I've joined the club - 2011 LC (white/tan) (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Aug 2, 2015
Threads
52
Messages
652
Location
Calling-in from west of the Rockies
My 2011's current state - this will be updated as I find time to very slowly modify and tinker with the truck to fit my needs:
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Quick links to completed modifications and doodads:

Interior organization:
Electronics:
General:
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Original post:

I've been lurking on Mud for some time.

I was a diehard Jeep guy until three years ago when I purchased a well-kitted 2012 DCSB Tacoma. That truck converted me into a lifetime Toyota owner. It was such a point and shoot vehicle that never let me down. The Tacoma took my wife, two dogs, and I to some truly amazing places from the beaches of the Outer Banks, NC to the red rocks of Moab, UT. It will be missed:

For Sale - 2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Sport 4x4 - turn-key, tasteful overland/touring built truck + RTT

Some of my favorite trips with that truck:

Outer Banks, NC
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Red Rocks Secret Mountain Wilderness (near Sedona, AZ)
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Otero Mesa "The Serengeti of The Southwest" / Alamo Mountain, NM
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About six months ago my wife and I decided to start our hunt for a 200-series. The Tacoma was great, but with a baby on the way - it did not have enough interior space and we desired something that was a little more comfortable for those long stretches of highway. I think she was more into the idea than I; one of her family members has, and still owns, a 100-series. Whenever we would pass a Hundy on the road, she would mention how impressed she was with that vehicle. We decided on white or blue for the exterior color (with a tan interior). I really wanted to hold out for Amazon green, but she doesn't care for that color - life's a compromise, right?

I found a 2015 at a local Lexus dealer; at $50k+ it was way out of our budget, but I wanted to check out a 200-series in person to get a feel for it. I was honest with the salesman and let him know my intentions; to my surprise, he let me borrow the keys and take it for a drive. The 5.7L V8 is an absolute beast - coming from a second gen Tacoma (with all of the heavy overland accessories) this was a very welcomed surprise. I couldn't get over the handling and quality of the vehicle. Everything on these trucks is solid, beefy, and well-built. I took some measurements of the rear cargo area and was on my way - now completely sold on the platform.

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In November a white/tan 2011 LC surfaced on Autotrader. It was just across town, relatively speaking, so I drove the two hours to Charlotte to check it out a day after the ad hit AT.

It was a zero-rust, squeaky clean southern truck with 121k on the clock. The vehicle was at a small used car lot. The owner of the business was selling the LC for his friend; interestingly enough, he had found the vehicle for him less than a year earlier. Apparently his wife didn't care for the size of the Cruiser and refused to drive it, so they opted to go the minivan route - sound familiar :)

The major selling points for me:

*Oil changes every 5k miles.
*Radiator replaced in Jan/17.
*Air pump assemblies (P2447 error code) were replaced this past summer; maybe this repair in addition to the radiator left a sour taste in the PO's mouth - hence the short term of ownership.
*KDSS valves showed a little surface rust on the valve body, but the adjustment screws looked brand new (no corrosion).
*OEM VIN-etched glass all around
*Cabin air filter access door was not broken.
*No CAM tower leak and the original water pump looked fine.

I took it for a test drive. After some haggling, I gave my max price and started checking out the LX570 on the lot. A few minutes later the owner of the dealership came out with his thumb up, we shook hands and I put down a deposit.

Some photos:

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My plan with this LC is to keep it simple.

Major planned modifications are a color-matched ARB Sahara bar (with hoop), OEM strut spacers, IPF 930 driving lamps, drawers, and maybe an extended range fuel tank - that's about it. Clean and practical.

The LC came with an OEM Toyota bug deflector. I'm not sold on the mustache look of the black deflector against the white paint. I've contemplated painting it Super White to match the vehicle and blend in a bit more, hopefully I'll get some time to knock that out this spring.

As of now I've added a RAM mount / small X-Grip (utilizing the lower mounting bolt of the drivers side grab handle), Husky Liners (front/rear), an Attic from BROG, and placed the third row seats in storage. Down the road I plan on upgrading the electrical system with a Group 31 battery and BlueSea components (similar to my Tacoma).

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I want this truck to be simple and understated. One of the things that has always attracted me to the more recent incarnations of the Land Cruiser is the well-proportioned and muted appearance. They're not flashy, but those who know, know the capability of the vehicle and its rarity.

I'd like to hold onto this truck for at least a decade, hopefully longer.
 
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I have the same exact year/color combo, even similar mileage. Welcome to the madness!

Interesting fender flairs, those must have been installed at the dealer when new? I don't have those. What brand?
 
Didn't see an application for the 2011 on Husky site so do the later model liners fit or were there any changes? Yours look like they fit well.

Congrats on the new ride!
 
Congrats and welcome to the addiction

Thank you. I love this vehicle. The Land Cruiser is a joy to drive everyday. It's kind of a good and bad situation, I guess; I drive about 15 miles max per day, round trip to work and back. That's great as it keeps the daily wear and tear to a minimum and I can stretch the length of time between fuel-ups (which is a plus with the 5.7L). The downside being I don't get as much seat time with it as my Tacoma or previous Jeeps.

I have the same exact year/color combo, even similar mileage. Welcome to the madness!

Interesting fender flairs, those must have been installed at the dealer when new? I don't have those. What brand?

Very cool. I've always liked white. My Tacoma was white (same paint code actually). It's cooler in the summer and actually hides dirt/dust well. I also think it's much more visible on the road and therefore more safe. The only downside is it's a more common color for automobiles. That doesn't bother me much as the LC is a bit of a subtle rarity anyway. I see the same 2-3 200-series per month around here, which is nice. There is a Tacoma, Tundra, 4Runner, or Wrangler on every block.

From my research, and someone with more knowledge please chime if I'm incorrect, these flares were added to vehicles within the Gulf State region by Toyota. That's the best info I have.

The fit is great and I like the look; it really breaks up the white well and I enjoy the aesthetics as well as the added protection from door dings / rocks kicked up from the tires. My only complaint is some of the clear coat has peeled at the very top of two of the fenders. I cleaned them all really well about a week after purchase and gave each fender a few coats of wax to hopefully prevent any further peeling. We'll see if that works.

I didn't notice the fender clear coat peeling until I was refueling for the first time. That's the only real blemish I could find with the vehicle, so I'm pleased.
 
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welcome to the group. looks like a great find.

check out the posts from Ethernectar on adding a ram mount to the A pillar bolt. It may interfere with the side curtain air bag.
 
Didn't see an application for the 2011 on Husky site so do the later model liners fit or were there any changes? Yours look like they fit well.

Congrats on the new ride!

Cheers!

Yes, they fit. Though the floor hooks do not line up with the 13+ floor mat holes, so I removed them. The Huskies are very rigid and do not move around, therefore the floor hooks are not really needed. I picked up four 7/8" plastic plugs from the hardware store to fill the unused hook holes. They are a little too big, but I forced them in with some trimming to the inner lip of the plugs.

I came to the same conclusion as you and originally settled for Weathertechs. After being underwhelmed with the fitment of the WTs, I tried to make them work and posted this thread on Mud:

Dead pedal liner/cover - my attempt at fixing WeatherTech's shortcoming.

welcome to the group. looks like a great find.

check out the posts from Ethernectar on adding a ram mount to the A pillar bolt. It may interfere with the side curtain air bag.

Good point. I actually thought about that when I installed it. I didn't see his specific thread, but actually carried over the application from my Tacoma. I'll do some digging and may switch back to my RAM windshield suction mount. Thanks,
 
I also moved my BROG Visor Molle Pouch and ScanGauge II from the Tacoma to the LC. The Visor Pouch is an excellent use of space. I keep my registration/insurance documents in there, along with a pen, mechanical pencil, tire gauge, notebook, and a small book of stamps. All small items that are convenient and within reach of the driver.

The ScanGauge II is great. I like being able to view the actual coolant temp, trans temp, voltage, and calculated MPGs via the readout. I dialed in the backlighting to a soft light blue (to match the gauges) and fixed it to the lip of the headliner with two belt clips (removed from a couple of cheap measuring tapes) and 3M HD trim tape. I stumbled upon that idea a couple of years ago on Tacomaworld. It's held strong since then and I like the HUD location.

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Nice ride! I know this has been covered elsewhere, but since it's fairly fresh with your install, could you post the X-gauge commands to read trans temp. I'm going to try them with the 8 speed.
 
Nice ride! I know this has been covered elsewhere, but since it's fairly fresh with your install, could you post the X-gauge commands to read trans temp. I'm going to try them with the 8 speed.

I added that X-Gauge command when I installed the ScanGauge II in my Tacoma. That same code read the trans in the LC as well.

Without going to the garage to check, I believe these are the codes I used:

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IIRC, I could only get one of the codes to read at the same time - maybe they're pulling the same data, not sure? I just renamed the first X-Gauge command "TRN" and called it a day. I might play around with it some more in the future.

Let me know if these work.
 
I have the same exact year/color combo, even similar mileage.

@KLF - since you have the same vintage and mileage, have you experienced any major component failures: water pump, cam tower leak, starter, or radiator?
 
My radiator has already been replaced at some point prior to purchase, so ya I guess it must have failed. No entry in the maintenance records, but it is not OEM.

I had the water pump, serp belt, pulleys, coolant changed out this summer, as preventive maintenance.

Don't know about the starter, it's been fine.

No leaks yet.

I did have a scare back in September with the transmission doing this weird stutter behavior on the 4-5 shift. Had the fluid and pan screen changed, it's been fine since.

My HVAC recirc damper is busted. Not looking forward to that fix.

Had the windshield replaced last week. The broken one they removed was not OEM, previous install was poorly done.
 
My radiator has already been replaced at some point prior to purchase, so ya I guess it must have failed. No entry in the maintenance records, but it is not OEM.

I had the water pump, serp belt, pulleys, coolant changed out this summer, as preventive maintenance.

Don't know about the starter, it's been fine.

No leaks yet.

I did have a scare back in September with the transmission doing this weird stutter behavior on the 4-5 shift. Had the fluid and pan screen changed, it's been fine since.

My HVAC recirc damper is busted. Not looking forward to that fix.

Had the windshield replaced last week. The broken one they removed was not OEM, previous install was poorly done.

Thanks for the reply. That gives me an idea of what I need to tackle first. A transmission fluid change was no. 1 on the list, glad to hear it solved your problem. I'm certain my trans fluid has not been changed. I'll take note of the additional items you addressed.

I'm glad you mentioned the recirculation / cabin filter damper. I completely forgot about that in my OP. That was one of the first things I checked when I inspected the vehicle's interior before taking it on a test drive. I made a big label which reads:

"DO NOT FORCE OPEN. Press recirculation button to access filter"

I placed that label on the recirculation damper the first weekend I had the vehicle home.
 
Ya I wish I had known to check that damper prior to purchasing. I would have insisted it be fixed first. Oh well.

There's a lengthy post in here somewhere, in a very useful thread with a great video how to do the screen change and fluid flush yourself. I was in a bind for time so I had it done at the largest dealer here, it went ok except the tech broke 4 of the pan bolts off which required Helicoiling. No leaks, and the trans really does shift much better now. What a stupid idea... "Lifetime ATF". Shame on Toyota.

I have the Weathertech liners, I ordered a piece of ABS from Amazon, gonna try to extend over the dead pedal.
 
The LC came with an OEM Toyota bug deflector. I'm not sold on the mustache look of the black deflector against the white paint. I've contemplated painting it Super White to match the vehicle and blend in a bit more, hopefully I'll get some time to knock that out this spring.


Nice truck, best color combo available!

Note that those bug deflectors will prevent the front edge of the hood from getting cleaned, the edge will cake up the dirt and gunk and can cause rust on the front edge of the hood. If you run one, make sure to remove once a year or so and clean underneath. Ive removed many deflectors from old LCs, and the condition of the front edge of the hood underneath will make you gag.
 
From my research, and someone with more knowledge please chime if I'm incorrect, these flares were added to vehicles within the Gulf State region by Toyota. That's the best info I have.

The fit is great and I like the look; it really breaks up the white well and I enjoy the aesthetics as well as the added protection from door dings / rocks kicked up from the tires. My only complaint is some of the clear coat has peeled at the very top of two of the fenders. I cleaned them all really well about a week after purchase and gave each fender a few coats of wax to hopefully prevent any further peeling. We'll see if that works.

I didn't notice the fender clear coat peeling until I was refueling for the first time. That's the only real blemish I could find with the vehicle, so I'm pleased.

Yep, those are factory Toyota flares. They have the same problem as all fender flares since the 80 series. Something about the paint bonding process to the plastic, they always fade and degrade faster than the paint on the vehicle.

Note that only the flares have clear coat. The rest of the vehicle does not have clear coat. That Toyota 040 white is a single stage paint, which I prefer, because when it starts to oxidize in a few years, a simple clay bar will shine it up again.

The good thing about the flares on the 100 and 200 series is they didnt put holes in the door to attach them like they did on the 80, so if you decide you don't like them, you can remove them without needing to fill up a bunch of holes.
 
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@yonah was wondering if you'd ever start a thread!!!!

I like the scangauge job. Would be really nice to have when pulling a trailer.
 

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