What is the life of a Land Cruiser? (1 Viewer)

[Travis351]

It's been a rough year for mine, but I've doubled down for at least another 100k, hopefully 200k. It's a 1999 with 292,000. In the last 10k, I've replaced the steering rack and related hardware, A/C Evaporator, Condenser drier and related hardware. Radiator, Alternator, tires (Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor-tremendous improvement in wet road handling over BFG All Terrain by the way) and tailgate lid.

As you can imagine, there is not much room left in the travel budget, but she seems to be happy once again and there is always next year. Dropping 5k on a 10k truck over 6 months was tough and if it weren't setup just how I like it and still pleasant to travel in, I would have searched for another.

I knew the A/C and Steering Rack were coming, tires died early due to the rack and the Radiator and alternator died right after those repairs. What would you have done?

 

[adrenalinefjz80]

^ I would have done what you did You replaced parts that hopefully won't be needed again. I'm surprised your steering rack lasted that long, then again it's an age factor as the rubber/seals get broken down.

I was personally aiming to hit 200K, but now I'm shooting for 300K given what I've seen on the board. It will probably get taken off DD duty eventually with a 200, but no plans to sell.

 

[stonepa]

I have and I didn't see any that were over 400k and only a few with 300k+. I know 100-200k is not much on these tonka trunks so I thought I'd make this post.

I just turned 276k in my 98 100. Every thing's original and no mechanical issues since new - only normal maintenance items. It even has the original exhaust, which is saying something given where it's lived over the last 15 years (AK, MN, and OH). The power radio antenna is even the original and still works.

 

[stonepa]

i think the only reason we haven't seen tons of documented 400k Hundys is because there aren't too many people out there who drive 30k a year in a rig that only gets 15mpg on a good day and runs on premium. give it a few more years and you'll see them hitting that mark just like all the other bulletproof Cruiser wagons.

Based on my spreadsheet of fill-ups, I've averaged 12mpg city/ 14 highway in my 100 over 1200 (good God) fill ups. In all that time, I have only had 48 tanks of premium. Otherwise it's been regular or worse (a lot of 85 octane in mountain towns as well as south of the border). Zero issues.

 

[Bawlz]

I bought mine with 102k on it, and I plan to keep it just shy of forever.

 

[El Cid]

That's what I've been thinking. I really do love this vehicle alot.

I can really appreciate this sentiment now that I own a Land Cruiser.

Whether any of us want to admit it or not, it's still a game of depreciation. If you buy the cruiser in the right 'sweet spot' of mileage, price, and book value, you can get a LOT of value from these cars. I did the car pool duty for my wife today, easily piled in six kids and drove them to a camp. Next month, I'll do a long drive and some more rugged roads.

As opposed to a brand new car(Sedan) that costs 30k, but becomes prohibitively expensive to drive after 100k miles, the Land Cruiser offers a lot more utility value and can recapture investment very quickly.

It's great to own a vehicle where you hit a certain number of miles, even 150k and you have no major problems with the vehicle, and driving every day feels like saving money when compared to having to absorb the cost of another(potentially less reliable) vehicle.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

So, we have had our 100 since July of 2003. We bought it with 24K miles, so basically brand new. We spent $38K out the door, with an add-on DVD player and LCD screen, along with a 100K extended warranty. At 100K miles we took it to the dealer to change out the hood and lift gate struts, along with a few odds and ends to "use" our warranty. 10 years later, we are at 150K miles, have taken care of standard maintenance, but have small tears in the leather steering wheel and still need to replace the tranny fluid. AC still works like new (thank God!), truck still has the original suspension (shocks need changing...), leather is a bit stained from kids, carpets don't look new, a few rattles from small broken clips...
That's about it. Still drives extremely nice! Still love driving it! It has spoiled us. How long a life do I think it has? Not sure. How long do I think my kids will drive it after I am gone... good question.

 

[SWUtah]

The question should really be, how long should you drive your cruiser before it makes sense to buy another vehicle? Part of the reason a Cruiser might be driven longer is simply the prohibitive cost of a new LC and the relative cheapness of spare parts. And of course, there is the impressiveness of the Toyota build quality.

There are very legit reasons to ditch a vehicle before it runs a long time, but I think the consensus is that if you keep a toyota land cruiser in proper working condition, then 300k miles is a legitimate minimum number of miles.

Good points. I would add, just wanting a new ride is the reason most would trade. I keep coming back

 

[Landpimp]

the 100 series is the best Land Cruiser ever sold in the US.....maybe the best 4x4 period

Have had over 20 Land Cruiser(currently 10), the 100's(99 and 2000) have needed almost nothing, besides a set of brakes every 50K. Compared to an 80 series(using moms 1 owner 97 with 180K as an example) I would say the maintenance costs are about 1/2.

if I recall, the 4.7 motor, which came from Lexus, Lexus were given an almost unlimited budget to make it the best motor they could......and I think they did.

that said, had a Fj62 with 350K on it before some kid hit it, current FJ62 has 250K....just getting the AC charged today

hate to admit this, but the wifes LX lost almost all its oil, the oil sender had a slow leak.....well it got faster. By the time I got to it, it may have had 2 qts in it.......end result...runs like the day we got it. Next oil change.....still amber color.

 

[tabraha]

LP makes an appearance! Good to see you back in the 100 forum.

 

[Muddy Bean]

We bought our '98 with just over 100k on the clock Jan. 1st of this year. We average 35,000 miles a year on our vehicles and the Cruiser is no exception. Currently we have 128k on ours and I'm just now starting to get her dialed in how I like it. We will never use ours for heavy offroading, but it's nice to know you can have a super comfy highway ride that can get off the beaten path every now and then. We are driving a '98 Camry too with 270k on it and it still drives very nice. Yota's from that era are really good machines and the Cruiser is the best of them all. Now for a diesel conversion

Sent from my iPhone. Clumsy fingers may contribute to mistakes.

 

[bonze]

i think the only reason we haven't seen tons of documented 400k Hundys is because there aren't too many people out there who drive 30k a year in a rig that only gets 15mpg on a good day and runs on premium. give it a few more years and you'll see them hitting that mark just like all the other bulletproof Cruiser wagons.

I have to agree with you here. My '99 that now resides with my 70 year old pops has 375k on it, he just went on a 5k road trip, but barely puts 10k on it a year. My '01 LX has now become my hobby at 173k with my Tundra as my DD. It's funny how I take better care of my Hundy now, as opposed to when I first purchased it and used as my DD. Give it time and you will easily see these rigs in the 500k range, especially since the 100 is no longer being manufactured. The 80 and the 100 WILL be collector rigs just like the 40.

 

[Porter]

Bought my 99 in Jan 04 knowing Cruisers had great reputation, but knowing nothing about this model. $26k at 65k miles for a mall cruiser in Alabama. Almost ten years later, still love it more than the day I drove it home.

I drove my 8 year old home in it from the hospital day he was born, and today we joke that it will be his one day... but not sure I'll be ready to give it up! He can buy his own.

PS- for the record, I've spent 19k on maintenance over the years, with 6k of that on major parts renovation this past winter.

 

[mgeiger]

Sitting at 148k and about to put $2k into headers/install. Doing so without a second thought. When my '04 Suburban tranny started going at 107k - I dropped that thing like a flaming bag of dog doo.

 

[sum4all]

Reading this thread really reinforces my thoughts of keeping the truck forever. We got ours through an auction for $25k with 70k back in 04. It's now at 202k and runs better than when I first got it. Two years ago I thought it was a gonner after the wife ran into a guard rail (insurance cost to repair ~7k, and it wasn't declared total. Practically replaced the whole bottom front end). Then a few months ago someone ran into me, 2k in damage, just cosmetic. But even after all of that, it runs beautiful. It's a weekend/trip truck for us so it spends most of the week in the garage. We're about to head to Va in a few weeks and I look forward to having good family bonding time as always. Other than maintenance issues,The only major thing I've had to spend on it so far is the planetarium (I guess categorize it as tranny issue). Unless it becomes a DD, I won't be hitting 300k for another 7 years. I would only hope that it won't look like some of the 1980's LC that I've seen running around town (rust buckets). At that point, I may really have to consider getting rid of it and get most recent series (2011??)

 

[Landpimp]

yup, back......never stopped loving the 100's(or 40,45, 60, 62's)

just picked up the 90 FJ62 from the dealer, should have seen the gals face when she looked at the mileage.....she had to check twice.....248,000! looks like new inside and out.

only reason it went in.....the AC lost its charge(so got a 134 conversion) and it needed a new muffler/tailpipe(OEM lifetime) cant beat that for under $500

and because I was lazy and I get a killer price(for parts and labor) at the dealer, I dropped off the 2000, it has 148K on it(had 77k when I got it 9? years ago)

I have done the brakes once!(pads and a rotor turn) starting to get some pulsation in the rotors, so having them put on new rotors and brakes....cant see any reason I wont keep it for another 9-10 years. 150k and was still on the original rotors....try that with a loaded down 80!

as far as non maintenance stuff on the 100, 2 xO2 sensors at around 110-120K, 1 coil pack around the same time......thats it!

on the 99 LX with 180K, in 70K its needed a $40 oil pressure sender(and set of brakes).....thats it, well the OEM paint is toast but I guess thats a Lexus deal, looks like crap. oh the freaking rear view mirror has fallen off twice,1st time the window actually broke.

LP makes an appearance! Good to see you back in the 100 forum.

 

[kreiten]

I've pushed most of my Cruiser's to around the 300k mark with no major problems at all, and lots of offroading... I didn't get rid of them because they were falling apart, just always wanted a newer better model and only had so much room in the driveway!!! My fj62 has 280k on it and runs and drives great!

 

[darfin35]

Wrecked my 2004 Land Cruiser while trying it out before I bought it. Ha! It now has 198,000 miles. I've had more expensive cars but it's by far my favorite and I would rely on it before Range Rover or Mercedes. I like that it's not ostentatious like some other cars on the road. It turns the right heads though...

 

[Output Shaft]

It's not so much the miles that determine how long our land cruisers can live, as parts (theoretically) could be thrown at it forever. The problem is Toyota has no plans on letting us do that.

The life of all cruisers is determined by Toyota. It is up to them when your cruiser dies.

Once a critical/crucial part is designated NLA, the party is over.

Time to buy a $80,000 new LC.

My advice to anyone wanting to keep their LC "forever"?

Start hoarding all mission critical parts at around 12 years after last date of manufacture.

Either that, or buy another identical donor vehicle.

 

[ponytl]

my 1998 lc is at 310k I got it with a blown engine @ 305k but it only blew because of a split radiator I inspected the blown engine @305k miles and saw no excessive wear anywhere the clearances were still good and no signs of blow by... pretty sure head gaskets would have fixed it but 100k 4.7 engines are cheaper than doing the heads.... so I built my street cruiser to be a sometimes driver... and have driven it everyday since... been on a few 600mile trips and no one would believe it's a 310k mile truck... it came from texas so it's 100% rust free... which is HUGE and it was maintained... I added touch screen and wheels and tires... it had new leather when I got it... so I think I'm good for 500k easy... with local gas prices @$1.87 it's almost a non issue right now...