I believe ATESSA is Nissan, no? The GX has a Torsen center differential.
What to look for when buying ?
- Thread starter half k cruiser
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You can register your VIN on Lexus Drivers and it'll show you any work done at a Lexus dealer.
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- #23
You are absolutely right, and normally when I've had my cup of coffee and breakfast I would know that !! Went back and fixed that post, also did some reading up on the ATRAC II . I've spotted my buddy in his 4th gen runner enough that I feel like I can make this work effectively. Not that I'm planning on doing a bunch of off road work with it. But if I did ......
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- #24
Well, Lexus drivers is being and a hole ! I cannot get an account to setup properly.
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- #25
Just found this recall when I put my vin number into the NHTSA. Has to do with the side curtain airbags self deploying when you start the car. If you haven't checked you may want to plug yours in. Looks to be a fairly new recall at just over a year ago.
Feb 02,2016
Manufacturer Recall NumberGLB
NHTSA Recall Number16V065
Feb 02,2016
Manufacturer Recall NumberGLB
NHTSA Recall Number16V065
So my wife and I spent the day looking at cars, and we went to look at this truck today:
2008 Lexus GX 470 For Sale In Burlington | Cars.com
I had run the CARFAX and pulled the maintenance records from Lexus Drivers before I went, besides having extremely low mileage (<25K), it had an extensive maintenance record, it was almost over-maintained. For instance, it went to the dealer in July 2012 for an annual run-though, they changed ALL the filters. One year later it went in again, after only 600 miles, and they changed all the filters AGAIN. TB/WP was changed in 2013, at about 12,000 miles.
The interior was immaculate, like new, even the driver's seat.
But things went south from there. I was surprised at the amount of corrosion underneath. Not bad like holes, just more than you'd think for a 25K truck.
Then I found this weird overspray on the rear bumper cover:
This isn't normal, right?
I know the truck is a little overpriced, but at that point I lost all interest in negotiating.
The good news is my wife really liked the truck (much better than the '15 4Runner we looked at today), gave me the green light to find one. I'm just really having a hard time finding them with low miles and in decent condition.
2008 Lexus GX 470 For Sale In Burlington | Cars.com
I had run the CARFAX and pulled the maintenance records from Lexus Drivers before I went, besides having extremely low mileage (<25K), it had an extensive maintenance record, it was almost over-maintained. For instance, it went to the dealer in July 2012 for an annual run-though, they changed ALL the filters. One year later it went in again, after only 600 miles, and they changed all the filters AGAIN. TB/WP was changed in 2013, at about 12,000 miles.
The interior was immaculate, like new, even the driver's seat.
But things went south from there. I was surprised at the amount of corrosion underneath. Not bad like holes, just more than you'd think for a 25K truck.
Then I found this weird overspray on the rear bumper cover:
This isn't normal, right?
I know the truck is a little overpriced, but at that point I lost all interest in negotiating.
The good news is my wife really liked the truck (much better than the '15 4Runner we looked at today), gave me the green light to find one. I'm just really having a hard time finding them with low miles and in decent condition.
I really like buying older low mileage vehicles. I don't mind paying up for them. Keep in mind you save a little on insurance and a whole lot in tags and property taxes for an older car (depends upon the state) That being said, that savings can pay for a lot of repairs and cosmetic fixes. Even new OEM parts to make them look like new.
Reviewing your photos: Those seats are amazing. Almost too good to be true, I would not be surprised if they are a respray/dye job. But in a northern climate and low miles they could be original. Not a big deal the spray will just flake and rub off over time. The under carriage rust is a non-issue. That is very minor. One evening with a wire brush and some rust arrestor will remove much of it then spray it with semi flat black paint. I would them flex fluid the undercarriage if you are rally picky. A 10 year old truck will have this kind of rust in even mild climates such as the lower midwest or middle south where you might get an occasional snow/ice with road treatment exposure. Up north this is nothing.
The over spray on the bumper is just a fact of life when buying a used car. it is just math, the older the car is the more it is on the road and the higher probability there is for damage. I would estimate that 75 percent of 10 year old cars have had a least one bumper painted/replaced Even if it is a bad paint job, a good shop can fix that for $500 bucks. Just crawl up underneath it and give the frame and floor pan a good look to check for major issues.
I have an automotive background, ran stores, and have a tech degree so I know my way around used cars. Without seeing it in person, I cannot give you a true review, but it sure looks good to me form the photos. Remember, a new one is 60k. They all wear out at some point.
RKTINC.
Reviewing your photos: Those seats are amazing. Almost too good to be true, I would not be surprised if they are a respray/dye job. But in a northern climate and low miles they could be original. Not a big deal the spray will just flake and rub off over time. The under carriage rust is a non-issue. That is very minor. One evening with a wire brush and some rust arrestor will remove much of it then spray it with semi flat black paint. I would them flex fluid the undercarriage if you are rally picky. A 10 year old truck will have this kind of rust in even mild climates such as the lower midwest or middle south where you might get an occasional snow/ice with road treatment exposure. Up north this is nothing.
The over spray on the bumper is just a fact of life when buying a used car. it is just math, the older the car is the more it is on the road and the higher probability there is for damage. I would estimate that 75 percent of 10 year old cars have had a least one bumper painted/replaced Even if it is a bad paint job, a good shop can fix that for $500 bucks. Just crawl up underneath it and give the frame and floor pan a good look to check for major issues.
I have an automotive background, ran stores, and have a tech degree so I know my way around used cars. Without seeing it in person, I cannot give you a true review, but it sure looks good to me form the photos. Remember, a new one is 60k. They all wear out at some point.
RKTINC.
I've seen the cover-up dye jobs that the dress-up guys do, yes they flake off and will look terrible in a few weeks. This wasn't any of that, the leather was very soft, obviously well treated.
If this was a $18-20K truck, I could tolerate the rust on the undercarraige. But they want $29K, which implies a pristine chassis. For that price, I'm not climbing under there and scraping all that stuff off.
I hear what you're saying about the bumper life, we're on our 4th rear bumper on the Highlander.
If this was a $18-20K truck, I could tolerate the rust on the undercarraige. But they want $29K, which implies a pristine chassis. For that price, I'm not climbing under there and scraping all that stuff off.
I hear what you're saying about the bumper life, we're on our 4th rear bumper on the Highlander.
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).
I was also unaware of the front diff support issue. Sound like it could be serious. Where i live the roads are super rough and huge potholes are almost unavoidable. Hurts when you hit a big one you don't expect or cant dodge. Is there some one with more detailed info on this subject? Maybe part numbers of the updated diff supports. I looked on Lexuspartsnow.com and found 3 diff support brackets from the 07 model, which is supposed to be the updated version of the part/parts?? not too sure. (i have the affected 04) Any help will be appreciated.
GX470 FAQ
Part numbers are there. I am not sure which of the three was revised...if you find that out, please update the FAQ doc.
This is not a cheap replacement, you are looking at $380 for all three from LexusPartsNow.com 
This is not a cheap replacement, you are looking at $380 for all three from LexusPartsNow.com
I haven't replaced mine yet and won't worry til I start wheeling. I think only one of them was revised...
For $29k you could find same year 200 series with about 100k more miles on it...if you're into that..
Yeah, I know, but gas mileage is not as good, and the GX is about as big a vehicle as my wife can handle. We also looked at a 2015 4Runner yesterday, and it was "too big". So a 2nd gen GX is out (which I'm OK with).
Well $119 is better than $380 for all three parts. Prices according to LexusPartsNow.com
*Edit* Ended up getting the best price shipped to my door from OEM Lexus Parts.com $131.60 total.
@JLee @DanKunz
Is there anything else we should replace while we are under their replacing this Diff Support #2?
*Edit* Ended up getting the best price shipped to my door from OEM Lexus Parts.com $131.60 total.
@JLee @DanKunz
Is there anything else we should replace while we are under their replacing this Diff Support #2?
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Camelback Toyota here in Phoenix sells it for $116. Their service director is a 'mud member and a great guy.
Toyota Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping
Toyota Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping