Premium or not? (air sus concerns)
03-27-18 | 10:35 PM
#1
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From: nv
Premium or not? (air sus concerns)
Hey all, I am looking to get a truck for the family and want something reliable. Have been looking at 4 runners and found out that the gx is a similar truck. Living in North Lake Tahoe I like the idea of the full time 4 wheel drive the gx has especially when my wife is taking the kids to school in the winter. There are also a lot of OHV trails out my back door that I would like to go adventuring with the kids on and the gx looks like it is even more capable than the 4 runner, but not sure on that. It’l be more capable than the two ford escapes we have now though. 
We are looking for a 2010 to 2013 gx, but are unsure about getting the premium model primarily due to the rear air suspension. Since we will be most likely getting one with 60k to 100k we are concerned about having costly repairs to the rear suspension on the premium model. Also, temps can get quite cold here and we do not have a garage and I have read that the air suspension can be **** damage from cold.
Can an anyone speak to the reliability of the air sus on the premium models?
How often do they need repair/replacement?
How expensive is it to fix?
Could I replace the bags with coils if they went out?
Do cold temps have an effect on reliability?
Is the premium model worth the risk of possible repairs?
Thanks for any help. Hope to be an official GX member soon!
We are looking for a 2010 to 2013 gx, but are unsure about getting the premium model primarily due to the rear air suspension. Since we will be most likely getting one with 60k to 100k we are concerned about having costly repairs to the rear suspension on the premium model. Also, temps can get quite cold here and we do not have a garage and I have read that the air suspension can be **** damage from cold.
Can an anyone speak to the reliability of the air sus on the premium models?
How often do they need repair/replacement?
How expensive is it to fix?
Could I replace the bags with coils if they went out?
Do cold temps have an effect on reliability?
Is the premium model worth the risk of possible repairs?
Thanks for any help. Hope to be an official GX member soon!
03-28-18 | 05:21 AM
#2
Pit Crew
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 232
Likes: 64
From: TX
Jjhillj, welcome to GX board. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, here's mine. You can take it with a grain of salt if you'd like. Having said that, I have owned both GX that has air suspension and without. The air suspension will give you a better ride especially for those in 2nd and 3rd row. That is the main reason why I traded in my GX without air suspension for the one with air. There are people who have switched air sus to coils. My previous vehicle is a bmw x5 with air sus also, the bags went out at approx 100k miles. I replaced the bags myself, pretty simple DYI job. The bags cost $400-500 and that's bmw parts. I'm pretty confident that Lexus air bags would last much longer than bmw.
03-28-18 | 06:08 AM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Georgia
Hey all, I am looking to get a truck for the family and want something reliable. Have been looking at 4 runners and found out that the gx is a similar truck. Living in North Lake Tahoe I like the idea of the full time 4 wheel drive the gx has especially when my wife is taking the kids to school in the winter. There are also a lot of OHV trails out my back door that I would like to go adventuring with the kids on and the gx looks like it is even more capable than the 4 runner, but not sure on that. It’l be more capable than the two ford escapes we have now though.
We are looking for a 2010 to 2013 gx, but are unsure about getting the premium model primarily due to the rear air suspension. Since we will be most likely getting one with 60k to 100k we are concerned about having costly repairs to the rear suspension on the premium model. Also, temps can get quite cold here and we do not have a garage and I have read that the air suspension can be **** damage from cold.
Can an anyone speak to the reliability of the air sus on the premium models?
How often do they need repair/replacement?
How expensive is it to fix?
Could I replace the bags with coils if they went out?
Do cold temps have an effect on reliability?
Is the premium model worth the risk of possible repairs?
Thanks for any help. Hope to be an official GX member soon!
We are looking for a 2010 to 2013 gx, but are unsure about getting the premium model primarily due to the rear air suspension. Since we will be most likely getting one with 60k to 100k we are concerned about having costly repairs to the rear suspension on the premium model. Also, temps can get quite cold here and we do not have a garage and I have read that the air suspension can be **** damage from cold.
Can an anyone speak to the reliability of the air sus on the premium models?
How often do they need repair/replacement?
How expensive is it to fix?
Could I replace the bags with coils if they went out?
Do cold temps have an effect on reliability?
Is the premium model worth the risk of possible repairs?
Thanks for any help. Hope to be an official GX member soon!
I thought only the luxury models came with air suspensions. Premiums do not have air suspensions. At least that's the case with 2014+ models. Maybe the earlier versions were different.
03-28-18 | 07:18 AM
#4
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From: Northeast Ohio
Prior to 2014 model year, Premier is equivalent to Luxury with minor difference due to subtle changes for 2014+
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Dacascos (03-28-18)
03-28-18 | 07:22 AM
#6
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 515
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From: Louisiana
On the 460, I haven't heard of people with air suspension problems (yet). I haven't had problems on my 2011. In the automotive world air suspensions are the achilles heel, but I'd expect the Toyota product to last a little longer than the competition.
Whatever you buy, be sure to test drive and inspect, put the air suspension on high and low. Measure if the car is sagging on one side or the other. Buy with fewer miles if you can, but you can find a 100k GX that's cherry and find another with 50k that's a dog. The test drive is very important when buying used.
If having to replace a bag would be a big financial catastrophe for you, probably best to steer clear. But I rolled the dice figuring it to be a safe bet and so far it's paid off.
IMO the GX is generally more capable than a 4runner, save perhaps a pro, especially on a model with crawl control. No locking rear diff but you get a locking center. The big limiting factor is the running boards and the tires, both of which you can replace. I also like the full-time 4WD.
Whatever you buy, be sure to test drive and inspect, put the air suspension on high and low. Measure if the car is sagging on one side or the other. Buy with fewer miles if you can, but you can find a 100k GX that's cherry and find another with 50k that's a dog. The test drive is very important when buying used.
If having to replace a bag would be a big financial catastrophe for you, probably best to steer clear. But I rolled the dice figuring it to be a safe bet and so far it's paid off.
IMO the GX is generally more capable than a 4runner, save perhaps a pro, especially on a model with crawl control. No locking rear diff but you get a locking center. The big limiting factor is the running boards and the tires, both of which you can replace. I also like the full-time 4WD.
03-28-18 | 07:25 AM
#7
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tuandino (03-28-18)
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03-28-18 | 10:10 AM
#9
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From: San Jose, CA
I've seen very very few reports of air suspension failure on the GX even with the previous GX470 model (2003-2009). I think it is a very robust system and pretty reliable. As other mentioned, test drive and inspect them the best that you can. You can probably spot any leaking by looking at the rear shocks and KDSS components. Lowering and raising the rear to make sure there's no lean on one side - an indication of airbag leaking.
There's also an option to delete the whole airbag/system and go with aftermarket coils if you want to go this route down the line.
There's also an option to delete the whole airbag/system and go with aftermarket coils if you want to go this route down the line.
03-28-18 | 02:32 PM
#10
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From: USA
While we know a bag will wear out sometime in it's life I can't remember seeing a post in the "460" forum about a bag or significant problem with the RHC system. Perhaps small share of vehicles since all 470's had it or maybe Lexus learned from some that had failed on the 470.
I've seen aftermarket compressor for around $250-$300, adjustable shocks at $170/each and air bags around $80/each. These prices don't give me any concern about that system really. The most work I see with those system pieces is removal for lift and aftermarket shocks & springs. Granted if you wrench the fix yourself it will be relatively cheap....while going to the dealer would be a large bill.
Purchase the parts yourself and find a reputable independent who will do it for half the cost or less.
Here are the '11-'13 brochures.... you have to be the judge whether the features in a premium are worth it to you.
2011
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
2012
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
2013
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
I've seen aftermarket compressor for around $250-$300, adjustable shocks at $170/each and air bags around $80/each. These prices don't give me any concern about that system really. The most work I see with those system pieces is removal for lift and aftermarket shocks & springs. Granted if you wrench the fix yourself it will be relatively cheap....while going to the dealer would be a large bill.
Purchase the parts yourself and find a reputable independent who will do it for half the cost or less.
Here are the '11-'13 brochures.... you have to be the judge whether the features in a premium are worth it to you.
2011
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
2012
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
2013
http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...X-Brochure.pdf
03-31-18 | 09:19 AM
#11
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Mar 2018
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From: nv
Thank you all for the responses! I was not able to find really anything regarding issues with the air suspension searching on the web, so I appreciate all your input. I hope to test drive a gx premium this weekend, and will be keeping an eye out for what you all recommended.
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