Missing master key fiasco

[DMX84]

FWIW, the TPS will need to be set up and adjusted/calibrated IIRC. The TLA is just a plug-n-play component, making it easer to fix in an emergency. That’s one reason I am not worried about getting it replaced.
Dean

 

[rule303]

Thanks, that sounds more like the problem. I was at the garage today and when you mash the gas the throttle doesn't open fully. Doesn't matter. I'm selling the POS. Its one thing after another. I noticed a plastic part of the air intake was busted. Probably by Toyota when I told them I wasn't going to use them for the repair. Nice huh? It definitely wasn't broken when I took it in because I had been all over that engine with a fine tooth comb. It was missing a shroud screw too. The garage is going to epoxy it back in place so its no big deal. It broke at the factory joint anyway. Anyone want to buy a 99 LC with only 62k? Just had $950 of service done to it including serpintine belt, AC service, FI cleaning, and more. Make me an offer. It looks like new on the outside and interior. But the POS won't work reliably.

Oh, and on the way home our Expedition started bucking like the tranny was acting up. Great. I'm going to go out in the woods this weekend away from society so no one catches my jinx.

 

[rule303]

Frankly what bothers me about this Toyota is that it gives codes that don't reflect what is actually wrong with the vehicle. Seems like a design flaw to me.
I'll never trust this vehicle with my wife and kids in it. You get ten different opinions on what the problem is depending on who you talk to. Thats the disturbing part. Frankly, the throttle is something I wouldnt' expect to fail in a 62k mile Toyota anyway.

 

[hoser]

DMX, thanks for the clarification.

 

[DMX84]

I'm going to go out in the woods this weekend away from society so no one catches my jinx.

I thought you are in the woods, because nobody knows about the LC’s in your part of the sticks!
I wouldn’t sweat it, Hell I had a 99 Tahoe that I worked on more in one year that I owned it, than the 10 years that I owned a FJ62! With 2x the miles!
This should have been my first clue; I had to replace the hood release lever! No joke, has anyone ever had to replace the hood release lever?
It really looks like you are getting some bad luck.
One rule you should never break- Do Not Let Your Wife Take A Car To A Mechanic and say “I’m Not Sure What This Problem Is, Can You Fix It? You will pay dearly for service that you don’t need!
It really helps to have a good report with the dealer.
Put the Expedition up for sale, you will loose more money on it, but nobody wants them after 100K. & there are tons of them for sale also.
Keep the Faith,
Vaya Con Dios,
Dean
We are here to help.
PS What did they say was causing the bucking on the Expedition site?

 

[NMuzj100]

Doesn't matter. I'm selling the POS. Its one thing after another.... the POS won't work reliably.

It actually sounds like you only have one real problem - the TPS or its TLA. That is now a known issue with a relatively inexpensive fix.

The previous key problem was essentially the PO and used dealers fault and they made good by providing the new keys. Toyota provided you with a brand new ECU when the reason it had to be replaced was not their fault.

The manager was very nice and ..... she credited us for the third key, waived the labor charge, and filled up my wife's tank($40!) The dealer who sold me the vehicle agreed to pay the $470 for the two keys I ended up with, so I ended up being out zero out of pocket.

If you don't care for the cruiser by all means sell it and get what you want but I would think about whether you could really expect to get better reliability out of another comparable vehicle.

One huge advantage of having a LC is this tech board. By far the best vehicle specific info out there (and access to top vendors like Slee Offroad and Cruiser Dan's American Toyota Parts department). The more knowledge you have the better off you are even if you have a dealership do all the work.

 

[Jukelemon]

Doesn't matter. I'm selling the POS. Its one thing after another. QUOTE]
I think that is very irrational. As well, and no disrespect intended, if you get this upset about having to pay 200.00 for a part on a vehicle that stickered at the 50K mark, then the LC is not for you.

Man, just relax a bit, listen to what others are saying and fix your truck. There are many many of us with LC's in the 100k+ range that have never had a major failure and, to your concern, never have been left stranded.

 

[Augie]

What is the history of the truck? Are you sure the mileage never been rolled back? Did you run CARFAX before you buy it? The truck might be low mileage but it might be flood damaged.

Every manufacturer have a lemon so yes it it possible to ge a bad Land Cruiser.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Anyone want to buy a 99 LC with only 62k? Just had $950 of service done to it including serpintine belt, AC service, FI cleaning, and more. Make me an offer. It looks like new on the outside and interior. But the POS won't work reliably.

OK, how about $10k

 

[rule303]

Yes, I ran a carfax. No know issues. My problem is that I don't KNOW a good honest mechanic that works on Toyotas. I know a few generic type mechanics, but they really don't know Toyotas that well. The keys issue is a design flaw imo. Keys get lost. You should be able to replace them ,period. They corrected this on later models. The ECU can be re-programmed now.
My wife was able to get the OBD-II trouble code from the dealer. She had to lie and tell the clerk the service writer had already given it to her and she lost it. Its P0121. Throttle position sensor I think. So far everything we've discussed on this thread is ringing true. From what I understand, a TPS code doesn't neccessarily mean the TPS is bad! I do trouble shooting in my business all the time. I find sometimes there is no other way to do this other than to rely on my personal experience of what the problem usually is. A novice cannot read a manual and solve the problem. It comes from years of experience. Intermittent problems cannot be checked out with a meter because the problem corrects itself temporarily. So any attempt to do so with this vehicle is futile. What I need is an EXPERIENCED Toyota mechnic who is HONEST enough to do only the work that is required. The combination of the two has so far been hard to find. The first dealer couldn't even program keys correctly, and the dumbass left his manual in my vehicle. So I didn't have a lot of confidence in them. The second pulled a code and immediately wanted to install a new throttle body which may or may not fix the issue. New TB with no new sensor or TLA and I'm minus $1300 and still have the same problem. I'm going to take it to a shop that specializes in Japanese vehicles. Apparently the vehicle is driveable "most " of the time. Hardly confidence inspiring when your'e 20 miles from civilization camping like I was yesterday. I took my RAM instead.

 

[CPJONES1231]

Hey Rule, the TSB is for later landcruisers 2004 & up. But one of my good friends is the lead tech at the dealership I work for and he says replacing the TPS should fix it, and to also clean the T.B really good.

Casey

 

[rule303]

jukelemon, I'm not upset about a $200 charge. I'm upset that I've spent over $200 in towing to two shops , another $70 for them to pull a code, and I still don't have a clear answer of what is wrong. And the dealer says its a $1300 throttle body, not a $200 fee. So best case, If its is the TB, I'm out $1570! Hardly a minor repair. I've had rebuilt transmissions installed for that much! The second shop( admittedly not a jap specialist) was guessing it was the MAS. But he didn't have the code then. My point is while these vehicles are well built, they aren't the perfect examples of engineering many want them to be. I guess when you spend $60,000 on a vehicle, you find a way to rationalize any problems. A friend has a 1997 F150 with 105,000 miles on it. Spent $200 for a new water pump and thats it. Another has a 2002 Mazda PU( Ford) with 310,000 miles. My point is if a $17,000 pick em up can avoid these issues, why can't a LC? Its not like they are some complicated techno marvels. Its the same dang engine as a Tundra for God's sake. Sorry, I'm just venting. My brother owned a Tundra and raved about it and knocked my Ram. Of course his rotors warped just like mine did. But somehow the Ram is crap and the Tundra a shining example of Japanese engineering? Toyotas are good, but the hype is starting to overcome reality imo.

 

[mobi-arc]

Things break, regardless of cost (think NASA's space shuttle). Have you considered using someone who specializes in Lexus. I believe the Land Cruiser's engine, albeit modified, started out in the Lexus V8's so if I were unable to find a mechanic that worked on LC's, I might try that route. I'm sure you probably know this, but service writers at dealerships are compensated based upon the amount of work they "write up" so there's little incentive for them to be conservative. Perhaps is states it on an earlier post, but where abouts are you? There are a lot of people on this board, and I got to think someone in your area could recommend a mechanics who's worked on these trucks before.

 

[rule303]

I'm in the North Atlanta area. I agree, I need a good recomendation on a mechanic. I came to the same conclusion on just replacing the TPS. I read about how to install the TPS. Doesn't sound difficult if I had the instrument to calibrate it. But I don't, so I'll just let a pro do it. New Throttle body my ass. Thanks a lot CPjones. Your's was the most helpful info I've had yet. Actual good info from a pro and not just hearsay.

 

[rule303]

I just paid to have the TB cleaned real good at the dealer. They didn't of course. I saw it when the other shop had it off. It was filthy. Toyota Mall of GA, thanks for ripping me off.

 

[jp213a]

Hey Rule: You'd better fine that honest LC technician quick before the next known weak link goes like cracked exhaust manifolds ($700/side), starter contacts ($250), and water pump ($ ?) plus the timing belt will need changing at 90k at a cost of $500 to $1000. These are all well known problems to forum readers. Yea, I'm a little dissolutioned with the reliability too but at least I've got the factory service manuals and can do most of my own repair work so I can minimize the dealer rip-off factor and just pay for the parts.

 

[hoser]

You are definitely among the minority dissatisfied with their 100. I understand what you are going through having spent so much on an unresolved problem. But the problem is not the Land Cruiser, it's your mechanic(s). But perhaps you really ought to sell it and stick with a Mazda or Dodge. Repair and parts are not cheap at all for this SUV.

 

[NMuzj100]

Hey Rule: You'd better find that honest LC technician quick before the next known weak link goes like... (the)... water pump ($ ?)

Your list is missing the cracked IFS arms that everybody is getting.

I have yet to see anyone on the board have a water pump failure. Some are changing them out when they do the timing belt because it's cheap. But I doubt that that it is necessary.

Although my LC seems to be a fantastically built machine my Toyota Camry (with sludge machine V6) seems only so-so in quality so I'm no die-hard Toyota fanatic. You can't tell too much about a vehicle model's reliability based on one owner's experience (for that check consumer reports) and you also can't convince a guy who's truck won't run and the dealer can't fix that these trucks are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[rule303]

I've found that most late model vehicles are not really as reliable as they could be. The pressure to keep the price down while delivering more and more performance means something has to give. 300+ HP , 5500lb behemoths that will handle well and stop on a dime while carrying 8 people don't come cheap. My only point was that Toyota didn't try to sell the LC based on price alone and therefore could build them better. At $60,000 they had the budget to make them better. Personally I think they are way overpriced when new and that price is more a reflection of low production numbers and not the quality put into the vehicle. Its better yes, but almost twice the price of a Sequoia, no.

 

[rule303]

Oh, one more thing. I just found out my brother was going to buy a Toyota from Roswell Toyota because a guy who used to work for my Dad was selling cars there now. I called him and told him my story. He called the guy up and told him to forget it and he's buying the Tundra from another dealer. Yes! And my other brother bought his Sequoia recently from another dealer thank goodness.