joindy

Does this rear leveling air suspension eliminate the need for a weight distribution hitch if you are towing less than 4000 lbs?
Does this type of suspension require expensive repair after say 80k miles?
I would like to buy a used GX and use for towing my trailer, but don't want to be faced with $1000 and over future costs just to maintain the air suspension.

Acrad

I've never used a weight distributing hitch so I will defer that to someone else... most of my loads are in the 4-5K lb range.

There are lots of threads in the GX 470 forums on repairs over the years.... very few I have seen on 460's so far but as with age this will likely increase. One can hope Toyota/Lexus learned some from the 470 and improved on system. I just really don't find many issues with system on 460 yet so perhaps the hardware is better but still the weak link will be the bags at over 100K miles.

From what I gather the most common failure are the bags themselves and non-oem run around $100-$150/each.

Here is a guy replacing on a GX 470.


If you go with a dealer to repair... yes it will be very expensive.... if you attempt at home... I don't find the bag replacement that bad.

That being said... converting the bag system to standard suspension should be less than $1000. One could also add manually inflated bags if you needed them for towing.

If you want ultra low maintenance and plan to tow get a non-leveling model and add bags. I have bags on mine so at some point in my long ownership life I will likely have to service some component in it.

EDIT: I did some extra towing this weekend... another story..evac from a forest fire...but really like the auto load leveling. It was just 4K lbs back there but really couldn't feel like it was there.

joindy

If I understand the airbags, with the Lexus system you have air bags which are pressurized with an onboard pump, which operate automatically to pump up rear end if weight....trailer weight causes sagging. Can it also be operated manually or is only automatic? Is this part of the system which controls height, which you might use if going off road? The height control is obviously on all 4 corners...is the load leveling only on rear?
So with time.... you could have bag deteriorate, at which time you could go ahead and replace all four and hope you go another 100k miles. I guess you could also have the pump go out. Does not sound like it would cost over $1000 to have all replaced if you were planning to keep the car for many yrs...and to avoid breakdown when you are hundreds of miles from home towing travel trailer
If you don't have the factory Lexus system, and want to beef up rear because to towing, would you just install bags on back and then manually fill them when you plan to tow. If they were filled all the time, I assume your ride would be much stiffer, and you would probably deflate when not towing? I thought I saw pictures of airbags which go inside the spring...think it was on 4runner. Your pictures did not show spring, so must be separate.

Thanks again for the info...

Acrad

That is correct... there is an air compressor in back for the rear bags. It does compensate for load and there are three manually adjustable positions one can set under 20MPH. The system then defaults to the middle position on the presets.

While all 4 shocks have adjustable valving for comfort... only the rear has bags that are adjustable for height unlike the LX.

Correct on installing bags on rear on non-bag model and manually filling. Yes.... bags inside the spring is likely the option you would go with and ride would be stiffer if bags were over inflated for load.

Non bag GX have springs.. you would add spring if you decided to retrofit a bag model.

tecman

tecman

LX

KevininSD

Hello all! I'm looking to pickup a GX as a tow vehicle for a travel trailer. We're looking for trailers as well, but will definitely be in the <5000 GVWR range. I'm gone though many of the threads about towing, but wanted to see if anyone has experience towing trailers in GX models without the air suspension? We're struggling with the need to go premium/luxury so I'm trying to gauge whether the premium price is worthwhile for the towing improvement. If you've towed on a non-air suspension, what kind of sag are you seeing?

Thanks!

tecman

Acrad

mgs1995

Acrad

Very good point...there is always that option too

CanadaGX

I also think air suspension is the way to go. The ability to drop on whatever tongue weight and let the truck level itself is super valuable.

Regarding towing a 5000lb trailer...my experience showed me that a trailer that big is too much for the GX. See post here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...for-my-gx.html

I am trying out a 22' 3500lb trailer next week to see if it is more manageable.

KevininSD

Thanks for the reply. The 5000 lbs I'm referring to is the GVWR, not dry weight. That puts us in the < 25 foot length and typical dry weights < 4000 lbs. I definitely think of this as the high end of what it can do.

KevininSD

Thanks for all the replies. If anyone has experience towing with a non-air GX, I'd love to hear about it. The car will primarily be my wife's DD with us towing a travel trailer maybe once-a-month. From what I've gathered so far, the air would be preferred, but not a must-have. In reviewing the service records for many of the used ones I'm finding, "customer reports lean" pops up a lot. My wife has the blind spot indicators as a must-have on her list putting us a 2014+ and I'm having a tough time swallowing the price increase for the luxury trim.

So... Our current thinking is to go with a non-air GX and see how it goes. If the sag is too much, we can go aftermarket.

Nickk6

I've towed a car trailer + car and the suspension was sagging badly. I highly recommend the air lift bags for $100, you really can't go wrong, super easy to install + maintain. I bought the bags, never installed them because I off road a fair amount and realize towing with the GX sucks so I haven't towed anything but jet skis since.