SW17LS

Hey GX owners. I'm a long time Lexus owner, never had a GX but I know lots of people who have.

I'm thinking of buying a used GX as a third car. The truck will be used for use around town, we'll also use if for hauling signs and such for our business, we'll use it in the winter, and the occasional road trip to places where I miss not having an SUV. So in short, I want it to be a vehicle that while older I wouldn't hesitate to get into and drive 5 hours to WV, etc. Given my experience with Toyota/Lexus and my knowledge of the GX being a well built, rugged Land Cruiser Prado I think it might fit the bill.

I don't want to spend more than $20k or so, and there are a couple of 2008s here with ~ $80k miles that fall into that range that look nice online, have to go take a look at them. Not really concerned about higher mileage as it won't be driven more than 5k miles a year probably.

Anyways, anything to look out for? I've done some reading and I know about the potential cracking dash issue and I've seen some online that have that clearly. I'm familiar enough with Lexus to know that they need a timing belt at 90k miles so in the age range I'm looking I need to be cognizant of that. Have a good independent Lexus mechanic so I'm in good hands there.

Any particular options to avoid? In the LS world in older ones we tend to avoid air suspensions, etc.

Thanks in advance guys!

BlackCat81

My advice would be to use the search feature and spend some time reading up on them. This question is brought up quite a bit.

bbrowncods

Standard maintenance documentation.
My brother and I have the same year GX. He went without Navi. I have Navi, but would tend to agree with him that 10 year old maps aren't very useful and all the controls for climate, radio, Navi, etc run through the same head unit. If that goes bad it is $$$. However, I have not ever run across anyone having that issue.
I bought a well maintained GX under 100k miles last June. I have put 15k miles on it this year with some maintenance issues. It has needed a passenger mirror motor, rear suspension air bags, A.I.R motor, rear brakes, diff/transfer cases fluid changes, and tires. In the near future it will need spark plugs, front brakes, and the dash replaced. Good news is I did all the above mentioned repairs myself.
It has never failed to be reliable and what little of the above couple of items that "broke", I caught them before they became major. For instance I have never had a check engine light or DSL code.

The key is getting a well maintained one.

SW17LS

Yeah I've had them with nav screens until they were pretty old, not real worried about that. Will definitely look for service history...

co4wheel

I need help getting the passenger mirror motor out. How do you get too it. Three bolts on the bottom don't seem to be the way in.

lesz

I bought my 2005 GX new, and I have now been driving it for about 11 years.

It has been the most dependable SUV that I've ever owned, and, in fact, it has been as dependable as any vehicle of any kind that I've ever owned. Aside from normal maintenance and replacing the tires and battery, the only other money that I've had to put into the GX has been to repair a leak in the AC refrigerant line. The Lexus dealer wanted to replace the entire line for about $1800. The Toyota dealer quoted me $800 to replace the line, but they said that it was likely that replacing a bad fitting would do the trick, and they replaced that fitting for under $200.

Ride quality with the GX is certainly harsher than that of a Lexus sedan, but, for a truck-based SUV, I consider it to be quite comfortable, and Lexus did its typically good job of isolating the cabin from road, wind, and engine noise.

For driving on slick roads during the winter, the GX has been as good as any vehicle I've ever owned, and I'm yet to have experienced a situation when it has felt the least bit secure, even on icy pavement.

Periodically, I think that, after 11 years of driving the GX, I'm likely on borrowed time with regard to having to do some expensive repairs and I think that I should consider replacing the vehicle before those expenses come up, but the GX has been such a great vehicle, and its value to me is far greater than whatever I could get for it in the used or trade-in market.

SW17LS

Good to know! Thanks Lesz. For the GX, I actually prefer this generation to the GX460 myself. Like I said, I know several people with these with a lot of miles. I have a good buddy who had a 2004 with over 220k miles when he traded it on a new ML320, which he wishes he hadn't done. That GX had been wrecked twice and still was a solid reliable truck.

I've looked at 4Runners too, but really they're not any cheaper than a comparable GX on the used market.

Scoopy

Hey, I am buying one this week, probably monday - have one picked out and it's a matter of negotiating on the final price.

I agree with above advice, check the air suspension carefully, make sure it raises and lowers and does not sit there and blink indicating a problem.. air suspension is expensive and depending on how much of it is broken you can opt to switch it out for regular coils, but that is an entirely different issue. Ideally you just repair it back to OEM and keep all of your controls working correctly.

Check the carfax and also check the lexus dealer history, on the lexus owner's website. Look for any sneaky rust or corrosion, look to be sure the 90k maintenance (timing belt and water pump) maintenance was done if over 90k, otherwise that will be a faily sizeable expense and/or investment of your time if you do it yourself.

Brakes too, these are heavy vehicles and i have sen in several dealer history reports the calipers having seized and brake jobs being done regularly. The brakes work great on these but they do have to do a lot of work to stop this heavy vehicle so make sure it does not pull or shimmy, etc, and compare your test drive with the service records.

Also, drive the thing, these are kind of tall and the suspension behavior is different from many other SUV's that i have driven. They are very quiet and solid but there is a bit of "boat on the ocean" swoop de doop sort of ride on the soft suspension setting, since it is heavy, tall, and has a somewhat shorter wheelbase. Just my 02 cents, make sure you like the way it rides!

Also be prepared for premium gas and less than 20mpg, other than that, these are a fantastic vehicle in my opinion.

SW17LS

Drove one today, a very nice 2009 with 35k miles on it, at $30k more than I want to spend but it was a good example I thought to get me acclimated to what one should ride and drive like. This one was in remarkable shape.

I liked it, definitely a truck and I know exactly what you mean about the boat in the ocean feel in the comfort setting. Would certainly fit the bill of what I'm looking for. I will drive a couple in the area that are down in the price range I'm looking at.

I'm accustomed to the premium fuel and sub 20MPG with the LS LOL, so I should be fine there!

Thanks for the input guys.

bbrowncods

Move the mirror all the way in by pushing on the glass. That will allow you to get behind it. With a screwdriver pop the mirror off. It has clips that hold it. Just be gentle. With the mirror off you can reach the screws and remove the motor. Mirror just snaps back into place.

co4wheel

Thanks....

charleston

Check thuis out

chiph9

Wow, that's a really nice interior. Mine doesn't look anything like that.
I need to replace the mats...

Chip H.

SW17LS

Nice! You're not that far away. Looks like it has the cracking dash, have you pointed that out to the dealer?

180ls1

05+ will have more power (VVT) but are more prone to failure with the secondary air pump which can be problematic. The VVT system itself seems pretty reliable.