Buying a 2011 LX570 Tomorrow, what should I look out for?

[tbisaacs]

Thanks guys!

Was a bit of a hectic day when we picked the car up.

The car was 3 hours away in Houston and first impressions were poor.

The car wouldn't start in the make ready area. They put a new battery in (looked like it was still on the first battery) and all was good.

On the test drive I noticed that the TPMS light was on. Tried to reset with no luck, I'll need to have a local shop look at this I'm guessing. Hopefully just a sensor.

After the test drive I noticed that there was a squeak coming from the belt/pulleys. They had a tech do some adjustments and it went away and hasn't come back after about 800 miles.

All considered we went ahead and bought it. The price seemed good for the issues I noticed:

- Two areas of wood veneer cracking (contacted a few car interior and wood repair people to get quotes - seeing the drivers side veneer by the memory seats requires a whole door panel from Toyota).
- Squeak from the belt / pullies. Seems to have gone away, but have a gatorback style belt on the way. Also contacted my mechanic about if there is a pulley issue.
- TPMS error. Need to get this looked at next week.

Ended up paying $26k for it. 2 owner car, clean no wreck car fax with 110,000 on the clock.

Doing a bunch of little things the next few days:

- Replacing all the wipers.
- Replacing the air and cabin filters.
- Adding front cup holder divider (was missing in my 470 as well)
- Oil Change
- Taking off the pin stripe (why.....!)
- Deep interior cleaning and leather treatment
- Replacing the belt
- Restoring the headlights
- Rearview mirror seems loose, going to remount
- Program new remote for the rear seat entertainment (has the headphones though)

The 570 does feel much nicer and quicker than the 470, kinda shocked with how much.

Will be getting a bit more aggressive with the 470 build going forward. Not sure what direction to take the 570 though. Either start adding some more aggressive offroad bits or do some appearance stuff and make it more of a mall parking lot cruiser for now. Dunno...

TPMS is kind of a pain, hope you luck out. I had to replace all 5 sensors twice.

 

[TeCKis300]

See they make the Wildpeaks in 305/55-20s as well

Any more pics?

Sure. Here's a couple more. I've been thoroughly satisfied with the Wildpeak's. Was just in Tahoe snow country today skiing. They are absolutely confidence inspiring in this (or any) setting. Whether navigating unplowed side streets, or slaloming down the mountain roads at high rates of speed in 20 degree whether. Family soundly asleep in back from a long day on the slopes. It's as much an endorsement of the tires as the LX. Brilliant combination.

 

[nuxx]

TPMS is kind of a pain, hope you luck out. I had to replace all 5 sensors twice.

Going to take it discount next week and see what's up. Hopefully it's something stupid. They'll look at the system for free but want $60 per sensor. Wonder if they'd let me use my own. Can get Lexus sensors for around $30.

Sure. Here's a couple more. I've been thoroughly satisfied with the Wildpeak's. Was just in Tahoe snow country today skiing. They are absolutely confidence inspiring in this (or any) setting. Whether navigating unplowed side streets, or slaloming down the mountain roads at high rates of speed in 20 degree whether. Family soundly asleep in back from a long day on the slopes. It's as much an endorsement of the tires as the LX. Brilliant combination.

No issues with the 305s? Looks nice

Ever thought of doing the "sensor lift"?

Kind of screwed up last night, was taking off the pin stripe with lacquer thinner and the rear door was slow going after the rear panel. So I decided to try a magic eraser with almost no pressure. Ended up scratching / damaging the paint.

I showed my detail guy and he thinks he can fix it easily. Will also take the rest of the stripes off and do a deep inside cleaning for $120. Should have just called him in the first place.

 

[tbisaacs]

Going to take it discount next week and see what's up. Hopefully it's something stupid. They'll look at the system for free but want $60 per sensor. Wonder if they'd let me use my own. Can get Lexus sensors for around $30.

The first set I replaced were discount tire “store brand”. They failed within weeks and they replaced with OEM at their cost.

 

[LXinOBX]

as others have said - check that radiator....

 

[nuxx]

as others have said - check that radiator....

I saw on CarFax the radiator was replaced in the last few months. Is that a good sign or bad?

 

[nuxx]

The first set I replaced were discount tire “store brand”. They failed within weeks and they replaced with OEM at their cost.

What I was thinking.

 

[LXinOBX]

I saw on CarFax the radiator was replaced in the last few months. Is that a good sign or bad?

A GOOD sign - unless the previous radiator failed badly resulting in significant overheating. Also, assume it is an OEM radiator - from my understanding the jury is still out on the aftermarket variants.

 

[nuxx]

A GOOD sign - unless the previous radiator failed badly resulting in significant overheating. Also, assume it is an OEM radiator - from my understanding the jury is still out on the aftermarket variants.

Doesn't seem like the OEM one is that great either

Not noticing anything weird that would indicate that kinda of damage. Well not yet lol

 

[TeCKis300]

No issues with the 305s? Looks nice

Ever thought of doing the "sensor lift"?

Nada. I've put it through the ringer including towing 14,000 lbs of rig, chasing Raptors down desert washes, technical trails, and most important to me, excellent handling dynamics on road. It's for the latter reason that I don't want to give up any on-road traction and handling that I opt for wider AT tires. AT tires do give up traction to HT type tires with their tread configuration and compound.

Same reason I did not sensor lift. It's already a bit over 1" taller with the 33" tire lift. With AHC, outside of wanting to look taller all the time, IMO there's no real functional reason to sensor lift. As there's always 3" of lift on demand when really wanting to traverse obstacles anyways. By keeping the suspension at its stock height, good dynamic handling traits and some better fuel efficiency is maintained without the compromises of a static lift.

 

[nuxx]

Nada. I've put it through the ringer including towing 14,000 lbs of rig, chasing Raptors down desert washes, technical trails, and most important to me, excellent handling dynamics on road. It's for the latter reason that I don't want to give up any on-road traction and handling that I opt for wider AT tires. AT tires do give up traction to HT type tires with their tread configuration and compound.

Same reason I did not sensor lift. It's already a bit over 1" taller with the 33" tire lift. With AHC, outside of wanting to look taller all the time, IMO there's no real functional reason to sensor lift. As there's always 3" of lift on demand when really wanting to traverse obstacles anyways. By keeping the suspension at its stock height, good dynamic handling traits and some better fuel efficiency is maintained without the compromises of a static lift.

I guess if it ain't broke...

The 470 has a decent amount of clearance, so I'll probably just stick to that for trickier terrain.

Do you have any pics of towing your camper or experiences with it and the 570?

We're thinking of doing some very long trips with towing a smaller 16-17' camper. Might try to go to the arctic, it's on our minds... one of the reasons we got the 570. The 470 was a dog on road trips in the hills, couldn't imagine it with a camper.

 

[TeCKis300]

Yup, I tow a 27' Airstream regularly. Let me know if you have any questions. The LX570 tow incredibly well when setup correctly, even with this size trailer.

 

[nuxx]

Yup, I tow a 27' Airstream regularly. Let me know if you have any questions. The LX570 tow incredibly well when setup correctly, even with this size trailer.

Looks nice!

I think the camper we're looking at is around 7-8,000 lbs.

What do you mean by being setup correctly?

 

[JohnJB]

Looks nice!

I think the camper we're looking at is around 7-8,000 lbs.

What do you mean by being setup correctly?

Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser

Entire thread on towing; everything you need is likely in there.

 

[nuxx]

Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser

Entire thread on towing; everything you need is likely in there.

Awesome thanks for the link! The sport mode setting is a super interesting idea.

We might be moving about an hour out of town here soon. We just have so much equity in our current house and also own a house about an hour away in a smaller city. It's over 100 years old and we've been working on it slowly. It is on half and acre and 2 blocks from the courthouse / city center. We can walk to restaurants and bars, which is nice.

If we sell this house, it will allow us to pay off the other house, fully renovate the old house and have a lot left in the bank. The area also has 3 or 4 off-road parks and we have a 340 acre ranch there as well. Will let us use the LXs a lot more. The other two cars maybe not as much.

Kind of weird to leave this house, but we will be on the lookout for acreage in our current area that we can build on after a few years. We don't have kids yet, so really no reason to be here for the schools. Maybe the economy will down turn and we'll be able to get a deal on some land

Should also allow us to travel more as well.

LOTS to do...

 

[trucker44]

Another option is Tundra takeoffs. I went down to 18” for a bit more rubber.

I love the look/stance of your LX. What exactly did you change other than swapping out with Tundra wheels? Spacers? Lift? I have a stock 2008 LC200 and I am keen to fill out the wheel wells and give it a bigger/stronger look with the least amount of modifications.

 

[tbisaacs]

@trucker44 25mm wheel spacers to push the wheels out. The front is leveled out (no rake) - I did this by adjusting the front height control sensors. Your LC doesn’t have this but you can buy an OEM strut spacer to achieve the same thing.

I also have SLEE sliders, which are tucked up much higher than the OEM steps which makes the truck look higher.

 

[trucker44]

@trucker44 25mm wheel spacers to push the wheels out. The front is leveled out (no rake) - I did this by adjusting the front height control sensors. Your LC doesn’t have this but you can buy an OEM strut spacer to achieve the same thing.

I also have SLEE sliders, which are tucked up much higher than the OEM steps which makes the truck look higher.

@tbisaacs. Thanks for the fast reply. That all sounds pretty simple. What size tires are you running?

 

[tbisaacs]

@tbisaacs. Thanks for the fast reply. That all sounds pretty simple. What size tires are you running?

275/70/r18. They fit easy but for my next set I may go up to a 34 (285/70/r18) or to a fat/wide 33 (305/65/r18)

 

[nuxx]

Just got back from Discount Tire. 2 of the TMPS sensors wouldn't read and one had a low battery.

Went ahead and ordered 3 OEM Lexus sensors and I'll have Discount put them on when they get here next week. Hopefully that's all said and done with after that.