GX460 "Bad " Years (4 Viewers)

[Bartleby]

Hello,

Planning on a used GX460. Was looking at a web page that listed best and worst year GX460's. 2018 was not in either list. Is there a "worst" year for the GX460?

 

[MrTorgue]

No worst year(s) exist. It's all about maintenance and condition.

 

[r2m]

Absolutely agree with MrTorgue, throughout the GX460 lifespan there has been no "lemon" years, not even the very first couple of years out, which is when you'd expect a new model to have issues (should I mention Bronco's??).
Not to say that on occasion there aren't ever any issues, but generally that it would be upon owner care and the (very) rare bad egg from the factory, and that would apply across all 13 years of the GX460's line.

 

[xychromosome]

Isn't the valley plate leak more common in the MYs 10-13? or is it just an issue that arises after a certain amount of time, regardless of MY?

 

[r2m]

Isn't the valley plate leak more common in the MYs 10-13? or is it just an issue that arises after a certain amount of time, regardless of MY?

I'm think'n it's more dependent upon mileage, so yeah the early models will be more prone to it.
But not having had it happen to me yet, i'm just spit-wadding here. Nothing has changed with the engine from 2010 - 2023 to cause one year to be worst than another.

 

[SteadfastRocky]

Isn't the valley plate leak more common in the MYs 10-13? or is it just an issue that arises after a certain amount of time, regardless of MY?

I think the reason you see that in the 10-13s is due to the mileage and age of the vehicle. Not the model year.

 

[xychromosome]

I'm think'n it's more dependent upon mileage, so yeah the early models will be more prone to it.
But not having had it happen to me yet, i'm just spit-wadding here. Nothing has changed with the engine from 2010 - 2023 to cause one year to be worst than another.

I thought I read somewhere that it was due to the type of sealant used in those model years or how it was applied?
I’m just hoping I dodge that bullet

 

[Hehena]

Going to beat this dead horse a bit more... As with all vehicles it's mostly about finding a good example and keeping up with required maintenance. GX's are solid in ways that matter.

 

[r2m]

I thought I read somewhere that it was due to the type of sealant used in those model years or how it was applied?
I’m just hoping I dodge that bullet

Hummm. Never heard that, but perhaps Acrad can chime in. He's pretty on top of that kind of stuff.

 

[MrTorgue]

Hummm. Never heard that, but perhaps Acrad can chime in. He's pretty on top of that kind of stuff.

I thought it was mostly 2010-2014 before they changed the material used?

 

[jakemccurdy]

Ive got an early production 2010. The worst one according to the interwebs. Bought it with 135k. Driven it another 45ish now. No complaints. No major repairs. They’re all phenomenal if maintained.

 

[xychromosome]

Based on your definition of major repairs, mine hasn't done too bad. 2015 purchased in 2020 with 68K on the clock, now at almost 110K 3 years later. In that time I've had to replace the water pump, radiator and a rear axle seal.

 

[jakemccurdy]

All I've done is the throttle body and think the dealership screwed it up cleaning it. The rest was all wear items like suspension and brakes. First owner replaced my radiator and one wheel bearing around 90k though.

Maintenance. Maintenance. Maintenance.

 

[r2m]

I've had to replace the radiator once because of a plastic piece that broke. It was part of another repair I had done, but can't remember what that other repair was. So it must not have been very major.

 

[SteadfastRocky]

All I've done is the throttle body and think the dealership screwed it up cleaning it. The rest was all wear items like suspension and brakes. First owner replaced my radiator and one wheel bearing around 90k though.

Maintenance. Maintenance. Maintenance.

I am somewhat convinced that if proper PM is taken, and the vehicle doesn't have fatal design flaws, (cam phasers in fords for instance) that any vehicle can be as reliable as a Toyota, and a Toyota on the same note can be a basket case full of issues if is not PM'd correctly.

 

[MrTorgue]

I've had to replace the radiator once because of a plastic piece that broke. It was part of another repair I had done, but can't remember what that other repair was. So it must not have been very major.

Radiators don't count since they are universally poor these days because of the plastic.

that any vehicle can be as reliable as a Toyota,

Gonna have to disagree there. There are certain makes that no matter what you do they'll still be money pits. Plus the quality of manufacturing also comes in to play. There's a reason for example the GX is near or at the top for reliability. Made by one experienced crew in Japan.

 

[r2m]

I am somewhat convinced that if proper PM is taken, and the vehicle doesn't have fatal design flaws, (cam phasers in fords for instance) that any vehicle can be as reliable as a Toyota, and a Toyota on the same note can be a basket case full of issues if is not PM'd correctly.

With all due respect, I may have to challenge you about "...any vehicle can be as reliable as a Toyota..." if they follow at least these three considerations:

1. Within the science of metallurgy, not all manufacturers use the best materials. Quality metal costs more and generally more difficult to process, hence generally increasing end costs. Consider rings, bearing, blocks, heads, plastics, and every other type of material used in vehicles these days compared to decades ago.
2. As you mentioned about the Ford cam phasers, that's poor engineering. Proper engineering encompasses the entire vehicle, from dash knobs to drive gears. If any part is not engineered properly, there will be failure, when? That depends upon testing.
3. That brings up testing. How rigorous is their (ambiguous auto manufacturer) testing? As an R&D engineer in the med device industry, we have to do "confidence and reliability" testing". (In case you're interested: Reliability with Confidence - https://accendoreliability.com/reliability-with-confidence/) As an example if we sometimes have to do a 95% confidence and 95% reliability test (or even 99%/99%), that equates to 59 units (usually rounded up to 60) to test. How rigorous the testing and how many cycles is determined by whatever the device is. So for automobiles, most testing is done by mileage, road and weather conditions. The more brutal the testing without failure the better the end product will be. Note: EVERYTHING will fail at some point. The point is not the have it fail just after warranty.

 

[Arailt]

Gonna have to disagree there. There are certain makes that no matter what you do they'll still be money pits. Plus the quality of manufacturing also comes in to play. There's a reason for example the GX is near or at the top for reliability. Made by one experienced crew in Japan.

Haha. Yeah. My wife has a 2015 BMW X5 that we've had since 2016. It has 77k on it now. It was well maintained and low miles when we bought it. I've done all of the scheduled maintenance at BMW. Despite this, it has needed well over 10k worth of electronic problems and "wear and tear" repairs, including cpu upgrade, fuel pump, injectors, front control arms (all bushings were shot by 60k and the arm/bushing is one piece), and most recently (last week), it had to have the valve cover replaced due to a leaky valve cover gasket - also one piece thanks to the wonderful kraut engineers. I can already see the rear end sagging, so I'm sure control arms or struts/springs are next.

We had an C-Class MB before this and had it's own slew of electronic and mechanical problems around 50k (and ours was made in Stuttgart, before production moved to the US). No more German cars for us.

 

[xychromosome]

Yep, I worked german cars out of my system after owning an A4 and A6 in the early 2000s. Never again!

 

[r2m]

Haha. Yeah. My wife has a 2015 BMW X5 that we've had since 2016. It has 77k on it now. It was well maintained and low miles when we bought it. I've done all of the scheduled maintenance at BMW. Despite this, it has needed well over 10k worth of electronic problems and "wear and tear" repairs, including cpu upgrade, fuel pump, injectors, front control arms (all bushings were shot by 60k and the arm/bushing is one piece), and most recently (last week), it had to have the valve cover replaced due to a leaky valve cover gasket - also one piece thanks to the wonderful kraut engineers. I can already see the rear end sagging, so I'm sure control arms or struts/springs are next.

We had an C-Class MB before this and had it's own slew of electronic and mechanical problems around 50k (and ours was made in Stuttgart, before production moved to the US). No more German cars for us.

Do I see another Lexus for your family in the near future????