coloboardi

Who in the world thought that a rear swinging door would be a good idea for an SUV that Lexus advertises as a towing vehicle!? And they continued it for the GX460s! This is the most infuriating part of these vehicles. Hey lets make a midsize SUV for a family and put in a V8, rear, self-leveling air-spring suspension for towing boats and campers... buuuuuut let's make sure the rear door won't open more than 1/4 of the way when it's hooked up to a trailer...

Sorry, just had to rant. I don't even tow that much and I can't wait to get rid of this vehicle because of this design.

msgs350

iTrader: (2)

This has been discussed often and its said that its due to the fact that the GX is based off the Prado, which has the spare tire mounted on the rear door and Lexus was too cheap to re-design it.

This thread discusses it a bit (more threads out there).
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...rear-door.html

chiph9

I had a 1st gen Honda CRV with the right-swing door. And a Ridgeline with the left-swing tailgate. So I guess I'm used to it...

Chip H.

IanB2

It's complained about, often and loudly. They couldn't even move the hinges to the other side so it swings open away from the curb?!? Agreed that this is the worst design element of the entire vehicle. And to add insult to injury, the rear window doesn't roll down.

co4wheel

LR4. Best tailgate ever.

glassmanj

maybe it's just me but i love the tailgate. first off, the handle is on the drivers side for the driver who drives the car. i personally have yet to load anything to a curb. and i'll be surprised if i ever do. i lvie in the suburbs so having the handle on my side of the car is just as convenient to me as maybe having it on the other side for people living in the city. in hindsight they should have the option.

as for the side opening, i;ve never lived in a garage who you can open a hatchback. the hosues that i've owned,, three of them all had 7 foot high garage doors and with any SUV on the market there is now way you can open an up lighting tailgate and not hit the garage door above you. my wife has a 2006 rx400h that's sits lower than my gx and you have to park outside to unload anything in the rear trunk then start the car back up to pull in garage.

but with my gx470 i pull right in and open the door. and when i pull in my garage i unload everything to the drivers side of the car and thus having the door open away from me is way more convenient than havign to walk around the door to get my things. all a matter of perspective. but i think you'll find on the whole, in garages, most people exit to their left and thus the way the door is higned is correct. additionally, most people who buy a $50k lexus have a garage and probably also never unload to a curb.

othersiw, the hinged door to me is awesome!!!! best idea ever. only regret is they didn't put a operating window.

so in the end, the probability that the car was garage kept and in garages that are of older design and not 10 feet high a decision was to go with what more people would benefit from. can;t satisfy everyone. i personally bought the car for the way the door works

BiloxiGuy

Too funny. Yep, I tow a boat with mine, and yes it is a little annoying, but I guess I am used to it by now. We have checked out the newer 460's, and were also surprised that the rear door still swings to the side. Oh well, probably not trading mine out soon anyway. Like her too much...

AND, not to mention that you have to buy the premium model on the 460 to get the air suspension? I love the air suspension for towing on the 470.

chiph9

I do like how the tailgate on the LX works.

Chip H.

yackowski

I really dig the LX tailgate, but given the choice of lift/swing, I prefer the swing any day. I don't like ducking under the minivan style doors. It is unfortunate that our back glass doesn't roll down though!


Cole

micah360

yeah... I don't mind it either. I've only towed once, but it swung out enough that it wasn't a huge pain.

LoneHiker

I'm not complaining because I prefer it. As a person who lives on a rough dirt road and needs a heavy duty SUV in daily life, I've had every manner of SUV over the years with all styles of rear door, and this one is hands down the best.

The people who drive Pilots (and the like) with the swing up rear hatch, need to bring a broomstick on cold days to keep them from crashing down on them. It's even worse when there's a layer of ice on the back of the car, which happens in my area frequently.

And the opening rear glass, whether it be flip up or roll down, is a completely unnecessary maintenance hassle. The rear glass squeaks and rattles and needs constant attention with silicone spray and the like. Those of you who think a roll down rear window would be fun, have you ever driven with one open? What a gimmick.

Grass is always greener.

I do understand your frustration with the problem you are having though, I tow with mine also. It can be solved easily with this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-e...tep-97685.html

glassmanj

i never realized your point but with my old pathfinder it was a piece of 2x4. too funny!

NMBruce

You have to look at what/where this vehicle is made for, here it's the GX470 because Lexus can sell it to fill a slot and every place else it's the Land Cruiser Prado, its first made for right hand drive countries and made to carry a spare tire on the rear door. To make it a hatch would require a more expensive bumper with a swing out tire carry.

BlackCat81

A lot of us came from 4Runners, so the roll down rear window is definitely missed. Mine was always down. And my dog definitely loved it more, that's for sure. Now she has to try and stick her big nose out of the popped open rear quarter glass.

coolsaber

dont worry with Lexus GX up for the chopping block with the three row rx, everyones complaints would be addressed i guess lol