I agree. In 1998 we bought a Pathfinder LE, my neighbor bought an Explorer Limited. We both paid around 30K for our respective vehicles. I remember initially thinking he got more for his money than I did. He had more toys and gizmos in his than I had in the PF. My cousin (who is a mechanic) told me to not fall into that trap. The Asians just do a better job in engineering than the domestics do.

Sure enough, in the 70K miles he put on that thing, he had nothing but problems. One of which was a hesitation that they could never resolve and it was becoming a safety issue. Let's not even talk about materials and NVH (noise, vibrations, and Harshness) issues.

He hated it. He dumped it and bought an '03 Acua TL-S, and his wife has a Honda Pilot, they both love their cars.

Last year co-worker purchased a current gen Explorer. After two months and several visits to get issues corrected, he dumped it and bought an Acura MDX and couldn't be happier.

As for me, as long as I have a need for a full size SUV, I will always own a Land Cruiser or LX (or maybe a GX).

 

(1) you shouldn't have to unlock the car at all. i have 3 lexuses, and previously owned a few others, and all are the same. i keep all the cars unlocked at night in the garage. i just walk up to the car, pull open the door, and hit the seat selection. but yes, this is only available for maybe 5 seconds after opening the door. but i have never had to use the key fob to unlock to enable this (so this is factory standard)

(2) there are about 30 sec of power to windows + sunroof after you turn off the ignition. trick is, do not open the doors. once a door is opened, the intermediate power is disabled to windows/sunroof. what i do is start closing windows/sunroof when parking in the garage, that way even if they are still closing when i turn off the car, they are still rolling up.

sorry to hear of the emotional distress at the dealership. at least they gave you a couple of alternatives, esp considering "no cooling off" laws and what not. i i am sure you will find a willing buyer for the car. not sure what the total cost will be in the end, but hopefully you will get used to some of the things and enjoy it for a little while.

 

89vette, sorry for all the trauma, hope it does work out for you.

Just my $0.02 worth, I'm in the design/development business (but not automotive), and it just drives me up a wall, in that, in particular auto design engineers don't get out an use the competition. Just little things (like the retained power). I know in some cases there are patents, etc. but not in most.

For instance 10+ years ago I had a Chrysler Minivan (loaded), the power seats and mirrors had memory settings like today. EXCEPT that you could code each memory setting to a specific key fob. So you unlock the door (with the fob) and the seat and mirrors are already in place by the time you sit down. Have had multiple loaded cars since then, none with that. In my expensive Benz now, I have 3 memory buttons, and they can be stored to a key fob (so with 2 fobs you get 6 different stored memories, but only 3 accessible at a time, dependent on the fob used). Don't know why anyone would need six. But heres the kicker, doesn't do anything in reality, as you still have to use the memory button once you sit down (and their down on the seat, not up on the door). Not only that you have to HOLD THEM DOWN until the movement completes. ASININE.

However, after to many years of too many car purchases, what has finally swore me off of NEVER purchasing a Big 3 again (GM, Ford, Chrys) is NOT the actual car and quality of the parts and functions (though that is part), it is the SERVICE (or lack there off). Maybe I'm just lucky with my Lexus and Benz service people in Austin, but it is so night and day. I swear if someone GAVE me a new GM/Ford I would give it to charity (and take the tax deduction ). And this is not due to any specific traumatic one time event, this is just the year in year out, regular problems and maintenance, that has you dealing with them.

 

I hear you. I have not had the reliability problems or serivce problems with my Cadillacs and Hummers. The first Hummer had an issue with a water leak in the roof (that happens when you nose dive in a huge mud hole and the water gushes over the roof!), rusty side steps, premature wear on the radio buttons. The biggest grip is the interior cheap plastic. They don't even make an effort to use good plastic if there is such a thing.

The Escalade had one problem with the ABS system and it spent two weeks in the shop while they waited for parts. I had another one to drive in the meantime. I always got a loaner car to drive. I guess I have been lucky with the repair items.

Without a doubt the area where GM (I know nothig of Ford or Chrysler) could make HUGE gains is in the interior department. The quality of the GX interior surfaces and the thing you touch (switches, *****, etc.) are first rate. Things are just solid. They have the talent but they are like trying to steer an oil tanker with a canoe paddle. They better get with it soon.

I guess it really is hard to build the perfect car. Someting that combines the best from each manufacturer. Until that time, let's have fun driving!

 

I'll try this when I get home. I opened the door this morning and it did not move the seat. Maybe it was longer than 5 seconds. I'll post update tomorrow.

 

It's too bad that you aren't happy with the GX. For this price, you shouldn't feel trapped and unhappy. I hope in the long run everything works out well for you. But to be fair to both Lexus and the dealer, it seems a little rediculous to be sooooooo overly dramatic and sobbing in the dealership because the truck doesn't have a change holder and you actually need to move a couple inches to reach the stereo (that has full function steering wheel controls, by the way!). Others have already gone through the list items, so I won't bother. Except for a couple items, the rest seem to either be minor nitpicks or "old dog, new trick" syndrome. While I agree the GX has some short-comings (and all vehicles have them), your reaction seems a tad bit unreasonable and way over the top!

 

I don't think it is unreasonable to hate a new car after driving it for a while and wanting your old car back. Who wants to spend $50K on something they hate?

Update on the door memory buttons. They do not work when you open the door. You must wake the car with the key FOB unlock button to get them to work. I tried it several times. Maybe they changed this in the 05 GX?

 

actually, it works with me all the time. I dunno about the 5 seconds you guys are talking about but I just leave the cars unlocked in the garage. I open the door, push the memory button (if I need to change it) and usually it will work. Now trick is for me, is that it only works once. Once you've used it, you then have to put the ignition on "On" if you need to use the other memory button.

 

Mine is definately not like that.

 

You are not alone in lamenting a by gone era or situation. But, when you realize what your alternatives are for the future, is how you weigh your options. I really liked Range Rovers I have had in the past, but than one day I woke up and realized that they needed almost as much attention which a 9 year old child craves. So, I now drive something that does not need my intervention that often. I do not miss the drive to the repair services, nor do I miss driving loaner cars which are not mine. There is much I would like to see refined on the GX, but they do not cause me to want to dump the truck. I have the perspective, it is a truck, a car, just a thing that moves me around. I do not get attached to it, nor do I expect the world out of it. But, it is still a nice ride. Good luck with your future purchase, what ever it is.

 

For one thing it's not an 05 issue because my 99 GS300 works the same.
I want to see this memory buttons work for you b/c if it's not working correctly, then something's wrong with the GX?

Scenario: I drove the car last night. My wife wants to drive it this morning. She unlocks with key (not needing to put key in ignition), push #2 (hers) and works fine.

You've tried this and it didn't work?
I haven't tried NOT locking the car overnight (or over a certain time period), opening the door, and push one of the other setting.???

I'll check out a couple of scenarios just to see if there's any variations to this door memory.

 

89 - have you programmed the seats yet? i highly doubt they changed this minor feature on the GX. i had it on a 98Gs, and i still have it on the 06GS. all the cars are unlocked in the garage, just open the door and hit the memory switch. if there is no seat memorized on that key, it won't do anything.

 

Mine is a 2005 GX, car sits in the garage unlocked. Open the door hit the memory button. Works fine. I'll try different scenarios (i.e. the 5 second time out, etc.) and report back.

Also found the page in the manual (pg 226):

Conditions for memorized position activation
 Ignition key “ON” and selector lever in “P” position.
All parts of the memorized positions can be activated.
 Key not in ignition switch and within 30 seconds of opening
driver’s door.
The memorized position can be activated, except for the tilt
and telescopic steering.
If any driving position memory switch is pushed while one of the
memorized driving position profiles is being activated, the
operation will stop.
To activate the system, push the desired button (“1” or “2”)
again.
The driving position memory control system cannot be
operated while the vehicle is moving.
If the vehicle’s battery is disconnected, the computer’s
memory will be erased and the memorized positions will have
to be set again.


So it appears the timeout is 30 seconds. Also haven't noticed that the steering wheel doesn't move, but that makes sense, sit you want the wheel not telescoped for ease of getting in. I assume it telescopes and moves once the key is inserted to THAT memory position. It must, as I don't ever adjust it manually.

So 89vette, there is something not working with your's.

 

Mine 100% does not do this. I'll ask the dealer about it. Both seats are programmed. This is wierd for sure.

 

Since you seem like a good guy, I am willing to give you $10 right now for that POS GX470 you just purchased, so you will no longer have to suffer with all of these frustrations