2001 Toyota Land Cruiser Problems

ON MAY 29,2013 AT APPROXIMATELY 1 PM, I WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WAITING FOR APPROACHING TRAFFIC TO CLEAR SO THAT I COULD MAKE A LEFT TURN. SUDDENLY, I HEARD A BUZZER ALARM AND NUMEROUS DASH BOARD LIGHTS LIT UP, INCLUDING ABS, VSC, BRAKE, ETC.COMPLETING THE TURN, I REALIZED THAT THE BRAKES WERE VIRTUALLY NON FUNCTIONAL AND REQUIRED EXTREME FORCE TO SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE. I DROVE TO MY NEARBY HOME AT A VERY SLOW SPEED AND PARKED THE VEHICLE IN MY GARAGE. UPON RETURNING FROM A TRIP I HAD THE TOWING COMPANY FLATBED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THEIR DIAGNOSTICS CONCLUDED THAT THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER HAD FAILED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. TOTAL COST IS $3100 INCLUDING A SLIGHT DISCOUNT SINCE I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER FOR OVER 16 YEARS. THE SERVICE MANAGER COULD NOT RECALL A SIMILAR REPAIR DURING HIS 18 YEARS WITH THE TOYOTA AGENCY. I CONSIDER MYSELF FORTUNATE THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHEN I WAS STOPPED. HAD IT HAPPENED AT FREEWAY SPEEDS OR DRIVING DOWN THE LONG AND STEEP ROADS IN MY COMMUNITY I COULD HAVE HAD A SERIOUS AND PERHAPS A FATAL ACCIDENT. I HAVE A PHD IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WITH OVER 32 YEARS OF INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE. THE BRAKE SYSTEM ON THIS VEHICLE HAS A LATENT DESIGN FLAW WITHOUT A FAIL SAFE BACKUP. TOYOTA SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, REDESIGN THE FAULTY COMPONENTS, NOTIFY OWNERS OF THE PROBLEM AND RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. I SPOKE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE TO HAVE TOYOTA PICK UP THE REPAIR COST. OF COURSE, THEY DID NOTHING, QUOTING THE EXPIRATION OF THE WARRANTY, ETC,ETC.I BELIEVE THE ONLY RECOURSE IS FOR THE NHTSA TAKE ACTION AGAINST TOYOTA. *TR

VEHICLE SKID CONTROL LOCKS UP FRONT WHEEL AT LOW SPEEDS AND MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CLEAR INTERSECTION. OBJECTS AND PASSENGERS ARE VIOLENTLY THROWN FORWARD. DEALER HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN RESOLVING THIS DANGEROUS CONDITION, EVEN AFTER I PAID TO REPLACE THE YAW SENSOR, THE WARNING LIGHTS FOR ABS AND VSC CAME ON THE WAY HOME AFTER REPAIR. THIS PROBLEM HAD BEEN DISCUSSED FOR YEARS ON THE IH8MUD LAND CRUISER ENTHUSIAST SITE. SOME OWNERS REPORT WHEELS LOCKING UP AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS PUTTING VEHICLE IN DANGER OF ROLLOVER ACCIDENT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME ON 7/15/18 AND AS I WAS PULLING INTO MY GARAGE A LOUD NOISE STARTED BUZZING FROM MY DASHBOARD AND MY BRAKE LIGHT, ABS, AND VSC LIGHTS ALL CAME ON AT ONCE. MY BRAKES HAD COMPLETELY FAILED WITHOUT ANY WARNING. THE PEDAL WENT RIGHT TO THE FLOOR WHEN I PRESSED IT AND IT WOULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE. I ALMOST WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE OTHER SIDE OF MY BRICK GARAGE. LUCKILY THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ALLOWED ME TO STOP BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. I HAD JUST GOTTEN OFF THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING AT 70 MPH. I CANNOT IMAGINE IF THE BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED AT THIS SPEED. I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 17 YEARS AND I HAD NEVER HAD A DASH LIGHT OR SOUND COME ON. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE OF A WARNING! BRAKES SHOULD NOT JUST COMPLETELY FAIL WITHOUT ANY INCIDENT OR WARNING. I HAVE SEEN A FEW OTHER POSTS ABOUT THIS HAPPENING FOR OTHER LAND CRUISER OWNERS AND TOYOTA NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED ON THE KING OF SUV'S.

ON MAY 29,2013 AT APPROXIMATELY 1 PM, I WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WAITING FOR APPROACHING TRAFFIC TO CLEAR SO THAT I COULD MAKE A LEFT TURN. SUDDENLY, I HEARD A BUZZER ALARM AND NUMEROUS DASH BOARD LIGHTS LIT UP, INCLUDING ABS, VSC, BRAKE, ETC.COMPLETING THE TURN, I REALIZED THAT THE BRAKES WERE VIRTUALLY NON FUNCTIONAL AND REQUIRED EXTREME FORCE TO SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE. I DROVE TO MY NEARBY HOME AT A VERY SLOW SPEED AND PARKED THE VEHICLE IN MY GARAGE. UPON RETURNING FROM A TRIP I HAD THE TOWING COMPANY FLATBED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THEIR DIAGNOSTICS CONCLUDED THAT THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER HAD FAILED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. TOTAL COST IS $3100 INCLUDING A SLIGHT DISCOUNT SINCE I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER FOR OVER 16 YEARS. THE SERVICE MANAGER COULD NOT RECALL A SIMILAR REPAIR DURING HIS 18 YEARS WITH THE TOYOTA AGENCY. I CONSIDER MYSELF FORTUNATE THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHEN I WAS STOPPED. HAD IT HAPPENED AT FREEWAY SPEEDS OR DRIVING DOWN THE LONG AND STEEP ROADS IN MY COMMUNITY I COULD HAVE HAD A SERIOUS AND PERHAPS A FATAL ACCIDENT. I HAVE A PHD IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WITH OVER 32 YEARS OF INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE. THE BRAKE SYSTEM ON THIS VEHICLE HAS A LATENT DESIGN FLAW WITHOUT A FAIL SAFE BACKUP. TOYOTA SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, REDESIGN THE FAULTY COMPONENTS, NOTIFY OWNERS OF THE PROBLEM AND RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. I SPOKE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE TO HAVE TOYOTA PICK UP THE REPAIR COST. OF COURSE, THEY DID NOTHING, QUOTING THE EXPIRATION OF THE WARRANTY, ETC,ETC.I BELIEVE THE ONLY RECOURSE IS FOR THE NHTSA TAKE ACTION AGAINST TOYOTA. *TR

PAINT PEELING (BLACK MATTE FINISH) FROM FACTORY INSTALLED ROOF RACK - ALL SIDES. *AK

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 5 MPH OVER A SPEED BUMP WHEN THE SPARE TIRE CABLE FAILED, CAUSING THE SPARE TIRE TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THAT THE TIRE CABLE WAS DEFECTIVE AND SUFFERED METAL FATIGUE. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THAT THE CONTACT HAD CUT THE SPARE TIRE CABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY WOULD NOT ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80,000.

IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE ENCOUNTERED A SITUATION WHICH I FEEL IS QUITE DANGEROUS. THE FOLLOWING HAS HAPPENED ON FOUR OCCASIONS WHILE ON HIGHWAYS AND INTERSTATES. WHAT OCCURS IS THAT I WILL BE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 65-70 MILES/HR WHEN SUDDENLY THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS INTO A MUCH LOWER GEAR. I AM NOT SURE WHICH GEAR IT IS, BUT IT IS INTO A VERY LOW GEAR. TWO THINGS HAPPEN. THE CAR SUDDENLY SLOWS DOWN RAPIDLY WITHOUT THE BRAKE LIGHTS COMING ON WHICH CAUSES THE CAR BEHIND ME TO COME CLOSE TO REAR-ENDING ME. BUT A WORSE SITUATION IS THAT THE SUDDEN DROP INTO A LOW GEAR CAUSES THE CAR TO SUDDENLY DODGE TO THE RIGHT - I ASSUME BECAUSE OF THE ENORMOUS TORQUE GENERATED BY THIS SHIFT THAT OCCURS WITHOUT THE ENGINE SLOWING DOWN FIRST. THIS HAS OCCURRED TWICE ON INTERSTATES AND TWICE ON TWO LANE HIGHWAYS, ALWAYS AT HIGH SPEEDS BETWEEN 65 AND 70 MPH. WHEN THIS HAPPENED LAST WEEK ON A TWO LANE HIGHWAY, THE CAR DODGED TO THE RIGHT. TO KEEP FROM GOING DOWN AN EMBANKMENT I STEERED HARD TO THE LEFT AND OVER STEERED A LITTLE, ALMOST HITTING A MOTORCYCLE IN THE ONCOMING LANE. ON TWO OF THE OCCASIONS, ABOUT A HALF-HOUR BEFORE THE CAR DID THIS, I WAS DRIVING WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON AT ABOUT 65 MPH AND THE CRUISE CONTROL WENT OFF BY ITSELF FOR NO REASON. I TOOK THE CAR TO A AAA DESIGNATED TRANSMISSION SHOP YESTERDAY. THEY TOOK IT FOR A TEST DRIVE AND RAN A SCAN BUT FOUND NOTHING. THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IN THE CRUISE CONTROL OR ELECTRONICS OR SENSORS.*JB