Toyota Land Cruiser Gearbox & Transmission Problems

The cruise control issue could be a fault with the body computer whose job it is to talk to the computer that controls the car’s engine and transmission and turn the driver’s instructions into actions. If there was a problem with the physical actuation of the cruise-control, it would potentially not work at all. But a problem that resets when you turn the ignition off and on again is always cause to suspect a computer glitch.

The transmission issue is one that has been ongoing sine the 200 Series was launched. Top gear (sixth) is so tall for fuel-economy purposes that the vehicle in its original form would not select that gear below about 110km/h. That’s fine for the USA and Middle East where cruising speeds are higher, but in Australia, it meant that some owners were never seeing sixth gear.

The solution was to tale the vehicle back to Toyota for a reflash of the on-board computer which would then instruct the transmission to select top gear at 95 or 100km/h. If this reflash hasn’t been performed, you might find that the vehicle has never actually selected top gear in its life. Definitely look into this possibility before spending money on transmission services or anything mechanical.

It could any number of things and the dealer should be able to identify and rectify the cause for you. It could be as simple as a faulty solenoid in the transmission, a problem with the car’s computer, or a dodgy electrical connection.

Toyota Australia spokesman, Steve Coughlan replies: “From our records, Brighton Toyota has reported a very light vibration at speed consistent with when the torque convertor lock-up clutch engages. To fully understand the issue we will arrange for one of our Technical Field Managers to contact Mr Jeffrey and assess the vehicle. A member of the team will contact him to set up a meeting”.

If the shuddering isn't getting worse I would probably persist with it until it starts to slip. If it slips, then definitely replace it.

While most automatic transmissions today are sealed for life and carmakers say they don’t need any servicing it pays to be cautious, especially when towing as you do. The guys at AW Automatics say it holds 8-9 litres, the service fill is three litres, and you should use Toyota WS trans fluid if its in warranty, and Valvoline Synthetic Trans Fluid if its out of warranty.

There should be a plug on the side of the transmission that you can use to check the trans fluid level. It’s unusual to strip teeth off the crown wheel; we haven’t had any other reports of that problem on the Landcruiser.

The gearbox is sealed in production and it's not meant to be serviced for "life", but what "life" means is anybody's guess. Oil is the lifeblood of an auto transmission and Andrew of AW Automatics is of the old school, which advocates changing the oil every 20,000 km, particularly if the car is being used for towing. On that basis you would be well advised to have it changed.

YOU'RE right, it is a messy situation, so we asked Toyota for an explanation, which was: The Land Cruiser diesel automatic transmission gear change points were optimally chosen to ensure the best balance between performance, driveability and economy. In order to maintain the original design for most owners and also provide an option for earlier sixth-gear engagement, an ECU reprogram was developed to change the sixth gear shift point when "S'' mode (S-6) is selected. Once "S-6'' appears in the display, the transmission will automatically select 1 to 6 according to the vehicle speed and driving conditions similar to "D'' range except that sixth gear engages earlier.

DRAGAN Vasic from All-Terrain 4x4 says the life of the standard clutch in the 100-Series is 80,000-120,000km depending on the type of use. Heavy offroading or towing reduces the life. Fitting a heavy-duty clutch doubles the life.

I WOULDN'T expect the hopping problem to be fixed by replacing the clutch, but it may fix the problem with first and reverse gears. It sounds as if the clutch is not fully disengaging, which may mean it is worn. If you haven't replaced the clutch before, it could be due for replacement and I would take the advice you have been given.