The best car safe for a Lexus GX 470 is one that locks to the second-row LATCH anchors, because the GX has no trunk and you shouldn't have to drill a truck you plan to keep. The GX 470 ran from 2003 to 2009, and US passenger vehicles from model year 2003 are required to have the anchors. If yours has them, it fits.
What GX owners usually weigh
Some GX owners like a box mounted so the hardware can only be reached from inside it. That's a sound idea: it can't come off until it's open. It usually takes drilling and custom brackets, and it stays in that truck. A Boosted Safe gets to the same result at the anchors, with no drilling, and it moves to your next car.
Some owners also report that fitted console safes are hard to find for the GX. Read our console safe guide if you're still weighing one. A cable lock box is the cheap answer, and bolt cutters take about four seconds.
Where it goes in a GX 470
Use a second-row outer seat. On a truck this age, check that the bars aren't buried in the seat crease or worn covers, and read the child-seat section of the manual. The one-minute fit check shows what to look for. If you've swapped the seats, check the new ones too. Our guide to truck gun safes covers similar trucks.
At the trailhead
A parked SUV at a trailhead is a known target. A safe that looks like a booster seat is easy to overlook, and keys, wallet and phone can stay locked while you're out on the trail. A firearm goes in unloaded, and the rules change by state and by land.
How it locks to the GX
Two steel latches grab the lower anchor bars in the seat crease, and the release sits inside the locked safe. To take it off the car, someone has to open it first. There is no cable to cut and no drilling. Our guide to LATCH and ISOFIX anchors shows what the bars look like, and the patented design page shows the latch.
We tried to rip the safes out on film. On our car safe pull test the cabled boxes came free fast. A screwdriver pried the Basic open at 2 minutes 20 seconds, and the Elite stayed shut. No safe is theft-proof. With enough time and tools, nothing is secure. The job is to raise the time and the tools it takes.
Which Boosted Safe to pick
- Boosted Safe Elite: the one most people buy. Fingerprint, keypad and key, and it fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
- Boosted Safe Basic: the same idea with a code and key, for a lower price.
- Mini: a certified booster seat with a locked compartment, and the smallest footprint.
- Golden Gate Elite: 12-gauge steel, 37 lb, and certified for firearms by the California DOJ.
You can see them side by side on the car safes page or the comparison chart. A firearm goes in unloaded, and the laws on leaving one in a car vary by state, so read our state guide first.
Questions
Does it hold a rifle?
No. Neither a console safe nor a back-seat safe holds a rifle. Use a locked hard case for long guns.
Will it rattle off road?
It is latched to the anchor bars, not sitting loose. Those bars are part of the vehicle body.
Can I move it when the third row is in use?
It stays on the second row, and it comes off in about a minute with the safe open.
