He is hiding something lol. What a dork.
Most common problems GX460 for current owners (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter scgx470
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
2013 gx460 135000 miles
Valley coolant leak ($2000) repair, air pump failure ($600 Hewitt kit),
traction control-check engine - 4 lo blinking light (randomly comes on, have to disconnect battery to clear
- slow/low power when trans cold ( had trans fluid level checked and replaced) - still does some. 135000 miles, not good, I don’t call that reliable
My 1994 Land Cruiser never really had any issues until 315000
Valley coolant leak ($2000) repair, air pump failure ($600 Hewitt kit),
traction control-check engine - 4 lo blinking light (randomly comes on, have to disconnect battery to clear
- slow/low power when trans cold ( had trans fluid level checked and replaced) - still does some. 135000 miles, not good, I don’t call that reliable
My 1994 Land Cruiser never really had any issues until 315000
Comment on shop reliability:
I had 2 cases:
Really high rated shop told me my Toyota transmission failed and needed replacement.$5600) I bought shift selenoids for $38 and put them in in an hour. Drove that car for 200000 more miles.
Case2 ( same issue different car) Toyota 65 year old mechanic (worked on Toyotas for 35 years) that I could tell was not lying told me trans had failed. I bought the selenoids and asked him to replace (he said it wouldn’t help, he was being honest)…drove car for 150000 more miles and sold it.
I don’t know how these guys don’t know. Neither shop was lying or trying to take advantage.
I had 2 cases:
Really high rated shop told me my Toyota transmission failed and needed replacement.$5600) I bought shift selenoids for $38 and put them in in an hour. Drove that car for 200000 more miles.
Case2 ( same issue different car) Toyota 65 year old mechanic (worked on Toyotas for 35 years) that I could tell was not lying told me trans had failed. I bought the selenoids and asked him to replace (he said it wouldn’t help, he was being honest)…drove car for 150000 more miles and sold it.
I don’t know how these guys don’t know. Neither shop was lying or trying to take advantage.
Saturday my 2013 Tacoma T|X left my driveway for the last time. 10 years ago one of the first things I did was dump the chrome grill and get a color matched one and converted it to a Satoshi. With Toyota logo to match (well close) my FJ55 Iron Pig back in 79
Also pulled the rear jump seats and built a platform for the dog and a place to store the Hi Lift jack
When the guy called me Saturday he asked if I had the original grille and if it had been in an accident. I saved everything and that was a selling point. I did warn him that the field mice had gotten into the bag with the jump seats and they used it for storage of acorns over the years so they weren't the cleanest. He didn't care so much as long as I had them.
Finest chinesum plastic new style grill from ebay for my 19 GX is in the garage. Updated headlights are on their way. When it warms up the 3rd row seats and 60% 2nd row seat are coming out. I need to figure out a better way to seal and store the seats for the next 10 years this time. But you can bet I am saving everything I remove. It pays off someday.
Bang Bang
Age is a state of mind.
Sorry you’ve had issues, but these really are some reliable trucks. How long have you had yours?
Coolant valley leak is a common problem in the early 460’s. No surprise there. The air pump is also a common problem if the filter is not swapped out to a new one or upgraded. No real reason for you to spend $600 if you change out the filter before it deteriorates and goes into the pump.
As for the trac control / check engine lights, have you pulled codes to see what’s really going on? That may be tied to your tranny issue.
No doubt that there is not much like the old school Land Cruisers, as the electronics in these newer rigs are not as forgiving. But maintenance on these is key. I bought my 2013 with 132,000 from a friend so I had a lot of history and wasn’t too worried. It now has 150k on it. Although, one of the first things I needed to address was the coolant valley leak. Went ahead and had the water pump / pulleys / belt all done at the same time as preventative.
The carfax shows oil change about every 5k. 50000 mile and 100000 mile service at dealer. No info on transmission fluid. I had it changed last week at dealership. The lights had been coming on randomly prior to that but happened to come on as soon as I left the dealership. Went back and they checked it out and scanned it. All they could see was misfire on 2 cylinders, they switched the coils to see if it would follow and then it went away. They said that it could be the battery. (They really don’t know). I did buy a new battery and still randomly get lights. If you google the lights issue, it seems that no one knows. People report it could be be air injection, valley leak, transmission, neutral switch, gas cap, cylinder misfire, etc…
The funny thing is that if you pull the battery connections, they turn off and it will run without lights for a month.
I appreciate the info. But I still think these things are not reliable. There are at least a couple of posts in this thread talking about transmission issues under 150000 miles.
Transmission, drive train issues, $2000 valley leaks which seem to be standard, air pump issues, google traction/4lo/check engine light issue and you’ll find hundreds of posts and videos of 4.6 (Lexus and Toyota).
Almost all of these occur under 150000 miles
. That sounds like the definition of unreliable.
I like these vehicles, that’s why I bought one. But, that’s definitely not reliable.
Transmission, drive train issues, $2000 valley leaks which seem to be standard, air pump issues, google traction/4lo/check engine light issue and you’ll find hundreds of posts and videos of 4.6 (Lexus and Toyota).
Almost all of these occur under 150000 miles
. That sounds like the definition of unreliable.I like these vehicles, that’s why I bought one. But, that’s definitely not reliable.
It would be interesting to compare the US market sample of mostly non-AT coolers except specially optioned ‘20+ compared to the rest of the world.
Outside the US most markets had some or all with external AT coolers. I changed all my at fluid at around 50k miles and added an external AT cooler so time will tell for my own personal reliability. It doesn’t help that buried in maintenance info until latter years is to only change AT fluid if you tow or are permanently off-road.
An AT failure 30+ years ago instilled in me the need to do 30k-50K mile AT service or I will be increasing my odds to a hit to the wallet.
Outside the US most markets had some or all with external AT coolers. I changed all my at fluid at around 50k miles and added an external AT cooler so time will tell for my own personal reliability. It doesn’t help that buried in maintenance info until latter years is to only change AT fluid if you tow or are permanently off-road.
An AT failure 30+ years ago instilled in me the need to do 30k-50K mile AT service or I will be increasing my odds to a hit to the wallet.
MrTorgue
Grizzly Clint
Aaaaaaaahahaha!!!! This is a joke post right?I appreciate the info. But I still think these things are not reliable.
Almost all of these occur under 150000 miles
I like these vehicles, that’s why I bought one. But, that’s definitely not reliable.
Last edited:
No, I wish it was. I’m a Toyota guy. I’ve had a Land Cruiser for a long time. I bought this car because of the LC. I bought it 6 months ago and looked at the carfax (service at the dealership every 5k). I expected the same reliability that I got with the LC. At first, I thought that it was just this one gx460 until I started researching.
Google all of these things and you can quickly verify all of these issues. The worst one is the lights issue that no one really knows the root cause.
I’m also a big fan of ih8mud and want to tell it like it is so that guys will know.
I still like the vehicle and I’m ok paying the piper but I didn’t expect any issues like this with a GX460.
Google all of these things and you can quickly verify all of these issues. The worst one is the lights issue that no one really knows the root cause.
I’m also a big fan of ih8mud and want to tell it like it is so that guys will know.
I still like the vehicle and I’m ok paying the piper but I didn’t expect any issues like this with a GX460.
Last edited:
re_guderian
SILVER Star
I think you need a reset in terms of realistic expectation of the reliability of ANY vehicle, Toyota/Lexus LC/GX included. They ALL have flaws, some fatal, some expensive, some not. Some individual vehicle have them, some don't. It's all a numbers game.
Each Land Cruiser series had its share of fatal flaws that would leave you stranded and could be VERY expensive.
- 100 Series just to name a few, ignition cylinder breaking (leaves you stranded requires tow), complete transmission failure (leaves you stranded), heater T's (cheap part, one of the (very) few ways to kill the engine), Touch screen failures killing HVAC, brake master cylinder failure leading to loss of stopping power while in motion, etc.
- 80 series = PHH, overheats at the drop of a hat, driveshaft vibes, birfield joints, etc.
- 60 series = power steering pump leaks onto air pump, kills bearing, seizes main drive belt, etc.
They ALL have issues. Toyota/Lexus typically just have them at MUCH lower rates than the competition driving a perceived (and actual) higher reliability rate. Note, this is different than "problem free" which is rarely a reality. Here's an assessment of the 100 Series transmission failures I put together - 2000 Trans Status 2011 Update - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2000-trans-status-2011-update.501772/page-2#post-6822293
Still, even with their (relatively rare) warts, I'd take a LC/GX any day over the competition, but an expectation of a "trouble free" car at the individual level is just a fantasy.
And to piggyback off this, we should be glad that there is THIS group that is the catalyst for the aftermarket to fix these few problems.
MrTorgue
Grizzly Clint
Exactly.
I agree. So glad to have Toyota’s and this awesome forum. I’ve gotten all kinds of help from this group and it’s the best!
I am curious if folks that have had to repair valley plate coolant leak had the coolant replaced at 60,000 miles or less? Coolant gets old, during replacement did the shop or individual use Toyota coolant? I think these things matter.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Didn't own it until 140k, but defective FIPG was the root cause, if I understand correctly.
MrTorgue
Grizzly Clint
I have a gap from 22k to 71k otherwise the coolant wasn't replaced until I had the radiator and hose replacement service at over 140k. It looked ok according to my tech. At that time I had a very small coolant valley plate leak.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
That's the other fallacy in reliability thinking, "If ONLY I'd done more preventative maintenance, there would have been NO problems!". In the list of killer defects on Land Cruisers above, there are NONE that can be staved off by regular, or even excessive, PM. Sometimes the manufacturer just has a faulty design, a bad batch of parts, bad assembly, or just bad luck. It happens. Accept it, move on, and be glad it's not a mid -90's Chrysler transmission...
Dang, still having issues with this GX460. Replaced 3 number 7 coils in the last 4 months (is that valley leak related ?) I don’t see how it could be. Coolant valley leak progressing. I have to keep a gallon of antifreeze and add every few days. Not loving this thing. Got a Honda with 300k and I’ve only put $400 into it. My LC went 315k with about $500 in it.
