About to buy our 1st GX470
05-06-13, 04:56 PM
#17
Driver School Candidate
GX470 Update
Well its been a while so I figured I'd just post a quick update on how my GX470 has been treating me. I've put about an additional 20K on it since we bought it back in November 2011. I've done the following:
1. Replaced the crappy AT tires that came on it with a new set of Michelin Latitude touring tires; highly recommended set of tires. They're great. But, despite the claims of increased fuel economy......you guessed it......still getting 15-19mpg!!
Much quieter ride though.
2. Well, with the quieter ride, you hear more engine/drive train stuff going on. I still have the rear diff whine under deceleration....no change in 20K. Exactly the same as the day I bought it (barely noticeable and only while decelerating from 65 to 60mph and when I have the cruise locked in at 77. Other than that, nice and quiet. I'm fairly confident this is normal, and judging from what I've read on other posts (including 4 runner forums), this is common in our vehicle.
3. The nav system is absolutely killing me. I won't say more. Its awful.
4. My driver's door lower speaker (big one) went out. Not sure what's up with that, but it sounds blown. I'll have to dig into that deeper.
5. Guess what.....it poured rain on our way out of Sams Club yesterday and I got soaked....to the bone. Gotta love that side opening door. NOT. Did I mention I had to move forward while parked in the fire lane because the lady behind me pulled right up to my bumper and I couldn't swing the "drawbridge" open???
6. Just noticed that the side mirrors tilt down when backing up, but ONLY if you leave the switch on left or right. If it's in the center, the mirrors stay locked.
7. I went ahead and purchased the complete "high dollar" weathertech window visors and the moon roof visor. THIS WAS A $275.00 MISTAKE. Despite the fact that they look cool, they are terribly noisy at highway speeds. They came right back off the truck in an hour and are sitting in storage. Anyone who is interested in set of noisy visors, let me know. Don't say I didn't warn you. Noisy is probably a modest critique.
8. I dumped all the fluids from my front/rear differentials and transfer case, replacing all of it with Royal Purple gear oil. My hope was to resolve the rear diff whine. Fluids all looked pretty nasty when drained, so probably needed it. But, did not resolve the whine. I felt better though!
9. Did a 3X drain and fill on the tranny fluid. For those who have attempted this feat, you know this is not a simple task as the drain is on the side of the tranny under the truck. Despite Lexus' claim that this is a lifetime fluid, THEY LIE. My tranny fluid looked like molasses (no chips thankfully). After 3 drain and fills, it was back to nice bright red.
That's about it. Hopefully this post helps out someone. I'll try to repost next year with another update!!
1. Replaced the crappy AT tires that came on it with a new set of Michelin Latitude touring tires; highly recommended set of tires. They're great. But, despite the claims of increased fuel economy......you guessed it......still getting 15-19mpg!!
Much quieter ride though.2. Well, with the quieter ride, you hear more engine/drive train stuff going on. I still have the rear diff whine under deceleration....no change in 20K. Exactly the same as the day I bought it (barely noticeable and only while decelerating from 65 to 60mph and when I have the cruise locked in at 77. Other than that, nice and quiet. I'm fairly confident this is normal, and judging from what I've read on other posts (including 4 runner forums), this is common in our vehicle.
3. The nav system is absolutely killing me. I won't say more. Its awful.
4. My driver's door lower speaker (big one) went out. Not sure what's up with that, but it sounds blown. I'll have to dig into that deeper.
5. Guess what.....it poured rain on our way out of Sams Club yesterday and I got soaked....to the bone. Gotta love that side opening door. NOT. Did I mention I had to move forward while parked in the fire lane because the lady behind me pulled right up to my bumper and I couldn't swing the "drawbridge" open???
6. Just noticed that the side mirrors tilt down when backing up, but ONLY if you leave the switch on left or right. If it's in the center, the mirrors stay locked.
7. I went ahead and purchased the complete "high dollar" weathertech window visors and the moon roof visor. THIS WAS A $275.00 MISTAKE. Despite the fact that they look cool, they are terribly noisy at highway speeds. They came right back off the truck in an hour and are sitting in storage. Anyone who is interested in set of noisy visors, let me know. Don't say I didn't warn you. Noisy is probably a modest critique.
8. I dumped all the fluids from my front/rear differentials and transfer case, replacing all of it with Royal Purple gear oil. My hope was to resolve the rear diff whine. Fluids all looked pretty nasty when drained, so probably needed it. But, did not resolve the whine. I felt better though!
9. Did a 3X drain and fill on the tranny fluid. For those who have attempted this feat, you know this is not a simple task as the drain is on the side of the tranny under the truck. Despite Lexus' claim that this is a lifetime fluid, THEY LIE. My tranny fluid looked like molasses (no chips thankfully). After 3 drain and fills, it was back to nice bright red.
That's about it. Hopefully this post helps out someone. I'll try to repost next year with another update!!
05-06-13, 06:18 PM
#18
Pole Position
Glad I read your review of the weathertech window visors, I was about to pull the trigger on those.
05-08-13, 02:41 AM
#19
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 18
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I owned the 2006 GX470 for about 31/2 years (and 50K miles) and thoroughly enjoyed the truck. I replaced it with a 2009 but it was purely for vanity. With the proper due diligence you wont go wrong with buying the 2006 model.
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