Lexus newbie and GX newbie with a few suspension questions:

1) I'm pretty sure I have a leak in the air suspension somewhere. When the truck sits for a while I can tell the rear end sags quite bad, but when I turn it on it lifts itself right up to correct height and works normally. Any suggestions to how to find the leak? or just spray soapy water and watch for bubbles?

2) Towing: I did a lot of research before buying this vehicle and all sites said it could tow quite a bit, but then I was thumbing through my owners manual the other day and saw that Lexus doesn't recommend towing at all with the KDSS suspension... I think I have that because I have the comfort to sport mode dial on the console, am I correct? If so, why is towing a bad thing? Is there a way to disable KDSS while towing to prevent damage to the vehicle?

3) I have read on here before that it's possible to remove the air suspension and swap in normal 4Runner suspension (or slightly lifted suspension ), If this is true, how easy is this, and what parts do I need to make the swap?

 

The suspension settings, comfort/sport has nothing to do with KDSS, that is a feature for off roading only. Detaches front sway bar to allow greater range of travel over rough terrain. That setting adjusts the valuing in the shocks, soft to firm. If suspension sags on a truck that is over 10 years old, conventional wisdom says there is a leak, no matter how small in air bags.

 

Okay that makes sense... so how do I know if I have KDSS? and Why would Lexus recommend not towing with KDSS?

 

You can call Lexus and give them VIN and they will send you window sticker info...or look under front of truck, see if there are some hydraulics attached to front sway bar links. I don't think that system has any effect on towing. I did not find anything in my manual.

 

the GX is meant for towing hence the rear air ride suspension, I think someone gave you some wierd info.
the most important thing is if you have the small hitch that just bolts to the bumper, then you can only support 5k lbs, but if you have the lower hanging wieght distributing hitch that bolts to the frame, then you can support 6500 lbs or something like that. the bumper one came on 2003's and some 2004's. after that they moved to the weight distributing one.

this guy states that it was only kdss before 2004 that had the problem. my 2003 does not even have kdss.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...ss-towing.html

also remember our cars are practically like limited 4th gen 4runners, so read there on kdss and towing.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/genera...uipped-4r.html
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-ge...ss-towing.html

 

Okay, thank you to everybody that responded!

I bought this vehicle specifically for towing (and general reliability) so I was shocked to find that page in my owner's manual. Also: the truck handles a 5000 lb car hauler just fine, so I guess I'll continue on status quo. Also: yes, my specific truck didn't have a hitch, so I bought one of the weight distributing ones.