Apparently Prado not made for serious 4WDing?

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

This just proves that old-school Toyota service managers have not changed. They blame the customer for everything, even when Toyota has ponied up for a replacement gearbox. WTF?

We had a Toyota (not a Prado) kill it's second gear synchro some years ago. Service Manager made me take him for a ride in it and pronounced there was nothing wrong, it was my driving. I pulled up immediately and made him drive. It was way worse. After he finished wiping the egg off his face he got the gearbox fixed by Toyota.

We switched to Nissan for company cars after that BS.

[winniliss Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close winniliss]

More misleading advertising by businesses. It's like the latest Hilux ad where old mates vehicle rolls off a cliff and he finds it later on the beach unscratched. Toyota claims the new Hilux is unbreakable but when customers do break it, Toyota tell you that it in not designed for that type of use...

More people today are modifying their 4x4 just to bring them up to a standard for what they were advertised to do. But it is all about market share and Australia is a small part. It makes sense when running a business thou. Just have to shop around and do your research before committing to buy.

The new FJ cruiser is a perfect example. It is meant to replace old one made 30 or so years ago yet there is a 20kg load limit on the front of the vehicle which is not common knowledge.

[KAKADAZ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close KAKADAZ]

KAKDAZ if you pop those buttons off the console and dash you are referring to you will find they are not attached to anything. They are just bits of left overs from a Range Rover that Toyota got cheap at a garage sale.

Damn your right their just blanks.

[BigDog816 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BigDog816]

Should have gone up to the dealership and grabbed a sales brocher for the Prado and ran him through it. Unless they airlifted em in there are a few shots of a prado in some offroad locations (probably serious 4wding by his standards.)

[whiteman Member Find all posts View Profile Close whiteman]

My mate owns the biggest car rental business in NQ. Most of his fleet are used on mine sites and they get thrashed by caring miners. Mining companies specify Prados on site for that type of vehicle. My mate won't touch non-Tojo for this environment. That's about the best endorsement for a stock standard car that I can find.

[watto1974 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close watto1974]

Just had mine for its 20k service today and at the bottom of the service sheet page 1 reads:
This vehicle operates under Severe Conditions
Inspect all driveline oils wheel bearings etc etc

Maybe he needs to look at his operation manuals ha

[chappy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chappy]

I'm employed by an mining company in NW WA all our 4wd's are tojo's and lot of those vehicles are prado's,the same goes with the hire cars and as stated above we are very caring with the vehicles-"As If"!.The bloke needs to get his head out of his ar$e and check in with reality or stick to servicing corollas.

chappy.

[tcprado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close tcprado]

My guess is that either there was a manufacturing fault (can happen with any make / model of vehicle), or the transmission ran too hot. If the sand was very deep and soft, and if tyre pressures were too high (should be no higher than 18 psi for deep soft sand), the oil doesn't lubricate adequately and you can cook the transmission. Transmission temperature indicator is a good after market add on for autos.

[Fluffy Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fluffy]

I went up to Wilbinga (N of Perth) for a day's driving earlier this year and I have the 150 3dr Prado (shorty). She didn't get bogged in the soft sand like some other vehicles and I spent the whole time in 4H with the centre diff unlocked and the auto transmission was fine. The guys at City Toyota in Northbridge reckon the Prado is a very capable off road machine and reckon the 3 door is lots of fun and comes into it's own off road. I can attest to that having owned mine for the last 18 months and having taken her to the Gawler Ranges in SA, Ninghan station, Edah Station and South West. I also try to find dirt roads to come back to the city on just to keep her off the black top. While there's been no "extreme" off roading, there's been a few places where care has to be taken and steep angles and the only modification to standard until yesterday has been a snorkel. Was given the 3 tonne towbar as a birthday present so will look at getting an aftermarket transmission cooler which is a good idea when using them as tow vehicles. The service manager was probably a corolla driver.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

I guess I need to clear this confusion. Its only those 150's that are incapable of true 4wding

No correspondence will be entered into.

No, none,

At all

Trade it in on a 120 and get some value for money.

Why are you still reading? go on, go........

[Kev7762 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kev7762]

Would I be wrong in suggesting you may be biased in this opinion

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Would I be wrong in suggesting you may be biased in this opinion

I decline to comment on the grounds I may incriminate myself.