wannaGX

I've noticed that, as someone else has described it, the gx is hard to control. At a red light you have to mash on the brake or it will creep forward, unlike our other 2 toyotas where the weight of the foot resting will keep the car stopped. If you stop paying attention and let up, you creep forward.

So yesterday I decided what would happen if I just didn't press the gas. I drove about 6 blocks to my destination without accelarating and cruised at about 10 mph. I think it would have gone forever. It's like it's on cruise control. Is this normal? It's kind of annoying, to be honest.

I truly know nothing about cars - it's not like it's idling high - heck, it's so quiet sometimes I forget to turn the car off and I get out and try to lock it.

Thoughts?

antonio98

I checked mine today and it cruises at about 3 or 4mph without pressing the accelerator.

If you're on an incline it will cruise at a higher rate of speed.

I've not noticed a problem at stop lights, but I usually have my foot firmly on the brake whenever I'm stopped.

akfd

Yeah, I find the car creeps forward when my foot is not that hard on the brake at a red light. Maybe this is adjustable since it's more of an idling issue. But antonio98 is right, it's always good practice to step firmly on the brake pedal when the car's been fully stopped, probably one of the few things I have remembered when I first learned how to drive maaaaaaaany years ago!

ybing

Any car will keep rolling forward even if you not press your gas.

The brake issue has been mention several times already, Inside line did the test on the car said its design like that for off road.

Every car will preform differently, just need to get use to the car, the brake issue sometimes is annoying, but just need to change your driving habit a little bit.

03LX470

I noticed the same thing on my LX570. This is definitely not normal comparing to the various Lexus and other brands I've owned over the years. You have to make a conscious effort to apply exta pressure to the brake pedal otherwise the car creeps forward.

I thought about bringing this up with the dealer but Lexus dealers are not very good troubleshooters in my opinion (perhaps because traditionally these cars rarely had problems compared to other brands) and I thought it would be a total waste of time.

SaniDel

We tried a simple experiment today in our GX 460 while stopped at a red light at the top of a moderate hill. We came to a full stop, then released the foot brake ... sure enough, the GX started creeping ... uphill!

I wander how steep a hill is required before it won't creep ... and how much steeper the hill has to be to engage the "don't roll backwards" feature?
Regards,

SaniDel


P.S. A recent animated movie is titled "How to Tame Your Dragon" ... we are reminded of that title every time we fire up the GX! ;-)

SaniDel

That is an interesting and impressive reason for not being good troubleshooters, but as Lexus vehicles are extremely reliable much of what a dealership's service department does is routine rather than exceptional.

We've owned ten Lexus vehicles since 1996 and we have had problems that require troubleshooting by the dealership. Those problems often occur when new models are introduced ... our 2006 RX 400h had several that required extensive disassembly to solve. The GX 460 may be more evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but there is no reason to expect perfection ... only its pursuit.

Although the "aggressive personality" of the GX 460 may be "part of its character" and is presumably intended by design, other problems may be unintended or are unit-specific. Lexus dealers who sell the product should be held to the same standard ... service what they sell, fix what is broken and troubleshoot what they don't understand. Like you, I'm not asking our dealership to solve the 'creeping' problem, but I would expect them to troubleshoot and to solve problems that are not so benign ... or so simple.

In the meantime ... keeping my foot (feet?) firmly on the brake pedal!
Regards,

SaniDel

CACressida

iTrader: (1)

There's something called a Torque Converter in between the engine and the transmission. The torque converter acts like a clutch and clutch pressure plate on a manual vehicle only it's not operated by clutch. Instead, it has transmission fluid flowing through it. The Torque converter is designed to allow the vehicle to idle in gear without stalling the engine. For smooth delivery in power in a lot of Toyota vehicles, the Torque stall is geared down at low RPMs. The reason why its made this way is to make the vehicle a lot safer to drive on the slippery stuff and have a smoother power delivery.

A higher stall torque converter allows the engine to rev at a higher RPM in gear while your brake standing it so you get a power launch for better 60' trap speeds and such. Torque converters made this way means it's dangerous to drive because when you rev at say 2700rpms and your torque converter kicks on at 2800rpms, your going to bark your tires.

Enjoy

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-p...-converter.htm

SaniDel

Thanks for that explanation, CACressida.

We've learned to "tame our dragon" by pressing firmly on the brake pedal, but it's good to know that it will scoot when we need it!
Regards,

SaniDel