2007 Land Cruiser Prado Disapointed In Build Quality

[hychamaz]

Hello all,
I have posted before but my list of things wrong is growing. I'm shocked. It is a Diesel Manual 2007. I see these with 300K plus on the clock. Mine has barely 80K miles and has the following problems..
-The seals have failed and the taillights are full of water
-The door hinges need replacing
-The plastic body panels rattle like crazy... A huge job to fix and paint them all again says the dealer
-Wheels and lugs are completely pitted and rusted, and we don't use salt here..
-Front Calipers failed when the car was 2 years old
-Injector seals have failed
-All glow plugs had to be replaced as 2 were bad...
-Again I am shocked that anything under 32 degrees the locks stop working
-I cant downshift from 2nd to 1st unless Im crawling.. Then it grinds...
-The gearing is awful. Never had a vehicle that I constantly have to downshift to 1st to get any power to move...
-Seats have split at 80K miles..
-If its cold the clutch goes down but doesn't come up...
-The front seat belts need replacing. They tried to clean them but they dont go back
-My 1989 Land Cruiser has better carpet than the thin stuff in here..
-Why did they stop 2WD. I'm sure this full time 4wd is wasting fuel...
Aren't these designed for jungle, arctic, extreme conditions...
I can go on but Im getting depressed after spending almost 40K for the truck last summer. Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks everyone, Graham

 

[madtoy]

Did you buy it new, or used? Sounds like it's been in a flood....

But as far as the not shifting to 1st, unless crawling - this is fairly typical of most vehicles (the ones I've owned, anyway).

 

[hychamaz]

I have many questions about my 40,000 purchase... Flood hmm.. In this country you can just order a report for 2 bucks that tells u everything. The previous owner never made a single claim... Stumps me.... He even had the timing belt changed at 20K in 2009... WHY??? Some things just have me stumped..

 

[Scat Adams]

I've seen you post threads before without getting much help, bc most of us here are GX/4th gen owners, you should try Pradopoint.com and see what they have to say.

 

[wingysataday]

I think madtoy hit the nail on the head. Sounds like it was driven on the beach through ocean water or sunk in the ocean. I know people in California who go on the sand dunes near the beach and it wrecks havoc on their machines.

 

[hychamaz]

Thanks guys but Im inland in Finland!! The owner lived 20 miles from me before.. And all reality TV shows etc in deserts, jungles, the Arctic etc, use Land Cruisers. Many countries use them as police vehicles. I cant believe all the problems. And the Toyota Service Guy actually knew the car from new... So all of these problems are crazy to me because when I go back home to New York and use my 1989 Land Cruiser, it has no problems. The trim was solid, the wheels look new still, carpeting is twice as tick and like new, never a brake problem. etc etc Everything just works... I feel like selling this and buying a restored FJ62...
But still any comments are really appreciated. Thanks guys!!

 

[wingysataday]

that's crazy. Sorry man, just leave the keys in it downtown with the doors unlocked and "run into the store".

 

[NMBruce]

I gotta agree with others here, sound like its been in salt water. and why would you change out a timing belt at 20K unless it was having problems. have you contacted the early owner to ask these questions?

 

[hychamaz]

I've seen you post threads before without getting much help, bc most of us here are GX/4th gen owners, you should try Pradopoint.com and see what they have to say.

Hey Scat. I think Im in the right place as a 2007 LC Prado is a 4th generation vehicle. It is a little stripped down GX470.

 

[dnp]

that's crazy. Sorry man, just leave the keys in it downtown with the doors unlocked and "run into the store".

Ha! That's "American" thinking. They probably don't have to worry about such things in Finland!

 

[hychamaz]

Ha! That's "American" thinking. They probably don't have to worry about such things in Finland!

That is so so true. I could bring it to the city even and leave it running... I'll be back every 2 days or so to fill her up lol... Id eventually after a few years have wasted more Diesel than its worth hahahahah...

 

[hychamaz]

I also like I mentioned the cars bad gearing. A chip would boost power so thats where I think Im going. It has the 1KD-FTV motor. A simple Ebay serch finds me a chip for this 1KD-FTV motor but they are mostly from 2009 on.. What happened to chips for this motor in 2007??? And do I spend 100 on a chip that promises the same gain as other chip companies charge 1000 for the ame 20 HP gain. Is there a difference.... Must be... Any help is appreciated.
Those other problems I will honestly have the dealer sort out and I will be broke for the year... lol HELP PLEASE..
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A great page to read about the 3rd and 4th gen LCs that most Americans just dont know..

 

[D21FJ60]

I don't know if it would even be covered under any such law due to the age but does Finland have anything similar to a lemon law? Sounds like your best bet is to dump it.

 

[hychamaz]

I appreciate the help guys. I really dont want to dump it. It just bothers me throwing another 3-4K into a 2007 LC. I looked for months to find a late 2000s Diesel Manual one. They all have 300K miles on them. It took me 8 months to find one equipped like this..
The lemon law is strange here... I bought it from a dealer. I complain about those things and they say thats not covered blah blah...
Stumped...

 

[ultrakill]

Sounds like previous owner went for swim like in a commercial

 

[hychamaz]

I appreciate all of the water theories. He was an old man CEO of a company. Not that kind of guy....
But please I put up a hefty list of problems. Could anyone suggesting water, relate it to the problems.
Thanks again!

 

[ultrakill]

Hello all,
I have posted before but my list of things wrong is growing. I'm shocked. It is a Diesel Manual 2007. I see these with 300K plus on the clock. Mine has barely 80K miles and has the following problems..
-The seals have failed and the taillights are full of water Not sure why taillight seals would fail so soon, either be constant extreme temperature changes or constant exposure to water
-The door hinges need replacing in what way? are they broken, rusted, bent?
-The plastic body panels rattle like crazy... A huge job to fix and paint them all again says the dealer plastic body panels, interior or exterior?
-Wheels and lugs are completely pitted and rusted, and we don't use salt here.. Are the wheels and lugs scratched or look new but still rusted?
-Front Calipers failed when the car was 2 years old that sounds bad, what do you mean by failed? Stuck open/closed? Brake pedal went to floor with no braking action?
-Injector seals have failed
-All glow plugs had to be replaced as 2 were bad...
-Again I am shocked that anything under 32 degrees the locks stop working weird
-I cant downshift from 2nd to 1st unless Im crawling.. Then it grinds...
-The gearing is awful. Never had a vehicle that I constantly have to downshift to 1st to get any power to move... have you done a compression test?
-Seats have split at 80K miles..
-If its cold the clutch goes down but doesn't come up... throwout bearing?
-The front seat belts need replacing. They tried to clean them but they dont go back
-My 1989 Land Cruiser has better carpet than the thin stuff in here..
-Why did they stop 2WD. I'm sure this full time 4wd is wasting fuel...
Aren't these designed for jungle, arctic, extreme conditions...
I can go on but Im getting depressed after spending almost 40K for the truck last summer. Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks everyone, Graham

Sorry to hear about all your problems, that does seem extreme. I don't want to tell you to unload your baby, but that's what I would do if I was in this situation. Some of the (seemingly) small things you mentioned just make me want to scratch my head and ask why?

 

[justbecause]

 

[rstl99]

Yeah really sorry to hear about your bad experience with the Prado.
Even though the vast majority of GX470 owners I've read about seem to have great experiences with their truck, some have indicated problems which suggest that "lemons" exist in these otherwise highly regarded Toyota (sorry, Lexux...) vehicles.
Maybe you just got a bad one, and that's why the PO got rid of it.

Because even if the PO was extremely hard on his vehicle (which is unlikely given his profile, unless he tossed the keys to his adventurous teenage son every weekend), you would think a mighty diesel expedition-ready Prado would stand up better.

I don't know, I think older Land Cruisers were built tougher, and the modern bells and whistles in the newer trucks are just gremlins waiting to bite. But what choice to we have? Fewer of the old beasts left, and some have been so molested and "restored" that they probably have even more gremlins.

I stumbled upon a 80 series diesel 5 speed Land Cruiser a few years ago (serviceman had brought it back from Europe), and bought it. It was the "poverty pack" version, rubber floor, no AC, ambulance doors in back, etc. Many guys would give their left n*t for one of those. I drove it for a few years and then sold it, something just wasn't clicking for me, I didn't like the drivetrain whine on the highway, got tired of a clutch, was yearning for AC during the hot summer months. There is no perfect vehicle.

Anyway, good luck with your truck.