brent0226

I was in Austin a few weeks ago and the wind on I35 was blowing me all over the road. After we stopped my friend in the passenger seat told me she was actually scared by how much it was being blown across the road. Sometimes a gust would put me a few inches in another lane.

I have noticed I have to do put a lot of counter force to stay headed straight on windy days. It's annoying constantly correcting the steering input.

tigmd99

Not exactly true. With the center diff lock, 50% of power goes to the front, and 50% goes to the rear. HOWEVER, 4-wheel traction control is STILL active...power can still go to the wheel with the most traction. With the center diff lock, power can still be shifted left & right on the front axle...left & right on the rear axle.

brent0226

The owner's manual states that when you press the center differential lock button, VSC is disabled. That is stability control. Other than that, two concepts of traction control are being confused here... one being the electronic differential lock "traction control" (ie transfering power from left to right or right to left) and the more traditional traction control to prevent you from peeling out (reducing engine power). The latter, I believe, is turned off, but the electronic differential lock remains active.

<VENOM>

Thai
completly forgot about the traction control but I thought it was more of a keep the wheels from spinning not transfer power to the wheels with more traction but thats probably how it works

tetra7

Bob

You would be VERY SURPRISED on how much the GX can get pushed around, or any truck with alot of exposed surface area. I used to drive a Trooper (talk about a sail on wheels) and several other 4x4s, and I found myself fighting the wheel on occasion to keep the vehicle in the direction I want. Btw, the wind is NOT ALWAYS constant but on occasion a good gust will catch your attention. The place where KDSS really shines is in its ability to keep the vehicle stable especially in cornering. Granted I am slowly working my way out of the break-in period, but there are some areas in town where the roads get curvey enough to notice the suspension. Another guy who owns KDSS akined his ride to a 745i bimmer...go figure.

The main reason why I got KDSS was for the additional safety it buys me. If you have ever taken a SUV into a emergency situation, then you will know how easily a high centered vehicle can flip or roll. Not a pretty sight, trust me! A news group did a nice review on vehicles with KDSS like systems such as XREAS on the 4-Runner. In their reviews, the vehicles with x-linked systems were LESS prone to roll over at high speed emergency manuevers than vehicles w/out. I also believe that in the future the IHS will start conducting high speed emergency tests on SUVS. It is already being implemented on the Land/Range Rover lines; the merits are real, and it will be a standard on vehicles in the future...fwiw.

Have a good day folks...

kph3

I think the KDSS is worth the money. IMO

My last vehicle was a 2001 LX470. Nice truck, but it swayed too much for me when cornering. It was never unsafe, but a lot of the roads I travel in my daily commute are winding and that gets tiring with the sway. With the GX and KDSS, the sway is greatly reduced and makes the ride more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, with a vehicle this tall there is still some sway, but it is much more controlled and that is what you feel.

As far as vibration, maybe I am just not noticing it. My GX seems smoother than my '01LX. The LX had a vibration in the wheel that the dealership never could figure out. Also the high/low 4x4 shifter had the same vibrations when you put your hand on it just as the GX does. But I am not noticing the vibration issue that everyone is discussing. I guess I am lucky.

tigmd99

Edge2, the function of ATRAC (4-wheel traction control) is to prevent the "lost" of power to one wheel due to the OTHER wheel slipping. Technically, it's not really transferring of power. The most power ONE wheel can have is about 25% (+/- a few %). When a wheel is slipping, the brakes are applied (to EQUAL the speed of the other wheel...remember that traction control COMPARES the speed differences between the wheels also)...but remember, the power to this "braking" wheel is lost to heat (NOT transferred to the other wheel). Because the slipping wheel is NOT spinning out of control, the power flow does not all gravitate to this slipping wheel (power ALWAYS flow to wheel with least resistance)...instead, power flows to BOTH wheels (because BOTH wheels are spinning relatively at the same speed or resistance...thanks to traction control clamping down on the spinning wheel).

I am not sure if what i wrote make sense...it's hard to convey it over the internet.

tigmd99

You're right. The DETHROTTLING FUNCTION is part of VSC. So, by locking the center diff, you're turning OFF both VSC and dethrottling function. ATRAC is always ON...and is not related to VSC.

<VENOM>

I got what your saying Thai, keep forgetting how high tech these vehicles are

looknow12

Back to the Vibration on the highway issue. I'm going to try seeing if engaging the center differential on the highway makes a difference in the sound.

I also believe it is the torsen differential (In fact I might have been the first one to elude to that). If this is the case, engaging the center differential might in fact change the pitch, or tone of the vibration (might even eliminate it).

If this works, it obviously is not a fix because we cannot drive around with our center diffential's locked . However, maybe we can Lexus know where to look.

tigmd99

Some of the 2wd 4runners on my forum suffers from a similar vibration. So, it may not be related to the Torsen center diff.

zelz

My GX has about 20,000 miles on it now. The 'vibration ' in the steering wheel has been there since purchase. It 'is' a vibration which changes when I step off and on the accelerator. I suffer from Carpal Tunnel and after driving for a while on a long trip my hands and wrists start to tingle. Now that is a 'vibration'...and no...Lexus is not being kind to their customers...they should fix the dam thing.....This is my third Lexus and this model is beneath their capability to produce genuine products....

looknow12

I tried to enable the Center Differential while driving on the highway and it made no difference in the vibration. Ohh well. Thought I was on to something.