What to buy

[Matthew1955]

Hi All,I am looking to get an LC again after a number of years probably 10-12 years old.I am no mechanic so would be getting anything a bought serviced and repaired at Mr Toyota.I have read about problems with the Air suspension so is anyone able to let me know when the system was changed from springs to the Air system or am I worrying unduly Also, could anyone give recommends for what to go for around the 12K mark? It will never go off road but I do live in a fairly remote part of West Wales and can get a lot of snow in some winters, will also do a number of longish distance motorway journeys,probably only looking to do around the 10K miles a year
thanks in advance.

 

[silvercruiser]

Are you looking for the 120 3.0d4d or the 100 series 4.2?

 

[Matthew1955]

Almost certainly the 120 3.0d4d unless I can be persuaded otherwise. A mechanic I know suggested that unless I was doing a min of 20k miles a yr I should go with petrol but I have always had the 3.0 and think I should stick with that

 

[silvercruiser]

It all depends on what you need really. i have the 3.0 d4d auto 120 and cant fault it. i do less then 10k a year and only use it weekends and family trips. which it does with ease. good for trips to the tip etc.

the only thing to check for is the injector seal problem. certain years had different washers that can leak and let the exhaust gases back into the oil which leads to the pick up in the sump clogging.
and check the usual corrosion underneath.

the the lc3 and lc4 have coils springs all round and the lc5 has the rear airbags. but i dont htink they give much trouble so shouldnt put you off a purchase. also the lc5 has the built in satnav screen and climate control which makes it awkward if you want to upgrade the stereo.

 

[clivehorridge]

Welcome aboard Mathew, lived in West Wales for 10 years before moving to South Wales, lovely part of the world, whereabouts are you?

Can't advise on the "newer" Land Cruisers, so I'll leave that to others.

 

[Matthew1955]

Silvercruiser your usage is about what mine will be plus a couple of 450mile roundtrips to London
maybe twice a year.I had heard about the injector seal problem and have been checking on the Toyota recall website to see if the cars I have been looking at have been in for the recall upgrade.

Your advice about the suspension is great to hear so thank you for that,I will start considering the LC5 as well as the previous models.

With regard to screen/no screen is it difficult to upgrade/change the systems to a multimedia system for using handsfree and streaming music through an iphone

 

[Matthew1955]

Welcome aboard Mathew, lived in West Wales for 10 years before moving to South Wales, lovely part of the world, whereabouts are you?

Can't advise on the "newer" Land Cruisers, so I'll leave that to others.

Hi Clive and thanks for the welcome,I am near Narbeth,as you say a lovely area if you can see it through the incessant rain

 

[silvercruiser]

I think you can use parrot blue tooth etc to stream music on the LC5 buts its always a compromise. its exactly why i stuck with the LC4 as its got all the leathers and toys but comes with coil springs and a stereo that you can change, i now have a pioneer headunit that is sat nav, dvd and connects my phone for steaming music etc.

 

[clivehorridge]

Hi Clive and thanks for the welcome,I am near Narbeth,as you say a lovely area if you can see it through the incessant rain

Ah, just 1/2 an hour south of Hermon-y-Glogue, where I had a cottage.

Yep, a bit damp there at times... that's why it's so green... and beautiful.

 

[Matthew1955]

I think you can use parrot blue tooth etc to stream music on the LC5 buts its always a compromise. its exactly why i stuck with the LC4 as its got all the leathers and toys but comes with coil springs and a stereo that you can change, i now have a pioneer headunit that is sat nav, dvd and connects my phone for steaming music etc.

The LC4 set up sound perfect to me

 

[Matthew1955]

Ah, just 1/2 an hour south of Hermon-y-Glogue, where I had a cottage.

Yep, a bit damp there at times... that's why it's so green... and beautiful.

Yeh

 

[Bhutan]

I think you can use parrot blue tooth etc to stream music on the LC5 buts its always a compromise. its exactly why i stuck with the LC4 as its got all the leathers and toys but comes with coil springs and a stereo that you can change, i now have a pioneer headunit that is sat nav, dvd and connects my phone for steaming music etc.

^ Exactly what Silvercruiser said.

LC4, leather, heated seats, sunroof, all the bells and whistles, fit a double din sat nav unit that you can Bluetooth to, perfect for the money!

^^ Exactly what Silvercruiser said re the injectors and LC5 air suspension issues. LC4 all the way!!

 

[Matthew1955]

Thanks Guys,your advice is so helpful and definitely helps consolidate my thoughts.

Can either of you suggest any particular Multiedia system I did like the look of this one ( hope its ok to post links like this if not admin please delete)
https://www.carsoundsandsecurity.co.uk/store/avh-z5800dab/

 

[Bhutan]

Thanks Guys,your advice is so helpful and definitely helps consolidate my thoughts.

Can either of you suggest any particular Multiedia system I did like the look of this one ( hope its ok to post links like this if not admin please delete)
https://www.carsoundsandsecurity.co.uk/store/avh-z5800dab/

Car stereos have new options seemingly every week nowadays, it virtually impossible to keep up with what the manufacturers are putting out unless you actually work in a car audio shop.

Find one that has everything you want, look on the internet for the best price, make your choice and pay your money.

Just to make you mad, next week there'll be something new on the market, or a sale on this model or that - at some point you've got to bite the bullet and click buy now!

And make sure a double din will fit into the vehicle you buy, oh, before I forget, there's different sized double dins nowadays. I'd recommend doing a little research care of an audio shop first.

 

[silvercruiser]

I have the a pioneer and cant fault it. i had to fit two trim pieces either side of my double din as the standard toyota unit is wider. i think i searched ebay and the trims where for a toyota celica. but fit perfectly. if you want any pics let me know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Ce...088629&hash=item232e2914f9:g:aGwAAOSwLF1X2Qui

 

[Matthew1955]

Car stereos have new options seemingly every week nowadays, it virtually impossible to keep up with what the manufacturers are putting out unless you actually work in a car audio shop.

Find one that has everything you want, look on the internet for the best price, make your choice and pay your money.

Just to make you mad, next week there'll be something new on the market, or a sale on this model or that - at some point you've got to bite the bullet and click buy now!

And make sure a double din will fit into the vehicle you buy, oh, before I forget, there's diffeeent sized double dins nowadays. I'd recommend doing a little research care of an audio shop first.

Thanks Bhutan

 

[Matthew1955]

I have the a pioneer and cant fault it. i had to fit two trim pieces either side of my double din as the standard toyota unit is wider. i think i searched ebay and the trims where for a toyota celica. but fit perfectly. if you want any pics let me know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Ce...088629&hash=item232e2914f9:g:aGwAAOSwLF1X2Qui

Thanks Silvercruiser,I have had a look at a couple of the Pioneer and

I have the a pioneer and cant fault it. i had to fit two trim pieces either side of my double din as the standard toyota unit is wider. i think i searched ebay and the trims where for a toyota celica. but fit perfectly. if you want any pics let me know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Ce...088629&hash=item232e2914f9:g:aGwAAOSwLF1X2Qui

Thanks for the link Silvercruiser,If it's not to much trouble a couple of pics would be great,they would give me a good idea of how the finished look would be.
I am hoping I can get one with Apple carplay as the system seem to be the most complete and safe system for an iphone user like me.

 

[Matthew1955]

I have the a pioneer and cant fault it. i had to fit two trim pieces either side of my double din as the standard toyota unit is wider. i think i searched ebay and the trims where for a toyota celica. but fit perfectly. if you want any pics let me know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Ce...088629&hash=item232e2914f9:g:aGwAAOSwLF1X2Qui

Hi Silvercruiser,any chance of those couple of photos of your set up,when you get the chance,thanks

 

[silvercruiser]

Hi Silvercruiser,any chance of those couple of photos of your set up,when you get the chance,thanks

Hi Matthew.
the trim pieces shown are the ones from a celica and fit perfect for this headunit. i wasnt aware that the double dins come in different sizes so best check the width first.

 

[Bhutan]

Here's mine.

The standard size for a double din unit is 7" x 4", that shouldn't change I believe. Different manufacturers make different screen sizes which can confuse the issue, me included, when referencing a 7" double din or 8" double din.

New technology has produced bigger real estate screens, the measurement of which is diagonally across the screen as per your TV so I'm told. This now allows for an 8" screen with less unit trim, whereas the largest screen I could buy at the time was 7", which coincided with the size of the unit.

The confusion may well arise from badly written advertising. 7" double din versus 8" double din, do they actually mean 7" screen double din, versus 8" screen double din, the unit size of both being 7" x 4"? Do check though as Silvercruiser says, I could be off the mark here as technology has moved on dramatically since I bought my unit 12 months ago.