200 owner lost in the 150 forum.....Help (1 Viewer)

[DPA200]

Completely new to the 150 forum and I'll admit I'm a bit lost where to start. I currently drive a 2008 moderately built up 200 series Land Cruiser. I've had it for about 5 years and love it more than anything. Over those 5 years I've preached to my wife about 1000+ times how reliable the land cruisers are, and how i wouldn't ever drive anything else. Any other car I've owned I'm usually bored with a few years in and looking for change. The 200 on the other hand , i don't ever want to part with.

Well eventually it's finally started to rub off on my wife, seeing the rock solid reliability and the amazing remote places it has taken our family with no headaches, 110k miles in. So she's looking to upsize her 2 year old daily driver (Audi Q3) to have something bigger that can fit the dog and 3 kids when I'm away on camping trips with the local cruiser club. I'll admit I've always had a secret crush on the GX460's so that was my suggestion. Same reliability and capability, in a slightly smaller more luxury package. She bought my sales pitch so GX460 shopping just started yesterday.

I've spent more hours than i care to admit on the 200 form over the years and feel like i know every issue and upgrade that exists for the 200's. The GX........i know very little and feel like i need to learn more to know what to look for, so here is where I'm at.

Ideally I'd like to pickup a used GX460 with decent mileage for under $35k. The purchase doesn't need to happen instantly, so I'm ok waiting a few months if need be for the right one to come along. In general they do not appear to have a ton for sale on the used marked. I'd like to get one local (I'm in Phoenix) or within driving distance. All the regular stuff like clean carfax, southwest (no rust or flood states) ,1 owner , lexus serviced ect. The wealthy mall cruiser.

This GX (being for my wife) won't see any of the rough action my 200 see's, but being in Arizona, there is endless dirt so it will get a bit of light offroading mostly just forest roads to camping spots. Plan on keeping it stock for some years, just throwing KO2's on it. Some day when she's all done with it either myself or one of my kids will take over and at that point plan on getting heavy into modifications.

Anyways, can you point me in the right direction for some basic info or threads to know what to look for. I'm in a large land cruiser club local here, but as far as i know there are zero 460's in it. I prefer the look of the 2013 grill over the newer one, but I don't want to limit the search being that it looks like some front bumpers do now exist for the later models. Are there any years better than others? Any major issues i should look for when inspecting? Any trim differences that i should only be looking for luxury vs whatever? It'd be great to find one with crawl control if possible, and the around view camera's would also be nice. Not sure what years or trim levels what all is available. Anyways, any info is much appreciated. Just looking to start my 150 education. Here is a pic from last weekend camping with a 100 buddy of mine.

 

[Jacket]

Good luck with your search. The 460's have shown to be a solid, reliable platform with the same bones as the 150 Prado which gets lots of use in other countries. There are always a few glitches with every model, and you can read about the secondary air injection pump failures that Lexus has warrantied for all GX's, and the air bag recall, and a few other minor issues, but in generally the 4.6 platform hasn't disappointed thus far. There's a few good build threads here, and some good general info about problems and maintenance over on the Club Lexus forum.

 

[DPA200]

Good luck with your search. The 460's have shown to be a solid, reliable platform with the same bones as the 150 Prado which gets lots of use in other countries. There are always a few glitches with every model, and you can read about the secondary air injection pump failures that Lexus has warrantied for all GX's, and the air bag recall, and a few other minor issues, but in generally the 4.6 platform hasn't disappointed thus far. There's a few good build threads here, and some good general info about problems and maintenance over on the Club Lexus forum.

Thanks for the info. Yeah I really like the 460’s and I’ve heard a lotta good about them. What’s the club Lexus forum? Sorry , new to Lexus too

 

[r2m]

DPA200, for what it's worth, in every place around the world except North America, the GX is a Landcuriser! It is considered a Toyota Prado Landcruiser.
So, for all intensive purposes, you're just extending your Landcruiser linage!
Many of the Prado (GX speak for North America) components work on our beloved GX's also.
Regarding upgrades, there are more body armor options for 2010 thru 2013. As far as I know there is only one bumper by Metal Tech for the >2014. But as you mentioned, upgrades will not happen for several years and by then there should be more options for the newer GX's. Generally all the under armor and suspension components work throughout the GX 460 line.
As Jacket said, if you go to the Club Lexus site: GX - 2nd Gen (2010-present) - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion
there is specific information about what the trim levels are and what years they are available.
Note: some of the off-road control and other features are only available in Canada.
This guy: Acrad35751 on Club Lexus is pretty amazing on what he's posted. I'm pretty sure you'll find everything you have questions on in one post of another of his.
I believe he's even on MUD also.

 

[TX GX460]

A great place to start is the wealth of information on GXOR FB page (GXOR - GX OffRoad) and the GXOR Wiki at the bottom of the page here: shirts [GX Offroad]. There is a buyer's guide in the Basic Information section of the wiki. The GXOR FB page is searchable and has a large number of active members, so there is a lot of great information to be found there.

Also make sure to check out the build threads here on the 150 forum. If you have any questions, just ask! Good luck with the search.

 

[DPA200]

DPA200, for what it's worth, in every place around the world except North America, the GX is a Landcuriser! It is considered a Toyota Prado Landcruiser.
So, for all intensive purposes, you're just extending your Landcruiser linage!
Many of the Prado (GX speak for North America) components work on our beloved GX's also.
Regarding upgrades, there are more body armor options for 2010 thru 2013. As far as I know there is only one bumper by Metal Tech for the >2014. But as you mentioned, upgrades will not happen for several years and by then there should be more options for the newer GX's. Generally all the under armor and suspension components work throughout the GX 460 line.
As Jacket said, if you go to the Club Lexus site: GX - 2nd Gen (2010-present) - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion
there is specific information about what the trim levels are and what years they are available.
Note: some of the off-road control and other features are only available in Canada.
This guy: Acrad35751 on Club Lexus is pretty amazing on what he's posted. I'm pretty sure you'll find everything you have questions on in one post of another of his.
I believe he's even on MUD also.

The Prado part i'm aware of for sure! This was the main part of the sales pitch to my wife, that it was a REAL Land Cruiser but with some nice luxury touches for her. Any movie with a foreign scene where i see them driving cruisers, they are often Prado's. I've also seen them in person in a couple of other country's so definitely been a fan since the 1st gen 470's. My original search was for 470's, but my wife is replacing a 2016 Audi with this GX, so she wants something newer. Thanks for the links all, I'll check those out for sure. I need to read up on what was what with various trim levels in different years.

any known big issues with the 4.6L engine or GX460's in general?

So far I have:

• secondary air injection pump failures (Lexus warrantied)
• air bag recall (Lexus warrantied)
• any specific model year of to be avoided? Or all pretty much same reliability?

Thanks again for all the help

 

[TX GX460]

The Prado part i'm aware of for sure! This was the main part of the sales pitch to my wife, that it was a REAL Land Cruiser but with some nice luxury touches for her. Any movie with a foreign scene where i see them driving cruisers, they are often Prado's. I've also seen them in person in a couple of other country's so definitely been a fan since the 1st gen 470's. My original search was for 470's, but my wife is replacing a 2016 Audi with this GX, so she wants something newer. Thanks for the links all, I'll check those out for sure. I need to read up on what was what with various trim levels in different years.

any known big issues with the 4.6L engine or GX460's in general?

So far I have:

• secondary air injection pump failures (Lexus warrantied)
• air bag recall (Lexus warrantied)
• any specific model year of to be avoided? Or all pretty much same reliability?

Thanks again for all the help

You hit the most common ones. Additional points here: Things to check before powertrain warranty expires - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

You don't see these issues happening with any regularly, especially not under 100k miles (but of course there are always exceptions). The 4.6 is pretty bulletproof. The engine uses a timing chain instead of a belt, so there aren't the same timing belt issues as the older 4.7 (belt needs replacement about every 100k miles). Overall it is a great long-term vehicle capable of very high miles with regular preventative maintenance.

 

[DPA200]

You hit the most common ones. Additional points here: Things to check before powertrain warranty expires - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

You don't see these issues happening with any regularly, especially not under 100k miles (but of course there are always exceptions). The 4.6 is pretty bulletproof. The engine uses a timing chain instead of a belt, so there aren't the same timing belt issues as the older 4.7 (belt needs replacement about every 100k miles). Overall it is a great long-term vehicle capable of very high miles with regular preventative maintenance.

Thanks man that's exactly what i was looking for. Just the most common spots to look for when i'm checking out a used one. Just did a quick glance and saw it has the same Cam Tower leak that the 5.7L (LandCruiser 200) has. Very cool. Yeah timing chain is a BIG win, the 200 series has the same.

Still deciding whether it makes sense to shell out big $ for some certified predator grill 2014+ model with 20-30k miles on it, vs getting a 2010-2013 that's already got 100k miles on it and just knowing I might have to spend a little $ into it. There are only a couple certified within driving distance here, both priced a little over $40k. There are a few earlier models with a bit over 100k miles on them for around $25k. I think I'm leaning towards taking my time and finding the right 2010-2013 with the good service history from the southwest states. Ideally 60-75k mile range would be nice.

 

[r2m]

I found my 2013 GX 460 Premium around May 2018 with only 38,000 miles and paid $32,000 for it here in So. Cal. And that was from a dealer who puffed it out by touching up any little scratches, replacing the rear wing because of a crack, etc.
I've been very pleased with just about 7k miles already clocked on it. My wife and I love it! Probably the best vehicle I've ever owned. To note I've had about 30 vehicles in my life so far which include a share of European: VW, Volvo, BMW, Porsche. Domestic Detroit iron and quite a few Toyota's. And everything running the gamut of sports cars, sedans, trucks, SUV's, mini vans, etc. My GX beats them all!

 

[Qball]

Have her drive a new 460 and see if she likes it, it’s a bing change coming from small and agile Q3 to a 460. Also will you need 2 vehicles to go to remote places? Honestly 460 might not be the best DD because it doesn’t have a ton of cargo space especially if your dog is a good sized one.

 

[TX GX460]

This may help sell your wife on it: Consumer Reports ranked the GX 460 the #1 "Most Reliable Car" of 2018 (The 10 most reliable cars of 2018), and was the highest ranked SUV in 2019 (The 10 Most Reliable SUVs in 2019 Consumer Reports Rankings).

 

[DPA200]

This may help sell your wife on it: Consumer Reports ranked the GX 460 the #1 "Most Reliable Car" of 2018 (The 10 most reliable cars of 2018), and was the highest ranked SUV in 2019 (The 10 Most Reliable SUVs in 2019 Consumer Reports Rankings).

heck yeah, that's what i like to see. I know it's reliable, but #1 on 2 lists aint bad at all. She's already sold on the GX at this point. I've got the go-ahead to go buy whenever i find the right one. Just need to find that clean history low mileage faier priced Southwest 2013 like @r2m got.

@Qball she's fine with the GX. Totally aware it drives absolutely nothing like her little Audi. Body on frame, drives like a very high center truck with a very luxury interior. Also totally aware there are much more comfortable better handling crossovers that'd have way more than enough room and muckh better gas mileage. When she got her Audi we were new to AZ and she'd been in NYC not driving the past 18 years. So she got the little Audi because she was basically new again to driving. years later now she's used to driving my huge 200, so GX falls in the similar (but smaller) boat. Realistically her GX possibly won't go too many remote places for a while, but nice to have a 2nd truck that can when we need to. Mostly she's just driving to work and back and corporate things. So the reason it fits for us is is a Land Cruiser (which our family has already been sold on for years), the reliability to keep essentially forever, the ability to go remote places if we want to not take my 200, and still gets the luxury that fits her corporate life. So totally aware it's a odd fit DD, but for us it is essentially the only truck that fits.

 

[DPA200]

If you are looking for a 10-13 with package that was called Driver Support Package on '14+ models. Here is some info. There are some variations but usually they have all the options.

MOD: Crawl Control (CC) and Multi Terrain Select (MTS) - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GX - 2nd Gen (2010-present) - MOD: Crawl Control (CC) and Multi Terrain Select (MTS) - [MTS] 2010-2013 Part Number: 859A1-60020 Part Name: Computer, Driving Support Switch Control --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [MTS] 2014-2019 Part Number: 859A1-60040...

www.clublexus.com

The camera under the front emblem which is also the radar cruise sensor is telltale sign.

That's a big help. I was looking for those cameras and options like crawl. Now it'll be easier to tell.

I went to a dealer this morning to test drive a GX. I'd previously sat in one a few times but never drove. I went to go see a white 2013 Premium that was at $29k with 73k miles on it. Well they couldn't find that truck and basically said it must have sold already or be at a different dealer. I'd already drove down there so i went next door to Audi who had this 1 2015:

Test drive went great, i loved it. Def felt a bit more luxurious and just newer than my 08 200. Surprisingly decent power outta the 4.6 even compared to my 5.7. Good handling and not so tippy like i'd expected from such a tall body on frame truck. Great sound deadening too. Anyways, worked out all the numbers with them and the deal was just ok. I park in a driveway under trees, so i really don't want black as they just always get dirty. It's also AZ so black on black just seams inappropriate when its 120 degrees in June.

The good:
• Clean carfax 1 owner AZ truck
• all scheduled maint done at local Lexus
• 56k miles
• clean inside/out def no kids. 3rd row looked as it had never been used
• 3rd row air

The bad:
• no crawl
• no wide-view front/side monitors
• manual 3rd row not auto fold
• black
• new predator grill
• chrome wheels
• new Michelin tires (that much longer before i could swap for KO2's)

I didnt bother haggling because it really didn't fit exactly what i want. But it was good to get a test drive and general idea of trade-in value on existing. In the SW united states when you shop for a used 200, they so rarley come up you have to act super fast and basically pay whatever they want. The GX's are in much less demand, much more available, and I'm not in any time crunch so i can wait to find the perfect one.

 

[r2m]

I believe you'll only get the power folding 3rd row seats with a Premium or Luxury package. But on that note, all the other goodies you want would only be on those packages anyways, so getting the cameras, radar, etc. will also get the power 3rd row seats.

 

[DPA200]

I believe you'll only get the power folding 3rd row seats with a Premium or Luxury package. But on that note, all the other goodies you want would only be on those packages anyways, so getting the cameras, radar, etc. will also get the power 3rd row seats.

good to now thank you. yeah this didn't have any of that, here is the original window sticker.

 

[BMRisko]

I believe you'll only get the power folding 3rd row seats with a Premium or Luxury package. But on that note, all the other goodies you want would only be on those packages anyways, so getting the cameras, radar, etc. will also get the power 3rd row seats.

2010-2013 Premium has power 3rd row
2014+ Luxury has it, not in Premium or base

To be honest, I had the power folding 3rd row in my 2013 and they sucked...you had to stand there and hold the button down. They actually seem quicker to deploy by hand in my 2019 Premium and there isn't really much to it. Lift the seat back up and pull out the bottom.

 

[BMRisko]

Actually all 10-13 models base or premium have power 3rd row folding

Did not know that...I stand corrected!

 

[DPA200]

What do you guys think of this? local AZ 1 owner, no accident truck with all local Lexus service in 5-10k intervals. Looking at the CarFax i don't see water pump done yet. I'm assuming this is probably due by around 100k miles? Anything else i should expect to probably have to deal with soon at this mileage. Is Cam tower leak a thing on the 4.6 L like it is on the 5.7L? It's the luxury trim, unsure if it has the Driver Support Package.

2014 Lexus GX 460 Luxury
$29,847
91,021 Miles

Free VIN Check from CARFAX

Don’t settle for anything less than the genuine CARFAX Vehicle History Report when buying a used car. Carfax helps you avoid costly hidden problems and gain valuable insights into any car’s ownership history.

www.carfax.com

 

[BMRisko]

What do you guys think of this? local AZ 1 owner, no accident truck with all local Lexus service in 5-10k intervals. Looking at the CarFax i don't see water pump done yet. I'm assuming this is probably due by around 100k miles? Anything else i should expect to probably have to deal with soon at this mileage. Is Cam tower leak a thing on the 4.6 L like it is on the 5.7L? It's the luxury trim, unsure if it has the Driver Support Package.

2014 Lexus GX 460 Luxury
$29,847
91,021 Miles

Free VIN Check from CARFAX

Don’t settle for anything less than the genuine CARFAX Vehicle History Report when buying a used car. Carfax helps you avoid costly hidden problems and gain valuable insights into any car’s ownership history.

www.carfax.com

FWIW, you can enter the VIN on the Lexus owner's site and view all maintenance and the build sheet.

 

[DPA200]

FWIW, you can enter the VIN on the Lexus owner's site and view all maintenance and the build sheet.

That's awesome i thought you had to own the vehicle to do that. So i signed up and entered the vin. All regular service done at a local Lexus dealer.

5, 10, 15k mile service. Then just regular multi-inspections mostly every 5-10k miles (oil change / tire rotate). New battery at 50k miles. new brake pads and machined rotors at 87k. Nothing else. I suppose good that it required that little in 90k miles. Just curious with mileage getting high what I'd be in store for. All i can think around 100 is plugs and possibly water pump?