Hi – I purchased a 2001 LX 470 with 65000 miles yesterday and have a couple of questions as this will be the first Lexus I will own, always been a Benz and a Land Rover owner:

Reliability – Are there any peculiar issues with the 2001 LX470 that I should look for? I’m having it checked on Monday at the local Lexus dealership and the only problem I’ve noticed is that the steering wheel makes a vibrating noise when the car is turned off and the key pulled out.


Warranty – Considering I’ve never owned a Lexus I’m curious if it would a good move to buy an extended warranty on this truck. Any suggestions on reliable third party vendors would be much appreciated.

 

The only thing I could tell you is that after owning a Mercedes and Land Rover, reliability shouldn't be your concern! The reason this shouldn't be an issue for you is because you've gotten rid of two manufacturers who have horrendously poor reputations in the reliability department. Lexus is far ahead of both other manufacturers in the reliability department. I own a 2004 LX so can't offer any comments that are specific to the 01 model year. I will tell you that I also owned a couple of MB's and have never looked back since purchasing my Lexus. Good luck with your new LX.

John from Boston

 

Considering that most lexus vehicles go 200K without breaking a sweat, I think you will have many years ahead of you with that LX.

Personally I have a 05' GS300. I went to test drive a 01' GS300 this weekend that I'm goint to buy(use as project car) and it had 140K miles on it. I was surprised how well the engine and transmission still operated. I took it around the corners and redlined it a few times on the highway. It was almost as smooth as my new car with 11K miles!! Try that with a Bimmer or Benz!

 

There was a TSB out for that steering wheel problem...see attached for furture information.

Your mirrors might also give you problems with the autotilt down as that was also a problem and there was a TSB also for that.

Your ignition cylinder might break soon, if your bringing it in today you might as well see if you can get that replaced (it cost me 720 or so dollars but i was lucky when it broke in my driveway and not out somewhere in the middle of nowhere.) I had about 69k when that broke. If you get that done they can fix your steering wheel at the same time as it has to be taken apart to fix the ignition. I got the ignition fixed and the tech just went ahead and did the TSB too even though its not covered for me anymore. He laughed when he saw my face when i noticed the wheel didnt make the noise anymore.

Starter solinoid(sp?) might go around 80-90k so just be weary of that fact. Im just hoping mine goes before the extended warranty goes.

lets see what else i can dig up here. Overall its a pretty reliable truck, ive got 75k on her now and we have had it since 16miles and the only thing that "broke" was the ignition cylinder.



Anyways go out there and have some fun with that thing....im about to go drink some 93 Octane.

 

TSB for the mirrors....just incase you feel like bringing these in today.

 

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/lx/470/2001.html

This link goes to into detail on the 2001 LX 470.

Congrats on the '01!

 

^

That's good info for us neophytes. Thanks.

 

The '01 is solid. When you turn off the engine and pull out the key, does the steering wheel automatically retract? If not, the motor that retracts it can wear out. You can have the dealer disable this feature to save the motor (but make sure the **** on the side of the column works and adjusts the wheel!). The only other issues are (as others have mentioned) the starter contacts go around 80-100K mi (you can replace the contacts, but the starter is under the intake manifold, so it's a lot of work getting to it; dealer will only replace the entire starter), and the exhaust manifolds tend to crack. This will cause a "ticking" sound after startup w/ a cold engine but go away once warmed up. It's non-trivial replacing the exhuast manifolds.

 

oh ya thanks jim i forgot about the exhaust manifolds. I had mine replaced under warranty on my 60k service.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied , The BMW dealership from whom I'm buying it is fixing the steering wheel issue . I will print the PDF and give it to them as well

 

I just had my exhuast manifolds replaced as well (43k). Does anyone hear a clicking sound when turning the steering wheel? I read its the cables for the airbag. Any thoughts?

 

i faintly hear that too. My friends car does that shiz really loud. He said it was the clock spring or something? me donno ill speak with lexus about it tonight when i drop the LS off for service

 

Thanks - It seems louder first thing in the morning for some reason.

 

I just bought a 2000 LX470 with 56,000 miles on it....it's got nice 20" Antera rims on it...my problem is the tires that are on it are almost dead...they've started cracking in between the tread....I want new tires, but can't decide what to go with....

my tire size is 295/45 R20

in my town there's only a couple of places I can get tires....

I can go with some BF Goodrich KWD tires, some Toyo Proxes S/T Tires, or some Kumho Ecsta STX tires....any preferences out there? or any brands I should look for?

My main concerns are noise, handling, and at the same time being able to go off-road if I want to and not worry about the street tires slipping in the mud.

anyways, if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great!

thanks!

Joe

 

Wow, I can not believe that our vehicles have had the exact same problems. The ignition cylinder, starter and steering wheel have all been fixed on my wife's 2000 LX all under the CPO warrenty.

As for tires we have over 62,000 miles on our Michelins (LTX M/S) and still have plenty of tread remaining. They are 275/70 R16's.