200 Series Quality/Reliability and Next Vehicle

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They are both 300 series. Same as the previous gen LCs and LXs are 200 series and so on. Check back and you will see I did NOT write LC300 in my post. IMO, the Prado can definitely be liked, so long as you come from a 5th gen 4runner or GX460.
The latest Lexus LX is actually a 310, not a 300
 
2010 LX that I believe I bought in 2013. My 100 and 80 were both bought new and sold around 225k miles. I am at 175k on the 200.


I checked when I did the valley plate job and thankfully do not have the cam tower or timing cover leaks. To throw another problem in to the mix, there seems to be an increasing number of folks reporting head gasket issues. The Care Care Nut did a video about this.


What I miss about my old trucks is I rarely had to think about them. With the 200 it feels like it is always something.
Were the issues that you experienced on your 200 discovered by you personally, and did you do the work, or is what a tech or shop told you about and then they did the work?
 
LX570 is a 201.. but some overseas Landcruisers are too. I always took that to be the logic behind 200-“series”
 
Correct. People just round it to make it more comparable and relatable as successor of the 200.
I am sure I will be in the market in 3-4 years.
I haven't made it to double digits in years on a car other than the Camry at 21.5 years..

Hopefully Toyota sorts out the 300 series issues by then.

I need to put 30-50K miles on my current one.
 
I like the Armada. I had a Nissan Patrol in 2005 when I lived in the Middle East, 5 spd, awesome truck. Would be nice if they released something like that. I know the Armada is based on the Patrol but with the demise of the Xterra a Patrol would be interesting. I doubt it would sell but it be an interesting vehicle.
apparently the Xterra is coming back..

Made for the elements and driven by purpose, not decoration; the all-new Nissan Xterra is coming, stay tuned!
 
LX570 is a 201.. but some overseas Landcruisers are too. I always took that to be the logic behind 200-“series”
Yeah but he said he had a 300OT, as in Overtrail, and theres no such thing as a 300 Overtrail, but you could say he has a 310OT, anyways, just trying to be accurate here!
 
Woah woah, let’s not bring the 250 into the 200 series picture ;)
No J in the chassis code = not worthy of the name.
 
With my 2013 LX I’m starting to get more concerned about parts availability. I just took me 3 months to get a new windshield cowl, and I wasn’t sure I was going to get one.

I don’t have concerns about reliability (well as compared to other vehicles of similar age) but let’s face it many of the 200’s out there are getting fairly old by today’s standards. And parts just are not available in the US for as long as they once were. The 2003 MB E that we bought new and my daughter drives needed a radiator and lower mount 2 years ago (she hit a parking block…) when we bought the MB they advertised that they kept parts available for at least 50 years…. Well times change, at 22 years MB no longer made the mount and I luckily found one at a salvage yard (in Arizona). I’ve had my 2013 for 12 years now and already seeing parts availability problems, which is way worse for me in Alaska where everything needs to be shipped and shipping can be $$$$$$$.
I see a business opportunity for you and @siberian
 
Oddly enough my 2005 camry with 254,000 miles has been more reliable than some of y'alls "tough" 200 series lol.

To be expected. "Land Cruiser reliability" is kind of a misnomer. They are reliable, but it's relative to their class of higher end suv's.

As far as other Toyota's go, Land Cruisers don't really retain any reliability advantage over many of Toyota's other models.

I don't own a 200, but my mid 2000s Corolla has been way more reliable than my mid 2000s 100 series. It's not even close, actually.

5th gen 4Runners are more reliable than 200s. etc. etc.
 
To be expected. "Land Cruiser reliability" is kind of a misnomer. They are reliable, but it's relative to their class of higher end suv's.

As far as other Toyota's go, Land Cruisers don't really retain any reliability advantage over many of Toyota's other models.

I don't own a 200, but my mid 2000s Corolla has been way more reliable than my mid 2000s 100 series. It's not even close, actually.

5th gen 4Runners are more reliable than 200s. etc. etc.
There you have it! The Carolla is now declared the most reliable of all Toyotas!
 
Echoing what others have said; things can be reliable, but nothing is bombproof or good forever. It's a machine, even if you only drove it on sunny days with temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees, things will fail (hopefully nothing significant).

In the large scheme, I'd say a lot of these complaints seem like nit-picking and to think "I buy a LC, I'll never have issues if I just timely service the basics," is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. If you want to experience per se "unreliable," go drive a BMW (specifically one with the N54 engine, which was their first crack at turbo charged & direct injection) or Mercedes. "Preventative maintenance" in turbo BMWs entails replacing all 6 fuel injectors (plus coding), walnut blasting your intake ports every ~30k, hoping you don't melt coolant tanks from the hot-V design and replacing turbos because of wastegate rattle.

The things complained about in here, fortunately, don't come close to that.
 
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Echoing what others have said; things can be reliable, but nothing is bombproof or good forever. It's a machine, even if you only drove it on sunny days with temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees, things will fail (hopefully nothing significant).

In the large scheme, I'd say a lot of these complaints seem like nit-picking and to think "I buy a LC, I'll never have issues if I just timely service the basics," is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. If you want to experience per se "unreliable," go drive a BMW (specifically one with the N54 engine, which was their first crack at turbo charged & direct engine) or Mercedes. "Preventative maintenance" in turbo BMWs entails replacing all 6 fuel injectors (plus coding), walnut blasting your intake ports every ~30k, hoping you don't melt coolant tanks from the hot-V design and replacing turbos because of wastegate rattle.

The things complained about in here, fortunately, don't come close to that.
And I would add that most experiences are very invidividual and may not reflect the whole of all cars produced. So many factors at play, not to say the least is maintenance and how the truck/car is used or abused. I can say that I had one of thoses N54 engines in a 535 model and it drove beautifully for 80k+ miles with no issues and only a water pump replacement in my ownership experience. So very difficult to make generalizations on any one thing from just your individual experiences, expecially when you compare a LC100 or Corolla that is 26yrs old to late model LC200. Interesting and anecdotal at best.
 
I’ve always thought that “Land Cruiser Reliability” referred to the fact that you will almost certainly get you where you’re going even if there are a bunch of things going wrong in terms of leaks and faults and so on. Not so much that they never experienced problems. I guess the starter failure would fall outside of this category. And maybe the HG issue.

These trucks sold for $85k in 2021. They are 6 figure luxury SUVs with tons of complicated systems and features. They are going to be expensive to fix and maintain. Honestly the lay understanding of the reputation is probably a hinderance, because many first and second owners assume they need to put no money into maintenance and upkeep and then they dump questionable rigs on the secondary market.

My biggest problem with this platform a year in is that the frame seems like a rust bucket and Toyota made some really questionable decisions in terms of leaving important parts bare/unpainted. But anecdotally that is a problem with 80s and 100s too and really any Toyota body on frame platform.

P.S. The Xterra is indeed coming back and supposedly it will be quite affordable (sub $40k). I sincerely hope that it is a great vehicle that eats the 4Runner’s and 250’s lunch because Toyota needs a kick in the pants.
 
My biggest problem with this platform a year in is that the frame seems like a rust bucket and Toyota made some really questionable decisions in terms of leaving important parts bare/unpainted. But anecdotally that is a problem with 80s and 100s too and really any Toyota body on frame platform.

P.S. The Xterra is indeed coming back and supposedly it will be quite affordable (sub $40k). I sincerely hope that it is a great vehicle that eats the 4Runner’s and 250’s lunch because Toyota needs a kick in the pants.

Nothing is perfect; and the frame issue seems to affect every SUV, truck, etc that people actually keep and use regularly beyond the warranty period (e.g., F150s, Silverados, RAMs, etc).

The 2025+ Armada has been really impressive (just wish they ditched the gear-select buttons for something more traditional), so it'll be interesting to see if Nissan can land a 1-2 punch with the Xterra.
 
P.S. The Xterra is indeed coming back and supposedly it will be quite affordable (sub $40k). I sincerely hope that it is a great vehicle that eats the 4Runner’s and 250’s lunch because Toyota needs a kick in the pants.
A truck under $40k these days, will be bare bones almost certainly. Even more than the Prado 1958. Nothing wrong with that, so long as Nissan keep a realistic price like that, as opposed to Toyota wanting close to $60k for the cloth seat Prado.

The 2025+ Armada has been really impressive (just wish they ditched the gear-select buttons for something more traditional), so it'll be interesting to see if Nissan can land a 1-2 punch with the Xterra.
I am rooting for the Xterra. Just hope Nissan won't make a bloated whale like they did with the Armada. TBH the Xterra old design is still pretty good IMO.
 
Echoing what others have said; things can be reliable, but nothing is bombproof or good forever. It's a machine, even if you only drove it on sunny days with temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees, things will fail (hopefully nothing significant).

In the large scheme, I'd say a lot of these complaints seem like nit-picking and to think "I buy a LC, I'll never have issues if I just timely service the basics," is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. If you want to experience per se "unreliable," go drive a BMW (specifically one with the N54 engine, which was their first crack at turbo charged & direct engine) or Mercedes. "Preventative maintenance" in turbo BMWs entails replacing all 6 fuel injectors (plus coding), walnut blasting your intake ports every ~30k, hoping you don't melt coolant tanks from the hot-V design and replacing turbos because of wastegate rattle.

The things complained about in here, fortunately, don't come close to that.
Well said. I think another problem is the mythical demigod misinformation status the Landcruiser holds on the internet. Many people justify the purchase based on the notion LCs are built/engineered to be 100% reliable for >1million miles entirely off road, are aviation grade wired, ….

My cousin reached out to me about 6 months ago and was just about to trade his wife’s 2024 Honda passport (with 15k miles) for a 2015 LC with ~110k miles on it. He could have sold the Honda for about (~$40k) price of the LC. He was completely convinced that in the long run the LC would be vastly more reliable. I told him the hard truth, the 10 years from now the 2024 Honda will highly likely have been more reliable and much less expensive cost of ownership then the 2015 LC. But if you really want a 200 don’t justify it to your self based on a most likely false belief.
 
Well said. I think another problem is the mythical demigod misinformation status the Landcruiser holds on the internet. Many people justify the purchase based on the notion LCs are built/engineered to be 100% reliable for >1million miles entirely off road, are aviation grade wired, ….

My cousin reached out to me about 6 months ago and was just about to trade his wife’s 2024 Honda passport (with 15k miles) for a 2015 LC with ~110k miles on it. He could have sold the Honda for about (~$40k) price of the LC. He was completely convinced that in the long run the LC would be vastly more reliable. I told him the hard truth, the 10 years from now the 2024 Honda will highly likely have been more reliable and much less expensive cost of ownership then the 2015 LC. But if you really want a 200 don’t justify it to your self based on a most likely false belief.
What was your cousin going to do with the LC?

I don't think the LC is bulletproof like people make it out to be but all in all, it has issues that are known and fixable. You put up with it for the other durable aspects.
 
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