Common problems

Toyota Land Cruiser common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota Land Cruiser: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 78,269 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 19 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=6,554)16.8

All cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858)21.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=6,554)38.2

All cars, same age (n=2,479,858)35.4

What stands out

Body and structure fails show up on 13.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Toyota Land Cruiser at 19 years old (n=6,554), against 9.0 for all cars of that age (n=2,479,858).
Tyres fails are less common: 2.0 per 100 MOTs against 6.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 19 years: side/position light not working, on 5.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.4).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 16.1 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 19 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Toyota Land Cruiser at 19 years (n=6,554) against all cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	16.8	21.5	16.6	17.9
Suspension	15.1	16.9	38.2	35.4
Body and structure	13.2	9.0	25.6	15.2
Brakes	13.0	13.3	30.0	33.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.6	7.5	6.3	6.3
Seat belts and airbags	3.4	2.9	1.7	1.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.3	7.0	9.3	14.7
Steering	3.1	4.1	3.8	6.0
Tyres	2.0	6.8	14.6	26.9
Number plates and VIN	0.7	0.7	3.2	5.9
Road wheels	0.5	0.5

What testers fail most on the Land Cruiser at 19 years

Fail items on the Toyota Land Cruiser at 19 years (n=6,554), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.9	5.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	4.9	3.2	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	3.2	2.1	£182 to £263 per section
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	2.9	1.4	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	2.9	2.6
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.7	2.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.6	3.3	£15 to £30 per blade
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.5	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.5	1.7	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Rear fog lamp: not working	Lights and electrics	2.5	1.2	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 19 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Toyota Land Cruiser at 19 years (n=6,554), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	16.1	14.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	9.2	7.9
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	9.1	16.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	8.9	5.6
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.4	6.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Chassis condition: is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced	Body and structure	8.0	1.8
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.3	13.2
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	7.0	3.9
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	6.8	5.3	£182 to £263 per section
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	5.6	10.8	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 19 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Body and structure
3 years	2,499	2.7	0.3	under 0.1
4 years	2,165	2.8	0.4	0.1
5 years	2,113	2.9	0.7	0.3
6 years	2,272	2.6	1.0	0.3
7 years	2,369	3.0	1.0	0.2
8 years	2,458	3.2	1.5	0.6
9 years	2,428	4.2	1.6	0.6
10 years	2,253	4.0	2.1	1.7
11 years	2,043	6.6	3.4	3.0
12 years	1,982	7.4	4.1	2.8
13 years	1,932	8.2	6.5	4.6
14 years	2,229	11.3	9.3	5.5
15 years	2,872	13.4	10.9	8.1
16 years	3,529	15.8	13.3	10.5
17 years	4,989	16.1	13.5	11.3
18 years	6,237	17.1	15.3	11.5
19 years	6,554	16.8	15.1	13.2
20 years	6,188	16.8	15.4	12.1
21 years	5,343	16.8	14.7	11.6
22 years	4,397	16.4	15.4	12.3
23 years	4,074	17.5	14.7	10.6
24 years	3,789	16.3	14.4	11.1
25 years	3,554	16.0	13.9	11.2

Mileage

At 19 years, Toyota Land Cruiser cars showing 90,000 to 120,000 miles failed 35.0% of MOTs (n=1,088); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 39.4% (n=3,126). For pass and fail rates by age, see Toyota Land Cruiser MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Land Cruiser, testers most often record side/position light not working; driveshaft CV boot split; exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Body and structure

Look underneath at the sills, floor, subframes and jacking points for corrosion, or for fresh underseal that may hide it.
Check that doors, bonnet and boot open, close and latch properly.
Look for loose trim, sharp edges or damage around the bumpers and wheel arches.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Toyota Land Cruiser?

At 19 years, the age with the most MOT tests (6,554), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota Land Cruiser are side/position light not working (5.9 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (4.9 per 100 MOTs), exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases (3.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (16.1) and coil spring: corroded (9.2).

Which parts of the Toyota Land Cruiser fail more often than on other cars?

At 19 years: body and structure (13.2 per 100 MOTs against 9.0 for all cars). Compared with 2,479,858 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota Land Cruiser problems by area

Other Toyota models

All Toyota models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Toyota Land Cruiser?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources