Thoughts on he 2016 Upgraded Transmission?

[Dan Higgins]

We are seriously considering moving over to a Land Cruiser after fully enjoying 2 great years with a Land Rover LR4 - but needing a somewhat stronger trailer towing platform. So the question now is whether to go with a 2016 given that it would be the first year with this new transmission. Also curious about anything else to watch out for with the 2016. Or, for that matter, things that owners/users particularly like about the 2016.

After reading through many of the threads on this forum most of my other questions have been answered. For example:

• Will it tow our 5000-6000 lbs travel trailer with a tongue weight of around 700 lbs using a Hensley sway elimination and WD hitch. (Yes)
• Can the rear seats be removed (Yes, though it appears this is done by the dealer and I want to confirm that I could do this on a 2016.)
• Will it be adequate for our minor off road excursions. (Yes, and then some.)
• Can I put a roof rack on it? (Yes, of course, Silly!)
• Can I get/build a platform for the cargo space that would be level enough with the folded (not rolled) 2nd row seats in order to create a sleeping platform - this is one of the things I love about the cargo area in the LR4; it goes completely flat. (Not sure though the ARBs promising.)

My one concern with a new 2016 (setting aside price and, yes, I have read a couple threads on this which were very helpful) is that it is the first year for some significant upgrades. Therefore the question about the transmission. It also has me wondering about other potential issues with the Infotainment upgrades, etc.

 

[txtortoise]

Seats are easy. Just unbolt when you are ready to build your platform.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Seats are easy. Just unbolt when you are ready to build your platform.

Good to know. I had an LC about 15 years ago and it was easy to take the rear row out. But I guess that has all gone by the wayside.

 

[luke27617]

Normally transmission would be my concern, but most dealers now give power train lifetime warranty. As well Land Cruiser rarely has major issues. I have the 16 and all great. Small hick ups has been addressed (headphones replacement, firmware upgrade for nav)

 

[ikeb]

There are a few folks on here with the '16 MY... It wasn't available to most until January, so I'm not sure how much information you'll get about the transmission. FWIW, I got mine in January and find it silky smooth.

I've also not had any problems with the infotainment system either... But I've read that the NAV on the instrument cluster doesn't match the one on the main screen (mileage has is one decimal place off). That said, somebody addressed it recently with Toyota and I believe they now have a software fix for it. My only complaint is that the NAV screen won't default to the home screen... But apparently this is a "feature" rather than a glitch. I don't agree with the logic, but it's a pretty minor issue.

 

[indycole]

I've owned my 2016 since February and have zero complaints. I haven't towed a trailer anything with that kind of tongue weight, but have loaded up a Curt Cargo basket with ~500 lbs on a couple occasions. There weren't any issues but you could tell the weight was back there (and that's with a suspension upgrade).

 

[Markuson]

We are seriously considering moving over to a Land Cruiser after fully enjoying 2 great years with a Land Rover LR4 - but needing a somewhat stronger trailer towing platform. So the question now is whether to go with a 2016 given that it would be the first year with this new transmission. Also curious about anything else to watch out for with the 2016. Or, for that matter, things that owners/users particularly like about the 2016.

After reading through many of the threads on this forum most of my other questions have been answered. For example:

• Will it tow our 5000-6000 lbs travel trailer with a tongue weight of around 700 lbs using a Hensley sway elimination and WD hitch. (Yes)
• Can the rear seats be removed (Yes, though it appears this is done by the dealer and I want to confirm that I could do this on a 2016.)
• Will it be adequate for our minor off road excursions. (Yes, and then some.)
• Can I put a roof rack on it? (Yes, of course, Silly!)
• Can I get/build a platform for the cargo space that would be level enough with the folded (not rolled) 2nd row seats in order to create a sleeping platform - this is one of the things I love about the cargo area in the LR4; it goes completely flat. (Not sure though the ARBs promising.)

My one concern with a new 2016 (setting aside price and, yes, I have read a couple threads on this which were very helpful) is that it is the first year for some significant upgrades. Therefore the question about the transmission. It also has me wondering about other potential issues with the Infotainment upgrades, etc.

About sleeping in back on drawers/seats: Absolutely! Works a charm!

The minor gap/height difference is totally forgotten once you simply put an inflatable mat back there (or two). I did it for years in my 100 with drawers, and it's basically identical in the 200. I'm 6 foot 3 inches, and it's perfect. I recommend the Exped 10 sold at REI. It's a little pricey for a sleep mat at $219, but I've tried nearly everything and nothing compares to this. It's 4 inches thick...tough, and incredibly comfortable.

The 10 is extra wide for a single, or they also make one that basically filled the entire width of the drawer width to sleep two...though I think two mats is better, as you don't wake up the other person every time you soffit around.

M

 

[ryanCA]

No issue with our 16. However, two people on Club Lexus has had buy back after having tranny replaced.

 

[linuxgod]

I have a 5000# 24' trailer and I posted a towing thread a month or two back in this forum or see rootflags.org. Mine is a 2013 but the only difference for towing will be the 8 spd trans vs 6 spd. I highly recommend a rear air bag upgrade.

 

[Dan Higgins]

A couple of you have mentioned suspensions upgrades or air bag upgrades. What exactly are these and how do they differ from the air suspension I have on my Land Rover LR4? The air suspension was one of the things that raised concerns with me about towing with my LR4. Is this air bag upgrade a completely different thing? Are there other suspension upgrades?

Thanks for the tip on sleeping. That is awesome. It will never be as nice as the LR4 as you can reconfigure that floor so you can "stand up" (bent over) to change clothes or rearrange gear or whatever. But that is one of the sacrifices we will have to make so we can get a better towing vehicle.

Also good to hear the new transmission is working out. We have an 8-speed on our 2014 LR4 but when they introduced that they also changed the engine to a supercharged V6 and dropped the torque to 332 or close to that.

 

[mark71]

Firestone makes airbags that you can install inside the rear coils. They work well, but adjustment is done with an air compressor.

 

[linuxgod]

A couple of you have mentioned suspensions upgrades or air bag upgrades. What exactly are these and how do they differ from the air suspension I have on my Land Rover LR4? The air suspension was one of the things that raised concerns with me about towing with my LR4. Is this air bag upgrade a completely different thing? Are there other suspension upgrades?

Unlike LR, it isn't an air suspension. The air bags simply replace the rubber bump stops. With minimal pressure in them (about 5 psi) they act almost like normal bump stops, preventing your suspension from compressing too far. When you load up the weight in the rear you inflate them to 30-35 psi, which helps support the existing metal coil springs and gives you back a couple inches of rear height.

So far I like mine, though I've only had them installed for 1-2k miles. The parts were cheap ($100 for the bags,$100 for the compressor, and a few hours to I stallthe whole thing). Pros include that it doesn't affect the ride when deflated (unlike heavy duty springs), if a bag does leak your suspension keeps operating fine since you still have the coil springs (you just lose the bump stops so you'd want to be careful until you replaced them), cheap install, and if you ever want to reverse the decision just remove them and replace your bump stops (which costs $100 per pair).

 

[Dan Higgins]

Are these Firestone airbags something that could be installed at a dealership or by a good Toyota mechanic. I am very challenged when it comes to DIY stuff and usually mess it up. This is not something I would want to mess up.

 

[04UZJ100]

No issue with our 16. However, two people on Club Lexus has had buy back after having tranny replaced.

Source?

 

[2016lc]

Wait your driving land rovers and concerned about reliability on a land cruiser? Lol

All seriousness love my 2016 no issues or complaints.

My concern had a Range Rover and the thing was junk. Everything broke on her. Luckily it was a lease.

 

[Angelo1]

Are these Firestone airbags something that could be installed at a dealership or by a good Toyota mechanic. I am very challenged when it comes to DIY stuff and usually mess it up. This is not something I would want to mess up.

'Slee Off-road' located in Golden can install them for you.

 

[linuxgod]

Are these Firestone airbags something that could be installed at a dealership or by a good Toyota mechanic. I am very challenged when it comes to DIY stuff and usually mess it up. This is not something I would want to mess up.

A decent mechanic can install them in <2 hours. It's pretty hard to mess up, but it's definitely a 2 person job to get the rear springs out and reinstalled. I have a friend who owns a shop and so he and I did it together one afternoon/evening. Neither of us had ever done them before, but we just followed the instructions on the AustralianImages website. The bags took about 2 hours to install, and the compressor took us another 3-4 (but that was mostly due to us fabricating a mounting bracket to fit where the jack goes - if I had just mounted the compressor under the hood or front seat like a sane person it would've taken half the time).

If you don't tow frequently or you have an ARB compressor you can just stick the supplied schraeder (tire) valves on the ends of the tubing and use a regular air compressor to fill them and skip the compressor installation. We take our trailer out 8-10 times per year so to me the compressor was worth it.

Supposedly the polyurethane bags are very reliable. I've read some complaints about the tubing leaking a little air over time but personally mine has been fine - I believe you just need to be careful when cutting the tubing to make sure the ends are squared off as most of the fittings are compression-style.

I wrote up a fairly detailed post about my experience with the helper air bags at Firestone Helper Air Bag Installation, and another general one about towing with the LC at Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser.

All said I'm very happy with the setup as it doesn't affect the ride around town if I deflate to 5psi once I unhitch, and I actually prefer to put the maximum 35psi in the bags when towing than to run an extra link on the WD setup because I want a full 500# (10% trailer weight) on the tongue - in my experience shifting too much weight to the front axle hurts stability at highway speeds and in windy conditions.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Wait your driving land rovers and concerned about reliability on a land cruiser? Lol

All seriousness love my 2016 no issues or complaints.

My concern had a Range Rover and the thing was junk. Everything broke on her. Luckily it was a lease.

LOL! Can't argue with the reliability. Though our LR4 has been awesome and there are some things I am really going to miss - like the incredibly utilitarian and versatile ways you can configure the 2nd and 3rd row (a true 3rd row) and thereby the overall cargo space. That said, I would expect to get double the miles from an LC compared to my LR4.

The question about the new transmission is simply because, well, it is new to this particular vehicle. Transmissions can be tricky beasts. I believe that part of the incredible reliability legacy of the LC is that things don't change all that often and that they are very conservative with changes. The 2016 has a number of changes. I got burned when I purchased a first-batch, 2014 Acura MDX (complete overhaul) and encountered many first-out issues. I just want to make sure that there won't be any surprises with the MY16 should we decide to get one.

 

[Dan Higgins]

'Slee Off-road' located in Golden can install them for you.

Thanks! That would work out great. I'm not familiar with Slee - yet.

 

[gforce]

Many people complain that Toyotas are "behind the times" when it comes to features in their vehicles. The reality is that Toyota spends an extraordinary amount of time testing and developing their products. 8 speed trannys are nothing new, just new to Toyota's offerings. Lexus and Land Cruiser usually get the newest released technology and features first, then they slowly trickle down to 4Runner, Tacomas, etc. I have always driven very reliable 4Runners in the past and it was always funny to see pictures of Land Cruisers that were 10+ years older that had the same exact parts in them. I was/am die hard 4Runner, but recent traded up to a 200 and don't regret it for a second.