I wanna be like "this is the worst gd truck i've ever owned" but I can't. Love it too much. But sometimes... you have to say goodbye... so talk me out of it if I'm wrong, which I am happy to admit.

I bought my GX (a 2006 w/ 124K) about 20 months ago. In the time that's passed, I've spent about 8K in maintenance and repairs on it.
At the end of the day, including payments, gas and insurance, it's cost me around 1K per month to own. And right now, I can't even.

First it was the center diff, three seized calipers, and the secondary air injector.
This was followed by a radiator, new shocks, struts, sway bar bushings and stabilizers, replacing them all myself... with the bloody knuckles to prove it.
The wheels and tires looked like hell and I was able to replace all 4 sets for the cost of some generic tires b/c someone got new wheels with their 4runner.
Then we did the front right axle seal and noticed the leak at the transfer case actuator. Ugh.
F.
This.
(or do you want me to tell you how I really feel)

It's gotten me to and from deercamp, which includes about 15 miles of logging "roads"
It's never left me stranded.
It's the best vehicle I've ever ice fished out of.
It rides smooth and comfortably.
Engine is quiet as a mouse.
Hell... it's got so many new parts... plus i kinda already know what I've got.
Have I completed this experiment or do I call it? I am pretty frustrated right now... And I am honestly at wits end. I love it and I hate it. It's literally been the best and worst vehicle I've ever owned.

 

That's tough. Always hard to decide how much "good money, you want to throw after bad money".................It's car, and as such it requires a certain amount of dealing with it. Some are worse than others. Most have a personality. None are perfect, just some are better than others. The ones I have owned, that most people would swear are the worst, turned out to be some of the cheapest driving I have ever had. So you have to decide, is yours just a "lemon" with a psycho-***** personality, or just needed a lot of loving to bring her back. I think after doing all that, I would give it another month or two. But set a hard limit for future repairs. Good luck.

 

Other than the rear suspension - I think you've paid for all the expensive things that commonly fail. From my perspective - you've just done a "reset" on it and it'll be good for several more years.

And .. I hear you. Radiator, transfer case leak, CV joint boots, driveshaft, and many small things so far on mine to fix all the things the previous owner let slide. I still love it and I'm keeping it as long as feasible.

Chip H.

 

The most important repair/maintenance you have to worry about now is The Timin Belt.
I'm at 125k and in the process of doing this project.
i just order my kit from Florida.

 

I have been test driving cars/trucks the last few days... we had some weather come through that put 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. A not so subtle reminder of just how nice the car is.
I can't get over how well it drives through the snow compared to vehicles 8-10 years newer.
Hope I don't regret the decision...

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

That seems pretty extreme for a GX really but some are lucky than others for sure!! Im getting ready to sell my 08 470 with 100,000 miles on it and its been a good vehicle but time to get rid of it---Ill be getting me a 2018 F-150 Limited, very nice truck for sure!!

 

It's unfortunate you've had so much trouble with yours. I've had mine for 7 months now and I only put a radiator in it (and that's because the previous person who worked on it broke the upper inlet). I know I have brakes in my future, as well as CV axles, but knock on wood it's been pretty reliable and problem free.

 

I am in a similar position, except I have owned tbis truck since new and it now has 167k miles. It has a great engi e and transmission. I have put all dollars necessary into replacing life cycle parts eg air bags, shocks, brakes, brake calipers (many times), radiator, water pump and timing belt etc with the fulk intention of holding onto this truck for a long time.

However, my love affair ended a couple of years ago after replacing the brakes to include the siezed calipers twice in as many months. Now the third set of calipers which are OEM that i replaced for a 3rd.time in the spring, two calipers are already sticking - another $1k. I just want to take a sledge hammer to the brakes!!!!

Secondly i have been getting a CEL which was seemingly point to another known failure - bad evap vaccuum pump. Apparently the plastic fan blades brake and get stuck in the metering valves. The pump is cjeap enough, but the geniuses at Toyota put it underneath the manifold which requires removing it to replace the pump - $2k in part and mostly labor.

I use the truck as a daily cummuter and I elected to hold onto it because i thought it was going to prove to be more reliable. I was going to pass it onto my son when he turns 16. It is in awesome condition, still drives like a dream, with no sqeeks or rattles, but i cant see myself having to replace brake calipers and uneven worn pads every 10 month, if they last even that long. So very frustrating and it has just left a sour taate in my mouth for Lexus/Toyota.

 

I had that issue a while back, what cel code are you getting? I just manually rigged it to bypass the check.. I also have a 2005 .. Use krytox grease for caliper grease/lube as it should take care of the stuck caliper issues.

 

Sorry but the stock caliper issue won't go away with grease, the calipers are under engineered for the application. It's a long standing and well documented issue w/4Runners and GX470's, which share the same brake calipers.

And yes, while the bypass keeps the code from being triggered, you're also bypassing emissions equipment, which is technically illegal, that and the underlying problem still exists. Also if you are in a state that does smog testing there is no guarantee your GX will pass smog.

 

I had a similar issue - i was told it was called a 'secondary air injector' and it's function was to hit the catalytic with air so it would heat up faster. Regardless, the location (underneath the manifold) seems about the same. In my case, the electric motor of the air injector would run loudly upon start (since there was no longer a load on it) and wouldn't stop until the catalytic got up to temp. There apparently is a GM replacement that is cheaper yet, but that doesn't change the location or the fact that there are plastic fan blades that brittle up and explode. I paid $1300 at my local mechanic to get this done for me.

I have repeatedly asked my mechanic to take the car into a field and light it on fire, but he refuses.

 

That is the issue, the metering valve can either be stuck open or closed, the P code will indicate which. The fan blades are plastic and become brittle with age, then break off. I am almost so over this truck, it's a love hate relationship at the moment.

 

do a GX460 caliper, rotor and pad upgrade. Bolts right on, problem solved. Secondary air injection is an emissions related component, another common issue on VVT-I trucks. You can bypass it with a cheap kit (check engine light stays off) or keep it. AC Delco makes replacement fans for a GM vehicle that just so happen to bolt right in to the GX, at a fraction of the cost. You just need to do a little research.

 

Dorman makes a replacement fan. You'll have to swap the connector wiring over.

Chip H.