Broken LC250

[Tex68w]

Get the 250's transmission on the 5th Gen 4Runner and enjoy amazing fuel economy.

The 5-speed was the biggest letdown on the 5th Gen.

 

[Dragos80]

The 5-speed was the biggest letdown on the 5th Gen.

And now we want it in our 80's.

There should have been an upgrade to at least a 6-speed, but we know Toyota does not work that way.
Usually it is because the car was certified by EPA under a certain configuration. For Toyota to get a new transmission in the same model would require a new certification. Not worth it to them I guess.
It would also erode the future model sales since the old model with an updated transmission would have comparable MPG and performance.
It would be a hard sale for the new model, so they have to make the old one (outgoing model) look bad in comparison to the new model.

 

[Rednexus]

And now we want it in our 80's.

There should have been an upgrade to at least a 6-speed, but we know Toyota does not work that way.
Usually it is because the car was certified by EPA under a certain configuration. For Toyota to get a new transmission in the same model would require a new certification. Not worth it to them I guess.
It would also erode the future model sales since the old model with an updated transmission would have comparable MPG and performance.
It would be a hard sale for the new model, so they have to make the old one (outgoing model) look bad in comparison to the new model.

Just buy a GX460. Same chassis, better interior, 6 speed trans, and a V8 .

FWIW, a LOT of people on here have had problems with the 6-speed in the 460, as it appears to be drastically under-cooled in that application (although that problem is solvable). The 5-speed is all but bulletproof; I quite like mine with an upgraded valve body, although a 6th gear to get highway RPMs down would be very nice, considering I have 4.56 gears.

 

[Jstawgn]

And now we want it in our 80's.

There should have been an upgrade to at least a 6-speed, but we know Toyota does not work that way.
Usually it is because the car was certified by EPA under a certain configuration. For Toyota to get a new transmission in the same model would require a new certification. Not worth it to them I guess.
It would also erode the future model sales since the old model with an updated transmission would have comparable MPG and performance.
It would be a hard sale for the new model, so they have to make the old one (outgoing model) look bad in comparison to the new model.

ZF 8HP from Dodge Ram Hemi with Maxxecu controlling engine and transmission would really wake up 1FZ and 1GR.
Kits are available to do this except the full engine wiring harness.

 

[Jstawgn]

Get the 250's transmission on the 5th Gen 4Runner and enjoy amazing fuel economy.

Much easier and reliable to use ZF 8HP. The aftermarket already supporting this. The bellhousing between 1GR and T24A are not the same and OEM TCU integration would be a nightmare.

 

[Dragos80]

I am strongly considering A750 in my 80. Everything is available and just about plug and play from a vendor here. The cost is a bit high but it retains the OEM look which very important for us in the smog check world especially when you are also dealing with a visual inspection.
Of course the 8HP would preferred but not in my current situation.

 

[Rednexus]

I am strongly considering A750 in my 80. Everything is available and just about plug and play from a vendor here. The cost is a bit high but it retains the OEM look which very important for us in the smog check world especially when you are also dealing with a visual inspection.
Of course the 8HP would preferred but not in my current situation.

It's a robust transmission and would be a big upgrade over any 4-speed auto. I don't think there is a better 5-speed auto out there than the A750F. They seldom seem to have problems over in GX470 land. If you can swing it, they shift quite nicely with a Nomad valve body in them (one of the best upgrades I've done for my rig but it's not cheap).

 

[calokie]

They threw in weak components in the LC 250 due to having to meet last minute mpg claims.

Remember when they first launched the LC 250 where they claimed it was going to have roughly 30 highway mpg?

Turns out, it didn’t come close to that with the beefier components, so they reduced the CV axles and reduced the diff size in order to reduce weight and rotating mass (which heavily impacts mpg), to just eek out their “tested” 25 mpg.

Also, the claim about the mpg being 26 is total hogwash. You might get 22 mpg on a good day, but it’s actually 18-19 mpg on most commutes so the measly 17.9 gallon tank, which starts to warn you that the gas is low once you’ve consumed ~14 gallons, is a major fail. If you ever throw on bigger LT tires, you’re looking at 14-16 mpg which is just atrocious for a 4 cylinder.

Also, that 4 cylinder in the LC 250 is anemic when you romp on it to pass a car. They tuned it so you feel the majority of the power at 20-50% throttle (so it feels somewhat fast on daily driving), but when you need the power to pass, it falls on its face. Enter the last gen V8’s with a linear power band and they actually feel good to drive when you get into the high rpm band.

0-60 times:
GX 460 - 7.5 seconds
LC 200 - 6.7 seconds
LC 250 - 8.2 seconds

I easily get 25mpg @70-75mph on Bay Area Highways (mountains included). If i keep it @65 and below I get 26-29
Passing cars is a breeze, take it out of eco mode lol ShhhhhPort
But keep justifying your 2nd gen highlander with a v8, your making a lot of effort in this forum.

Just buy a GX460. Same chassis, better interior, 6 speed trans, and a V8 .

FWIW, a LOT of people on here have had problems with the 6-speed in the 460, as it appears to be drastically under-cooled in that application (although that problem is solvable). The 5-speed is all but bulletproof; I quite like mine with an upgraded valve body, although a 6th gear to get highway RPMs down would be very nice, considering I have 4.56 gears.

both vehicles are "dogs" compared to the LC250
FYI Toyota purposely under tuned the LC250, for reasons unknown.... perhaps it was the weak tripod cv axle issue
Speaking of Tripod CV axle cool thing is, if it breaks you can still drive off the trail with CDL engaged

Think i'll go hang out in a forum for a vehicle I don't own now.... and try to justify why my Land Cruiser is better. Seems to be the trend with the GX and 200 series owners aka "cool kids with v8s" LOL

 

[calokie]

Mechanical sympathy while wheeling goes a lone way.

If you're going to wheel an LC250 then you should really upgrade to the Tacoma CVs. They are stronger and offer more droop. We have the most modified and wheeled 250 on the planet and still haven't broken a CV or tie rod. Even on the Rubicon with 38" tires prior to going with portals and 40s.

Why the Tacoma CV and not the GX550 CV axles?
and are you talking standard Tacoma CVs or the Trail hunter/TRD Pro CV axles

 

[Rednexus]

both vehicles are "dogs" compared to the LC250
FYI Toyota purposely under tuned the LC250, for reasons unknown.... perhaps it was the weak tripod cv axle issue
Speaking of Tripod CV axle cool thing is, if it breaks you can still drive off the trail with CDL engaged

So we have an over-weight vehicle with under-sized drivetrain components (relative to the weight and torque), and the power delivery is intentionally de-tuned by Toyota to keep it from breaking drivetrain components - but it still breaks them anyway when used on mild trails? Toyota sandbagging the LC250 performance is certainly a plausible explanation given my assessment of C&D test results.

FWIW, IH8MUD has the LC250 under the Lexus GX forums. So, those of us who check the GX forum see every new LC250 post .

 

[Jstawgn]

Another one bites the dust
Reading the comments seems to be broken CV and somebody commented 4 pople reach out to him when driver's side CV broke and took the oil pan with it.
Nice job Toyota

 

[Dragos80]

They put the Toy in Toyota.

 

[MRego]

OK. Passport might have been too far .

Oh look. Should I take this back? The mere fact this comparison even exists is a testament for the mess and reputational damage Toyota caused to the LC name in the NA market. But, hey they are making the big bucks.

 

[hoser]

The tripod CV axle does not seize after it breaks meaning you can drive it off the trail with the use of your CLD As (Ryan did in the video). Rzappa style your stranded on the trail until towed or fixed.

themojavecruiser. His CV didn't seize, the tulip blew up and somehow cracked the oil pan with it. Check his comments, after posting, 5 other LC250 also had the same issue with cracking the upper oil pan. He said Toyota quoted 30 hr job.



jerrys.venture:

 

[Dragos80]

This is way beyond humor and poking fun at the bad choice the owners made trusting Toyota with this crap model.
It must be extremely infuriating as an owner and the blame can only fall on Toyota for creating this turd and resting on their laurels from the past.

 

[Rednexus]

In the LC250s defense, I would expect broken CVs with tires that big on my GX470. However I am not sure it's physically possible for a broken CV on the older platforms to take out an oil pan; so IMO this appears to be a fatal flaw from Toyota in terms of packaging.

I suppose the bigger question is "why the LC250" for a build like that. With that much money in mods IMO a GX550 would be a better starting point.

 

[hoser]

Mojave is saying his count is up to 14 cracked oil pans now. 2-3 of them with differential drop brackets too.

This will be tough because a dealership could deny warranty due to larger tires, suspension lift, diff drop bracket, etc.

 

[Rednexus]

Yikes - I agree, that's an interesting design flaw and a departure from Toyota's previous design philosophy. Like they have having to learn how to design a 4x4 BOF SUV from scratch...

 

[Dragos80]

A new generation of designers. It's not how the design feels, but how they feel about designing it.

 

[jrmudder92]

Mojave is saying his count is up to 14 cracked oil pans now. 2-3 of them with differential drop brackets too.

This will be tough because a dealership could deny warranty due to larger tires, suspension lift, diff drop bracket, etc.

He scrubbed his post, wondering why he deleated all those hate videos?