VVTi motors as reliable?

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sacmaster

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I am in pursuit of another 100, having sold my 2000 a couple of years ago with 235k miles and regretting it ever since.

I want a truck for a DD, and as such am looking more at 05-07 models. Is the VVTi motor on the 06 and 07 as durable as the earlier, simpler motors? I know they have the air pump that can cause problems, but other than that, can I expect an 06 or 07 to run 400k miles? Ideally I would find an 05 without navigation, but I don't think that will happen.
 
There is no reason they wouldn't be. That said we've seen many reports here in mud of non VVTi timing belt breaks, without hurting valves or pistons. This is not the case with VVTi, they are most assuredly interference engines.
 
It's a toyota. Any toyota already has the reputation of being the pinnacle of reliability and being bulletproof. Trying to ascertain the reliability of these two variants, which are 95% the same, is just splitting hairs. Timing belt is a non issue, if you do proper maintenance.

You could also say, that an older non-vvti statistically may be more likely to fail, by virtue that it being older and likely has more miles.

The VVTi mechanism is not unique to the land cruisers. It's pervasive across the whole lineup of toyota's and has proven it's worth reliability in power and gas efficiency.

Look at the pros - more power and efficiency across the board. That's not something to be taken likely for a heavyweight car like the Land Cruiser. Especially once you to with taller tires, armor, accessories, and possibly tow.
 
Easiest thing to do it a cars.com or autotrader search for LC's, Sequoias and Tundras with this engine and sort by highest mileage, I'm sure there are a bunch out there with 200+
 
If the goal behind going with a pre-2006 is to keep things simple, why stop there? The FJ40 should be perfect - closer to the Flintstone's ride than a 100. Don't kid yourself, a 2005 Land Cruiser is plenty complicated. But it's a Toyota. We drive these 100s because we want it all - size, luxury, capability, and rock-solid reliability. The '06/'07 is simply more of a good thing.
 
I am now over 200,000 miles on mine. I can attest to the complexity being marginally greater, but the difficulty of routine maintenance for items such as the timing belt is the same as for earlier models. I just put a new belt and pump in last week. The only thing I could not do was change my cam seals due to the VVTi.

As for durability...

My old belt was changed by the dealer at 95,000 miles. When I got in there, I found that the timing at the crank was off by two whole teeth, for the past 105,000 miles. It runs a little smoother now :bang:
 
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I drove our new '06 on a 3 hour one way trip this past weekend for the first time. Man, that dude is a dream to drive. It is soooo smooth but it does have stock street tires. Being used to the 2000 LX, the 2006 has so many little nice things and little lights everywhere. However, I was very disappointed with the MPG on the interstate and 75 mph....only got 14.5. I was expecting like 17-18. Any insight on that?
 
BullElk said:
I was very disappointed with the MPG on the interstate and 75 mph....only got 14.5. I was expecting like 17-18. Any insight on that?
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You must have been going downhill. That's pretty good.
 
Pretty good? I thought it would get better than the 2000 non VVTi engine. The 2000 gets that around town and my '96 LX gets 13 around town and 14 on interstate.
 
I can see 18-19 mpg hwy in my 200 series, cruising 65-75 mph. Larger engine and 6 speed gear box. FWIW
 
Ok. Well, I'll just relax and keep enjoying. Of course, it really doesn't matter....14-16...I'm certainly not owning anything else in order to get better gas mileage.
 
I have that thought run through my head then calculate that the savings over a year timeframe is rather minimal for anything else I would possibly interested in driving, unless you make the change to a small car it just doesn't make much sense.
 
I seen a 99 or 00 LX470 at the local Lexus dealer getting a new alternator pushing 500K. The seats were trash but the outside looked normal. Crazy. I asked the service if its the origninal drivetrain but she didnt know just that it was here for an alternator. I wanted to talk to that owner to hear whats been fixed. Thats a lot of fuel........... I had a 99 with 150K and now an 06 with 98K. The 06 is definitly nicer and has better power, the 99 felt more like a tank maybe because it was slower and I didnt try to keep it so clean. Cant go wrong either way. Also I rarely see above 14.5 mpg in my 2006 even on the highway or interstate.
 
sseaman said:
I have that thought run through my head then calculate that the savings over a year timeframe is rather minimal for anything else I would possibly interested in driving, unless you make the change to a small car it just doesn't make much sense.
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Oh yea, the argument of " I need to buy another vehicle so I can get better mileage" argument is pure useless. If you want a Prius to avoid a gas bill, buy a Prius. If you want a real vehicle, buy a Land Cruiser. But remember, If you buy the Land Cruiser, you will not be the regretful one when the Prius T-bones you at a stop light.
 
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