Bought new 2011 QX56 last week

[Delphi Wiz]

I did a lot of research on this site before I purchased mine, so I'm returning the favor for someone else who may be doing comparisons.

I test drove the following before selecting this, some of them twice since I have been shopping for 6 months:
Mercedes GL
BMW X5
Lexus LX570
Toyota Seqouia
Mercury Navigator
Caddilac Escalade

My favorite before selecting the QX was a Toyota Sequoia, perhaps the best vehicle out there in my opinion, but I needed an 8 passenger with all the features and luxuries.
I was getting the Sequoia fully loaded for 56K, but I went with the QX and I paid 72K for the QX fully loaded.

I picked up my 2011 QX56 last week and love it so far.

I got the following options:
Theater
Touring
Technology
other misc things(door sills, cargo mat, net, roof bars, bumber guard etc) they threw in as it came with it

The good:
Love the 8 passenger option, LX 570 doesn't even come close in comfort and room when 8 people sit in.
Ride is awesome
Luxury is awesome, I like the wood panel, seats, convenience, I think it's better than the LX
The 2nd row seats tumble, would have been nice if it was motorized
The GPS is awesome, specially the split screen and traffic, love the ding sound to make a turn
Camera's are awesome, specially the top view with split screen
Love the USB stick Divx file feature, I have a 16 GB stick with a bunch of kids movies in divx avi format and it comes in handy
Love the music playing form my Android phone using Pandora over Bluetooth
Love the front screen view of the movie when parked with the foot parking brake on
Voice commands are awesome, once trained
iPod controls are awesome, so is the XM interface
I love the way it looks, it's retro, chrome and curves are very appealing.
The BOSE sound is awesome, nothing came close to all the cars above i test drove
I love the Radar cruise and lane departure and blind spot warnings
Auto wipers are awesome too
22 inch tires are huge and impressive

The bad:
MP3 disc cannot be stored on the media hard disk only audio disks, it sucks
GPS cannot be operated by a passenger (this sucks big time), you need to pull over and park and this is perhaps more dangerous, I wish i would have known this before.
Back seats could have been given more room by moving the center seats a bit ahead
Back storage area could use some more room
The parking sensors should self activate and should not require a Camera button press
A center parking sensor should be mandatory on both front and back, why just put them on the sides of the bumper
Memory seats do not go back all the way for easy exit for Steering and Seat.
Mileage really sucks, there is no way you will get anywhere over 12 mpg combined, which is what I have got in 2 weeks.
Super unleaded fuel, this really sucks since I was looking at a Sequoia which takes regualar unleaded, it's a Nissan Patrol for crying out loud
Back wiper is so small it's a joke
I wish the back glass window rolled down like the Sequoia
I don't like the cover for the hitch, I wish it was not removable but conveniently hidden away and pulled back out once you're done with the hitch
wheels have some black marks on them, the quality of the rim does not look as good as Mercedes or BMW, they look cheap
No remote start, sucks big time.

The 'bad' are minor, the good far outweigh them and most of them I knew of since I've been shopping for months. I still bought it since nothing came close to it; I'm satisfied with it and would highly recommend it.

-DW

 

[MikeAllard]

Although there is a cost, I can hep you with three from your "bad" list.

1. (this one is Free!) there is a setting in the "Settings" mode where you can tell it to send seats and steering column back for entry and exit.

2. I had the Viper auto start installed, which allows me to remote start with my iPhone.

3. Check the thread on the "Prestige" device which allows you to use front screen as if you are stopped (including movies). I have installed this recently.

Also, I believe any US auto does not allow use of the GPS (programing wise) while vehicle is in motion. I think you always need to do it after market.

Millage gets better after 5,000 miles or so. I can get 14 - 15 on highway now, could not when car was young.

 

[Delphi Wiz]

thanks for the tips...

1. (this one is Free!) there is a setting in the "Settings" mode where you can tell it to send seats and steering column back for entry and exit.
yes, I have this set, but inspite of this the seats don't go back all the way, it just goes back midway. I have to manually do it along with the steering wheel.


2. I had the Viper auto start installed, which allows me to remote start with my iPhone.
Thanks for this pointer, the dealer said my warranty would be void though

3. Check the thread on the "Prestige" device which allows you to use front screen as if you are stopped (including movies). I have installed this recently.
Thanks, I'll look it up

-DW

 

[Paul1e]

I purchased my QX56 in March and have done 3,500 miles. On the highway, with the cruise on at 65 mph, I am getting 19 mpg, so your mpg should improve.
I noticed you said that one of your accessories was the bumper guard. Is this the stainless steel rear bumper protector ? I am asking because this accessory has been on hold about 8 months. I am still waiting for the one I ordered in March. If you have it, then it must no longer be on hold. Please advise

Thanks,

Paul

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[justafew]

I just got my stainless steel rear bumper protector from Infiniti. They called me up last week to say they had a few in, so I got it installed. Looks great and makes me feel much better about not scratching my bumper pulling something out of the back.

 

[The plumber]

I bought my SS rear bumper thru Ebay $ 160 new. The adhesive tape install very simple. Averaging 14-15 MPG mostly city. Have 6300 miles. Love the SUV.

 

[rlr707]

Recent Purchase - My 2 Cents

Like many on here, I researched several different vehicles and recently purchased a "slightly used" QX56 with 5,500 miles and all options except Tech. I recently took my family on a 1,700 mile round trip to Florida and thought I'd share our "negative" observations to help potential purchasers. And, perhaps some of these issues are "user error" and someone could help me out too. There are many positives and I don't regret the purchase, but I don't think the vehicle is as well thought out as it could be for this price. My thoughts:

1) Gas mileage not great - we got 16.4 mpg on the journey between MO and FL with cruise set most of the time at 78-79. The car was fully loaded with 5 people and luggage. For us, then, no hope of ever reaching 19-20 mpg as we'll always be fully loaded when driving all highway miles. I got 14.1 miles in our "city" driving with no luggage.
2) Cruise control does not do a good job of maintaining speed - seemed to vary up to 3-5 mph. And, hitting "resume" from 73 to get back to 78 was terrible - car would "floor it" to get back to speed rather than smooth acceleration like our MDX.
3) Really dislike center console - it won't stay in position and the console is not split, so you always bother the other person to retrieve something - split consoles are much better to me. And, the inside is not lit which makes it difficult to find items at night while traveling.
4) Homelink buttons not lit - difficult to see/push the correct button at night.
5) Cannot adjust 2nd or 3rd row seats back or forward. Is this really true? I can't find any adjustments. This seems nuts. We had our youngest in the 3rd row in a car seat and he had about 2" of space for his legs. It would have been really nice to move him back or the 2nd row captain seat up so he had more leg space. We'll most likely have to move the car seat to one of the 2nd row captain's chairs.
6) With our current family configuration - 1 in booster; 1 in car seat; and 1 in regular seat, the QX doesn't seem to have much more room than our MDX (mid-sized SUV). I removed the 2nd row center console for our trip to create more storage space, but even with that, we didn't pack any more than I'm able to cram in the MDX. The boys in the 2nd row captain's seats were the only real beneficiaries of more space vs. mid-sized SUV.
7) 2nd row airflow; I could not get much air to come out of the 2nd row air ducts above. Had no problem with the 3rd row, but the boys were constantly complaining they were warm in the 2nd row and I simply could not get much airflow from the upper vents - even if I closed the front ones. Not sure if it's user error or something else?
8) Rear displays controlled by remote only? Again, perhaps this is user error, but it appears the only way to adjust the source for the rear displays is to use the remote. What if it gets lost or broken? Again, our MDX allows control of the rear displays from the front AND via remote controller. Seems like a much more flexible/better design.
9) First time black interior owner - wow, really shows every speck of dirt/dust. We felt the wheat interior would be too light and show all scuffs, etc., but really wonder if we made a wrong choice on the interior.

Again, these are just our "negative" observations and would purchase again. Some quick positives: navigation, acceleration, handling, parking cameras/sensors, 2nd row roominess; not many around - don't see yourself coming and going.

 

[infiqx56]

I purchased my QX56 in March and have done 3,500 miles. On the highway, with the cruise on at 65 mph, I am getting 19 mpg, so your mpg should improve.
I noticed you said that one of your accessories was the bumper guard. Is this the stainless steel rear bumper protector ? I am asking because this accessory has been on hold about 8 months. I am still waiting for the one I ordered in March. If you have it, then it must no longer be on hold. Please advise

Thanks,

Paul

Question to Paul1e i have QX56 2011 i only have 900ml on it i only get 15 combine do you think i can get better MPG ? Maybe car is still new need some time ???

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