Overview This thing is old-school. Body-on-frame, big V8, full-time 4WD, and a proper Aisin tranny bolted behind it. No weird experiments. No CVTs. No dual-clutch nonsense. Just heavy hardware that was built to take abuse. I’ve worked on a lot of these LX units over the years, and the story is pretty consistent. The drivetrain…

Overview This truck? It’s old-school Toyota engineering. Thick metal, big tolerances, built to take abuse. The 2003–2007 Lexus LX470 runs the same basic drivetrain as the 100-series Land Cruiser, and I’ve seen these things come in with 250,000+ miles (402,000 km) still driving like they don’t care. But here’s the part people don’t like hearing….

Overview The third-gen Lexus GX. Brand new platform, new drivetrain, new problems—well, not problems yet, but you get the idea. This thing ditched the old-school 6-speed and jumped straight into a 10-speed setup with a twin-turbo V6. Big leap. In the shop, when I see that kind of jump, I don’t assume failure—but I don’t…

Overview The 2010–2023 Lexus GX460. Old-school truck underneath, luxury shell on top. And yeah — the drivetrain follows that same philosophy. Simple. Heavy. Usually tough. But not flawless. I’ve worked on a lot of these. Not one or two. Dozens. High mileage, low mileage, grocery getters, tow rigs — all of them. And the pattern…

Overview The first-gen Lexus GX470 (2003–2009). Old-school truck underneath. Solid rear axle, real transfer case, no nonsense electronics trying to outsmart you. And paired to that is the A750F—Toyota’s 5-speed automatic that shows up in a lot of their trucks. I’ve worked on a lot of these. High-mileage, abused, dealership-maintained, backyard-maintained—you name it. The transmission…

Overview This RX? It’s not one transmission. It’s three completely different animals wearing the same badge. I’ve worked on enough of these now to say this straight — you’re not just choosing trim level. You’re choosing an entire drivetrain philosophy. And they don’t behave the same. Not even close. UA81E — traditional 8-speed auto (RX…

Overview The 2016–2022 Lexus RX. On paper? Smooth, refined, “luxury.” In the shop? A little more complicated. I’ve worked on a lot of these. Not broken piles. Not ticking time bombs either. But they do have patterns—very specific ones—and if you know where to look, you can spot them early before they turn into expensive…

Overview The third-gen RX. 2010–2015. I’ve had a lot of these in the shop. They don’t come in on a hook very often, which already tells you something. This platform sticks with Toyota/Aisin transaxles—simple layout, not a science experiment. Gas models run the U660 series, hybrids get the P313 setup with motor-generators doing half the…