LC 250 to GX 550 OT+?

[DubDub]

Respect your position. I have no concerns w/ Alabama-built V35A in either of my Tundras. I would think the Japanese assembled GX550 & LX600/700 V35A are as reliable, or more. Lots of stories, but totally confident if I had an issue that Toy/Lex would have my back.
That’s why I buy them.

This, and the fact that the failure rate is still well below 1% and fully warrantied. If my Sequoia's engine blew tomorrow, I'd try to orchestrate a buy-back just so I could turn around and by my wife another one.

Plenty of people buying up Hyundai/Kia with their near universal engine recalls, and even more driving around in the much higher rate of engine failures occuring across the three big USDM manufacturers. Not a single manufacturer is immune, that's why warranties exist.

When it happens to Toyota or Honda it's the end of their reputation. At least they have a reputation to end. What magic new vehicle(s) are people buying free of this concern? Genuinely curious.

 

[Geskee19]

Respect your position. I have no concerns w/ Alabama-built V35A in either of my Tundras. I would think the Japanese assembled GX550 & LX600/700 V35A are as reliable, or more. Lots of stories, but totally confident if I had an issue that Toy/Lex would have my back.
That’s why I buy them.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the tundra and still think it’s the best looking truck out there. I will and always have owned Toyotas. But, you have a V35a built in the US and the V35a built in Japan having similar engine failures. That is not a debris issue, but a design flaw. My main problem was that I had a hybrid V35a that was not part of the recall and approaching the expiration of warranty. I did not want to be stuck with a $20k bill in the off chance Toyota did not honor an engine replacement. Current 25’s that failed, also not part of the recall, are taking much longer for corporate to decide if they are doing a full engine replacement or a long block swap

 

[GR8Santini]

Don’t get me wrong, I love the tundra and still think it’s the best looking truck out there. I will and always have owned Toyotas. But, you have a V35a built in the US and the V35a built in Japan having similar engine failures. That is not a debris issue, but a design flaw. My main problem was that I had a hybrid V35a that was not part of the recall and approaching the expiration of warranty. I did not want to be stuck with a $20k bill in the off chance Toyota did not honor an engine replacement. Current 25’s that failed, also not part of the recall, are taking much longer for corporate to decide if they are doing a full engine replacement or a long block swap

Hear you loud & clear. I’m on a few forums & see people being guided to not buy this or that w/ the V35A. A catastrophic engine failure in an assembly w/ hundreds of parts, & then shared on a forum, isn't always Occam’s Razor. Then again, these failures may very well be substantiated someday & align to the noise.
Mishaps without facts - turn fiction to fact.

I don’t know squat about the V35A, except that I own 2 of them, do DIY maintenance, & to-date find them remarkable powerplants. Out there on a forum (probably representing all of 0.5% of owners), someone knows a guy who (you know, the supposed prior Tundra owner, now the smartest one because he jumped to the new RAM, & so open minded he won’t acknowledge the Dodge brand, or its shitty reputation ever existed) is now the de facto source for inside the V35A situation. Perfect.

Kinda where we are w/ V35A debacle. V35A failures exist, Toyota has made changes (as I’d expect their doing in all products), & now seems like every engine failure in forums continue to be labeled ‘another recall incident.’ Maybe, maybe not. You’ve gotta make the call in what you believe. I will listen to Old Man Wisdom all day, every day, supported with his first hand knowledge.

The opinion sure isn’t effecting Tundra, Sequoia or GX sales.
Something isn’t aligning.

I got the stick & riding this out.

 

[BKLC]

I have a 2024 LC, Premium - barely 2 years old and over 50k miles so far. I also work from home and my gym is 2 miles away from my house lol

Loved every single mile in this thing. Have taken this thing to the mountains (from LA), driven to Seattle, multiple Colorado/Utah/Montana/Wyoming/Arizona/Vegas/SF trips. I'm contemplating a GX550 OT/OT+. My biggest thoughts + concerns:

• Ride Quality - I want a smoother ride, wondering if adaptive variable suspension and/or e-KDSS on the GX will be much smoother. my LC's hybrid is at times, clunky.
• Interior - don't want to sacrifice buttons for the screen, my fat fingers will have a tough time making adjustments. GX interior seems cheap, IMO - they invested in the beefier frame/offroad capabilities and skimped on the interior. OT/OT+ not having airborne a/c air vents is a serious miss. I toss my dog in the back and am worried he'll hate it.
• MPG - I live in Los Angeles and get 15.5 city if I'm lucky, LC gas tank lasts 200 miles and we're paying $6.89/91octane. With the miles I put on, the drop in MPG is a serious increase in annual out-of-pocket cash

small quirks I don't love:

• GX = no leather, LC = leather
• GX = no digital rear view mirror, LC = equipped
• Engine: If I went GX, I'll likely get into something new before the warranty is up it. I also literally don't know a single person who has had their engine grenade. Seems like this is an overhyped issue the media is capitalizing on

if not the GX:
LX700h: I'm hearing aggressive dealers are willing to sell 700h OT's for 15-18% off on the high-end. If I can find a 2027 model for this, even with a 5-seater, I'll sacrifice a ton of rear storage space.. but the ride quality is much better and with that heavy of a discount the price isn't much more than a GX OT+
Land Rover Defender: Air suspension for a quality ride is attractive. Outside is attractive, inside looks offensively cheap. I also don't have the time to spend at the dealership, I need reliability. Unlikely I'll go with LRD..

 

[MSINAL]

We have a 2026 air ride defender, you won't find a softer ride there. LC has better highway ride than defender (in a straight line). The defender tires are supposed to be at 50psi for some unknown to me reason. You feel that on the road.

 

[GR8Santini]

I have a 2024 LC, Premium - barely 2 years old and over 50k miles so far. I also work from home and my gym is 2 miles away from my house lol

Loved every single mile in this thing. Have taken this thing to the mountains (from LA), driven to Seattle, multiple Colorado/Utah/Montana/Wyoming/Arizona/Vegas/SF trips. I'm contemplating a GX550 OT/OT+. My biggest thoughts + concerns:

• Ride Quality - I want a smoother ride, wondering if adaptive variable suspension and/or e-KDSS on the GX will be much smoother. my LC's hybrid is at times, clunky.
• Interior - don't want to sacrifice buttons for the screen, my fat fingers will have a tough time making adjustments. GX interior seems cheap, IMO - they invested in the beefier frame/offroad capabilities and skimped on the interior. OT/OT+ not having airborne a/c air vents is a serious miss. I toss my dog in the back and am worried he'll hate it.
• MPG - I live in Los Angeles and get 15.5 city if I'm lucky, LC gas tank lasts 200 miles and we're paying $6.89/91octane. With the miles I put on, the drop in MPG is a serious increase in annual out-of-pocket cash

small quirks I don't love:

• GX = no leather, LC = leather
• GX = no digital rear view mirror, LC = equipped
• Engine: If I went GX, I'll likely get into something new before the warranty is up it. I also literally don't know a single person who has had their engine grenade. Seems like this is an overhyped issue the media is capitalizing on

if not the GX:
LX700h: I'm hearing aggressive dealers are willing to sell 700h OT's for 15-18% off on the high-end. If I can find a 2027 model for this, even with a 5-seater, I'll sacrifice a ton of rear storage space.. but the ride quality is much better and with that heavy of a discount the price isn't much more than a GX OT+
Land Rover Defender: Air suspension for a quality ride is attractive. Outside is attractive, inside looks offensively cheap. I also don't have the time to spend at the dealership, I need reliability. Unlikely I'll go with LRD..

The GX550 is a great ride, but the ride & IP was the downfall for us. We loved the ‘23 Sequioia Limited TRD OR we traded in, was just bigger than needed. Prior to that we had a GX460 which I didn’t like the ride, I’ve said before it was like a Tilt-a-Whirl ride how poor it’s road manners were. The LC does everything we need well, exception range. All your choices are nice!

Helped my family member find a LX600 Premium, & she got hers in Shreveport new for just a little more than the stupid prices they wanted for a GX550. The air ride suspension ride is fantastic & mode systems let you adjust to however you like. See where Westcott makes brackets for the air sensors to have the system lift the vehicle if that’s your thing. Still, the IP is like the GX w/ multiple screens. Being a dolled up LC300 you can really take one of those over the top accessorizing. Good luck in your search.

Saw a pic of a pretty nice LX -

 

[shwazz714]

We have a 2026 air ride defender, you won't find a softer ride there. LC has better highway ride than defender (in a straight line). The defender tires are supposed to be at 50psi for some unknown to me reason. You feel that on the road.

Are you saying the defender rides worse than the LC? I would have guessed the defender had much better ride quality. I also wonder if the gx would be a nice upgrade for smoother engine and ride quality.

 

[MSINAL]

Are you saying the defender rides worse than the LC? I would have guessed the defender had much better ride quality. I also wonder if the gx would be a nice upgrade for smoother engine and ride quality.

Yes. It rides worse than LC. At least in my opinion. The defender is more agile and sporty feeling.

 

[BKLC]

doesnt the defender have air suspension? LC is just coil springs...

 

[MSINAL]

doesnt the defender have air suspension? LC is just coil springs...

coil springs are on base model, air ride is option on lower configurations, standard on higher configurations.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

I've heard this from others as well. The first thing I was asked by every local dealership I called was, "where are you located?" They also seem to all have a similar script. I'm guessing Lexus keeps a tight leash on their dealerships, especially when it comes to the GX's.

LIE! Suggest a laywer may question the legality of dicriminatory denial based on location....Are lexus dealers really that bad?...x me off that list.
Guess it is the most desirable soccer mom vehicle choice if you can't step up to Range Rover money.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

The other issue I've run into in my area are the incredibly low offers I have gotten on my LC. For just under 15k miles and in immaculate condition (100% Xpel and windshield protection) I haven't seen an offer from any dealership better that $60k while seeing the same model year with higher mileage being list for $68-70k. Maybe it is just a sign of the times.

Actually selling price and trade in price that is quite normal. Private sell to get more if no replacement involved or realize that amount in trade in comes off the sales tax in most smart states. 10% markup is typical. This is where dealers make much of their money nowadays as new car profit have considerably been trimmed.

 

[Altitude]

I got on the list for a GX Overtrail in early 2024. If I hadn’t bought a LC later that year, I think I’d still be on the waiting list.

Only half joking. The Lexus dealer told me he was seeing one Overtrail come through every few months, to seven or eight others each month. I’ve seen maybe two of them in the wild - and I live in Colorado where this vehicle type is more popular than average.

I like the GX and I’m sure I’d have been happy with it. I like the LC too, even if the engine sound is a buzzkill (pun intended). I just don’t think Lexus expected the OT demand. Anyway, the LC has a utilitarian appeal/ethos that I like and that the GX lacks.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

Sometimes the turning circle is measured curb to curb, as in the track of the wheels. Then other times is wall to wall, as in the overhanging snout on the GX scraping a wall.
Wall to wall i suspect the LC has tighter turning circle. Curb to curb guessing they are the same. Keyword guessing.

total deal breaker.....actually I really did seriously lookat the GX550, but dealerclosest to my Maine home would be 2+hours away...and I hated the touch screen dependent dash setup. I really like the LC250 combination of basic controls and screens.