Koz

There is a way (hack) to disable the VSC on the 06 IS model (the only model year that did not have a disable button) by doing (what they called) the pedal dance.

Koz

bababooey9

That might be your opinion..but in my opinion the brakes are weak at best. Lets assume your off road comment is correct..the brakes were designed for that use...tell me honestly, how many buyers of a Lexus are using it for off road use?? Im going to take a guess not too many. That is not the target audience of a Lexus. My wife drives the truck with my 2 kids in the back. I want to make sure the brakes are tight (not spongy) and stopping the truck properly. i.e. not having to put all your body weight on the brakes to keep it stopped at a red light..and sometimes when you lift your foot off the brake slightly the truck lunges forward. having said all that, my brakes were "fixed". they are alot better now, although not as precise as i'd like them to be. tonight i drop the vehicle off for service. 1) the ABS failure light problem that is highlighted on this board and 2) the clicking noise that occurs when accelerating from a stopped position on a hill.

gs400jon

What was the "fix" that improved the braking? I was hoping the brakes would have been improved between my previous 2004 and 2010 but they feel the same. A friend's X5's brakes are great but the ride is so harsh/jarring.

bababooey9

I do not know what the fix was. The dealer and company claims nothing was done to the brakes. but i can tell you the car was at the dealership for over 2 weeks being looked at. when i got it back, the brakes felt different and better. tell your dealership you want corporate to look at the car. good luck!

Koz

The GX will idle at 550 rpm (when it is at operating temp) and you don't need very much pressure to keep it stopped. When moving the brakes work perfectly! The problem is when the engine is first started and is running at fast idle (a little over 1000rpm). This is normal. The other issue with starting on a hill is also normal, after owning the vehicle for some time you will not even notice it. If the hill start bothers people so much, all they have to do is hold the brake with their left foot and don’t let the vehicle roll back. Trust me when I say, the hill start assist could save you and your vehicle under the right conditions (slippery surface on a hill, on or off road). Remember when ABS first came out, so many people said something is wrong and it is dangerous. Then it was VSC, Oh My God the system cut the engine OFF! These systems could SAVE your life!

Koz

bababooey9

im not going to dispute what you are saying Koz. but I am dealing with a 2010 GX, bought it first month out. I recently test drove a 2011 GX and the brakes are alot better. I think this is an issue that has been resolved in the newer GX's. Its my fault for buying a new model vehicle out of the gate.

akfd

Don't worry about the brakes, they are more than powerful for real emergency situations, as I've encountered a while back; the truck will stop on a dime!

Koz

The brake over-ride system was added in 2011 but I don't think that would make a difference. The brakes seem to work just like my 05 Limited T4R.

Koz

structural

I got my GX back and they able to reduce the play in the brakes a bit, but they still need a good amount of pressure to keep the truck stationary at a light. I will wait to see how the brakes are on the 2012 model and consider upgrading. The dealer offered to put me in a new 2011 model, but when I test drove it still had the same brake issue, maybe 2012 will have it fixed.

I am curious how many of you actually take you SUV off roading? I have owned 2 GX470's, an 04' and 07' and never been off roading.

Also I have to say I miss my GX470, it had no issues with the brakes and the acceleration/transmission was much better than the GX460.

I am part of the Lexus Advisory Board and have express these issues with the new GX. I hope it will make a difference in the 2012 model.

structural

I do notice that if I pump the brakes a few time, it improve the braking and holding power at a stop

pbm317

When you're going down a hill you shouldn't be mashing your brake pedal repeatedly...

Again, I still don't know when this would come up in actual driving. It's been 4 months, have you tried to talk with a service tech about this? It seems to make sense that the ABS system wouldn't like a driver repeatedly mashing a pedal, which is what the ABS system does through its programming once you just hit the brakes and hold it.

spwolf

i think you picked the wrong car... GX has longer pedal travel so you can dose pedal application better... If that bothers you, maybe get RX, it has a lot more sensitive brakes.

spwolf

get a hybrid and definitely no creep :-)

structural

Just got my car back from Lexus Service and they claim that it is normal for the ABS warning light to come on when you pump the brakes.

Lucky I live in Florida which is flat as a pancake and don't have to worry about going down a mountain like people in Colorado.

I will check other Lexus models to see if this occurs. My BMW 335i doesn't do it.

gsobol

I think this is normal (well as normal as it can be defined). The first gen did that as well. It's the type of brake booster system used in the GX. When you pump the brakes quickly and hard, that will deplete the pressure in the brake booster reservoir. The booster pump kicks in to increase the pressure, but it can't keep up as long as you are pumping the pedal, hence the pressure falls below safe level, and the ABS light lights up. You should never experience this under normal driving conditions, even in Colorado going down I70 from Eisenhower tunnel with your hair on fire ;-) (been there done that).