5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR | Lexus GX470 BUYERS GUIDE 

Don’t forget to look at the brake and gas pedal! Lots of wear on them means lots of stop and go city driving. It’s harder on vehicles than highway driving. And purchasing unmodified vehicles (more likely that the vehicle has never left the pavement) and plan on doing the modding yourself, unless you trust the mods/work on the rig.

Excellent content, bought mine (Gx470) 107k for $16 k , literally did exactly what he suggested ( all tips came from GXOR, etc , etc, there are several very good sites)

Recently had to replace an emissions air pump and valves. Also the air suspension was failing and the dealer recommended an air suspension delete kit which involved replacing shocks and air bags with a spring suspension front and rear, Delete change out about $3,000. 2005 GX 470 106,000 mi.

These rouns like the issues to look for when shopping for a Sequoia and other Toyota / Lexus products. I am on the hunt for a Sequoia/LC100/LX470 and I know the excitement but I have walked away as sometimes something just does not smell right.

Doing head gaskets is a lot of work but really isn't hard. Imo the biggest struggle will be getting the exhaust manifolds off. One broken stud will ad hours to the job. But intake manifold t-belt off and exhaust manifolds off. Basic job. The longer you drive it with combustion going into you coolant the more likely you are to warp your cylinder heads. And Toyota's have zero room for machining. You timing will be off. Can't believe some shops want $6k. I own a 05 gx and I could do both heads with upgraded arp head studs (so it will never happen again) in about 2 days. Luckily we have cast iron blocks that can take the heat. But chances are you'll need new cylinder head's.

This was some good advice. What was that Lexus site you referred to [6:09] that we can put in vin# to get repair info? Thx.

This may be the first GX470 video I have seen where the owner had all these issues, mines rock solid, 124k, did the timing belt, water pump and radiator (not because anything was leaking) but just as preventive maintenance. Doesn’t sound like that rig was taken care of, sorry your experience was bad.

A coolant leak from the valley and a head gasket leak are two different issues. The pics that you showed are valley leaks not head gasket leak. A lot of times with a head gasket leak you get coolant into the oil.

If buying one of these don’t get one until you are in the 16,000 to 20,000 dollar rage, with less than 150,000 miles on it. If you do that and look for rust and normal leaks you won’t have this issue in general. You can get unlucky of course, but ide be willing to bet this guy got a cheaper one. That’s fine but this is what can happen. If you follow the rules above than you will get one that most likely only has at most two owners and has been dealer maintained and as such won’t have this problem. Overheating pretty much only happens when you let it overheat in the first place because the coolant system wasn’t looked after properly.

In your opinion what is a average price and a steal price on these let's assume 150k miles? Im looking at some now and I can't tell if im getting hosed.

very similar to a 4th gen 4runner with the V8. i currently own a 2005 V8 in 2wd unfortunately. im in the hunt for a 2005-2009 GX. are you sure it isn't the water pump. when was the timing belt done?

Don’t pay over 15K for these trucks. Other than that timing belt, valve cover and frame, center diff, cv boots.

Sometimes listening to your Dad can save you a lot of money... Sounds like he warned you about overheating. 🧐

The gx have timing chain not belt.

I bet this was owned by a central/south american before you. They never maintain these toyota trucks. Frequently, they add water down south and they never replace the water pump. One day it overheats and then boom head gasket gets compromised. If they use water, then they don't get misfires. Did you ever run a scanner on it for a misfire?