I recently took my 2008 GX up fishing; it was about a 5 hour trip. I have only had it a year or so and the longest I have driven before this is about an hour, never having this problem that I can recall. On the way up north, the center console from the 4wd shifter back to the trans shifter became very, very hot. Temp gauge was fine and everything looked good underneath as best as I could tell. The truck ran fine and I made a mental note to check and see if there was possibly some insulation missing from underneath when I got back home.

Today I returned home from fishing and the console was cool to the touch the entire way home! Can anyone help me understand what might have happened? The outdoor temperatures were similar both ways, in the 70's. I had heard sometimes a clogged cat can get very hot and that maybe it was and somehow became unclogged? Any input would be appreciated in figuring out this mystery and if there might be something I need to address.

 

It's normal for it to become warm - mine will melt M&Ms in the cupholders.

But hot - no. A clogged catalyst does not normally cure itself unless the material breaks apart and is blown further into the exhaust system. And if that happens, you should see a check-engine light for failed emissions from the back O2 sensor.

Chip H.

 

Thanks for the response Chip. It does get very hot, so much so that it heats the entire cabin. I noticed this morning that driving 30 minutes at highway speeds, it did not heat up but did so on the return trip after sitting for about 4 hours so this is an intermittent issue and really stumps me now!

 

What's the outside temp like when it gets hot vs. stays cool? Average speed/driving conditions?

The transmission hump area/shifter console can get quite warm under certain conditions, through a combination of transmission and exhaust heat. I've noticed on my 80 series several times, but not on my GX470.

 

Thanks for the response. The temps have been consistently in the 70's. I was driving highway speeds both times. Really weird.

 

I know this thread is a bit old...but here's my 2 cents -

The 03-09 GX has a transmission fluid temperature sensor that talks to the ECU, but there's no way for a human to see that info. However, with the proper OBDII reader, you can view it.

If you're not familiar with these readers, you have a bit of research to do as to which type you would prefer - but the key thing is that it must support enhanced Toyota PID (Parameter ID) Data. What this means is that it will display info beyond just basic generic OBDII data like engine rpm, codes etc. If you are using a solution like the one I use; a bluetooth adapter that goes on the port, and a smartphone app to display/manage it - they must BOTH support extended Toyota PID data. I use an "OBDLink MX+ OBD2 bluetooth adapter", and the OBDLink smartphone app. There are several others that are reported to work (google 'em), but that's the combo that I can vouch for. If you buy a cheapo $25 generic bluetooth adapter even with the proper app, you won't get the data.

You can view this data in real time, so you'd be able to monitor the temp as you drive. Sadly, there's no temp sensor on the transfer case. Hope this is helpful - -

 

Thank you 2Sheds! This helps a great deal! I have been searching for other GX owners who have had this issue and have not had any luck on discovering what has been causing it so this is really helpful! There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason when it heats up, it just does so intermittently but it heats up the entire truck. I will check this out and let everyone know once I find out. Thanks again!