2017 NX comments
10th Gear
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 11
Likes: 1
From: CA
I bought a 2017 and it's been a good car. I've had no reliability issues, the car gets about the same mpg as the Highlander Hybrid I had previously, and the second row is very spacious for a compact suv. Snow performance is also very good, I have a FWD model and with Blizzaks it made it through last December's Lake Tahoe blizzards no problem.
There were some things I didn't realize when I bought the car however, and things I didn't realize were changed for the 2018MY. A few things that I'm not a huge fan of:
1) If you have the power liftgate, you can't manually close it, at least not easily. Older Lexus and Toyotas had the motor separate from the strut, the motor is now built in so you can force it to close or open, but you're fighting the mechanism and it takes quite a bit of force. Not a big deal for normal people but if you have a dog that likes to stick his snout where it doesn't belong, it's not great. My hatch closed and latched on two of my fingers on one occasion. Lexus' response was not to stick my fingers in there while it's closing. Also if you have a large dog, the slope of the rear hatch makes this car quite a bit less practical than the RAV4 it's based on, crate wise.
2) There's no fuel door release, you have to push the door to open. Again probably not a big deal to most, but the only other car I've owned where I had to pop the fuel door open manually was a POS Honda Insight. It just feels cheap.
3) No sunglass storage, unless you count the pocket with the cocaine mirror.
4) Halogen front and rear turn signals on the 2017s, unless you buy a premium package car or one with the triple beam led headlight optioned. The 2018s have LED rears and the fronts are easy to swap to LED.
5) 2018s come with nicer climate control switchgear and drive mode dial, but you do get stuck with the trackpad rather than the scroll wheel. 2018s come with shift paddles of you're into that sort of thing. Also led cargo lights, but you lose the on/off switch you get with the 2017s.
6) All the turbo cars require new plugs every 40k miles, and they're not inexpensive. I didn't check the maintenance schedule before I bought the car and didn't realize it had such a short interval. CPO maintenance just covered the first replacement but I will be on the hook for the rest.
7) For NA, US cars never came with folding mirrors to my knowledge, only Canada. My sister recently bought a house with a very narrow third stall and it's a major pain to squeeze the car in there when I visit. The RXs came with folding mirrors.
8) The stock Yokohama tires are ridiculously stiff and loud. I didn't realize it was the tires and not the car until I had to swap them off. Stocks are borderline intolerable.
There were some things I didn't realize when I bought the car however, and things I didn't realize were changed for the 2018MY. A few things that I'm not a huge fan of:
1) If you have the power liftgate, you can't manually close it, at least not easily. Older Lexus and Toyotas had the motor separate from the strut, the motor is now built in so you can force it to close or open, but you're fighting the mechanism and it takes quite a bit of force. Not a big deal for normal people but if you have a dog that likes to stick his snout where it doesn't belong, it's not great. My hatch closed and latched on two of my fingers on one occasion. Lexus' response was not to stick my fingers in there while it's closing. Also if you have a large dog, the slope of the rear hatch makes this car quite a bit less practical than the RAV4 it's based on, crate wise.
2) There's no fuel door release, you have to push the door to open. Again probably not a big deal to most, but the only other car I've owned where I had to pop the fuel door open manually was a POS Honda Insight. It just feels cheap.
3) No sunglass storage, unless you count the pocket with the cocaine mirror.
4) Halogen front and rear turn signals on the 2017s, unless you buy a premium package car or one with the triple beam led headlight optioned. The 2018s have LED rears and the fronts are easy to swap to LED.
5) 2018s come with nicer climate control switchgear and drive mode dial, but you do get stuck with the trackpad rather than the scroll wheel. 2018s come with shift paddles of you're into that sort of thing. Also led cargo lights, but you lose the on/off switch you get with the 2017s.
6) All the turbo cars require new plugs every 40k miles, and they're not inexpensive. I didn't check the maintenance schedule before I bought the car and didn't realize it had such a short interval. CPO maintenance just covered the first replacement but I will be on the hook for the rest.
7) For NA, US cars never came with folding mirrors to my knowledge, only Canada. My sister recently bought a house with a very narrow third stall and it's a major pain to squeeze the car in there when I visit. The RXs came with folding mirrors.
8) The stock Yokohama tires are ridiculously stiff and loud. I didn't realize it was the tires and not the car until I had to swap them off. Stocks are borderline intolerable.
Driver
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 93
Likes: 19
From: NC
I bought a 2017 and it's been a good car. I've had no reliability issues, the car gets about the same mpg as the Highlander Hybrid I had previously, and the second row is very spacious for a compact suv. Snow performance is also very good, I have a FWD model and with Blizzaks it made it through last December's Lake Tahoe blizzards no problem.
There were some things I didn't realize when I bought the car however, and things I didn't realize were changed for the 2018MY. A few things that I'm not a huge fan of:
1) If you have the power liftgate, you can't manually close it, at least not easily. Older Lexus and Toyotas had the motor separate from the strut, the motor is now built in so you can force it to close or open, but you're fighting the mechanism and it takes quite a bit of force. Not a big deal for normal people but if you have a dog that likes to stick his snout where it doesn't belong, it's not great. My hatch closed and latched on two of my fingers on one occasion. Lexus' response was not to stick my fingers in there while it's closing. Also if you have a large dog, the slope of the rear hatch makes this car quite a bit less practical than the RAV4 it's based on, crate wise.
2) There's no fuel door release, you have to push the door to open. Again probably not a big deal to most, but the only other car I've owned where I had to pop the fuel door open manually was a POS Honda Insight. It just feels cheap.
3) No sunglass storage, unless you count the pocket with the cocaine mirror.
4) Halogen front and rear turn signals on the 2017s, unless you buy a premium package car or one with the triple beam led headlight optioned. The 2018s have LED rears and the fronts are easy to swap to LED.
5) 2018s come with nicer climate control switchgear and drive mode dial, but you do get stuck with the trackpad rather than the scroll wheel. 2018s come with shift paddles of you're into that sort of thing. Also led cargo lights, but you lose the on/off switch you get with the 2017s.
6) All the turbo cars require new plugs every 40k miles, and they're not inexpensive. I didn't check the maintenance schedule before I bought the car and didn't realize it had such a short interval. CPO maintenance just covered the first replacement but I will be on the hook for the rest.
7) For NA, US cars never came with folding mirrors to my knowledge, only Canada. My sister recently bought a house with a very narrow third stall and it's a major pain to squeeze the car in there when I visit. The RXs came with folding mirrors.
8) The stock Yokohama tires are ridiculously stiff and loud. I didn't realize it was the tires and not the car until I had to swap them off. Stocks are borderline intolerable.
There were some things I didn't realize when I bought the car however, and things I didn't realize were changed for the 2018MY. A few things that I'm not a huge fan of:
1) If you have the power liftgate, you can't manually close it, at least not easily. Older Lexus and Toyotas had the motor separate from the strut, the motor is now built in so you can force it to close or open, but you're fighting the mechanism and it takes quite a bit of force. Not a big deal for normal people but if you have a dog that likes to stick his snout where it doesn't belong, it's not great. My hatch closed and latched on two of my fingers on one occasion. Lexus' response was not to stick my fingers in there while it's closing. Also if you have a large dog, the slope of the rear hatch makes this car quite a bit less practical than the RAV4 it's based on, crate wise.
2) There's no fuel door release, you have to push the door to open. Again probably not a big deal to most, but the only other car I've owned where I had to pop the fuel door open manually was a POS Honda Insight. It just feels cheap.
3) No sunglass storage, unless you count the pocket with the cocaine mirror.
4) Halogen front and rear turn signals on the 2017s, unless you buy a premium package car or one with the triple beam led headlight optioned. The 2018s have LED rears and the fronts are easy to swap to LED.
5) 2018s come with nicer climate control switchgear and drive mode dial, but you do get stuck with the trackpad rather than the scroll wheel. 2018s come with shift paddles of you're into that sort of thing. Also led cargo lights, but you lose the on/off switch you get with the 2017s.
6) All the turbo cars require new plugs every 40k miles, and they're not inexpensive. I didn't check the maintenance schedule before I bought the car and didn't realize it had such a short interval. CPO maintenance just covered the first replacement but I will be on the hook for the rest.
7) For NA, US cars never came with folding mirrors to my knowledge, only Canada. My sister recently bought a house with a very narrow third stall and it's a major pain to squeeze the car in there when I visit. The RXs came with folding mirrors.
8) The stock Yokohama tires are ridiculously stiff and loud. I didn't realize it was the tires and not the car until I had to swap them off. Stocks are borderline intolerable.
(2) The fuel door auto locks when the doors of the car are locked - yes, you have to push to open when the doors are unlocked, but a lot more elegant solution than reaching to the floor to pull a lever.
(3) The wife uses that small compartment as her sunglasses storage spot.
(6) Plugs are super easy to replace - think it took like 30 minutes. The cost was around $85 for the stock NGK plugs at auto parts store.
(8) Agree, the stock Yokohamas were garbage - wore out quickly and loud. We put Michelin Defenders on as the 2nd set - much quieter and smoother ride.
Rookie
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 39
Likes: 13
From: MA
I had a '22 RX as a loaner for a day and I was blown away by the more ergonomic interior. Everything was just a bit more thought-out. The shifter lever was just a bit closer to the driver. The cupholders were slightly more convenient. There was a vertical slot to drop my phone into. Made me wish I'd gone with the RX instead, though I didn't want the larger, more ponderous SUV and I'd be complaining about that. Don't get me wrong - I love my NX. Best car I've had after years of European nonsense. And I really don't even mind the touchpad. But I do with they'd given a bit more thought to the interior ergonomics for a $45k car.
2nd gear
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: NC
I've got a 2017 NX 300h I bought used almost 2 years ago - agree with the comments above.
- I get compliments on the sound of the car as it operates in electric mode.
- On a good road trip, can reach 40mpg across the full tank of gas. Around town seeing 28-31mpg.
- Mine is too old for Apple CarPlay - even so, I prefer using Bluetooth and my iPhone for music and navigation over the Lexus builtins
- The touchpad is fine. It does take getting used to, though.
- Yeah, what is the deal with "the pocket with the cocaine mirror", though? It's too small for sunglasses unless they fold in half. Nor is it convenient for change.
- Minor: the subwoofer in the rear liftgate rattles and buzzes at certain frequencies. Saw another thread where someone mentioned putting Dynamat in there as a vibration reducer, so might try that.
- Major: the power liftgate is slow, at best, when it works. Mine, however, has gotten the yips and struggles to open and close at times. I've thought about replacing the power struts but yikes! $700 for the pair! And it's weird to me that they sometimes work fine. But often don't want to at all.
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