GX460 buying questions

[leftyguns21]

I currently drive a V6 4th gen 4Runner with 155k and looking to move to a GX. Two things that have always drove me nuts about 4Runners is the lack of technology and the lack of power. Seems like I could get those plus the reliability/durability of the 4Runner in a GX.

There is a 2015 GX 460 near me with only 28k miles on it. It is the non Luxury model. Looks to be more the base but with some extras. They have a luxury model, its in pretty bad shape though and an ugly interior. It is Lexus certified and existing manufacture warranty. services are covered until 45,000 miles. after that what should I expect? Maintaining a 4Runner is cheap. Oil changes for me now cost under $30 as DIY. I have a feeling this one is not cheap. am I able to perform most by myself or will I always need to take it in? Does it require same normal maintenance as the 4Runner?

I do a lot of camping. will this get me where I need to get to for camping? I have watched lots of off-roading videos and this looks fully capable even from the factory. I just worry about clearance and taking a 'luxury SUV' camping. I haven't asked gobi yet about getting custom rack built for my RTT. They made them for the 470 so I don't see this being an issue.
gas mileage vs a 4Runner on paper seems to be roughly the same. the slight difference and adding premium gas will add up quickly. Especially on road trips.

Lift/Bigger tires. it comes with factory 18's which are nice but cant fit much rubber over them. The rims are pretty ugly, do I downsize to 16s for more tire? it has slightly less ground clearance as a stock 4Runner. This might require a small lift. It appears the same FJ/4runner lifts will work in this.

I am reluctant to take on a car payment plus increase in auto insurance. I also have an aging 4Runner. Not sure where to direct my money to.

 

[BackOff]

Don't think you can get 16" rims on a newer gx460, the brakes are to large.
Some say they can run 17" though.

There are a ton of electronic bells and whistles, if that's what your into the gx460 has it.

The low/base model may not come with the ride height adj. suspension.
They have a large 'barn door' in the back. I don't care for, just my preference.

I would love the gx460 for road trips with some fire-road action.
That 4.6 v8 is a nice motor, really smooth and quiet, plenty of power.
Be nice if Toyota gave it to the new 4runners.
But like you say...the cost...you take it in the shorts.

You could probably do a lot to your 4runner for the price of a gx460...

 

[Pinam99MA]

'10-13 models have two trims - base & premium / the latter have rear air suspension

'14+ three trims - base, premium, Luxury

'10-13 Premium = '14+ Luxury

On Freeway I can get up to 21 MPG with my '12 GX 460.

 

[leftyguns21]

thanks [MENTION=206821]Pinam99MA[/MENTION] and for the PM with the info too. i have been lurking around on club lexus for a couple days to get info.

i pulled the trigger and ended up with the 2015. i have only had it a couple of days but so far impressed. the ride quality is far better than my 4Runner.

here are the first pics. it wont stay stock very long

already got her first taste of snow

 

[Pinam99MA]

Congratulations!!

 

[BackOff]

thanks [MENTION=206821]Pinam99MA[/MENTION] and for the PM with the info too. i have been lurking around on club lexus for a couple days to get info.

i pulled the trigger and ended up with the 2015. i have only had it a couple of days but so far impressed. the ride quality is far better than my 4Runner.

here are the first pics. it wont stay stock very long

It feels like something is wrong with my 4runner after a drive in my mom's '16 gx460...I am interested to see what you do.

 

[leftyguns21]

[MENTION=89794]BackOff[/MENTION] i drove the Lexus home and had it a couple of days. then drove back to dealership to get my old car so i could remove the gobi rack and personal stuff. the ride quality is night and day. my 4Runner with the OME lift and 33's felt every little bump. the GX just glides over everything. super smooth braking. even with the factory HT tires it plowed through snowy roads at freeway speeds. for me coming from the V6 to the V8 is wonderful. time will tell on the gas difference, but the power and ride quality might be worth it

future mods will be possibly a lift but for sure better tires. i am trying to get a hold of someone at gobi too for a rack. the only racks i can find are rhino. plus normal stuff like the windows and finish up the clear bra. right now only the hood and mirrors are done, i want to get the bumper wrapped.

 

[T4Rawr]

Hey leftyguns21,
How do you feel about the third row seats and barn door so far? The differences are obvious but just looking for some real world opinions on load height and if that door has gotten in the way for anything.

 

[leftyguns21]

[MENTION=212238]T4Rawr[/MENTION] I have only had it about 2 weeks now. I wont be using the 3rd row since I have no need for it. I will keep it down at all times. I do prefer the manual version like I have vs the powered 3rd row seats. the powered ones take so long to close/raise. and more finicky with alarming if its not in the perfect position or if something gets stuck between them.
the few times I have had to use the barn door I haven't minded it. it was a lot easier to load bigger items in (set of tires) than the hatch. plus I don't have to worry about the height in my garage. I am actually looking forward to using it for camping, I think it will be much better for loading/unloading. I do miss the ability to roll down the back window. the other drawback is there is little to no storage in the cargo area. all of the storage areas are designed for the car tools but don't leave much room for other stuff.

 

[T4Rawr]

I won't use the 3rd row either. Thanks for the info. I'm trying to make a decision on a vehicle right now.

 

[Oldmanb777]

The fact that the torque curve is so much lower rpm on the V-8 makes for a much better driving experience. Putting a lift on and bigger tires will have a negative effect on ride, but maybe worth it. You might want to look at better skid plates early on. The cover on the gas tank,specifically, only covers part of the tank. Wrapping the front bumper is probably a waiste, since its going to be scaraficial anyway. It's in the way, and plastic. Just like the running boards, if you plan to do much out in the rocky mountain west, you'll probably need something else for running boards and bumpers. It should do just like the 4 runner, since its the same suspension,frame, etc. Just a bit taller and with taller tires. The TRD pro has a locker in the rear, and the GX doesn't, but other than that, its should do as well or better than any stock limited 4 runner.
I have only done some very light roads with ours as of now. I think it will do well. Needs more suspension travel. The upstroke in the rear is very poor and limited. It hits the bumpstops quickely. but what it is short of on up stroke, it make up for on down stroke.
Very nice cars for sure, and with a truck platform, it will work hard when needed.
Congrats. I want to see what you do to yours. I probably won't do too much to ours, but would like to be able to fit the winch on the multi mount, and get rid of that hideous front bumper. But its the wifes daily driver, so got to be careful what I do.

 

[leftyguns21]

[MENTION=212238]T4Rawr[/MENTION] couple other things I am starting to notice. the back window and rear camera get coated pretty easily. we have had some snow lately and the rear window gets dirty so fast. same with the rear camera. the 4Runner seemed to be designed better so it didn't attract moisture like this one.
I have seen lots of mods now for the barn door to turn it in to a table and other storage ideas. and saw that frontrunner makes a no-drill rack for it. I was getting worried trying to find one for this.
[MENTION=157434]Oldmanb777[/MENTION] I already put KO2's on it and can tell the ride difference. especially on I25 and I70. the side roads and slower speeds I cant tell as much. they do look nice on it though. I don't think I will do a lift on it just yet, if I do it will be the Bilstein adjustable. the front bumper is so huge and will take a lot of debri hits so I want to keep it looking clean. last thing I want is a peppered front bumper. it is worth the $300 to wrap it in my mind. I don't do any serious off-roading at all. never really have. I remote camp a lot though so I need to be able to get to good camp spots. armor might be over kill for me and the locations I go. MPG drop off hasn't been huge but its there. do you put premium gas in yours? I keep reading conflicting answers. it says in the manual 91 octane but the dealership told me don't bother since we are at altitude here.

overall i am very impressed with this vehicle. few little quirks and some wasted space that i think they could have done more with. but coming from an old 4Runner to this has been quite nice

 

[Oldmanb777]

We do put premium in it. But we got ours from Stevenson. (Through a broker) and they only had one gas pump. I don't know what was in it, if it was 91 octane or not. They indicated it wasn't. I did put regular in it in once. They were out of premium. I wanted to try it anyway. My take on it was the computer compensated for the faster burning low octane fuel easily. It appeared my gas mileage dropped possibly 2 tenths of a gallon. My unscientific seat of the pants says it wasn't as spirited, but that's all psychological. I think its probably fine with a lower octane fuel. We use what recommended, mostly for the warrantee.
I have played with using different grades of fuel in my vehicles. My 99 Sierra with the 6 ltr likes the mid grade. Does slightly, but verifiably better fuel economy with mid grade over reg. No difference with premium. One of my motorcycles, does very slightly better with mid grade, however my detuned dirt bike does worse with premium, and noticeably worse on performance. It just can't take advantage of the slower burning premium. It doesn't have enough compression and timing to totally burn the high octane fuel, leaving some of the heat of combustion going out of the tail pipe in unburned fuel. I have proved it several different ways.

 

[T4Rawr]

I think a dirty hatch is something inherent to 5 door vehicles. Some worse than others. I think a lot has to do with just how the air flows around a particular design. I've got a passat wagon and doesn't get annoyingly dirty but you can tell the exhaust gets sucked right up to the glass at speed. Its crazy to watch on cold mornings. I can't see **** out of the back. LOL I'm glad you like it so far and it seems like your usage may be close to mine. It will do anything I need but so will a T4R LTD. I'm awful at making decisions.

 

[Oldmanb777]

The GX is a much bigger car than the 4 runner. Even though it heavier, its also a lot more powerful. I know it doesn't seem like it. This generation of 4 runner is a great sized vehicle. But if you want or need more comfort for adults in the back seat, the gX is it hands down. I think the 4 runner is aimed more at young, and the gX is aimed at older people. Just my thinking. My niece has a tRD pro. they looked at the GX and bought the 4 runner. We looked at the 4 runner and bough the GX. WE are older, no kids anymore and want the comfort. We are willing to pay the extra,not only the purchase cosat, but the operating cost as well for a bit more comfort.

 

[leftyguns21]

[MENTION=212238]T4Rawr[/MENTION] I am horrible at decisions too. I mulled over the purchase for a good 5 days before deciding. the dealership had 4 used in stock. 2 white. 2 silver. they were on the lot for 30+ days each, one for 58 days. they sold 2 a couple days after my first visit. sold 3rd the night before I bought mine. thank goodness the ones they sold were all the ones I didn't have my eye on. I started calculating the cost of ownership on a 10year old vehicle and how much more money I wanted to put in to it vs taking on a car payment but having peace of mind. the comforts and technology of the new one really got me.
[MENTION=157434]Oldmanb777[/MENTION] I am conducting my own personal tests now on gas. they told me that the warranty (I have manufacture, plus Lexus pre-owned and I bought 3 more years on top of that) wasn't affected by the fuel and I could use the 85 octane here in CO. I don't know what they used when I drove it home. but I tried mid grade on first fill up. I am on 2nd fill up now and used low grade. so far the computer avg is about the same as the last tank 16/17mpg. it feels slightly less responsive too but I could just be paranoid. Ill do premium on next fill up and see if I can feel a difference. I used to live in Seattle and had an Audi S4. at sea level I could tell a huge difference in my cars performance when I used low grade vs premium.

 

[Oldmanb777]

I'm guessing here, the preimium fuel you got in Seattle or at sea level was probably 94 octane? here at altitude it is 91 octane. Remember octane is more about anti-detonation than anything else. at seal level, there is more pressure and higher temps in the combustion chamber. There fore you need to burn fuel slower to avoid damaging explosion or "Detonation". When the fuel burns to slowly, you can't take advantage of all the heat available, and therefore, less power,less gas mileage, more emisions etc. The computer will make up for most, if not all of that. Even if it has to sacrifice some performance, someplace. I would have no problem running lower octane fuel, but does the computer remember? In the extremely remote possibility that you got below the "floor" of where the computer could adjust for low octane, and you damaged something because of detonation. Would the computer tattle on you? I don't know. Will you get the best performance available. I'm thinking no. Will it be acceptable, I think probably yes.

 

[RRrider]

[MENTION=89794]BackOff[/MENTION] i drove the Lexus home and had it a couple of days. then drove back to dealership to get my old car so i could remove the gobi rack and personal stuff. the ride quality is night and day. my 4Runner with the OME lift and 33's felt every little bump. the GX just glides over everything. super smooth braking. even with the factory HT tires it plowed through snowy roads at freeway speeds. for me coming from the V6 to the V8 is wonderful. time will tell on the gas difference, but the power and ride quality might be worth it

future mods will be possibly a lift but for sure better tires. i am trying to get a hold of someone at gobi too for a rack. the only racks i can find are rhino. plus normal stuff like the windows and finish up the clear bra. right now only the hood and mirrors are done, i want to get the bumper wrapped.

I also just got a GX, and am planning on doing an overlander mod on her.

I added Black Rhino wheels with Terra Grappler tires - I like it.

I'm planning on using the MetalTech4x4 for the bumpers to get better approach & departure angles (why lexus decided to neuter the capability of this great prado/box on frame 4x4 with the front and rear bumpers is beyond me!)

I'm still figuring out what to do for roof rack and sliders, but that'll happen too.

I love the drive - smooth low down torque of the V8 - worked great in the snow storm up in the mountains!

Similarly, I'll never use the 3rd row seats...I wish I just had the extra storage space and lighter weight...but it wasn't an option - it just came set up this way.

enjoy!

 

[leftyguns21]

I'm still figuring out what to do for roof rack and sliders, but that'll happen too.

front runner makes one for the 2nd gen GX's. I looked at the rhino but I like the front runner more. ill be ordering it once they get their quick release tent mounts in. i don't think i will do much more mods overlanding wise. for now at least.

I put on some KO2s in a 265/70/18. added 15% tint on all windows. updated the rock lights to the Philips super white and added a full front clear bra.

 

[Kelevra1]

Thanks for posting this information up.
I am seriously thinking of purchasing one for out home in Tucson.