Hey I just bought a 2007 LS460 and want to put on a hitch to tow my jet ski trailer .... well lexus does not make a towing kit for it, Uhaul told me they can do it but it is a custom kit they have to make for me and it will cost $1,000. I don't mind spending the money just want some advise from someone who has put or knows someone that has put a towing hitch on an LS460?

Thanks again , any advise appreciated....


AG

 

In the long-run, it's gonna be cheaper to go buy a highly used Ford F150. And you'll get a lot better hauling.
The LS was never intended by the design team to be used that way - hauling items using a hitch - custom or not.
I did not say you could not engineer a way ........ I did say it isn't actually economically feasible nor practical.
And you MAY have destroyed (if you did go thru with the project) any resale value in case at some in the future you wished to dispose of the LS.

Good Luck, no matter what your choice. Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

 

As far as I know no one makes a hitch for the 460. I have one on my 430 and it works great. I tow a trailer with a motorcycle on it and the total weight is about 1100 lbs. The car is rated for 2000. As far as resale value it will come off long before I get rid of the car. The installer will remove it for 40 bucks. Was installed and wired professionally.

 

you would def be better off getting an old beater pickup to use on the weekend when you go jet skiing, may not look like the best sitting next to ur 460 but it will get the job done

 

I have a towing hitch on my '95 Q45a. I've towed two big Harley's on a heavy, and not very aerodynamic, trailer1250 miles to Florida and back 5 times. The Q has less horsepower and torque than the Lexus, so I know the LS can handle it.

The only thing is my gas mileage went from 20 to 12 mpg.

 

Scan down through this forum over the past two weeks and you'll see a few threads on it. One about a segway owner, another who added a hitch, etc. I asked about it in their threads. No one makes a hitch for the LS460, so you'll have to go with a custom setup. I only want a light duty setup to put a bike carrier on occasionally.

 

The Lexus owners manual says the LS460 is not designed for trailer towing or for the use of tow hitch mounted carriers. I don't know if installing one would affect your warrantee or, perhaps more importantly, what damage or performance issues might result.

 

agbillion, take a look at this thread:

Link

You'll find some posts and link to pictures by bob321 (another user here). The pictures show how a shop custom made his hitch, but once again, he is using it just for a bike carrier, not for towing a trailer.

I'm not saying the LS460 isn't up to the task of towing, I just don't think the way his hitch was installed that I would tow a 1200 lbs trailer that way. 200 lbs or less of bike carrier and bikes would be way fine.

 

Taken from consumer affairs website:
"I purchased a 2013 Lexus LS 460 about 2 months ago with only 9000 miles, with the Toyota warranty. Thought I was getting a great car and protected. WRONG. Turned out to be the worst car I have ever owned, and I am 71 years old and have seen plenty of cars in my time. 3 weeks after buying it the transmission stopped working, so I took it to a Lexus dealer. They call me later and informed me that Lexus rejected my warranty claim because the car has had a trailer hitch installed. They claim the transmission went bad because someone tried to tow something with a car that is not capable of towing anything, and it is my loss. Car is still at the transmission shop, and it is costing me 3500 bucks. They told me they do numerous Toyota transmissions that Toyota is keeping their kids in college with cars like these and it appears they are backed up on Toyota and Lexus transmissions. Selling it and buying a real car, a BMW."

My advise would be not to tow with your LS. How did it ever turn out for you?
I question the transmission shops "numerous.. Toyota transmissions" remark considering Toyota has the most reliable transmissions of any manufacturer.

 

I drove for two months in Europe. EVERY vehicle known to man over there tows SOMETHING. I saw Hyundais, small Peugeots, Renaults, Ford Focus', etc towing small travel trailers and the like. BMW 7 series are the towing kings over there and pull huge (lightweight) travel trailers, even though in North America, BMW does not support their vehicles doing ANY towing. Over there though, no problem and BMW even makes hitches for their vehicles. Probably comes down to America's obsession with litigation.

If my wife ever sells her BMW X5, I will look into getting a removable hitch for my LS to tow my boat to the lake.

 

Check out the Gen 1 RX300 forum, they might have a different view on the reliability of Toyota transmissions.



















;9

 

I would tend to agree that Toyota makes a reliable transmission - or whoever makes it for them...I think it's arians. Yeah they have failures, but not like other brands. Chrysler has had terrible transmissions in some of their vehicles over the years (Caravan, Intrepid). And Honda has had a transmission nightmare with their Accord, Pilot and Ridgline vehicles.

 

Aisin makes the transmissions in our Lexus' and Toyotas.

 

That's it, I forgot who it was. They also put our 8 speed transmission in the Cadillac CTS now. Probably will be he best thing about that car.

 

LOL. Truer words were never spoken!