My GX did well on its first towing experience. The flimsy plastic trim came off easily. But I learned a couple of GX 550 towing caveats- the hard way.
1. The towing hitch requires a 4 inch span hitch pin (STANDARD size does NOT work). Thankfully I was able to borrow one from Uhaul.
Just ordered this locking one on Amazon. $15 and 4.5 inch workable length.
Issue #2 is to make sure to press the “Tow Haul” button or you will have a quick surprise when backing up and the vehicle suddenly applies the brakes as a crash mitigation mechanism.
This article summaries the pros and cons of GX towing - I found it on a prior post on our forum:
The new “SLO diaper” is proving to be more of a challenge than initially thought… attempting to reengineer a part that: 1. Covers the area aesthetically, 2. Removes with facility, and ideally incorporates a step is more challenging than initially thought, especially when factoring in the flimsy outer plastic cover, without which leaves the bumper of a $100k SUV looking VERY unsightly.
Toyota / Lexus really should reengineer a one piece removable part.
Will keep working on this when the Cal poly kid helping me gets some free time.
As I understand, $350 Nytop cover isn’t an easy on / off solution and unfortunately, when removed requires to keeping the outer plastic piece handy to reapply when towing.
1. The towing hitch requires a 4 inch span hitch pin (STANDARD size does NOT work). Thankfully I was able to borrow one from Uhaul.
Just ordered this locking one on Amazon. $15 and 4.5 inch workable length.
Issue #2 is to make sure to press the “Tow Haul” button or you will have a quick surprise when backing up and the vehicle suddenly applies the brakes as a crash mitigation mechanism.
This article summaries the pros and cons of GX towing - I found it on a prior post on our forum:
The new “SLO diaper” is proving to be more of a challenge than initially thought… attempting to reengineer a part that: 1. Covers the area aesthetically, 2. Removes with facility, and ideally incorporates a step is more challenging than initially thought, especially when factoring in the flimsy outer plastic cover, without which leaves the bumper of a $100k SUV looking VERY unsightly.
Toyota / Lexus really should reengineer a one piece removable part.
Will keep working on this when the Cal poly kid helping me gets some free time.
As I understand, $350 Nytop cover isn’t an easy on / off solution and unfortunately, when removed requires to keeping the outer plastic piece handy to reapply when towing.
