I have test driven some others SUVs recently and I do make sure the brakes don't have the same issue and none of the ones i drove did. The problem is once you start adding the pluses and minuses of each SUV in the GX's price range, nothing beats the GX all around for $60k IMO. You may have bought the wrong vehicle if you loved your old GX but other than that what would the right vehicle be?

 

The brakes are more than powerful for the GX; I nearly got T-boned by a delivery truck a few weeks ago, and the GX stopped quicker than my old ES300!

 

The pedal goes down too far and needs too much pressure to hold at a stop. Brakes do work well once you get used to them.

 

Would you accept full credit for your purchase less 8,000 miles for a trade on a new GX? No dealership will write you a check because you bought the wrong vehicle, but a Lexus dealership will try very hard to keep you as a customer, especially if in the process they address your concern.

However, if you are convinced that the GX is the wrong vehicle for you and you could not be satisfied with another GX ... well, then you own the problem as there is nothing Lexus can do to satisfy you.
Regards,

SaniDel


P.S. Our local Lexus dealership is offering 120% of "blue book value" for used GX so they have inventory this winter when demand picks up.

 

As most have stated, the GX's brakes need a little time to get used to. The problem is, if you regularly drive a different car, it will be harder to get used to. In time, it will not be an issue. What can help is installing HP rotors and different pads. Here is my set-up and it has improved the brake feel. I would recommend also replacing the rubber OEM brake lines (to the calipers) with stainless steel or Kevlar reinforced lines.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7610048-post83.html

Koz

 

Good point, Koz. As our 2010 GX 460 is our only vehicle and we have driven no other vehicle for almost four years, my wife and I are thoroughly adapted. Much the way that dog owners don't hear the barking and cigarette smokers don't smell the stench, we don't see a problem. ;-)
Regards,

SaniDel


P.S. I predict that when we eventually drive a different vehicle, we will "stand it on its nose" until we learn NOT to press so hard on the brake pedal.

 

I have never questioned the ability of the GX460 to stop when the brakes are applied, especially in an emergeny stop. The ABS works just fine. My dealer was researching this problem from that point also. I told him it is not the ability to stop, it is the pedal travel and creeping at idle that is the problem. We have a 2002 Lexus SC430 and a 2007 Chevy truck neither of which has this problem. We drive all 3 vehicles regularily so to say we must get used to the GX460 brakes by only driving it is not an option. The breaks on the GX are just not as progressive during the pedal travel as any other vehickle we have owned. While we can probably get used to this (although we have not in the last 8000 mi) the idle creeping is going to cause an accident. The idea of replacing the rotors, pads, and break lines is a good idea. I will bring this up to my dealer. Thanks for the input.

 

I did not change the brakes and rotors because of the brake pedal feel. I changed these parts because I overheated the system when I was towed a travel trailer with the brake controller set to low. With that said, the changes did create a better pedal feel. Again, if you give the OEM brakes some time, you forget about this issue. This really is just a matter of compensating for the difference in the brake pedal feel. When I drive my IS (after driving the GX for a period) I tend to put too much braking in the initial bite when I first hit the brakes. Does that mean the brakes are too sensitive? Give it more time and you will not notice the brake feel.

Koz

 

My Tahoe and my C6 Corvette have much less travel on the brake pedal than the GX does, but again you'll get used to it, it's the way they all are and if there was really an issue there would be a safety recall on them.

 

I wouldn't expect a safety recall but a TSIB would be nice.

 

This is the way Toyota designed the brakes. I had the same brake feel in my 05 Limited 4Runner.

Koz

 

I can agree that Toyota may have designed it this way and I can also agree that if this is the case it will take us more time to get used to the lack of progressive braking (especially since we probably drive the Chevy truck the most) BUT I cnnot believe that Toyota designed the GX460 (and apparanlty others) to creep at idle after a stop. While the pedal travel probably does not require a saftey recall the fact that the car creeps at idle does. As a result of testing I believe the creeping is a result of increased idle caused by the AC compressor. The speed of the creep is a function of both how much foot pressure it took to stop the car initially and the incline or decline it may be on. The worst scenario is the very slow creep because the driver does not realize it until the car is too close to the car in front. Several other people have driven our GX460 and they all complain about the same thing. How do I get this fixed if it is "normal".

 

We have 2 company GS350's , 2007 and 2010, both creep while at a stop if you're not careful. I've just started putting the GX in neutral at traffic lights, it's a habit now. I always wondered why the people who drove the GS cars at my office put them in natural at traffic lights, now I know why.

 

Hi everyone,
Had my 2014 GX for about 4 months now and so far, I like it. The only problem I had was when I was braking very hard in an emergency situation (freeway driving at 60mph - traffic ahead of me stopped dead suddenly) - brakes behaved very strangely - it felt like the car was nose diving when i was braking and then brakes were released and I had to press again. I thought it was ABS ( it's supposed to kick in when hard braking), but it felt very strange and almost like brakes were malfunctioning. Same thing happened recently when i was driving on the street at about 30 mph.
Will bring it to the dealer soon, but wanted to get other owners' input. In short, in hard braking it feels like the car slows down, but then starts stopping and going forward again and again. I used to drive Acura MDX before that and had similar situations, but it never behaved like this. Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Yeah it's a new Toyota/Lexus thing. It grabs extra extra hard and lurches, it's some sort of brake assist thing. Apparently it is quite effective at adding additional pressure in potential emergency situations, but it is startling. Nothing abnormal there, I had it on my GX and my 4Runner,