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Before you buy a used Toyota Land Cruiser (J150).

2009–2024 · Petrol / Diesel · 2 engines

Taken only from Testigo's sourced sheets. Use it to question the seller and on the test drive: it does not confirm that any particular car is affected.

Toyota Land Cruiser (J150), real photo of this generation
Yuri AMbox · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo source

The essentials.

Typical faults by engine

The period and mileage are those mentioned by each sheet's sources. They are not a maintenance interval and do not predict that any particular car will fail.

All versions

Sheets the catalogue links to all 2 of its engines.

  • Noisy V6 injectors and diesel injector seals on the Land Cruiser 150Injection / turbo
    Period mentioned
    2009–2013
    Mileage mentioned
    What the sheet says: According to CarsGuide (Prado is the Australian name of the Land Cruiser), the chain-driven V6 gives little trouble apart from noisy injectors. On the diesel, sludge can block the oil pick-up and destroy the engine if not caught; the seals should be replaced at the valve-clearance check every two years or 40,000 km. The automatic’s hesitation was fixed with a software update.

    Applies if: Early years (2009–2013); the later 2.8 D-4D is a different engine.

4.0 V6

Petrol

We have no faults specific to this engine, only those common to every version.

3.0 / 2.8 D-4D

Diesel

Which engine has the fewest documented faults?

Documented faults and recalls by engine for the Toyota Land Cruiser (J150)
EngineDocumented faultsRecalls
4.0 V6PetrolFewest documented11 with conditions2
3.0 / 2.8 D-4DDiesel33 with conditions2

According to the data we have, the engine with the fewest documented faults is the 4.0 V6 (Petrol).

By fuel type, the one with the fewest documented faults is: Petrol.

We only count the sourced sheets we have. An engine with fewer is not guaranteed to be more reliable: it may have been studied less or sold in smaller numbers.

Official recalls: ask before you pay

A recall existing does not mean this car is affected or that it is still outstanding: it depends on the chassis number, the market and the production date.

  1. Ask the seller for the chassis number (VIN): it has 17 characters, appears in the car's documents and can usually also be seen at the base of the windscreen.
  2. Ask an official Toyota dealer, or the brand's official website if it lets you check by chassis number, whether each recall has been done or is still outstanding for that VIN.
  3. Manufacturer recalls are normally carried out free of charge by the official service network. If one is outstanding, ask for it to be done before you close the sale.
Toyota fuel-system recalls (2002–2026)Fuel system

How to check it: Check by VIN whether any of the recalls is outstanding (at the dealer or on the DVSA website) and carry out the inspection or replacement it requires.

View full entry
Toyota engine, transmission and software recalls (2002–2026)Powertrain and engine management

How to check it: Check by VIN whether any of the recalls is outstanding (at the dealer or on the DVSA website) and carry out the inspection or replacement it requires.

View full entry

On the test drive: what to look and listen for

Taken from each sheet's symptoms and checks. You can tick off what you have already looked at: it is saved only in this browser.

0 of 3 checked

Injection / turbo

  • Look out for: V6: noisy injectors. High-mileage diesel: fuel getting past the injector seals and contaminating the oil. Some owners notice a vibration between 1,500 and 2,000 rpm and, on early automatics, a hesitant gearbox.

    Ask them to check: Check the service history (injector-seal changes on the diesel) and have the oil pick-up inspected through the sump plug; look for underbody damage from off-road use.

  • Look out for: Rattle when cold, rough idle, smoke and blow-by; dirty, sludgy oil and, if the oil pickup blocks, serious engine failure.

    Ask them to check: Check for blow-by at the oil filler cap, test the injectors (back-leak test) and inspect their seats; clean the pickup screen if the oil is sludgy.

Exhaust and emissions

  • Look out for: White smoke and smell from the exhaust, regenerations that never finish, particulate-filter warnings and loss of power, especially in town or at low load.

    Ask them to check: Ask Toyota by VIN whether the filter update was applied; read the codes and run a controlled regeneration at the garage.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these Testigo sheets and their original sources. Sources are not checked in real time.

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