aekdb

Hi all, I picked up a used 2015 NX F-Sport a little over a month ago. I finally feel settled in and here's my review on it. This is my first "luxury" brand and first crossover/SUV.


The Good:

-The steering wheel is really nice. The stitching is quality, and the leather feels good in your hands. Fluid turning, not stiff. I have the heated wheel, and it's a nice temp. I wish the top was heated also, but that's OK

-Seats are pretty comfortable once you get used to them. For the first week or so, I really struggled in finding a good seat configuration. My back actually hurt for a few days. It always felt like it had something to do with the headrests being too far tipped forward. Once I played with the lumbar support, I've found them to be comfy.

-The acceleration pickup is nice and the engine has a nice sound to it.

-Cargo space is good, and I like the little compartments below the floor to store a first aid kit, flashlight, etc.

-Fuel economy is great. I averaged nearly 28 MPG's for the first week or two. After more aggressive city driving, I think it's dropped to 25 but still very good in my opinion.

-The audio: I think the sound coming from the radio is very good; it gets loud without any distortion. Audio was a little muffled when I first got it, but after jacking up the treble and mid's I really think it puts out a nice sound.

-Headlights are nice and bright

-Overall look: I think the vehicle itself really stands out, I really like the external styling. Inside, the cabin is nice, but could use a makeover in the center stack. The climate controls area looks nice, but then below that where the radio dials are, drive mode, etc - I'm not really a fan. That area could use some work.

Which leads me to...


The Bad:

-Engine vibration. This is the biggest disappointment with this vehicle. At idle, whether in park or with your foot on brake, you can clearly feel vibration throughout the cabin. Happens when the RPM's are between 600-800. You can really feel it in the seat, the arm rest, the center console, etc. Sometimes I will hold my foot on the brake and slowly push on the accelerator to 1000 rpm or so, and it's so smooth then. Take foot off, RPM goes back to idle, and it's amazing how much it vibrates when you compare the two. Really embarrassing especially when you have passengers.

-The heated seats could be warmer. My old car's seats got really warm. On the NX, you need to have them on level 3 even to feel anything substantial.

-Lack of compartments. I wish there was a few more drawers to put stuff. Let's be honest - the storage compartment that comes out with the makeup mirror is silly. It's hard to pull out (I know they changed the fastener on the 2016's) The change slots in the center compartment aren't big enough for quarters (what??). I ended up putting some quarters in the door slot, but they rattled too much so I took them out. A sunglass holder on the ceiling would be nice.

-To me, it's a kind-of a loud car. There is definitely a decent amount of wind and road noise entering the cabin. Using a free app on my phone, it registers 98dB at around 80mph.


So-So:

-I'm not a fan of the touch-sensitive lights. When I go to open the sunroof, for example, I end up turning on a light. It should just be a button.

-Key Fob is pretty thick. Also, I wish it could be remotely-started without having to subscribe to Enform. That's probably going to annoy me more as we head into cooler weather.

-I actually don't mind the touchpad or the infotainment system. Sure, it's outdated, slow, and clumsy. But 90% of the time I'm in my car, I'm simply listening to my preset XM stations. I actually like how I can easily swipe through to different banks of channels without having to move my hand from the center console. The apps though? Forget it. They're slow and a waste of time. Just use iHeartRadio or Pandora on your phone with Bluetooth.

-The navigation is better than I had expected. The voice recognition actually correctly-got some funky pronounced towns that even my iPhone didn't get. Sometimes it takes you on weird routes, but overall it's pretty good for addresses. I haven't really tried any POI's. Typing in the address manually isn't fun to do, but as I mentioned the voice recognition is OK. One thing I don't like is after you press it, "Please say a command". I say Address. "Please enter the full address..." OK Stop. You don't need to tell me this every single time. I just want to push the button and say, "Take me to 1234 Main St" rather than Address, then wait for her to remind me to enter a full address, then say the address.

-Maybe it's just my cable, but the USB ports don't charge my iPhone. It says it's plugged in but the battery % actually goes down.

-I wish the radio wouldn't turn off immediately when you stop the car. In my last vehicle, it stayed on until a door was opened.

-I thought I would really hate not having a digital clock, but I actually don't mind the analog clock. Bonus: the clock looks really sharp at night also.


Overall Thoughts:

The NX is solid car. Lexus did a nice job, but there are certainly areas of improvement. Things like the engine vibration, wind noise, lack of a standard remote start - these are things that I didn't expect from a $45k vehicle. The drive is nice around town, but can get noisy on the Highway. If you are on a long road trip, the Nav can be handy. However, for short spontaneous trips, using your phone will be much quicker. This is where CarPlay/AndroidPlay would be useful. I know Lexus wants the NX to be a little sister to the RX and doesn't want to cannibalize those sales. But some of us just want a smaller version of the RX with all of it's features and tested quality, especially younger drivers. With time, I think the NX can eventually overtake the RX in sales - but Lexus needs to treat this vehicle as such and not just a glorified Rav4, which they won't admit but in many ways it is.

Thanks for reading. Cheers!

VEGASRX330

I also have a used 2015 nx200t fsport having come from a previous RX. i have never noticed vibrations during idling, but will pay attention on my drive later on today. Also, i actually love the interior as it flows with the shape of the car. i havent tried the heated seats yet, being in Las Vegas, but surely will in the winter. I agree the key fob is way too massive looking and i am sure that will change. my wifes Mercedes fob looks awesome while mines looks like its from a Lexus from the 90s. Im not a fan of the stereo output as the sound isnt as crisp as I would like and sometimes sounds really bad esp from satellite radio. Cargo space also is lacking. I actually like the touch screen lights. Exterior styling also are way up there compared to lots of cars on the market right now. I definitely dont consider it a glorified Rav 4 though.

kent2174

I ve determined my 2016 NX vibration only occurs during the warm up period in garage. Once out in the street, I can't feel any further vibration while sitting at a stop. Lexus dealer said the vibration is normal for NX. Hmmm.
The IS200t and GS200t did not have the vibration at any time during my recent test drives.
Considering GS350 fsport to replace 2010 RX.
Really nice car. Don't understand why sales aren't better.

dchar

The headrests can be adjusted forward/back in addition to up/down. Just pull forward until the furthest forward position, and they will reset back to the furthest back position.

You can get rid of the voice command prompts. Go to Menu > Setup > Voice > Voice Recognition Prompts > Off.

That's weird...I have charged my phone in my sister's NX using the USB ports and it charged no problem. Not the fastest charger, but gets the job done. Definitely try a different cable.

d8168055

Adding a little more:

Headrests:
FIX: To get to the most forward position, there is quite a bit of resistance. I couldn't do it while sitting in the seats, rather I needed to get out, and firmly pull the headrests toward my chest (or maybe I'm just weak sauce)

Voice Commands:
Certain voice commands work better: I once said "Go to Walmart" and a list of stores were listed. The nav will ask you to say a number on the list, 1 being the closest. Other times, when I said an address (don't remember which), it kept trying to take me to Popeye's (fried chicken)—go figure.

FIX: There is a voice training option in the menu that makes you speak several lines of text so that it can understand you better.

USB Ports:
These are not battery charging spec. Neither is the Qi charger if you have it. To put it simply, if you have a fast wall charger, you can read the specs and see a 2.1-2.4A output. The USB ports on the NX are equivalent to 1A chargers—you can charge your phone ONLY if you are not using it, ie no GPS or music playing. This is still much slower than a 2A charge, and if you have a lot of background apps running, battery may still drain.

FIX: use a 2.1A USB cigarette charger with USB plug

Hope that helps!

corradoMR2

OP, I pretty much agree with your observations. As for the engine vibration, there's an extensive thread/poll here FYI: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/nx-...tion-poll.html

GlenK

My 2015 NX has never had that vibration issue.

zkl2003

Just few quick things. I do agree some of the cons and they should have fix that in future. But few things that I can address is my car is also 2015 NX and I got it as new. and I never feel vibration either. I guess it is not all cars has that. Second is USB charging, You should go check it out since for sure my charging is good and without a problem. hope this helps

aekdb

Thanks for the replies! I didn't know that about turning off the voice prompts, so I will give that a try. Also it's interesting to know we all seem to have different experiences with the USB ports, maybe we all have different phones or cords. If I have to use the power port charger that doesn't really bother me, but it would be
nice to be able to use the USB's also, especially if 2 people want to charge their phone at the same time.

I will be taking the NX in for an inspection soon and I will mention the vibration issue.

I've also added another 'Con' to my list:

-No speed-sensitive volume? I can't believe this isn't included, unless I'm missing it. I constantly have to change the radio volume based on speed, especially as as I mentioned before the cabin is not the quietest. They can put time and effort into a silly makeup mirror or fake engine noise (that I can't even tell the difference between on and off) but a standard feature like this that has been around for a decade is nowhere to be found. Just seems odd.

15RC350F

I noticed that too. Irritating!

kent2174

there is an option in sound for DSP, which says it auto levels sound. Mine is on, however I still seem to be adjusting volume constantly due to many variables.
Be aware the setting must be done for each Source. (Just like equalization)

corradoMR2

That' right, it's the ASL (Active Sound Leveling) which increases the volume to compensate for increased road/wind noise at speed. It has always worked fine to my ears in all current and past Lexus vehicles owned, though admittedly on certain louder pavement such as concrete highways or higher speeds (75-80 mph), volume is not loud enough.


As far as engine vibration, after nearly 2 years of ownership, I see a pattern. In summer months, virtually no vibration. Then in cooler/winter months, vibration is felt. Now that the temps are dropping in the 50s, I start to notice it a tiny bit. I'm comfortable in my mind that this is air temp/density related.

aekdb

I turned on the auto sound leveling and haven't really noticed a substantial difference. As you stated, you still need to manually turn down the radio at times such as exiting a highway and coming to a stop at the end of the ramp. My old vehicle (Chevy Malibu) had 3-levels of speed-sensitive volume and at the highest setting, it worked really well.

Regarding the engine vibration, my experience has been slightly different. I don't notice a correlation between colder temps and if anything, it's more the opposite. All through September temps were in the 80's and I clearly felt it. I remember the one day it was almost 90 out and I was parked somewhere, and it was shaking so much it felt like I was in one of those massage chairs. (Ok not that bad but definitely more than just a slight annoyance.)

If anything now that morning temps are in the low 50's I want to say I feel it less but it's still a daily thing. I can't pinpoint exactly what causes it since it doesn't seem to follow any pattern. Sometimes there it little to no vibration at the same RPMs and then 5 minutes later at a red light you can feel it.

I do notice that the AC contributes to it. That day that it was 90 out and I was parked, the AC was obviously on. When I would push the button to turn it off, the vibration clearly got lighter, but still moderate. Push the AC button again, and it got way worse. I continued that test for a minute or 2. So I concluded that while the AC compressor definitely adds to the vibration, it isn't the sole cause. I've been in park, neutral, drive, foot on brake, Hold button on, AC on, AC off, engine temp warm, engine temp cold, drive for a hour then stop, drive for 2 minutes then stop, 91 gas, 93 gas -- they all have the vibration at idle, in some fashion. Sometimes more than others but it's there.

corradoMR2

^^^Let your dealer know and hopefully it can be reproduced when they see it. The more reports of this, the better the likelihood Lexus will work on a fix. I would love to see this permanently fixed.

nickage87

For 2 week ownership, my main concern is rattling subwoofer, make it impossible to listen any music with moderate bass.