Just happened to my 2013 LX570 at 120k. Didn't even notice till I opened the hood to connect my pump to the battery to air up tires. I have no idea when it split, but the reserve coolant reservoir was empty. I filled it with water and drove conservatively the 40 miles home—all the while closely watching the temp gauge. By the time I got home one hour later the reserve tank was only down about an inch from full. No overheating. Much will depend how bad your split is.
Cracked Radiator
- Thread starter Softride62
- Start date
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Don’t forget off highway use. Corrugated roads will wreck a radiator due to the vibration.
Really depends. It could be fine. It could be a disaster. Watch your levels, temp gauge, and especially if it sounds like air is getting in. They run higher pressures today.
back before 1987, when i bought my first new LC, I drove a Series II Land Rover 109 station wagon. It was 20 years old when i got it and the brass radiator was always cracked. Made a mess similar to the attached photos but, as long as i kept it topped up, never gave me any real trouble. I drove that old rig down to Brazil and back one summer on the broken radiator.
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Tommy Dwyer
SILVER Star
When mine finally went, it was at 140k, on New Years Eve. Discovered it at 2 in the morning when giving a car a jumpstart. Great way to start the year. At any rate, wasn’t going to get the repairs done for a few days and needed the truck. I cleaned it up, topped the radiator and reserve tank, and rolled up an old bath towel and laid it across the top of the radiator, wedged in by the closed hood. This was mainly to keep additional coolant from spraying all over the place. Due to the holiday I ended up driving it this way for a week. Kept an eye on coolant levels, and watched my temp gauge constantly. Temps never went above normal when the engine was warm. This was just in town driving, and definitely low load. For peace of mind I’d get it fixed ASAP, but if you’re super careful you could buy a day or two. Watch that temp gauge 
bloc
SILVER Star
Yep, watch the gauge. As long as you aren’t doing any high-load driving like towing or sustained high speed freeway you are likely just fine to drive it a bit.
Agreed. I'm pretty sure it happened that day while driving on rough forest service roads.
My radiator just sprang a leak. 2011 LX570 with 161,000 miles. Dealer quoted $1,200. Bummer.
Are there any viable aftermarket solutions? Some of the all aluminum radiators look like top notch quality. I think I have heard of people getting custom radiators made for less than $1200.
TLC2013
SILVER Star
Yikes. Theres nothing out of the ordinary involved in the 200 series radiator replacement. I spent less then that when i had an independent toyota shop do my radiator, water pump, thermostat, belt and pullies. I supplied the parts and they charged around 3 hours of labor.
bloc
SILVER Star
And what about install? The OE rad itself is only about 400 of that bill.
Aftermarket has been discussed at length. OE got redesigned and seems to have addressed the issue, and will in all likelihood be better long term than almost any all aluminum unit. Available online for $280ish
2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement
Edited by Moderator to change date range in title Curious who else has had a failure of their radiator on their 200 of the 08-10 model years by a crack on the top next to the molded in platform. I got lucky and found mine before it was catastrophic. I notified @TexAZ because I know his truck...
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