rajapavin

Hi Folks,

I'm pretty upset at Lexus, I have owned 10 SUV's from Lexus and in Jan, they suggested I buy the new GX as a pre-order without so much as a test drive - I did so out of trust for the brand and my local Lexus dealer filled their sales pipeline with me as their "first" customer.

In any case I now have a 70K truck sitting in my driveway which I havent driven for 30+ days (I was away on business). it has NO mileage and I want my money back after this awful safety press. I'm not putting my family in a SUV with a safety record I can no longer trust, in a brand I no longer trust.


I find this situation seriously disturbing. Not because the Consumer Reports test was right or wrong, Iv'e heard others argue that the test was at 90MPH blah blah, but because this car is an ASSET for most of us non leasers - and Lexus just turned this vehicle into a very fast depreciating asset. This SUV is going to depreciate like a friggin rock.

Now is the time to act, if we can get some collective intelligence on how to deal with this - it may help our whole community of buyers.

Can anyone guide us here? Please post any specific experience with this. I have a call into my lawyer about this.

Good luck folks - please keep us posted on your specific experiences..

PS if any of you 2010 GX owners are in the New England area, PM me and lets chat about the local situation and how we may help each other..

Cheers,

RP

RXSF

Honestly, I think you are blowing this way out of proportion. Every car has its little quibbles, and I bet in a months time, nobody will remember this even happened to the GX. Its really not a safety issue as long as you dont power slide at 60mph. Entry level cars without stability control will do the same thing.

Your 70K car will depreciate no matter what happens to it since it is a high priced luxury car. A little issue like this wont affect it too much. Also we know that Lexus holds a very good reputation or resale value. I believe it is the highest retaining value brand in the luxury segment.

If you have owned 10 Lexus SUVs, how can you let 1 small problem with 1 of them affect your entire relationship and opinion of Lexus?

just my opinion. I dont think you will be able to get a buyback either since this doesnt constitute as a lemon product. You have to consistently have the problem with multiple attempts to fix it before the government will even help you.

akfd

I personally don't see a car as an asset, but rather as a product - just like something that I buy at a store because I use it. An example would be a nice leather jacket. If you look at the GX as a product, its value won't hold for too long when it gets older. Very few cars will hold their value over time, I can only think of some vintage cars that will either hold their value, or appreciate, rather than depreciate (quite quickly too). So no worries, the GX's residual value will just be like any other SUV on the market.

kelv2888

I am a owner of a GX 460. I am totally disgusted by Government motors secretive plot to sabotage the reputation of japanese automakers. They obviously started from the top and chose the top manufacturer ,Toyota. This is ofcourse my humble opinion, however, I feel that the timing and coincidence of the top three detroit losers that almost all needed bailouts because they made inferior products out of greed by lazy union workers and now currently OWNED by the government is obviously behind ALL of this.
They tried their hardest to roll it over and could not and labeled it unsafe? This is such a joke. If anything, I have MORE faith in the cars abilities than before and Im sure after the FIX it will be even better. Domestic cars could not hold a candle next to a Lexus, a car made with pride and meticulous care in a culture that values hard work and prides itself in the quality and craftsmanship of its products, whatever their nationality or skin color is.
30 years of a impeccable history of reliability and quality will not be so easily tarnished in my mind. The fact that so many people are so gullible and easily influenced is saddening. They might have made a few mistakes but the fact remains, they are STILL far more reliable and built far superior to most domestics.
I think Toyota will come out of this even bettter than before and this will benefit the loyal owners out here. They will be an even stronger ,superior company after they weather this storm of B.S.

coachdoc

I expect that anyone who spends 60k+ on a vehicle has every right to be outraged when something like this happens. Especially, since the vehicle has only been on the market for three months. Good question is, why did it take that long?

I agree whole heartedly with rajapavin. I leased the gx460 for my wife, who in turns transports my three kids and I have only had it for seven days. I have returned the vehicle to the dealer and refuse to place my family in a vehicle that the company concurs is POSSIBLY unsafe if put into a 60 mph skid. 60 mph, are you kidding me.

Is it possible, yes! Is it likely, no! Are you willing to put your family's safety as the wager on whether it does or not. I realize this is the extreme and can be the over reacting portion that has been referred too, but I couldn't live with myself if I could have prevented something so petty but choose not to because, I thought I was "over reacting." It's not logical. I realize anything could happen in any car you drive, but I have yet been faced with this issue.

I realize that CR is an independent company that conducts their own tests. However, I didn't see toyota putting up much of a defense to the findings, as a matter of fact, THEY HALTED THE SALE!! A company that halts the sale of a vehicle that cost them millions in production and inventory at this point, isn't going to stop the sale of the vehicle unless there is a pretty good reason. CR has been lexus' biggest fan for years. Facts are facts and if they were fabricated results to hurt the company than the company would be on full rebuttal of the issue versus the alternative action.

Toyota has done the right thing because they aren't willing to gamble either.

vince22

My family have decided to keep our GX470's for now, no upgrades to GX460 ever.....I thought "clunk issue" was bothersome, i was wrong.

RXSF

you guys are rediculous. You do realize that there are still cars on the road that still dont have stability control and those cars will do exactly what the GX did in that video. But notice how the GX eventually comes to a halt without any brake lights, meaning that the VSC does activate, it is just late in doing so.

the reason why they halted the sale was because toyota is being investigated for not responding quickly enough to the unintended aceleration problem. In order to show they are serious, they halted the sale just in case and would not sell the vehicle until they tested it more thoroughly.

As long as you arent power sliding in your GX, there should not be a problem at all.

raptor22

^ i agree, some people are ridiculous and way over-reacting. Toyota is showing that they're serious by reacting quickly in the midst of all this investigation. Toyota halting sales and not putting up much defense is how they chose to deal with all of the recent events, which have been blown way out of proportion by the media, and now CR has taken advantage of it.

for instance, the faulty gas pedal hasn't been tied to any reports of unintended acceleration, if i'm not mistaken. It was something that was discovered and they decided to fix. The number of unintended acceleration incidents by driver's age would suggest it's due to driver error. But you don't see Toyota suing the people; they chose to just deal with it and move on. Likewise, no one is saying CR fabricated the results to hurt Toyota, the results are real and do show that the VSC is activating a bit late. But keep in mind the CR test is more extreme than the federal tests, which the GX460 supposedly passed. Toyota just decided to act quickly and get this fixed, even though the car is fine as is according to federal and in house tests. CR is just using this opportunity to leverage themselves and put themselves in the headlines. A "Don't Buy" is definitely over the top and not justified.

If people feel unsafe and irresponsible driving the GX460, then how come the same people aren't feeling unsafe and irresponsible to be driving any car at all? since you're much more likely to get injured/killed in a random car accident.

Balooo2

Several other individuals have posted similiar intent to seek a refund and I felt the same way you do but have decided to take a wait and see approach in hopes and belief a satisfactory fix is on the way.
I also agree the GX460 (could be) affected in its future value if the resolve is not communicated to the public in a way that makes clear this a safe truck to drive.
Toyota knows what it is up against and will fix this or offer a solution that will keep Lexus owners happy this issue is still less then a week old.
As I stated before remember why you purchased a GX460 in the first place my buying experience was way different from yours in that we test drove everything in the GX460's class and it is hands down the best all around mid sized luxury SUV availible.

Lemon law is clear you must allow several attemps to fix the problem.

I sincerly wish you luck in your attemp at getting a refund.
Based on your relationship with Lexus (and the dealer) they may offer you a trade scenario as others have related but a buy back based on a publication don't buy recommendation is a long shot.
Please keep us posted.

All the best

wannaGX

I wonder what car you're putting your kids in now and is it actually safer? I'm not being rude, I'm being serious. For me, the other options are a 2010 Prius - ahm, brake problem and plus in a crash I'm thinking the GX will withstand much more impact than the smaller car, or my 2001 4runner - does it even have traction control? Doubt it.

I guess what I'm saying is at least we know what the "problem" with the GX is. With any other cars, if they're brand new, the issues may not have been found yet and if they're older they probably don't have all the safety features. The size of the GX is an asset in my opinion. For all those people who parked theirs for a safer one, what are you driving? Another Lexus, right? RX or the smaller loaner right? Why would you assume it's safer than the GX?

ctrom

DId they ever figure out your clunking sound? I just purchased an 07 gx470 and when i come to a stop.. feels like someone tapped me from behind a few seconds later which makes a clunk sound. Took it back to MIllers dealership where i purchased it and advised them of this, they said, they checked it out and see nothing wrong. Course that was when it was under the 50k warranty now it is not!

ANyone have this terrible clunking sound? Did any of your mechanics figure it out! THey brag about how wonderful their mechanics are... Why can't they figure it out? THey can hear it and still say nothing wrong?? First time for buying a lexus, Maybe my last! Please Help!!

alsilverbullet

My clunk sound was fixed on my GX? Perhaps you need to go to a different dealer

jjbodean

no, it already did as soon as you drove off the lot.

get it fixed under the just announced recall, take a chill pill, and enjoy your gx

LexBob2

Yup, in a couple of weeks this will be old news. Come trade in time the recall won't be a factor.

bturkel1@v

Hey too all -