120 grande new owner caravanning questions

[MikeyP Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MikeyP]

Hello all and this is my first post to anything really.
Forgive me if I'm in the wrong section.
Yesterday I bought a 2004 petrol 120 series stock Grande with 150000 km on it.
I only take the family caravanning 3 or 4 times per year and mostly only a few hours away with some longer trips planned such as Broome or Exmouth at some stage. Yes I'm aware it's a petrol.
I'm unaware if the transmission has a cooler on it or is there any other recommendations you might offer me as it seems very stock standard at the moment.

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

Hi and welcome.
I have the same model and have no problems with towing my 2000kg caravan. We regularly tow in excess of 800Km per day and the prado does it easily.
Just watch ball weight as with a bit of weight in rear it may sag a bit, in saying that Ive still to fit a lift kit and mine sits level.
Check to look for label in drivers door pillar to ensure the toyota towbar bolts were checked as part of recall because of towbar falling off in a few rare ocassions.

[Guest Close Guest]

Yes there is a factory trans cooler. Just don't tow in top gear. Look at doing trans fluid flushes every 40,000km to keep it in top shape.

If it hasn't been fitted with the shift lever repair kit, have a look into that as it will keep the shifter on the gear below D (especially when towing).

Being a Grande with the airbag suspension, the ball weight of the van won't affect the rear ride height as the airbags will keep the rear level. Check the airbags and if it is old, highly recommend replacing with fresh factory airbags. The airbags are prone to leaks as the rubber ages.

[davey Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close davey]

Hi Mikey,

Nice choice! Yes they come with a factory transmission cooler. Open the bonnet and look just behind the bumper bar to your right you’ll see a miniature radiator between the bar and the main radiator. When towing definitely move the shifter across so the transmission is not stepping back from lock up to flogging away on the torque converter, that’s what builds heat and excessive wear in the auto.

We have a 2003 petrol grande, love it, especially the climate control and console fridge on long trips. The 120 series shape still looks good and modern compared with contemporary 4WDs. I’m a bit of a Toyota 4WD convert – we also have an FJ Cruiser for shopping and the school run. The 120 is now mainly used to tow a 1.5 tonne van on holidays. With everything loaded we’re probably carrying near 2 tonne between the van and the back of the car, ie about 4 tonne all up. Very stable safe tow platform. I fitted anti sway bars when I first bought the van, there was no problem, went a bit nuts buying goodies for the van, thought it couldn’t hurt to make sure.

Our factory airbags do deflate overnight. Takes a few seconds for them to reinflate on start-up, probably have to replace them in the near future. 16 year old rubber bags operating in a pretty inhospitable environment under the car near the hot exhaust system will do that. Our prado drinks like an NRL player in rehab when loaded up, does about 19 - 20 litres per 100 when averaging about 90 – 100 on the highway. Without the van on the highway it can get down to about 12. That’s not too bad for a 2 tonne vehicle with a bit of grunt. Most vehicles will get thirsty pushing a van through the air.

We will have had the Prado for 10 years this coming January. Longest I’ve owned any car. Have serviced it with Toyota every 10,000 kms and I change the oil myself (no filter change) at the 5,000 interval between each service. I do a full detail, wax the paint, returning it back to as-new once a year. The thing is near bullet proof, have replaced tyres, front wheel bearings, brakes and shock absorbers once, due to normal wear and tear (16 years and 190,000 kms). For example, I was impressed towing the van back from Newcastle last Australia Day weekend. Outside temperature was around 40 degrees the whole way to Canberra, got into it fairly consistently on the hills averaging 90 -100 kms, Prado fully loaded with gear and fuel, temperature gauge did not move. I am still getting used to it after having owned Fords and Holdens in the past that routinely needed all kinds of things like water pumps, radiators, thermostats, steering pumps, tow trucks, etc.

Things can go wrong with them as a search around this forum will show you, but nothing major, particularly if the vehicle is properly maintained. Watch the rear tail gate – never let it swing open out of control. Our dashboard had to be replaced due to the usual cracking experienced by many. I replaced the sunroof when we first got it in 2010. The original factory one showed signs of rusts bubbles in the frame, cosmetic only but I’m a perfectionist. Recently had to replace the rubber hose that connects the fuel filler neck to the top of the main fuel tank, easy job, did it myself in under a six pack.

Enjoy!

[MikeyP Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MikeyP]

Some great advice there people, very much appreciated and thank you.
I'm guessing the transmission changes up to 4th only when I leave it over there in 4th, just doesn't go up to 5th? (Even I don't understand that question) pfft
I'm really loving this car more than expected. Had a VE commodore before this and near killed it with the van I reckon. Just wired in a Anderson plug today, well, the rear half as underestimated how long a cable I needed, more than 5m I now Know. No 2nd battery so have a fuse to go next to the main battery and should be good me thinks.
Why didn't I buy a 120 years ago eh!
Cheers all, take care

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

I’ve owned my 120 Grande for about 5 months now (2005 model) and I love it. I was researching long and hard on 3 different 4wd models for 12 months before I bought it so when I had 100% decided on a Grande I just had to spend a further 4 months hunting around before I found the right one at the right price. The best thing is the Grandes are comparable in price to the GXL’s and come with so much more that do make them feel like a genuine luxury vehicle. The electric sunroof, refrigerated centre console that powerfully instantly cools and makes things in it colder than the inside of your fridge, the superior sound deadening that makes the cabin pretty quiet when on the road. The sound deadening is everywhere. The partial leather seats (and electric fronts & height adjustable driver’s seat) are of a very durable quality. Mine only had minor scuffing on the outside edge of the driver’s seat from the previous owner(s) who must’ve worn jeans a bit. I like the telescopic steering wheel adjustment. I found the real sweet spot with it for making my driver comfort go up from 95% to 100%. The climate control is great and so is the rear aircon. The aircon is powerful (incl rear) and works well in genuine hot weather. My toddler son smiles & laughs when the middle row aircon vent above his head makes his hair blow. I’ve been in many other cars where it’s barely adequate on a hot day. The car rides well, the V6 has power on tap and is pretty economical for a car with a fair bit of power in reserve. I also appreciate with all the electronics in the car for its age, there are a lot of wiring looms and lots of busy electrical connectors tucked away out of site. All the extra wiring for the Grande would be labour intensive to factory fit and I can appreciate a portion of the extra cost of a Grande when buying new, covering the fitment of the electricals. There’s a few little things I found a tad dicky with the car during the early days of owning it and taking it off-road for the first time, but nothing major. I don’t like where the 2nd start button is located on the dash. It’s kind of hidden where it’s out of sight out of mind. It needs to be centrally fitted next to the gear lever/4wd lever to make it more of a streamlined process to select it while mucking around with 4wd & diff lock selections. I don’t like it how the dash lights up with an acronym letting you know the traction control is off when you’ve got the centre diff lock engaged. I don’t trust air suspension with remote travel off the beaten track when loaded up with a bit of weight, so I had all the electrical suspension components replaced with the tried & proven standard coil over struts for the front and coils & shocks for the rear. Just a personal decision of mine though so now I don’t need to ever think about it or worry about it. The touch screen head unit would’ve been a really comprehensive & impressive piece of gear back in the day, and is still kind of marginally alright by today’s standards I suppose. Mine doesn’t play MP3 discs which I was a bit disappointed with when I realised. The 6 CD stacker being located under the front passenger seat is not a great place to have it. I find it a bit of a pain to replace discs in it. I’d only imagine an older person that is less flexible would find it a bit of a P.I.T.A to play with. I’m going to upgrade to an apple car play head unit soon, so no great biggy I guess. I’m a bit old school and haven’t progressed to playing music off USB’s as yet. I’m still holding onto MP3 discs. The tail gate needs TLC during day to day use of the car. Be gentle with it if you want it to last. I went up an inch in tyre size and as a result have a LT construction tyre projecting out further off the tailgate & the weight being supported by longer bolts and a ton of spring washers acting as spacers. I had to make up spacers out of bread cutting boards to space the tyre carrier off the door metal. The tail gate is a bit noisy when driving over bumps which can get a bit annoying with that heavy spare wanting to bounce up & down as you drive. So that required a little trial & error to get the spacing correct. My dash has minor cracks in it, but in saying that I don’t really notice them any more. But apart from those little things, I’m very happy with the car. For a 14yr old car it’s still modern & sleek looking & drives like new. To compare it to a popular modern 4wd as an example, it leaves the ever so popular current model Isuzu MUX’s for dead with the tacky crappy quality interior & nasty rough plastics they use, aweful leather look interior in some of them & really poorly designed dash layout. The MUX’s are as rough as a horse and cart to look at inside & to drive, with no refinement and has absolutely no power when accelerating from a standstill & pulling out onto a busy road from a side street with 3 adults inside & getting up to speed with the rest of the traffic, and the Grande is infinitely better than an MUX just with those things alone. So the 120 Prado Grande is definitely a high quality vehicle for its current age & will still look like one if properly cared for and you’ll be happy/lucky to own one. Toyota did well on presenting the Grande as a whole appealing package. Whereas the MUX’s focus is exterior and towing ability only. The interior was an afterthought & major cost cutting exercise with those.