hartzpad

I'm getting close to buying either a 2011 or 2013 GX460 (both are local to me), just have a few questions for owners:

1) Can the traction control be turned completely off? Will it come back on above a certain speed? Many late models Toyotas I have driven will either not completely turn off or will turn back on above 30 or 35 mph. When I want it off, I want it completely off.

2) What do you not like about your GX? There are a ton of things I love about these vehicles, but I don't want to be surprised by anything after buying, I'm trying to think of things that I do not like about the GX. From those that I have driven, these are the only cons I can come up with:

premium fuel required
side folding rear hatch (I think it's cool but would prefer vertical)
somewhat under powered (I live at 4,500 feet and drive up to 9k)
poor gas mileage for small size (although better than the 470)
No under seat or under rear cargo area storage area
Almost no cargo area with 3rd row up
Larger spare will not fit when I upgrade to larger tires
Wood steering wheel (would rather have all leather, but not a big deal)

Acrad

From owners manual:

rroman001

1) Never turned TC off. Cant imaging why I would need to.
2). I wish I had more USB ports and a video option. With kids and all, we need more. Acura MDX and QX60 have figured this out and provide ample USB's.

Nav is not good (although I heard MDX is even worse). I find it to be dated compared to what is available.
Air seats which blow air are ok. They don't do much at times
Pick-up is a bit weak, compared to the 2 cars above, but then again those are cars and this is a truck
I don't like starting my car with Lexus enform. I don't use it. Would rather a key fob.
Cargo with 3rd row up is not good in any vehicle in this class. If you want that you are in suburban or escalade territory.
Wood Steering wheel is a must. Only issue is you lose heated steering option

Net net the quality, reliability, and everything about this truck meant more to me than what i gave up from my next 2 choices.

Acrad

Are you referring to the lack of heat on the wood piece of the steering wheel?

If the '11 or '13 are Premium models they will have heated steering wheel with wood trim.

patgilm

I really don't like the effort you have to have to push the brake pedal when stopped and overall the brake pedal is a little mushy. It was a known problem for years but some have said the newer ones after 2013 are better. I test drove a new one and didn't notice much of a difference.

Oldmanb777

It's taken us a while to warm up to ours. After we had it a month, I was wondering if we made a mistake. However the more I drive it, the better I like it. The things you mentioned are all on our radar too. the rear door hasn't been an issue, just different. Well I will say, I am accustomed to pulling through parking spaces whenever possible. My full size truck likes that. Don't do that with the GX if you plan to use the rear cargo area.
I really don't like the torque curve. It's plenty fast enough, and powerful enough, you just have to keep the RPM above 2900 to get it to move. I find that a bit uncomfortable coming from the torque of American cars. But the engine is smooth enough and likes to rev freely, so it works, again just different. The throttle response is horrible. You mash the throttle, and the computer takes over, and decides what it want to give you, and there is a lag to that. I would rather have total control myself. I think it would be hard to modulate the throttle when it tight tricky areas, like off road. Finesse isn't going to get it with this throttle.
Too much electronic junk trying to outthink the operator.
Second row seats don't lie flat, and there are caverns to loose things in between the seats.
The radio is marginal. Nice crisp sound. sounds great until you turn it up, then it get hollow sounding quickly.
Not much suspension travel.
The sport suspension mode need to be a LOT more aggressive, bigger difference between comfort mode and sport mode.
Lack of skid plates. The gas tank is only partially covered.
Awkward running boards that beg to be destroyed on rocky trails.
At night when you put it in reverse, the back up camera screen is too bright, it blinds you. Might be a control for that, we just haven't found it yet. It should dim like the dash lights.

caesosa

Coming from a Gx470 (without kdss) and an Rx350 the ride is a bit more stiff and can feel bouncy at times. I do believe the kdss is to blame for that but when you are on a twisty road you'll be glad you have it. Our old GX felt wabbly at times and the rx felt like a cream puff - this one feels composed so I guess that is the trade off. On a side note, this one makes you feel like you could be driving it through a wall/desert/river/jungle without any hesitation or modification whereas anything else in this category is a bit "dainty".

My wife primarily drives the gx and I drive a cayenne and discovery (depending on the mood). Both of the latter are great off-roaders but I just feel like both of them are just not built to take punishment. The gx truly gives me piece of mind for the wifey and baby.

Oldmanb777

I have been asked about our purchase. I think the best way to sum it up is................What do you want/need. The gX is more of a truck, rugged etc. Most of the others are high performance, all wheel drive glorified mini-vans. For most people, that's the better option. Rides better, handles better, easier on gas, easier on tires, corners better, faster etc.
The gX on the other hand is more rugged and truck like. Has low range, do you need that? in our case, yes, in 98% of owners, no. Will you tow something fairly heavy? Put oversize loads in it? Know the difference, both good and bad of body on frame construction. Know the diff of live axle vs independent suspension,again both good and bad.
They all have way too much electronics that cause problems. Would you like a Tacoma pick up truck? The GX is much closer to a Tacoma, than it is to a Q-7,Explorer,GLS450,Cayenne,Durango, or pick one. Understand that, Then make your choice. For most, the GX may not be the right choice.

PLamarine

I traded a 2016 RX350 for a 2015 CPO GX460. Best swap I have ever made.

The GX is much quieter than the RX, smoother ride as well on regular pavement. Obviously, a little harsher on uneven pavement.

NewB2Lexus

When you try to dig yourself out of deep snow. I did that in the past a few times when you want to wheels to slowly spin while digging into snow/mud rather than getting the wheels stall.

Google brings up the same thing:

GoHuskers

What I don't like about my GX:

1. it looks like a body-builder who skip the leg days. If the wheels are 2 inches WIDER it will look awesome
2. It leans toward the rear right "sometimes"
3. The steering wheel is so sensitive to winds and uneven roads so sometimes your steering wheel is OFF Center going straigth
4. Weak brake - it creeps up at the stop sign or red light...sometimes I have to take the foot off then reapply the brake
5. SLOW navigation system. is it using Windows 95 system?

tecman

1 and 5 made me laugh...So true.

Oldmanb777

With traction control on, it won't climb my driveway when its icy. Turn it off, and it goes up without any effort. Most useless thing ever installed on a vehicle. Just works wrong.
Think of it this way...............................When a tire starts to spin, it applies brakes to that wheel, witch puts all the power to the opposite wheel, in fact way too much power, witch causes that tire to spin and there fore applies brakes to that wheel, eventually, the brakes are clamped so hard, nothing moves. More to it than that, but you get the idea.
My Sister has a new Grand Cherokee. Same issue. The old Grand will climb their 1/4 mile driveway easily in the snow, towing their utility trailer. New Grand won't go up by itself on slick snow. Turn off the traction control, and the new one tows the utility trailer up no problem.
Just mfg's trying to use electronics to make up for inept drivers, almost works, sometimes, just not very well.

Dallasguy1

Coming from Gx470 I believe 460 lacks breaking power and acceleration is slow aswell.

Acrad

I'm gonna need to test drive some other GX models for comparison. Its definitely slower than my G35x but even that old car with specs of around 5.4 (0-60) and 102MPH quarter mile.... the performance of GX if you stomp on it doesn't feel that slow to me. I can easily get out of the way of cars and no issues with freeway onramps. It feels like my old Maxima which was in higher 6 second range on 0-60.

I have to think with snow tires this thing will be a snow plow and a mountain goat in ice and snow conditions. I picked up a set of basically new '15 Premium rims I'm gonna put snows on for the winter.