Time to say Goodbye GX550 Lux+ (1 Viewer)

[ATDGUY]

After 16 months of trying to like this vehicle I'm trading it in. Before everyone goes hating on me, let me explain. This version of the Lexus is just not for my family. My wife had three Lexus SUVs in a row and LOVED every one of them. (LX, 2011 GX460, 2019 GX460.) We figured "Great! Let's get the newest model.")

This car has some interesting qualities, but not enough to overcome the issues that take it out of the "pursuit of perfection" tradition of Lexus. (The good news is that it is so sought after I got an amazing deal at trade-in with multiple offers.)

Cars I've owned over my 60 years:

• 5 Lexus (four of them big SUVs and we loved every one of them)
• 5 BMWs (X5s, sedans, etc. These are some well built vehicles.)
• 1 Chevy big SUV - Loved it
• 2 Ford SUVs - they met the purpose
• several Ford sedans
• two Honda pickups (also loved these)
• several Toyota Rav 4s (these were for the kids)
• several of the original "college cars" when I didn't have any money

Pros of the GX550:

• Probably the best looking vehicle in its class (big SUV) on the market and the best looking vehicle I've ever owned. That is one of the reasons I bought it. It is still awesome to look at and no one else has caught up.
• I cannot speak to its offroading capabilities, but clearly that is what everyone loves it for. If that's what you like, and are willing to compromise is so many other areas, then that is great. Everything has trade-offs.
• Sunroof with the instant transfuser was very cool feature and easy to use.

Why I got rid of it? The same things often posted about on this forum:

• The ride is ridiculously rough. It's supposed to be a Lexus?? Come on! I get the leaning-in to the off-roading capabilities, but when you trade in the prior GX model and expect some thing similar, this was ridiculous. It is worst than a $40k pickup truck.
• The noise! Again, this is a Lexus?? The wind noise from the outside and the wind noise from the vents makes for a ride that is anything but serene or comfortable. Taking a cross county trip with the noise and rough ride is simply exhausting.
• Gas mileage was horrible, even when doing 90% highway driving.
• The stupid gas gauge that shows "empty" when in fact there are four gallons left in the tank (caused my wife stress for no good reason.)
• Seats are not comfortable: The prior GX front seats were so much more comfortable. And why does the passenger seat on the Lux+ not have the same controls/settings available on the drivers seat? Not to mention that the rear passenger seat is very cramped for such a big vehicle.
• The front windshield is a rock catcher. Two chips in a mater of six months. (In all my driving I maybe had one other windshield get chipped.) My guess is if I kept GX to 100k miles I'd be fixing rock chips every-other-year.
• Basic quality issues (also posted about): The brakes SCREECHED every time we backed up; Had to take apart my front passenger seat to fix my massage seats within three weeks of purchase; the lumbar seat lost it's pressure after about three hours; hood flutter was annoying; a rear window rattle. Etc.
• Minor annoyance: front storage is horrible. The "cooler box" is just dumb. I had to buy a home-made (3d printed) tray off of Ebay to fit in there so we could have a semblance of organization. Other than that "cave", there is really no other place to put your stuff (except on the phone charging pad.)

Sharing in case someone else who is not into off-roading thinks they are buy a Lexus for all the reasons you'd buy a Lexus ("Smooth, quiet comfort; quality craftsmanship. The relentless pursuit of perfection.")

Maybe in a couple generations of this model they will get back to their core Lexus qualities AND have the off-roading capabilities that people seem to want.

 

[Hoffy1337]

LX next on the list?

 

[serbiansizzle]

I agree on the cooler box.

What are you getting next?

 

[GR8Santini]

My sister just bought ‘26 LX600 Premium+ earlier this month - wow is that a nice comfy ride. Polar opposite driving experience from a GX, & LX truly gives the Lexus feel. I enjoy the GX ride.

 

[klakeman]

Way too many people buy the GX based solely on looks. It is basically the Toyota Land Cruiser with a much better powertrain. It is a body on frame, truck with four-wheel-drive. It’s shaped like a brick and weighs 5500 pounds. It is not going to be super quiet, and it’s not going get great gas mileage. But it will tow 9000 pounds and surprise a lot of Jeep owners off-road. Never buy vehicle based on looks alone.

 

[280driver]

I agree on ride but that’s also due to the 22 wheels/low profile tires. We have actually gotten used to it. The noise and mileage are about on par with the other’s in the class so that’s a wash in my mind. I have to disagree on the comfort. The driver seat in our Lux+ is incredibly comfortable. At the end of the day as many have pointed out, the GX is a luxury SUV/truck. It’s not a crossover or sport wagon and won’t drive like one. Anyway, glad you got a great deal and hope you have better luck with your next vehicle!

 

[CaryGX550]

I have a coworker who is not a car/truck guy. He asked for my impressions of the GX because he was looking for a larger SUV that is comfortable for long (5-6 hour) business and family trips. I love my GX but I quickly redirected him to the LX and a couple other large SUV's I thought would fit his use case.

 

[MEVANSNC]

I agree with most of your observations. I have a 21 Land Cruiser and my wife drives a 21 LX we both purchased new. We purchased these to replace older versions since they were pausing/changing models. My OT GX is great for short mountain drives, and I’ve made suspension, wheel and tire changes that make it decent on the highway. The only issue I have had was with the brakes and that was fixed quickly under warranty. My wife hates the GX, first the engine noise, she likes a V8, and the seats are not comfortable. I’ve been looking at replacing it, but for its size, it’s great on mountain roads. Nothing new interest me, been looking for another LC200.

 

[YellowLab]

Your ride experiance was confirmed by so many of the reviewers of the non-overtrail models. Basically those GX's are designed to compete with the BMW x5 which at the end of the day rides and handles 1000x better than the GX Lux or Prem models.

 

[ColoradoOutdoors]

Your ride experiance was confirmed by so many of the reviewers of the non-overtrail models. Basically those GX's are designed to compete with the BMW x5 which at the end of the day rides and handles 1000x better than the GX Lux or Prem models.

Agree. My controversial take is that maybe GX550 should only be offered in OT+ trim. The Premiums and Lux GX550 rolling on 20 inch and larger wheels and third row are destined for dissatisfaction.

I think the 550 stacks up well when compared to other body on frame trucks with off road intent, but put it against luxury class SUVs or 3 row people haulers, yikes, not so much.

 

[ATDGUY]

Well said, and agree. My controversial take is that maybe GX550 should only be offered in OT+ trim. The Premiums and Lux GX550 rolling on 20 inch and larger wheels and third row are destined for dissatisfaction.

I think the 550 stacks up well when compared to other body on frame trucks with off road intent, but put it against luxury class SUVs or 3 row people haulers, yikes, not so much.

This is the smartest reply yet. Sell it for what it is and the Overtrail+ is the personification of that. To sell the Lux+ and Premium+ is misleading. This is NOT a Luxury SUV. That's not to say it's not good, but they will continue to disappoint anyone that has previously purchased a Lexus SUV expecting Lexus -- "smooth, quiet comfort."

And to whomever posted that you "shouldn't buy a car because of the looks", please re-read my post. That was a bonus. I bought it because it is a LEXUS. (Unfortunately it did not meet the Lexus brand standards. )

 

[ATDGUY]

I agree with most of your observations. I have a 21 Land Cruiser and my wife drives a 21 LX we both purchased new. We purchased these to replace older versions since they were pausing/changing models. My OT GX is great for short mountain drives, and I’ve made suspension, wheel and tire changes that make it decent on the highway. The only issue I have had was with the brakes and that was fixed quickly under warranty. My wife hates the GX, first the engine noise, she likes a V8, and the seats are not comfortable. I’ve been looking at replacing it, but for its size, it’s great on mountain roads. Nothing new interest me, been looking for another LC200.

Agree. And the fact you "made suspension, wheel and tire changes that make it decent on the highway" is exactly my point. (But it is cool you did that.) I didn't pay $85k+ for a "project" when buying a Lexus. That's not to say that is not a cool hobby (improving your ride) -- I love that. Just not what I'd expect to have to do when driving a Lexus for everyday, normal use. Maybe they should market "normal use" as mountain roads? And agree the seats are simply not comfortable. Not sure how the screwed that up from the GX460 - those were terrific.

 

[ATDGUY]

Your ride experiance was confirmed by so many of the reviewers of the non-overtrail models. Basically those GX's are designed to compete with the BMW x5 which at the end of the day rides and handles 1000x better than the GX Lux or Prem models.

You are 100% correct, and funny you say that. After driving a Lexus SUV for the past 25 years, we are now the proud owner of two BMW X5s. Clearly not in the same size class (that would be the X7.). But comparing ride, comfort, noise, software usability and functionality, quality.... it's not even close. If I needed something as big as the GX550 it would definitely be the X7. I have family who has one and they love it. For 25 years my wife would not drive anything other than her Lexus. Once we got the X5 I was "stuck" with the GX so that is what I traded it for - another X5 with lots of options. (The self driving capabilities leave Lexus way behind the curve.) And BMW ended up owing me money for the overall trade. Go figure. The GX is clearly a hot car to have right now.

 

[Capt CF]

Yup, you bought the wrong vehicle for your use case. This has happened to quite a few people on this forum, but it still surprises me that a) people are still cross-shopping this with luxury unibody SUVs/people haulers and b) that more people don't figure it out on the test drive. The first thing we noticed when test driving it was that it felt more like an F250 than it did a luxury unibody SUV. For us, it fits the bill perfectly, but then again we were cross shopping it with other body on frame vehicles with similar towing capacity and offroad capability and it gets used in the forest and on the farm. If I were looking for a vehicle to haul kids around or go out for a steak dinner on the town it wouldn't even make the top 20 list.

 

[serbiansizzle]

Yup, you bought the wrong vehicle for your use case. This has happened to quite a few people on this forum, but it still surprises me that a) people are still cross-shopping this with luxury unibody SUVs/people haulers and b) that more people don't figure it out on the test drive. The first thing we noticed when test driving it was that it felt more like an F250 than it did a luxury unibody SUV. For us, it fits the bill perfectly, but then again we were cross shopping it with other body on frame vehicles with similar towing capacity and offroad capability and it gets used in the forest and on the farm. If I were looking for a vehicle to haul kids around or go out for a steak dinner on the town it wouldn't even make the top 20 list.

A lot of people won't admit this, but they bought a GX without ever getting to drive it, or driving it at the dealership for 10 mins with rose colored glasses on.

OP, not a shot at you, but a lot of folks on Facebook are bitching about the GX not being comfortable and how their Mercedes drove better.

 

[FJMainiac]

Good point about people buying the GX without ever driving it. When I was shopping around, I could not find a dealership that would let me test drive one. Several dealerships noted the reason being every GX on the lot was already allocated to a buyer. Maybe that situation has changed some.

 

[Ctprelude]

Good point about people buying the GX without ever driving it. When I was shopping around, I could not find a dealership that would let me test drive one. Several dealerships noted the reason being every GX on the lot was already allocated to a buyer. Maybe that situation has changed some.

I think this is 100% the case for a very large percentage of people that are ultimately unhappy with it and also definitely seems like it's mostly on the Prem/Lux side. At least out West there are very few dealers that ever have a model in-stock to test drive. I personally made a FB marketplace post asking to "rent" one for an hour and was lucky enough to have a nice local individual let me test drive theirs free of charge. I was also coming from a built 5th gen 4Runner and was looking at this purposefully as a nicer replacement, so the OT is pretty close to perfect in my eyes. I do think they should come with a few extra bells and whistles for the price and Lexus status though. Crazy to me that the premium Land Cruiser for instance gets the rear climate control, but not the GX OT. The OT+ at least gets you the heated rear seats, but I didn't think it was worth the $10k+ cost.

 

[ATDGUY]

Yup, you bought the wrong vehicle for your use case. This has happened to quite a few people on this forum, but it still surprises me that a) people are still cross-shopping this with luxury unibody SUVs/people haulers and b) that more people don't figure it out on the test drive. The first thing we noticed when test driving it was that it felt more like an F250 than it did a luxury unibody SUV. For us, it fits the bill perfectly, but then again we were cross shopping it with other body on frame vehicles with similar towing capacity and offroad capability and it gets used in the forest and on the farm. If I were looking for a vehicle to haul kids around or go out for a steak dinner on the town it wouldn't even make the top 20 list.

You are correct about buying the wrong vehicle for our use - that is on us for not figuring it out during the text drive. However, after having three Lexus SUVs in a row over 25 years, and the fact that it is still called a “GX,” we had come to expect the “Lexus brand” would shine through again. Boy were we wrong. As noted by the many, many “disappointed buyers” of the premium and luxury models I think Lexus will eventually pay the price for their marketing failure. They should have simply gone with “Overtrail” as their new model and skipped the GX. Very misleading to the average Lexus consumer.

 

[Capt CF]

You are correct about buying the wrong vehicle for our use - that is on us for not figuring it out during the text drive. However, after having three Lexus SUVs in a row over 25 years, and the fact that it is still called a “GX,” we had come to expect the “Lexus brand” would shine through again. Boy were we wrong. As noted by the many, many “disappointed buyers” of the premium and luxury models I think Lexus will eventually pay the price for their marketing failure. They should have simply gone with “Overtrail” as their new model and skipped the GX. Very misleading to the average Lexus consumer.

Actually, I can see how that would be misleading now that I reread it. Having never owned a GX before I was not comparing it to prior GX's, but since you have owned a few previous ownership of prior models would naturally be one of your main comparisons and apparently the 550 is massively different. I guess the silver lining is the resale/trade in is so high it's a relatively low cost mistake. Just imagine if you had bought the X5 first and then decided you needed a 550..

 

[ColoradoOutdoors]

You are correct about buying the wrong vehicle for our use - that is on us for not figuring it out during the text drive. However, after having three Lexus SUVs in a row over 25 years, and the fact that it is still called a “GX,” we had come to expect the “Lexus brand” would shine through again. Boy were we wrong. As noted by the many, many “disappointed buyers” of the premium and luxury models I think Lexus will eventually pay the price for their marketing failure. They should have simply gone with “Overtrail” as their new model and skipped the GX. Very misleading to the average Lexus consumer.

I just recently drove a GX460, a 2023 Premium with 25k miles, when we were looking for another car to add. Having only driven my 550, I was shocked to see how planted and calm the drive experience was in the 460 compared to the 550. Entirely different driving experience than the 550. I loved it. Wish I had a 460 to pair with my 550. But family didn't like the tech or the looks so it didn't happen.

I can see how anyone who had a 460 would make a logical rational guess that the 550 would be more of the same like 460 in terms of ride quality or better. But no.

Again, I think the use case is fairly narrow for the GX550, and it might be less confusing and more honest as an OT trim only.