04 GX470 and 03.5 G35 Sedan

I

imported_mrecktid

New member
These were both wash and waxes.



My mom's GX470



Wash with Foam gun with Zymol wash

Spot clay hood and fenders

AIO with PC / Blue DAS pad at Speed 5

#16 by hand.





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My 03.5 Desert Platinum G35 Sedan



Wash with Foam gun + Zymol

Wax with #16 by hand (Hoped AIO+SG were still on)



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I know mine are in the shade, didn't have time to find a nice spot to park it.





Also, this was also my first time with #16. I mentioned it in another thread I started. I really like the look on light metallics :xyxthumbs
 
How does your mom like her GX? I've heard there are some quality issues. [/B][/QUOTE]



Serious?! Quality issues with a Lexus?! The world's coming to an end!:p
 
Ummmmm I dont think there are any problems. Only problem for me is cleaning the roof :D So freaking high and I'm so short, hahaha. What issues have you heard about?
 
Well we've never really taken it off-road, so if the driveline stuff has to do with the 4 wheel drive than I wouldn't know. As for the plastics, they feel very high quality compared to my G35, it also has a lot less rattles than my car.
 
Those are 2 very awesome cars and both look incredible! :up Good job!



I know a lot of GX owners have a harmonic vibration at around 65mph that seems to affect the steering. Lexus has a TSB out for this. It also looks like she has the Dunlop GrandTrek AT20's, there are a lot of complaints with those tires.
 
I don't know about the vibration at 65mph, I'll check the TSB next time I bring it in for service. The tires I can't say too much, as long as they don't pull a firestone I'm happy. I have noticed some creaking and groaning when it's cold in the morning and you're turning the wheels to back up. But that's about it.



Thanks for the compliments too :)
 
The driveline clunk occurs when coming to a stop on normal road pavement. As you're stopping the driveline feels like its binding and makes a pretty prominent clunk. A lot of people think they've been hit from behind when it happens. You'd know it if yours did it. Some of them do, some of them dont.
 
Interesting to hear that - the GX470 as you know it is actually sold as the Toyota Land Cruiser in the UK - and doesn't carry a lexus badge at all!!.

I've never been a big fan of Japanese cars at all, but when lexus came out I thought they were really good - there was, at the time, a clear distinction between toyota and lexus - where the lexus was very well trimmed inside and seemed to have better fit and finish on the exterior too. Nowadays the two brands seem to be closer and I;m not sure it is for the best.

I know that the Lexus IS200 (as it is known here) is sold elsewhere as the Toyota Altezza, and now I know about the GX470 / land cruiser- I wonder if they just make all the cars at the same place, to the same standards and just change the badges!!!



Don't get me wrong - I think they make good cars, I would just be annoyed at paying big bucks for the Lexus brand to find the interior and switch gear looks like a £6000 toyota Yaris (you probably don't know what that is - try www.toyota.co.uk)
 
Your GX470 is quite beautiful but it seems quite conservative IMO. I was drooling over the RX330 but the wife said we needed something even bigger so we sprang for the Sienna. The Lexus of Minivans (hidden in a Toyota).



Interesting, too about such problems. Good thing those TSBs are out.



Regarding the model being the same thing. Keep in mind that here, you have Camry/ES330, 4Runner/GX470, Land Cruiser/LX470. Not sure whether the Avalon and GS or LS share anything in common. Some argue that they have the same quality and just save the $$$ but others swear by it. So it depends on yourself.
 
If you drive them back to back they're actually quite different, the feel of the particular cars and the fittings of the interiors, performance, handling and ride isolation. Even in the Camry and ES that share platforms. Lexus doesn't exist in Japan (yet, its being phased in now) so all the vehicles we drive as Lexus' are sold as Toyotas over there, at the same cost and equipment level, the Japanese just aren't image concious like we are elsewhere in the world.



Here's how the models break down

LS- Celsior

GS- Aristo

SC- Soarer

ES- Windom

IS- Altezza

RX- Harrier



The ES and RX are based off the Camry platform, and the LX is a rebadged version of the Toyota Land Cruiser. The GX is sold someplaces as a slightly different and lower market Land Cruiser Prado.



Basically, why care? In parts of Europe they use BMW 5 series and Benz E classes as taxicabs and police cars. Why should that degrade the quality of what is in our country a luxury brand. If anything thats worse than Lexus cars being sold as Toyotas but at the same pricing in their home country.
 
Toyota isn't the only company that shares platforms. All car companies do it to save money. I've been in an Escalade at a car show. It looked like a Chevy Avalanche with wood and leather trimmings instead of plastic and cloth. The steering wheel even looked the same save the emblem.



IMO, the Japanese do a much better job of differentiating vehicles sharing the same platform. I own a 2002 Acura TL-S. My wife drives a 2000 Honda Accord EX V6. They're both built in the same factory in Marysville, Ohio, but I can definitely tell when I'm driving the Acura. It feels smoother, more refined and it's definitely faster. Whether it's worth the extra $5000 is debatable, but it was definitely worth it to me.:xyxthumbs
 
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