keeping a 200 alive "forever" (1 Viewer)

[kcjaz]

So, as I have been "re-baselining" my 200, with the idea that I'll keep it forever and keep it going for the next 20 years, I've been thinking how feasible keeping a modern vehicle, with so many electronic gigits, gadgets, ECUs etc. really is. You see antique cars fully restored all the time. If you want to rebuild/restore a 1971 FJ40, you can but there are really no electronics or computers involved. If you search a parts site for "controller" there are a lot of them on a 200. Some you could live without but many are critical. For cars with enough of a following (US spec LC?) maybe the OEMs will make parts for a long time and maybe the after market will develop solutions for replacement ECUs. I just think that restoring a 2013 200 series LC in 2063 will be very different than restoring a 1971 FJ40 today. Maybe by 2063 full electric conversions will be the thing just like engine swaps in the Dark Ages...

 

[CSteppe82]

I smoked a bowl while reading this and now I am having deep thoughts about the year 2063.

 

[ridetime]

My main worry with the LC 200 is this:

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I have posted about this part in other threads but nobody seemed to share my concern about it. If this part fails your 200 is not going to be of much use. It is more expensive than an engine or transmission replacement and controls just about everything in the vehicle.

 

[kcjaz]

My main worry with the LC 200 is this:

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I have posted about this part in other threads but nobody seemed to share my concern about it. If this part fails your 200 is not going to be of much use. It is more expensive than an engine or transmission replacement and controls just about everything in the vehicle.

$7K. whoa. Makes me think buying a rear end collision salvage 200 might be a reasonable strategy to keep the vehicle alive forever. And by reasonable I mean completely crazy.

 

[kcjaz]

I smoked a bowl while reading this and now I am having deep thoughts about the year 2063.

So my wife said “I think you smoked a bowl BEFORE you wrote that.”

 

[scottm]

I hooked up the Carista OBDII adapter, did a check, it queried over 30 different computers in my 2021 LC for error codes. This could be an expensive old car to own.

 

[unclemat]

Timely thread for me.

I own a mint 62k mile 2015 I bought little over 2 years ago. Love it. And are about to add a brand new 2021 HE to the stable with the intention of keeping them both long time, and the 2021 "forever". I have realistically 25-35 years left. Will it last? Probably.

But indeed the complexity of the electronic parts is giving me a pause. My most extensive wrenching background is with mid-2000 Subarus, so a similar generation of technology, albeit lower tier than LC. I know my 2005 Legacy GT inside and out and whatever electronic components it has are fairly affordable new, and cheap and plentiful used.

I was surprised to find out some of the prices for replacement parts for Toyota (front camera is 600 bucks?), some plastic console pieces for Tacoma are like $200+.... and the price for the control dash unit you linked is just obscene and total ripoff...

 

[unclemat]

FWIW, same unit for 2013-2015 is far more reasonable $560....

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[CharlieS]

This is advice I should take, but I'll give it to you. Put down the keyboard, go out for a drive. This is nothing you should be worrying about.

 

[kcjaz]

This is advice I should take, but I'll give it to you. Put down the keyboard, go out for a drive. This is nothing you should be worrying about.

Its not so much worry as it is OCD. Good advice either way though. If I find myself hunting for hard to find parts in 2063 and then complaining that they are expensive, life will have been very good to me!

 

[unclemat]

OCD or not, it is a valid question how expensive these rigs will be to keep running outside warranty at 10+, 20+ year mark. I know I won't be restoring one in 2063 for sure!!

Granted we have pretty good insight into it with them being on the road since 2008, and they are pretty good except well known weak spots (starter, radiator, cam tower leaks, coolbox fan)...

 

[Sandroad]

Think floppy disk and the "c:" prompt. (At least for those of us old enough to remember that era.) I seriously question whether any vehicle made this year will be a viable one to keep running in 2040 because of the electronics. Piston rings, sure, probably available forever. Any of the ECUs, hmmmm.........

 

[Artie]

My main worry with the LC 200 is this:

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www.oemgenuineparts.com

I have posted about this part in other threads but nobody seemed to share my concern about it. If this part fails your 200 is not going to be of much use. It is more expensive than an engine or transmission replacement and controls just about everything in the vehicle.

So this is why people buy those completely destroyed 200’s at auction!

All jokes aside, I wonder if these can be found in junkyards. It would be worth having one as a back up if you could ever source it cheaply.

 

[unclemat]

Think floppy disk and the "c:" prompt. (At least for those of us old enough to remember that era.) I seriously question whether any vehicle made this year will be a viable one to keep running in 2040 because of the electronics. Piston rings, sure, probably available forever. Any of the ECUs, hmmmm.........

Well, old computers are quite reliable. I have an 1985 Amiga still running... although the floppy drive indeed croaked on it.

Computer electronics are fairly robust, we have bunch of 1990s cars around and electronics was fairly complex already. It's just more stuff in newer vehicles.

 

[Artie]

I think your point about electric conversions is a accurate prediction for the engine but the rest of the electronics is where the actual issues in sourcing would be. This reminds me of a episode of ‘wheeler/dealer’ where they have a 90’s era Maserati that needs a electronic speed control part. The OEM was a couple grand but Mike located a guy who rebuilds them. They took it apart and replaced components and it worked just fine and this on a lower production vehicle than a land cruiser. All this to say that I imagine the 2060’s to have this type of car culture around just like you can find today with old outdated vehicles that are considered classics. My 3 and 4 year old have ‘learn to code’ type toys already so imagine a world where the tech side of these vehicles are still serviceable to the membership of cult owners.

 

[unclemat]

Yes, my thoughts exactly: this is a vehicle that obviously is very attractive to enthusiasts and our ranks will only grow as these vehicles get traded in by the well-to-do- soccer moms original buyer crowd.

Enthusiast crowd is resourceful and inventive, so I hope we'll see solutions for various problems down the road that won't break the bank.

 

[Sandroad]

Well, old computers are quite reliable. I have an 1985 Amiga still running... although the floppy drive indeed croaked on it.

Computer electronics are fairly robust, we have bunch of 1990s cars around and electronics was fairly complex already. It's just more stuff in newer vehicles.

Well, old computers are quite reliable. I have an 1985 Amiga still running... although the floppy drive indeed croaked on it.

Computer electronics are fairly robust, we have bunch of 1990s cars around and electronics was fairly complex already. It's just more stuff in newer vehicles.

Agreed. My thinking was more along the line of parts (electronics) availability. I remember @Onur noting several years ago that 80 parts were going to start getting hard to find and although admittedly that series ended 24 years ago, I really do wonder if the electronic parts for a 2021 vehicle are going to be off the shelf items 24 years from now in 2045. Maybe that's "forever" and a moot point?

 

[Weedhopper]

A body shop guy once told me “ Greg, they all go to the boneyard.”

Toyota’s take longer to die. My 4Runner is 20 this year and runs just fine.

Keeping it inside helps prolong the life. Less moisture and temp changes.

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

I have a 2000 LC that I am the original owner of. It will go to my son after I am gone. I do most of my own work and have not found it very expensive to maintain. It has 225k on the clock. One thing that has really helped is keeping it in a garage. The sun beats the hell out of it since it is black and I live in Houston.

 

[tbisaacs]

This is advice I should take, but I'll give it to you. Put down the keyboard, go out for a drive. This is nothing you should be worrying about.

I came here two hours too late to say this.

A lot of hand wringing about a modern car with electrics and computers. Cars have been like this for 20+ years now.

The same thing happened when switching from carbs to EFI.