was the knowledge of, and faith in, the manufacturing quality that stood behind the brand. Indeed, I focused only on Toyota products in thinking about what my daughter's first car would be. Frankly, I was stunned by all of the recent bad press regarding Toyota. As for your comment referring to CR's hand waiving, I must confess that I am very unfamiliar with the metrics CR uses in its evaluations; however, it has been my experience that a certain amount of deference is usually given to authoritative sources and, in this regard, CR has more than a generation of authoritative reporting experience behind it. I am not on one side or the other of this issue; however, as a consumer of many goods of which I know almost nothing about how they were produced or manufactured, I am very grateful that there are "watchdogs" such as CR that exist to respect my money and inform me about what I may be purchasing.

 

[QUOTE=Toyota's response to their memo was "no response", he asserted that it had become clear that the culture of the company was now more about being #1, than quality. I am very grateful that there are "watchdogs" such as CR that exist to respect my money and inform me about what I may be purchasing.[/QUOTE]

Leslie, I couldn't agree more, toyota owner myself since 1985...Amen.

 

The 460 is a disappointment for me, it has less cargo room and the back door is still a mess. I decided to keep my '06 470.

The 470 will hold its value longer due to the 460 blunder.

If you have a 460, you're stuck with it for a while.

 

Thank goodness for that rear barndoor to not make me even have considered getting the 460, or I'd be so p'd off right now to have to wait for some "fix" although it wouldn't probably not affect me given the conditions as displayed in that CR video.

Nonetheless, just another mis-step in several that Toyota has made making it to the top and then trying to stay there. It's easy to fall off the first step of a ladder and get up... to have a mis-step from the top of a 50' ladder, now that would be quite a fall.