GX550 Overtrail Vibration

[Watchthis]

Did you ever test another person’s GX550 to verify yours was flawed?

I did not get to test another Overtrail. I drove two Premiums and a Luxury. All three had a similar jittery feeling but mine was 2-3x more pronounced. I could have been fine with the ones I drove. I couldn't live with mine; the other people that drove mine agreed.

To quote the shop foreman who looked at my GX two separate times:
"Didn't notice anything abnormal for the characteristic of this vehicle. I've driven several other and they all have similar driving characteristics. It's almost like a suspension reverberation; unfortunately, that is a characteristic of the vehicle." This is an exact quote from a video he sent me.

 

[incognito.gx]

Saw this on FB. Not sure if they’re on here but man it sounds rough

 

[OT_BNE]

Well it’s been a while, but I do have a bit of an update… Spoiler alert, it’s not resolved.

I have been back and forth with Lexus Au and the response has been poor. Basically, they refused to perform the tests with the vibration sensors that they said they would do. All they did was send me a letter to say that basically, what I am experiencing is standard.

I reached out to Toyo Australia and the response from them was fantastic. They offered to get the wheels Road Force Blanced for free, and arranged a time for me to drop over to Tyrepower Morningside (Toyo agent here in Queensland Aus). Matt was really helpful and balanced the tyres which as reduced the vibration, but it is still there. (And once again, it is a different vibration to the harshness of the OT suspension).

So, massive thanks to Toyo Australia and Tyrepower Morningside, your customer service is far superior than Lexus Australia.

I have just purchased a full set of Wheels & Tyres off another owner that has just changed over to 34”s. According to him, he had no noticeable vibrations. Hope to try them out when I get back from my USA trip in a week or so. .

Anyway, here is the response I got from Lexus Au. And forget the ACCC, they are a toothless and clawless tiger…

 

[fallen]

Hi Lexus GX community!
I am new to this forum; I have a GX550 OT+ on order with delivery scheduled for 8/8.
I am coming off a F95 BMW X5M and a bit concerned about the vibration, esp considering there is no resolution in sight.
Have an opportunity to get into a newish G-wagen - should I go with that instead of GX?
Thank you for your time and suggestions!

 

[Nori Rae]

Drove my 2025 OT+ 1500 miles cross country last weekend after purchasing it in the midwest (as none available closer).
I couldn't be happier.
No vibration issues whatsoever - at any speed - and I was at all of them.

 

[serbiansizzle]

Hi Lexus GX community!
I am new to this forum; I have a GX550 OT+ on order with delivery scheduled for 8/8.
I am coming off a F95 BMW X5M and a bit concerned about the vibration, esp considering there is no resolution in sight.
Have an opportunity to get into a newish G-wagen - should I go with that instead of GX?
Thank you for your time and suggestions!

I don't think you should be overly concerned if you really want the vehicle. What you should do is test drive it before you sign all of the paper work. The vibrations seem to be pretty apparent and noticeable at low speeds. In most cases, people are noticing it on the way home from the dealers.

This way, you can make a decision by taking it on a test drive and parting ways if it's not a 100% match for your needs.

 

[incognito.gx]

Drove my 2025 OT+ 1500 miles cross country last weekend after purchasing it in the midwest (as none available closer).
I couldn't be happier.
No vibration issues whatsoever - at any speed - and I was at all of them.

There’s a thread for that

 

[lowrange44]

It’s been a while since I looked at this thread, but figured I’d share my experience. Local dealership had a ‘24 OT+. The ride was unbearably stiff/jittery. You could feel every ripple in the road and the passenger/rear seats would shake. Totally unacceptable.

Turns out, there was a broken pin in the connector for the front passenger side AVS sensor in the shock. The tech said it looked like it was damaged during assembly.

The onboard computer showed an AVS error code but there was no error light on the dash. The tech could clear the error but it came right back as soon as the GX was driven.

Apparently, when this type of error is detected, the AVS system goes to full lockout.

The wiring harness to the front passenger AVS sensor was replaced with the only in-stock part in the country at the time.

Once that small section of wiring harness with the bad connector was replaced, the ride was remarkably improved. Smoother in some ways than a GX460 and yet small impacts/bumps still seemed a little more harsh than a GX460.

Overall, the ride was 100% acceptable after the fix.

Hopefully this info will help others with a similar ride issue. If not, it still doesn’t hurt to have the tech check the AVS system for error codes

 

[jclaffee]

It’s been a while since I looked at this thread, but figured I’d share my experience. Local dealership had a ‘24 OT+. The ride was unbearably stiff/jittery. You could feel every ripple in the road and the passenger/rear seats would shake. Totally unacceptable.

Turns out, there was a broken pin in the connector for the front passenger side AVS sensor in the shock. The tech said it looked like it was damaged during assembly.

The onboard computer showed an AVS error code but there was no error light on the dash. The tech could clear the error but it came right back as soon as the GX was driven.

Apparently, when this type of error is detected, the AVS system goes to full lockout.

The wiring harness to the front passenger AVS sensor was replaced with the only in-stock part in the country at the time.

Once that small section of wiring harness with the bad connector was replaced, the ride was remarkably improved. Smoother in some ways than a GX460 and yet small impacts/bumps still seemed a little more harsh than a GX460.

Overall, the ride was 100% acceptable after the fix.

Hopefully this info will help others with a similar ride issue. If not, it still doesn’t hurt to have the tech check the AVS system for error codes

This is potentially great news! Thanks for the info. Did or can you report this to Lexus corporate to be sure it's on their radar?

 

[lowrange44]

This is potentially great news! Thanks for the info. Did or can you report this to Lexus corporate to be sure it's on their radar?

The dealership first told me that “it’s a truck”. It’s very frustrating to hear that comment…. I explained to them that I have experience with Tacomas, 4Runners and GX460s. NONE of them ride as rough/unpleasant as this GX550 OT+. The new GX is advertised as an improvement over the GX460 in every metric. There’s no way the ride quality of this GX550 OT+ could be considered acceptable let alone an improvement over the GX460. I asked what the point of paying extra for E-KDSS and AVS is if the ride is worse than the base model.

I took the salesman and shop foreman for a ride and both agreed that the ride was worse than any of the Lexus SUVs they’ve been in.

I opened a case with Lexus corporate. They told me the same thing…. “It’s a truck”. Not cool.

All the credit goes to the shop foreman for spending the time to properly diagnose the issue. He ordered a replacement AVS shock, plugged it in and still received the same error code. That’s when he started checking the pins in the connectors and noticed the issue. I’ll try to dig up the paperwork to see if it has the fault code and replacement part number.

Once the GX was fixed, the difference between drive modes with AVS and E-KDSS were absolutely noticeable. Comfort mode was floaty and sport+ was most similar to the GX460. All modes still have a slight harshness on initial impact.

About a week after the issue was resolved, the shop foreman told me that the issue was escalated to the national level. The damaged connector/harness was sent back to Lexus corporate for analysis. He assured me that Lexus takes these situations very seriously and would do a full investigation.

I posted my experience because it seems others haven’t found a resolution to a similar sounding issue. Their issues could be unrelated or maybe some dealerships don’t have access to the info that the shop foreman escalated to Lexus.

I told Lexus corporate that if there were a handful of other GXs with this issue that ride would tarnish their reputation for luxury and capability. If the shop foreman hadn’t found the issue I likely would’ve given up.

 

[rabu44]

The dealership first told me that “it’s a truck”. It’s very frustrating to hear that comment…. I explained to them that I have experience with Tacomas, 4Runners and GX460s. NONE of them ride as rough/unpleasant as this GX550 OT+. The new GX is advertised as an improvement over the GX460 in every metric. There’s no way the ride quality of this GX550 OT+ could be considered acceptable let alone an improvement over the GX460. I asked what the point of paying extra for E-KDSS and AVS is if the ride is worse than the base model.

I took the salesman and shop foreman for a ride and both agreed that the ride was worse than any of the Lexus SUVs they’ve been in.

I opened a case with Lexus corporate. They told me the same thing…. “It’s a truck”. Not cool.

All the credit goes to the shop foreman for spending the time to properly diagnose the issue. He ordered a replacement AVS shock, plugged it in and still received the same error code. That’s when he started checking the pins in the connectors and noticed the issue. I’ll try to dig up the paperwork to see if it has the fault code and replacement part number.

Once the GX was fixed, the difference between drive modes with AVS and E-KDSS were absolutely noticeable. Comfort mode was floaty and sport+ was most similar to the GX460. All modes still have a slight harshness on initial impact.

About a week after the issue was resolved, the shop foreman told me that the issue was escalated to the national level. The damaged connector/harness was sent back to Lexus corporate for analysis. He assured me that Lexus takes these situations very seriously and would do a full investigation.

I posted my experience because it seems others haven’t found a resolution to a similar sounding issue. Their issues could be unrelated or maybe some dealerships don’t have access to the info that the shop foreman escalated to Lexus.

I told Lexus corporate that if there were a handful of other GXs with this issue that ride would tarnish their reputation for luxury and capability. If the shop foreman hadn’t found the issue I likely would’ve given up.

This might be the best thing I've heard all year! Thanks so much for sharing this. Please post the details once you dig up the paperwork to see if it has the fault code and replacement part number. thanks again!

 

[incognito.gx]

It’s been a while since I looked at this thread, but figured I’d share my experience. Local dealership had a ‘24 OT+. The ride was unbearably stiff/jittery. You could feel every ripple in the road and the passenger/rear seats would shake. Totally unacceptable.

Turns out, there was a broken pin in the connector for the front passenger side AVS sensor in the shock. The tech said it looked like it was damaged during assembly.

The onboard computer showed an AVS error code but there was no error light on the dash. The tech could clear the error but it came right back as soon as the GX was driven.

Apparently, when this type of error is detected, the AVS system goes to full lockout.

The wiring harness to the front passenger AVS sensor was replaced with the only in-stock part in the country at the time.

Once that small section of wiring harness with the bad connector was replaced, the ride was remarkably improved. Smoother in some ways than a GX460 and yet small impacts/bumps still seemed a little more harsh than a GX460.

Overall, the ride was 100% acceptable after the fix.

Hopefully this info will help others with a similar ride issue. If not, it still doesn’t hurt to have the tech check the AVS system for error codes

Proves my theory that it’s a faulty AVS issue. Thanks for sharing

 

[biskit]

I just took my 24 OT+ in for 5k. I was in once before for vibration. They rebalanced two tires at 1.8k. This made a slight difference.

This time, I asked them to road force balance my tires. They told me all the tires were flagged as HIGH. I wish they would have given me numbers. Anyway, they replaced all 4 tires and now they are testing within range. I’m hoping to get more details when I pick up.

My vibration was always the 75mph variant. It always felt good at lower speeds.

 

[fallen]

After reading this forum, I gave up the allocation.
I was considering Lexus for stellar reliability and was OK with the truck being a bit boring, but with reliability gone, all that is left is a boring truck with electronic and mechanical gremlins.
Good luck, everyone! Will be checking back in a couple of years

 

[reaganomics]

Here is my experience. I took delivery of a GX550 OT+ in the end of April. Never test drive before, the moment I drove out of the dealer's lot, I could immediately feel the so called "jittering". This feeling comes and goes and I started to pay attention to the conditions I drove. I noticed it is pronounced when driving on concrete paved roads. On asphalt paved road, the car actually feels pretty smooth. In the end, I just thought, Heck! it is a truck, and it seems fine to me.

I have a prem+ with 275/65/20 Nitto Terra's on stock wheels. Same vibration nonsense. I too have noticed that the vibration is much worse on concrete/cement roads vs asphalt which is puzzling. Going to have the tires rebalanced at DT tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

I don't recall if the stock tires were the same way as I drove straight to DT when I picked up the vehicle for the tire swap, but felt it was. SO not entirely convinced the tires have anything to do with it

 

[oldseniu]

I have a prem+ with 275/65/20 Nitto Terra's on stock wheels. Same vibration nonsense. I too have noticed that the vibration is much worse on concrete/cement roads vs asphalt which is puzzling. Going to have the tires rebalanced at DT tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

I don't recall if the stock tires were the same way as I drove straight to DT when I picked up the vehicle for the tire swap, but felt it was. SO not entirely convinced the tires have anything to do with it

Concrete pavement is harder than asphalt pavement. The asphalt can provide better cushion than concrete. Thus, even if both types of pavements are perfectly even and smooth, driving on the concrete pavement will still feel a bit more bumpy than asphalt pavement.
In terms of GX, I doubt the tire can play a that big role in the ride quality. I think it has more to do with its suspension design.

 

[incognito.gx]

I have a prem+ with 275/65/20 Nitto Terra's on stock wheels. Same vibration nonsense. I too have noticed that the vibration is much worse on concrete/cement roads vs asphalt which is puzzling. Going to have the tires rebalanced at DT tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

I don't recall if the stock tires were the same way as I drove straight to DT when I picked up the vehicle for the tire swap, but felt it was. SO not entirely convinced the tires have anything to do with it

I think there’s varying degrees of “vibration” being experienced by owners. Not a one fix for all situation

-Standard feel bc BoF truck w/ live rear axle
-Overinflated tires with flat spots and/or unbalanced (need RFB and/or new tires)
-AVS sensor malfunction or failure

 

[reaganomics]

I think there’s varying degrees of “vibration” being experienced by owners. Not a one fix for all situation

-Standard feel bc BoF truck w/ live rear axle
-Overinflated tires with flat spots and/or unbalanced (need RFB and/or new tires)
-AVS sensor malfunction or failure

I had DT rebalance on Thursday. They found the two on the passenger side were out of whack. Flashed some numbers like 4.5x for one and 1.79 if I remember correctly with the other two being 0's. GX rides better but I can still feel some vibration like before. Plausible that they weren't balanced right in the first place, but has me thinking that at least one of those tires is bad. Will be taking it back in a week to see. Had friends with the Nitto Terra G2's in the past that initially ended up with bad tires. Was hoping the G3's had better quality control.

 

[GoBudsGo]

Even models without AVS (prem, prem+, lux) still have the idle vibration issue.

 

[Mike'sGX]

Over the years my father, brother and myself have all had vibration issues on sedans and SUV's. All were related to defective tires. I had a tire with only a few thousand miles where the thread area became completely delaminated.