What to look for when buying ? (1 Viewer)

[half k cruiser]

Well, not to sound like a total noob, but here goes. The wife and I are thinking about switching her out of her 80 series and upgrading her into a 2003-2005 GX. I have lots of experience with the 80's, know all there is to know about them in fact. The guy who designed the 80 has me on his xmas card list, that's how much I know about them. What I know about 120's ........ (crickets).....

Not quite that bad. I am familiar with the engine architecture as my GS400 has a 1UZ. Pretty straight forward motor, have done the timing belt and water pump on it no problems. Aside from all the usual stuff you would look for anytime you would purchase a used vehicle, is there anything I should be particularly focused on when I'm looking ?

Currently I have found several that fit the bill. 04 with 120k mi for $9700 is top pick so far.
There is also another 04 with 230k mi for $5500, that's a lot of miles though.
Tons of them for under $10k with anywhere from 120-190k miles.

Thanks in advance for any help. Hope to be joining this part of the forums soon...

 

[JLee]

We should probably put a sticky together for this, as it gets asked frequently but there's no central repository of knowledge.

You can read up on year-to-year differences here: Lexus GX470

There are wiring diagrams and DIY's on ClubLexus: GX - 1st Gen (2004-2009) - Club Lexus Forums

Commonly found problems and other general information you should know:

• Test the center differential before you buy. The vast majority of GX's are soccermom pavement queens - if the actuator is frozen up, you want to know before you buy one and have a $1k+ repair.
• Driveshaft clunk (grease band-aids it, but the proper fix is updated parts per Lexus TSB)
• Radiators tend to leak around 100-150k (easy replacement)
• Dashboards crack (Lexus will warranty them until the end of May 2017, I believe)
• Nav is generally terrible. Get non-nav if you can (so you can install an aftermarket head unit -- factory nav only has one upgrade option, namely the Grom V-Line, which has not performed all that well). That said, I had nav in both of mine (07, because I found a Sport model and 07+ nav is much better so I didn't care -- and 05, because I found a KDSS model and it was $8k so I figured I'd get over it). 07+ also provides an auxiliary jack (not sure if this is for all 07's, or just nav and/or ML combinations).
• Mark Levinson speakers are not standard auto speakers. There are a few aftermarket speakers that will match up to the ML amplifier, or you can buy surround repair kits if your speakers start to fail.
• KDSS vs non-KDSS will spur endless debate. To sum it up, if you are not interested in long travel, KDSS will give you superior on and off road handling. It will get in the way for some things (you can't fit much larger of a spare, you can't get aftermarket lower control arms, and you have to be careful what sliders and skids you buy so they will clear the KDSS system). I have it on both of my trucks and I'm pleased. Others have gone long travel and ripped it out. I figure if mine ever fails, I'll pull it and go long travel with the money I would've spent to repair it.
• Airbags will eventually fail. A coil conversion is the most common fix, as it's better for offroad purposes and also cheaper.
• 2005+ will get you the VVT-i 2UZ-FE with about a 35hp boost. This adds some emissions complexity, namely an air pump that requires intake manifold removal to repair. There is a delete kit or an aftermarket Dorman part available to either remove or repair the system if it fails. This does not impact driveability at all, just cold-start emissions.
• CD changers sometimes fail, though with a pre-07 you don't have MP3 capability anyway so you might as well throw it out and install a bluetooth/aux adapter instead.
• Rear air conditioning only came with GX's ordered with the rear seat package.
• A transmission cooler is standard, whether or not you have the towing package.
• The inside rear door handle breaks on basically everybody's GX. You can get a new one online from Lexus for about 20 bucks, or fashion/buy something else out of paracord, nylon webbing, etc.
• Front differential supports were revised for 2006 (possibly 2007). If you have a 2003-2005, you will want to install the updated front differential supports from Lexus (at least the one big one; I'm not sure if the other two were also upgraded). Failure to do so may result in the differential support catastrophically failing, which is a really bad day for anything close to the differential (i.e. your oil pan, and consequently your motor).

 

[half k cruiser]

@JLee thank you for the very detailed and helpful reply. It would be awesome to see FAQ in here like in 80 and 100 tech. I did search before I asked but couldn't find any real source of info. What you've listed above really helps out. So the wife and I did go look and test drive the 04 with 117k miles on it. Here's the run down.

-does not have factory nav
-does not have ML audio system
-not sure if it has KDSS, I have a shot of the door vin and codes, does that tell me ?
-does have cracked dash both DS and PS
-has at least one if not both front rotors warped, slight wheel shimmy on braking
-CDL is functioning, the owner had a lot to say about this and making sure to test it every few weeks

Other than that an extremely clean vehicle. The interior and exterior were both very clean and well taken care of. One more question, it has the tow package but there is no receiver. It looks like the receiver hitch is two parts and the lower part is MIA. Where do I get this from ?

 

[JLee]

There are two different receivers - one is a tube type that bolts to the frame, and one is much smaller (with a lower tow rating).

Checking for KDSS by VIN online is sketchy. A dealer could probably tell you, or you can check by looking at the sway bars (they're massive) or the KDSS light on the dash (it's off in normal operation but will come on with the CEL/other lights when you first key-on).

 

[half k cruiser]

There are two different receivers - one is a tube type that bolts to the frame, and one is much smaller (with a lower tow rating).

Checking for KDSS by VIN online is sketchy. A dealer could probably tell you, or you can check by looking at the sway bars (they're massive) or the KDSS light on the dash (it's off in normal operation but will come on with the CEL/other lights when you first key-on).

I don't think the hitch in the link is the proper one. This one has four slots for bolts, but they face the ground. Pretty sure its a tubular deal in there but don't quote me. The wife wants it so we will see what happens. I kind of want it too .....

 

[half k cruiser]

Also, what size tire's are you guys upgrading to on factory suspension? Is pretty much everybody removing the factory running boards?

 

[GXMac]

I don't think the hitch in the link is the proper one. This one has four slots for bolts, but they face the ground. Pretty sure its a tubular deal in there but don't quote me. The wife wants it so we will see what happens. I kind of want it too .....

I think that is just a weird camera angle- that's the same part number I bought for my GX.

Hitch Cover

• GXMac
• Mar 16, 2017

This listing has better angles (same part number): TOYOTA OEM 03-16 4Runner-Trailer Hitch 5190935011

 

[JLee]

Also, what size tire's are you guys upgrading to on factory suspension? Is pretty much everybody removing the factory running boards?

A lot of people remove the running boards, and a lot of those people run sliders as well. I haven't pulled the running boards on my latest GX yet, but it is a thing that will happen (soon).

At stock height, 265/70R17 and 255/75R17 is common. I have 255/75R17's on 17x8 ET 0mm wheels (FN F(x) Pro) and have some rubbing on the steps when turning about mid-way and it looks like the tire is barely contacting the fender lining on the front. I plan on pulling steps and massaging/cutting whatever's necessary to get that side to clear, and probably will use a heat gun to reshape the fender liner (or just simply move it a little bit farther forward).

 

[half k cruiser]

You guys have been great.

 

[half k cruiser]

You guys have been great.

 

[Arailt]

There are two different receivers - one is a tube type that bolts to the frame, and one is much smaller (with a lower tow rating).

What's the rating with that little guy? Also, do you have to cut the factory bumper cover if you don't have the pre-notched version (like in GXMac's picture)?

 

[HomersCanyonero]

@JLee I hadn't heard about the front diff support issue. How common is this? Sound serious for off-roading. Any pictures?

• Front differential supports were revised for 2006 (possibly 2007). If you have a 2003-2005, you will want to install the updated front differential supports from Lexus (at least the one big one; I'm not sure if the other two were also upgraded). Failure to do so may result in the differential support catastrophically failing, which is a really bad day for anything close to the differential (i.e. your oil pan, and consequently your motor).

 

[GXMac]

What's the rating with that little guy? Also, do you have to cut the factory bumper cover if you don't have the pre-notched version (like in GXMac's picture)?

From what I have read here and in ClubLexus are that the smaller hitch has a 5000lb rating vs the tube hitch's 6500 lb rating. I went with the smaller one because I won't tow anything larger than a utility trailer, it yields a slightly better departure angle (although I just found out SSO has an even shorter one) and I think it leaves more room than the tube hitch for the spare.

You can't use the updated hitch cover with the small bump without cutting, though. I ended up buying an unpainted one from ebay for about $30 and painted it with Duplicolor touch-up spray paint.

 

[JLee]

@JLee I hadn't heard about the front diff support issue. How common is this? Sound serious for off-roading. Any pictures?

• Front differential supports were revised for 2006 (possibly 2007). If you have a 2003-2005, you will want to install the updated front differential supports from Lexus (at least the one big one; I'm not sure if the other two were also upgraded). Failure to do so may result in the differential support catastrophically failing, which is a really bad day for anything close to the differential (i.e. your oil pan, and consequently your motor).

Pics

 

[KLF]

Is there any way to tell if the rear suspension is about to fail? What are the symptoms of failure?

 

[NMBruce]

When I pulled mine off, they where working find, but they didn't look very good, not sure they would of lasted much longer

 

[Arailt]

Is there any way to tell if the rear suspension is about to fail? What are the symptoms of failure?

If the airbags are shot, you might hear the compressor running non stop to keep them inflated. If the sensors are malfunctioning, the rear end will raise and lower erratically. However, neither of those scenarios are guaranteed to present themselves in the time you have to test drive the truck.

 

[Bluetribal]

@JLee I hadn't heard about the front diff support issue. How common is this? Sound serious for off-roading. Any pictures?

• Front differential supports were revised for 2006 (possibly 2007). If you have a 2003-2005, you will want to install the updated front differential supports from Lexus (at least the one big one; I'm not sure if the other two were also upgraded). Failure to do so may result in the differential support catastrophically failing, which is a really bad day for anything close to the differential (i.e. your oil pan, and consequently your motor).

Yes we need more info on this! First I have heard about this issue.

 

[half k cruiser]

Well its a done deal. Just brought this home and have lots of questions for the collective...

 

[half k cruiser]

First question, can I punch this vin number in somewhere and see if its had any TSB work performed ?

Also, I don't know too much about the AHC, any pointers or links ?