LC200 Pet Peeves

[Artie]

have you considered the implication of rear end collision with the aux tank installed? I would love to get one but just afraid.

We considered this and we really don’t want to repeat a Ford Pinto explosion. Our reasoning boiled down to we don’t have to drive around with it filled up all the time, it would be for road trips and especially while towing. The trailer would protect us from rear ended collisions and extended toad trips are spent on the interstate and we felt like rear ended collisions are not as frequent in that type of driving versus around town driving. We could be entirely wrong in this reasoning but it makes sense to us. We are going to use this vehicle to tow our overland trailer and/or hiking/camping/adventure/apocalypse vehicle and it won’t be a daily driver.

Yep - I installed a 90L / 25 gallon aux tank. Given some safety issues where I occasionally drive, I am considering the new 180L / ~50 gallon tank. That would give me almost 1100 miles of range while not exceeding my payload limits.

Wow, that’s impressive range! The tow range in our current vehicle is 250ish miles and it’s annoying, especially when you get to more remote places where gas stations may be few and far between. The freedom And convenience the aux tank provides is hard to beat.

 

[afgman786]

Now THAT would be interesting. I'd simply put in an image of something I would enjoy looking at. I can think of numerous possibilities.

Depends on which year you have and you can do it. There is a thread around here that lets you know what you have to save the file as, even the dimensions to use. The later 200s that take USB are able to. I know for sure '16+ can

 

[stonepa]

I make this point a lot. For the significant issues we do have at least we know what to expect and can easily monitor things. Whereas most other vehicles it’s a total crap shoot what will fail next.

That said I consider a near-100% failure rate on pre-late-2018 radiators by ~150k miles unacceptable. But I’m sure others have seen me debate this before... I’ll gladly take that over exactly what you describe with nearly anything else, plus the new part seems to have been updated to address the issue.

Find me a Toyota product since 2000 that doesn’t have this issue. Every Lexus we’ve had has had a radiator failure before 100k miles, cars included. My 100 has never had a radiator replacement and i have 425k miles miles on it. It is, however, on its 3rd starter so its always something.

 

[tacoduck]

try a 100% engine failure rate on the 5.3 chevy with AFM. ill gladly swap a new radiator in at 100k miles and keep chugging.

 

[NY2LA]

Fortunately I’m not concerned with whether people understand my attitude or not.
Said simply: this is complaining, not tech.
These things have substantial issues. KDSS valve corrosion, radiator failure, water pump.. these would be tough to explain given the build quality we have grown to expect. Toyota’s decision not to add a button to the dash that 3% of buyers want doesn’t need much explaining. So why whine about it?

@bloc New owner question: Are KDSS valve corrosion and radiator and water pump failure common issues, then? If, are there aftermarket upgrades people have been doing as a sort of preventative maintenance?

 

[tacoduck]

@bloc New owner question: Are KDSS valve corrosion and radiator and water pump failure common issues, then? If, are there aftermarket upgrades people have been doing as a sort of preventative maintenance?

the radiator, water pump, and the starter should be monitored at 100k miles and replaced by 150k miles. Most trucks will make it 10 years before it’s an issue. The 5.7 is stupid reliable.

land cruiser forums are utterly boring because of this. Go log onto a Range Rover forum for drama.

 

[bloc]

@bloc New owner question: Are KDSS valve corrosion and radiator and water pump failure common issues, then? If, are there aftermarket upgrades people have been doing as a sort of preventative maintenance?

Your vintage has an updated radiator design that appears to address the problem area, so while I’d be watching it as you approach 100k I personally wouldn’t be too worried about an actual failure. If it acts more like a normal toyota landcruiser radiator it is closer to a 200-300k item.

People have asked for aftermarket occasionally but I don’t see this as any better. A truly high quality aluminum radiator is big money and few people would pay it, so there just doesn’t seem to be much market to incentivize development. Plus.. if they fixed the known problem area, our stock radiators are actually really good units. You having the new design I literally wouldn’t give it a second thought until 75k or more.

Water pump is a known 3UR-FE issue and will not fail catastrophically. It’ll just weep a little coolant. Some go as soon as 50k but that seems rare.. many more are closer to 100k, if not 150. basically if you notice your reservoir level dropping start digging to find where it went. No aftermarket option that I know of, replace with original equipment.

The bottom surface of the KDSS valve is bare metal and a type of steel that corrodes excessively in areas that salt their roads. Many people buy these trucks used from owners that didn’t know to protect it and spend a lot of effort resolving the shutter valves being rusted into place as a result. IMO this is reason #1 to avoid buying a LC with any rust, but if I remember correctly you bought new and this doesn’t apply. Still, it would be wise to get some LPS3, remove the cover plate, and scrub any surface rust and dirt off the valve, and coat it in that stuff. It is fantastic at turning waxy and protecting metal from corrosion. Do that once per year. Definitely no aftermarket option on this. Keep yours in good shape and you won’t have anything to worry about anyway.

 

[NY2LA]

@bloc Awesome info. Thank you for that detail! Good to know about all those things. I'll be getting some things done just before winter. I'll have a look at that valve while the car is up on the lift.

 

[bloc]

@bloc Awesome info. Thank you for that detail! Good to know about all those things. I'll be getting some things done just before winter. I'll have a look at that valve while the car is up on the lift.

You’ll be overwhelmed by the results of a “KDSS Rust” search in this forum, but there are tons of posts with pictures to give you an idea of what to expect.
And any time! I’m sure debating me can be a pain to some people but I try and make up for it with sharing stuff I’ve learned in my time here.

 

[stonepa]

So I gave the original topic some more thought. After having owned my FJ60 since 1987, my 100 since 1998, a LX570 for a short time, and my LC200 since 2015, here are my pet peeves for the 200:

• Plastic headlights. My 100's headlights, after sitting outside every day since I bought it new in 98, are still clear and look like new. Not a crack, chip, water leak, or yellowing in 425k miles. Of course, they are made of glass. The truck has been to both ends of North and South America and still no damage or leaks. We'll see how the LC200 does but I am already getting yellowing on the top of the plastic cover.
• Bumper covered receiver hitch. Same issue I had with the LX570 - this area just wants to rust. Gets packed with mud and salt and very difficult to maintain. No other frame rusting. This frame member should be galvanized (maybe the whole frame should be) or at least much thicker powder coating.
• Location of the 7 pin connector for trailer. Why can't they just mount it next to the hitch receiver like Big 3 does it?
• KDSS should be designed to not rust and fail.
• Starters should not be a regular replacement item. Same problem with the 100. I am on my 3rd starter on the 100.
• Neither should the radiator.
• Neither should the cheap plastic coolant T's. Why not metal like aftermarket? Same issue as the 100 so basically for 22 years.
• Why can't they put the center diff lock button somewhere visible? Same with the heated steering button?
• Why can't Toyota figure out how to make the 2nd row seats not rub together and squeak? My 100 and LX570 does this too. So do the 2 Lexus RX400hs in our household. My wife's X5 does not. Come on, Toyota should do better than BMW!
• Periodic tightness of the automatic shifter thing. Sometimes I can barely pull the lever out of drive - feels like it is bound up. Next time I do it, absolutely zero issues. What is going on? Seems to be a thing with the 200s and LX570s. Never had that problem in the 100.
• Auto fold mirrors when parking. Sure, I can hit the button, but why? LX570 does this automatically.
• Cameras are terrible. Not much different than most other vehicles (except my wife's BMW, which is 8k quality in comparison).
• Roof rack rails - why don't they start at the a-Plillar, like the Sequoia? I want all the supported space I can get.

Well, that really took some thinking. I love the LC. These little things would make it that much better.

 

[tacoduck]

So I gave the original topic some more thought. After having owned my FJ60 since 1987, my 100 since 1998, a LX570 for a short time, and my LC200 since 2015, here are my pet peeves for the 200:

• Plastic headlights. My 100's headlights, after sitting outside every day since I bought it new in 98, are still clear and look like new. Not a crack, chip, water leak, or yellowing in 425k miles. Of course, they are made of glass. The truck has been to both ends of North and South America and still no damage or leaks. We'll see how the LC200 does but I am already getting yellowing on the top of the plastic cover.
• Bumper covered receiver hitch. Same issue I had with the LX570 - this area just wants to rust. Gets packed with mud and salt and very difficult to maintain. No other frame rusting. This frame member should be galvanized (maybe the whole frame should be) or at least much thicker powder coating.
• Location of the 7 pin connector for trailer. Why can't they just mount it next to the hitch receiver like Big 3 does it?
• KDSS should be designed to not rust and fail.
• Starters should not be a regular replacement item. Same problem with the 100. I am on my 3rd starter on the 100.
• Neither should the radiator.
• Neither should the cheap plastic coolant T's. Why not metal like aftermarket? Same issue as the 100 so basically for 22 years.
• Why can't they put the center diff lock button somewhere visible? Same with the heated steering button?
• Why can't Toyota figure out how to make the 2nd row seats not rub together and squeak? My 100 and LX570 does this too. So do the 2 Lexus RX400hs in our household. My wife's X5 does not. Come on, Toyota should do better than BMW!
• Periodic tightness of the automatic shifter thing. Sometimes I can barely pull the lever out of drive - feels like it is bound up. Next time I do it, absolutely zero issues. What is going on? Seems to be a thing with the 200s and LX570s. Never had that problem in the 100.
• Auto fold mirrors when parking. Sure, I can hit the button, but why? LX570 does this automatically.
• Cameras are terrible. Not much different than most other vehicles (except my wife's BMW, which is 8k quality in comparison).
• Roof rack rails - why don't they start at the a-Plillar, like the Sequoia? I want all the supported space I can get.

Well, that really took some thinking. I love the LC. These little things would make it that much better.

+1 on glass headlights.