Looking for a replacement for the aging Highlander, I really want a GX, and the 2nd gen ones are getting down into my budget range. They are very rare around here, so I can't easily go look at one. From the pictures, it looks like the 3rd row seats are all power actuated? How hard would it be to remove the seats entirely? We will never, ever ever use them.

I pulled the worthless rear seat out of our Highlander when we bought it and I made a deck cover over the cavity, it's been really great to have that storage but out of sight and out of the way. Would like to do the same for the GX. If they're not removable, that's a deal breaker.

 

No deal breaker

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...t-removal.html

 

Thank you. I did a search but didn't find anything. That definitely looks doable, and worth the effort to remove them. I envision some soft of plywood box in their place, perhaps with a slide out drawer.

If I can find one locally I'll go to the trouble to go take a look now.

 

Two other questions:

Did they offer these in non-nav models? I have no use for an outdated navigation system that will eventually fail.

Is the spare tire a full-sized wheel and tire?

 

Yes - although these seem pretty rare. Most already have NAV installed.

Yes

 

The chance of finding one without nav in the U.S. is so slim they may as well not exist. I've never actually seen one for sale and I'm not confident that they were available through normal means. The screen will also serve as your audio and HVAC controls so if you don't want to deal with navigation just don't use it. You can turn off the setting that constantly reverts the screen to the map.

As for the seats you've already seen the process. It isn't hard, just a little involved. I took mine out recently to add some sound deadening but I reinstalled them. Removing them will save a fair amount of weight as well.