Wash your GX...

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Ratchey

Ratchey

Joined
Sep 23, 2019
Threads
27
Messages
914
Location
Kalispell, MT up near Canada
If you live in the PNW, you really need to make sure that you are thoroughly washing your car. I just pulled off the cargo rails of this 2015 GX we just got, and it is absolutely nasty under there. Mildew and mud and just pure disgustingness.
Who ever owned this car was not a car enthusiast.

20251227_142439.webp


20251227_142442.webp


20251227_145314.webp


20251227_145318.webp


20251227_145322.webp
 
Ratchey said:
If you live in the PNW, you really need to make sure that you are thoroughly washing your car. I just pulled off the cargo rails of this 2015 GX we just got, and it is absolutely nasty under there. Mildew and mud and just pure disgustingness.
Who ever owned this car was not a car enthusiast.

View attachment 4056301

View attachment 4056302

View attachment 4056303

View attachment 4056304

View attachment 4056305
Click to expand...
How hard was it to pull the rails off? Any corrosion?
 
GrizzlyClint said:
How hard was it to pull the rails off? Any corrosion?
Click to expand...

Super easy. If you have cross bars, just loosen the torx bolt as far as it will go on both sides. Then just push one side forward or backward and lift.
There are 3 covers on each each rail. Just pop them off with a flat tip screwdriver or panel tool.
There are two 12mm bolts under each cover. Loosen all 6 then lift the rail off.
You will see two black strips, one forward and rearward. Just lift straight up. There is a clip at one end of each.

Surprisingly no corrosion even with all of that crap under there. Was a disaster to clean up.
 
Round one of cleaning done. After washing the GX, I wiped down the whole thing with a waterless detailer spray. Spent about an hour dealing with the cargo rails and the mess underneath them. Then got to work with the claybar.
Tomorrow I will go at it with the buffer and some cutting compound then a polishing compound.
After that will finish up with Griot's Ceramic 3in1 wax.
I honestly don't think this vehicle has ever been hand washed or waxed.

20251227_182645.webp


20251227_182626.webp


20251227_182611.webp


20251227_182553.webp


20251227_182536.webp
 
It's pretty common for owners to never hand-wash or wax their cars. It either takes hours of DIY time or a few hundred bucks for a detailer to do it. That's too much time and money for a non-car person. So, instead, they just run them though the automatic carwash and destroy the paint :). We've bought 3 new vehicles so far and every one of them gets nothing but hand washes and yearly waxes...and they stay looking great. Even my GX with it's 19-year old, swirled paint still gets a hand-wash treatment.
 
😂 car enthusiasts drive them and keep them mechanically maintained… car show nerds are a different thing entirely, imho
 
Ratchey said:
Super easy. If you have cross bars, just loosen the torx bolt as far as it will go on both sides. Then just push one side forward or backward and lift.
There are 3 covers on each each rail. Just pop them off with a flat tip screwdriver or panel tool.
There are two 12mm bolts under each cover. Loosen all 6 then lift the rail off.
You will see two black strips, one forward and rearward. Just lift straight up. There is a clip at one end of each.

Surprisingly no corrosion even with all of that crap under there. Was a disaster to clean up.
Click to expand...
Awesome! Glad you had no corrosion.
 
Did the first pass using Chemical Guys #32 and the second pass with #36. It's decent stuff but I think there is probably much better out there. Just need to finish up these bottles.
Then did a nice coat with the Griots. Before I started, if you put a bottle on the hood and pushed it, it would not slide down, at all. Now you can set a bottle pretty much on the flatest part and it will slide right off. It has bothered me for the few weeks we have had it that when it rained, the water would just sit on the hood. Even driving in town it wouldn't blow off.
Now to tear out the interior and remove as much evidence of the kids as possible.

20251228_184050.webp


20251228_190442.webp


20251228_190506.webp


20251228_190524.webp


20251228_190537.webp
 
My '07 had a 3/16" thick layer of dried soda residue under the center console. I also found lots of long, blonde hairs throughout the rig, and there are scratches by the door handles from Karen's giant diamond ring. It's quite interesting how rough suburban living can be on one of these rigs :).
 
Much better!

Make sure you seal around those bolt locations real well. I assume at the bolt heads too. Looks like the typical Toyota way where the rack connection points seal to the body independent of the nut retainers. Also some antiseize as they also like to detach from the interior ceiling if they do ever seize up.
 
iwashmycar said:
Much better!

Make sure you seal around those bolt locations real well. I assume at the bolt heads too. Looks like the typical Toyota way where the rack connection points seal to the body independent of the nut retainers. Also some antiseize as they also like to detach from the interior ceiling if they do ever seize up.
Click to expand...
The rail has rubber boots at each entry point and the bolts have 1/4" rubber washers on them. They also have red thread locker on them so I just installed as is. If I were putting on an aftermarket rack I would definitely put silicone around and in the openings before attaching the rack. That is what I did on my old 4runner.
 
Last edited:
Rednexus said:
My '07 had a 3/16" thick layer of dried soda residue under the center console. I also found lots of long, blonde hairs throughout the rig, and there are scratches by the door handles from Karen's giant diamond ring. It's quite interesting how rough suburban living can be on one of these rigs :).
Click to expand...

I dropped a retaining nut down the side of the seat in the parking lot of Costo the day I picked it up. Lifted the seat up and forward. Couldn't find it. Reached under the cover of the rear leg and pulled out a 2" hard black round object with white noodle looking things in it. No clue what it was. Reached again and found a gummy bear. Then some happy meal toy. And finally the retaining nut. It was not pleasant. Shocked at how much stuff could hide under the little plastic foot cover.
Can only imagine what I will find when I pull the seats.
 
Rednexus said:
My '07 had a 3/16" thick layer of dried soda residue under the center console. I also found lots of long, blonde hairs throughout the rig, and there are scratches by the door handles from Karen's giant diamond ring. It's quite interesting how rough suburban living can be on one of these rigs :).
Click to expand...
My door handle pockets on the commonly used doors are scratched all to hell. I suspect the previous soccer mom chick owner had long nails...
 
GrizzlyClint said:
My door handle pockets on the commonly used doors are scratched all to hell. I suspect the previous soccer mom chick owner had long nails...
Click to expand...
I always assumed it was from the mega rings. Or maybe it was both :).
 
Ohio Nori said:
Definitely the rings. My wife has short nails and her door cups look like a feral cat tried breaking in.
Click to expand...
My wife's old Outback was like that. Her Highlander came from the dealer with some PPF in that area. But, we've more or less switched to silicone bands full-time as we are both avid DIYers. That expensive piece of metal and stone I bought her years ago now barely sees the light of day.
 
Rednexus said:
My wife's old Outback was like that. Her Highlander came from the dealer with some PPF in that area. But, we've more or less switched to silicone bands full-time as we are both avid DIYers. That expensive piece of metal and stone I bought her years ago now barely sees the light of day.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to get my wife to let me switch to silicone or a tattoo. I've caught my ring on various spots on our structure engine and I'm just waiting to lose a finger one day when it gets caught as I climb off quickly.
 
GrizzlyClint said:
I'm trying to get my wife to let me switch to silicone or a tattoo. I've caught my ring on various spots on our structure engine and I'm just waiting to lose a finger one day when it gets caught as I climb off quickly.
Click to expand...
It's the way to go. I may never wear my Ti wedding band again outside of some kind of a formal event.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom