Toyota Prado J150 (2009-2023)

I purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 2021 with confidence, believing it to be a durable, premium SUV backed by Toyota’s reputation for reliability and strong warranty support. Unfortunately, my experience has been the complete opposite. With only 90,000 km on the clock and a full service history (all completed at Brian Hilton Toyota), the… Read more

vehicle developed a serious engine fault in May 2025, just 3.5 years into ownership and still under warranty. After a head gasket repair, it became undrivable due to a “Low Oil Pressure” warning, and has now been in the workshop for over 11 weeks.

Toyota has been unable to identify the fault, despite dismantling the engine. More frustratingly, I have received no clear communication or updates from Toyota Australia. My formal rejection of the vehicle under Australian Consumer Law has gone unanswered, and I’ve been forced to rent a vehicle at my own expense, with no replacement or reimbursement provided to date.

Even though Toyota promises a strong warranty and customer care, they’ve shown no urgency, no transparency, and no accountability. I’ve now escalated this issue to Fair Trading NSW and the ACCC, as my family and I cannot afford to keep waiting indefinitely while Toyota delays without action.

The Toyota Prado 2021 may be a great car on paper, but when something goes wrong, you’re on your own. I can no longer recommend Toyota based on this experience, nothing better than empty promises.

Three prados down – Not a Toyota tragic (have a ranger work Ute) but as a family car in regional Australia, you can’t beat them. Had 3, turn them over around 100,000 kms and never an issue (apart from dirty fuel). Current one at 60,000, averaging 9.3 litres with bigger tyres and bull bar. Others may drive better but I trust them… and never a rattle Show details

Toyota Prado Never Again – Toyota Prado VX 2018 goes into limp mode when towing a Caravan, the car is regular serviced by Toyota. ( what a waste of money) Our local Dealer doesn’t not know what the problem is. Toyota is well aware of the problems but will not fix it. DPF and other problems. That Engine is Toyota’s worst nightmare The 2019 model has also the same problems.… Read more

After driving Toyotas 4x4 for more than 20 years I believe there are better cars for that money. Looks like we have sell the car to tow our Caravan again.

GR8 AWD SUV – Purchased in June 2023 with 63,000Ks, came with new Cooper A/T Tyres, as we’ve recently moved to regional QLD we’ve fitted ARB steel B,bar, Winch, Snorkel & Kenwood in dash Gizmo with the lot, Remapped by Geelong Performance, we’ve since done 30,000Ks in 6 months Regional Vic Melbourne x 3, Adelaide x1, Roads have varied from Freeways to Single… Read more ·  3

Dirt Tracks at Hwy Speed, consumption is steady at 9.2 Lt per 100, Giving Range of 1400-1500Ks. Prado is terrific no issues, strong acceleration between 80-120kph for overtaking, strong braking with BENDIX Ultimate 4WD pads & DBA Std Discs. My only future mods are 30mm increase in Front Springs as Steel B’bar & Winch sagged & replace front shockers with Bilsteins as Std shockers fade after 3-4 hours caused by extra weight, in rear a single storage drawer with a Drawer Fridge(Inc2nd Bat) will complete the setup. Serviced every 10,000 Ks by Repco Hervey Bay Purchased from Rex Gorrells in Geelong Show & Shine Lustre from using “Groundswell” 4WD Products

Other Prado owners who aren’t happy obviously haven’t test driven their Prado’s adequately. !!

Great vehicle until the Jack Collapsed and could have been a disaster. No interest from Toyota – I give 5 stars for the vehicle. It's been fantastic, I have taken it seriously off road and its handled rough terrain brilliantly. I give 1 star to Toyota and their lazy workers at my local Toyota and disinterest in a potential fault in their vehicle. A few days ago we had a flat tyre. On flat ground my husband changed the tyre which he is… Read more

experienced at doing. The jack collapsed and damaged the metal work on the Prado. Thank goodness he had put the spare under the vehicle and he wasn't under it at the time. We took the tyre to the local repair workshop and they had a look at the jack and said I should contact Toyota as it looks to be a fault in the jack and it had damaged our vehicle when it collapsed. I contacted my local Hornsby Toyota dealership, the uninterested man on the phone just wanted to sell me a new Jack for $97. He didn't care less about the potential safety issue or the damage it has caused. Totally pathetic. Completely disappointed in Toyota, a brand that once valued safety and quality.

Excellent vehicle – Bought it with 50,000k's on the clock. Been my work vehicle as a Stock and Station agent. Driven over rural properties, long distances etc. regular service through dealer. Only minor issues. Never faulted. Now at 220,000kms. Excellent vehicle. Show details

Great adventure car. Love it – Bought the Prado GXL 2022 and so far it has been perfect. Comfortable ride, great fuel economy and looks amazing. Recently drove from Sydney to Queensland only using half a tank. Managed to fit all the luggage in the boot with 4 passengers and with some room left. The drive up was comfortable and it drove like a dream. The manoeuvrability was… Read more

surprising good. Managed to squeeze into tight parking spots with nil issues. The interior feels a little outdated but that’s not a big issue. The paintwork and the exterior of the car is made to a high quality. To bad someone already reversed into my car while parked! Over all I’m extremely happy with the car. Will eventually take it off road which is the main reason I got the car.

The lemon that keeps giving – I own a 2010 Kakadu. Imagine driving a car that could blow its pistons at any time due to a known fault. Imagine being stuck on a narrow mountain road with an over heated transmission that was fully serviced just a week ago. Imagine your gearbox has a nasty clunck when dropping back down from 3rd to 2nd on a slow steep hill. And these are all… Read more

known issues. It is also quite prone to rust on the underside. I have owned several Pajero Exceeds over the last 18yrs and never had a major issue. This Prado 150 is incredibly disappointing and I do not recommend them.

Loved this car until the gearbox died at 165000k’s and Toyota wanted $12,000 to fix! – We have owned the car since new and have serviced it regularly through Toyota and done very little towing or off-road work. Unfortunately, while driving in the city, we heard a large thud and then a horrible grinding noise while driving across a busy intersection. After calling the tow truck and dropping the car off at our local Toyota service… Read more

centre, we received the bad news that the gearbox was broken and couldn’t be repaired. The quote to replace the gearbox was $12000! My local Toyota service centre were great and offered to run an out of warranty claim on my behalf, as they felt a Prado gearbox should last longer than 165000k’s, but central office Toyota rejected the claim - they felt it was reasonable for a gearbox to fail at 165000k. After this experience, I will never own a Toyota again. It’s a pity, as our Prado was a great car, but we will be sticking with Mazda or Isuzu in the future. Unfortunately our Toyota wasn’t unbreakable!

Nice family car. Not a great one (2020 January model) – I bought this as my dream car but I felt some issues like jerking when shift from parking gear to reverse and it is noisy as well . Recently I noticed that there is some kind of sound coming while breaking. Torque converter gear box is not that great. It is always jumping around 5th and 4th gear not locking on 6th even on highways and it’s playing… Read more

big roll on fuel efficiency . I don’t think it’s value for money. I use this car for almost every day for work and weekend outback trips, beach drive etc. I used to service the car on 8000K. I have done 30000k on this car. Good things are It’s a comfy spacious car for family.

Really good – Great handling, comfortable, reasonable pricing, lots of room, I love it

My New Prado – Had this new Gun Metal Toyota Prado for two weeks now , what i like the best about it is i have better vison with having ther spare tyre under the car now rather then on the back tailgate , so it does reduce the fuel tank capacity but who cares , i rather see more on what is happening when driving , The Technology has increased since i had my last… Read more

one i got in 2018 but the saftey features are really up there and its a much safer vehicle to drive , i recommend anyone looking for a new 4 x 4 check out the Land Cruiser Prado.

An Aussie icon – We drive a lot in our household. We have had our 2022 VX Prado for four and a half months and have already clocked almost 12,000 kilometres. In that time, we have become very familiar with the car. We initially wanted the flat tailgate but were glad to get the additional tank capacity (they are not the most fuel-efficient vehicles). Some things… Read more

you might read about elsewhere worth reiterating:

- It beeps as you for everything. My wife often leaves her keys in the car inside of a handbag she left and when you attempt to lock the vehicle using the sensors on the door handles, you get a loud long beep. Step out of the vehicle while it's running and have your key? You'll get a beep saying the key cannot be detected. It beeps at you for everything.

- The interior is very old school Toyota. Unlike competing vehicles in the late $70-80k range, the inside while being tidy and spacious isn't very modern. You don't buy a Prado for it to be pretty, but an interior refresh wouldn't hurt.

- Only one USB port (and it's not very high wattage).

- The quality of the reverse camera is terrible. I've driven other older Toyota vehicles like Corolla's which have reverse cameras that look better and function better in low light too. I wish Toyota would fix this and offer the improved camera to existing owners.

- Adaptive Radar Cruise Control does not support stop/start. This means when the vehicle drops below a certain speed, the cruise control disables. Once again, I have driven other Toyota vehicles which have the stop/start feature.

Overall despite the lack of modern inclusions and a few annoyances, it's a good car. It's reliable and you can trust it will last a long time. At least they offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in the Prado now. The Digital Audio is a nice touch and the sound system is awesome.

Great vehicle – Bought in 2014 to tow caravan around the country. COVID has in fact restricted it to under 100,000. Only repair was strut holding back door open expired. It’s light on diesel but a bit expensive to service every six months. I took out extra new car warranty which will run for nine years. After that I’ll go to 10,000 services. Best car I’ve had in sixty years owning. Show details

THE best car – I purchased this car new in 2015. I have travelled all over, with absolutely no issues at all. Reliable, comfortable and easy. Birdsville, country, NT. Servicing is every 5000km I have contemplated getting a new car (BMW) but scared to get rid of an older faithful. My only issue now is prado prices have gone up and not much of a change in… Read more

design. Since 2015 they have gone up $15k!!!! Value for money?!? NO!!!!! Sorry Toyota, love the car but value for money isn’t there this time.

Satisfied with smaller Toyota – Purchased from CMI Southside with Aaron Tartoosy who looked after our build by keeping us informed. Was an excellent dealer, I will deal with them again. The presentation of our Kakadu was terrific. Show details

Love My Prado – We bought the Prado to tow our campertrailer, I was driving a Honda CRV, however the CRV did not have the power we needed to tow. We wanted a car to have the room to take our 3 Labradors away camping too. I use the Prado for work, I am a Community Care Aide, most of my clients are able to access the car comfortably. The Prado is big and comfortable inside, my Mechanic services the Prado twice a year. No major problems. Show details

Vibration Centred at 1800rpm (misfire?) – I also have a vibration in my facelifted 2016 manual Prado but centred at about 1800 rpm, which I noticed the first time driving home from the dealership when brand new. It took me six months to bed down the issue only occurred during sweeping turns and occasionally coming out of a roundabout. After countless visits to the dealership, much testing… Read more

and recording of data, it was determined to be the Vehicle Stability Controller kicking in (cutting the engine out in a throbbing fashion to make sure I don't plow into something whilst my car is allegedly out of control lightly accelerating out of a roundabout). More testing, data sent to Melbourne analysts and even an engineer coming from Japan to investigate (and I believe another vehicle in Newcastle NSW with the same issue), it was concluded this is a characteristic of the car (and likely to only be present in Manual models, which I'm told consisted of only 1% of Prado sales of that build year) and I was not deserving of a refund and had to live with it. As a qualified mechanic; this is not a characteristic but a blatant let down of a customer who once couldn't rave enough about the Toyota product. I can't believe they even tried to use the excuse that I had replaced the factory road tyres to light-grade offroad ones (as they were getting close to being worn) and that was now reason enough to not honour their warranty. I put the old tyres back on and offered for them to resolve the issue but of course, there was nothing that could be done with a "characteristic". Needless to say, there was more fun to be had with the DPF etc and the threat of legal action didn't get me anywhere, however I'm glad forums such as this one exist and my experiences can be shared. Yes, you have lost your way Toyota Australia (noting the dealership seemed quite helpful but could only act under instruction from Toyota Australia). I'm glad to be getting rid of the vehicle as this experience, to an otherwise legendary and long-standing product, has soured my affection and I will never invest in nor promote the brand favourably again. I will be buying a competitors product such as Isuzu MU-X or have even considered Ssangyong Rexton; at least with that gang you know what you're getting for your money :). Shame on you Toyota!

Wow ...What a feel – Very happy with my purchase ... Pros: Impressed with its fuel efficiency. Great handling. Retains its value. Easy to maintain. Reliable Powerful Engine Cons: Pricy with options Entertainment system is not the best in market. Overall very good vehicle.  Show details

New Prado VX 2021 WoooW Experience – Brought my dream car and this is my experience. I brought Brand NEW Toyota Prado VX within last 5 months and today it has done 7,000km . Since day ONE I found these issues 1) Horrible feeling of Forward jerk / jump each time when you shift gear from Park/Reverse to forward Drive gear . ? Could this be a Gear Box faulty . I took this to dealer… Read more

they adviced it’s normal but as car enthusiast it’s not . Issue 1 - Rough Gear Shift / Gear box not fine tuned

2) Hissing noice from Break Boost every time you apply break Issue 2 - noisy Braking

Rest all is good . For all Prado Owners / buyers check this for yourself which goes unnoticed if you don’t pay attention.

How can I find solution ? . If anyone know please advice .

Bad vibration at 1500rpm. Toyota says it's normal – I bought a new 2020 GXL Prado in December 2020. From the first day I picked it up I noticed a vibration/shudder at about 1500-1700rpm. Took it back to the dealer who got Toyota technical people out to look at it. They agreed the car had a vibration/shudder, and I asked for the vehicle to be replaced. Toyota Australia have said that ALL Prados do… Read more

it and they consider it is not a fault. Toyota customer service is terrible. I have owned Toyota vehicles for 40 years and never had a problem, but now that a vehicle has an issue, they run away. Don't buy a toyota vehicle unless you drive it first. Toyota do not stand behind their products.

Updated 150kw engine completes the appeal – October 2021 update: I took delivery of the new model Prado in early October 2020. It has now done 18,000 km and I have really enjoyed driving this vehicle. The throttle lag annoyed me during city driving so an EVC throttle controller unit has been fitted. This is usually left on the A C setting. Wow, what a transformation! It makes the car very… Read more

responsive now. I turn the unit off when on the highway to prevent too many kickdowns while on Cruise Control. Note that this unit does not alter any Toyota ECU settings. The third row of seats were permanently removed, saving about 40kg. A new ply floor, fridge box and one drawer have been fitted at the rear. Five Falken Wildpeak AT3W tyres were fitted at 3,000km. They are not noisy, with both wet and dry grip being very good. Fuel economy is c.9.7L/100km with mostly highway driving, no towing. PROS - solid, quiet engine with very good acceleration performance DPF cleanup occurs about every 250km. I would not be aware of this without the dash indication. smooth auto transmission which holds on to top gear very well on the highway softish suspension which absorbs most bumps to give a comfortable ride well designed functional controls and comfort features comfortable seats and good front and side vision CONS - too many minor alerts or alarms, most of which can be disabled original Dunlop tyres have weak side walls. One tyre got spiked by a small stick at a roadside stop. Tyre went flat overnight and it was unrepairable.

Waste of too much money – Had my 2019 near new used car prado for half an hour ,after leaving Bunbury Toyota where I paid $66,000 car started shaking badly . In the service department for two days ( left me with no transport ) to be told cv joints and rotors needed replacing . It supposedly had just been serviced ? The active cruise control can’t do low speed of 40 klm… Read more

hour where as we all now there are many speed zones of that , it clunks around in the new gearbox , the 2.8 was meant or more efficient and not lost any power ..... my 2014 go prado was a lot quicker . The media system is dated and there is no additional USB in the back ? I went with a gxl for I thought the back would lay entirely flat ( for camping ) but unlike my gx this second row seat does not lift up towards the front of the car so it’s even more of a slope in the back with all the seats down .. it doesn’t have steer assist or even drivers blind spot lane warning , it only beeps too much if you are not correctly in the exact middle of the lines . It takes eternity to resume the set speed if car slows in front oh and my major concern is when using active cruise control the people don’t know what’s happening as your brake lights don’t come on when the car reduces speed quite dramatically I’ve been the victim of road rage numerous times and I’ve had the car under a month . Oh it has stupid headlight washers that pop out and squirt (wow for $66,000 you think they could lash it on stereo or making it so bigger tyres can easily be put on without changing expensive parts ) TOYOTA YOU DISSAPOINT AND IM MAKING SURE I INFORM ANYONE WHO THINKS OF BUYING ONE TO STOP .... there better value cars out there with lot better customer care after you buy one of their vehicles unlike TOYOTA who responded with contact the yard you bought from who they then said sorry they can’t reimburse my money . Very unhappy customer and recently I had my headlights turn off whilst driving at night time on country roads where I live and a message displayed on the dash saying Headlight malfunction contact dealer !! It’s been in the service yard almost two weeks now and still they have not been able to fix the issue the loan car they lent me broke down on me on Australia Day while I was heading to the city to celebrate with friends and now I am stuck with no car no refund and no faith in Toyota as a whole . I’ve contacted Toyota and asked to reimburse my money so I can at least purchase a safe reliable car which I thought I did but I’m told they cannot do this ? So in the meantime Toyota expects me and my kids to drive in an unsafe car or no car at all ! Toyota you are the biggest rip off I’ve met yet and if you can’t make a reliable safe car then STOP before some one has a fatal accident one day like me and my daughter almost did . Kt

Toyota has lost its way – I've had toyota's for work trucks for a lot of years and have held them in high regard until purchasing my wifes 2019 Toyota Prado GXL. The car is not a bad car but given the price of this vehicle I would expect more. I traded a 2007 Landrover Discovery 3 with approximately 220,000 km on it and it served us well. I figured with the Landrover… Read more

being 12 years old an update to Toyota would be an update and how disappointed have i been with the latest offerings.

The platform is fine, the 150 has been around for long enough to give me confidence that the bones of this vehicle are sound. And my base model work trucks have illustrated that as well. However with the GXL update i cannot say that Toyota has done customers proud.

- Leather interior is terrible, after 15 months of ownership the drivers seat has worn through the leather along the stitching (12 years 220k in a Landrover showed little signs of wear 2005 ford falcon with leather did not do this after 5 years of ownership). This is not creasing or wear like that but has physically worn through to the hide. - Fixtures inside the vehicle seem flimzy, passenger seat adjuster jammed after about 4 weeks of ownership. so to did the clip that retains the 3rd row seats. - rear shroud around tow hitch came away after clipping it getting a small bag of groceries from the vehicle. - roof rail caps keep coming off and have had to use silicon to stick them down. - And finally, this is not a racing car, the engine does the job and that is it but for a vehicle of this size it is woefully undercooked and struggles to overtake if you need to, the car toes well but it takes time to get up to speed. It seems to have less power then earlier versions of the vehicle so im not sure if this is an emissions thing. - The GPS is horrendously out of date and Toyota expects you to pay exorbitant fees to have the latest map file installed (this car is 15 months old and i suspect the map file used was 12-18 months out of date at the date of purchase).

Overall I know i will get my money back as resale on these is reasonable and part of the reason I purchased but this will be my last Toyota unless i buy a farm. As i said the bones are good but that is where it ends, I think Toyota is over rated and they truely have lost a future customer.

Great 4WD SUV – Purchased new, vehicle is a 2019 Toyota Landcruiser Prado GXL Premium 2.8DT 6 spd Auto. If you're considering a 4WD and Toyota Landcruiser Prado is on your list, then you'll be spoilt for choices with many vehicle in the market at this price range. These are the reason why I've opted to purchase the vehicle, - Strong resale value - Capable 4WD… Read more

from factory - 7 Seats options - 3 way climate control - Long range fuel tank (not applicable for flat tail gate) - Good economy for size/weight of vehicle, I average approx. 9.5L/100km or 1,360 before fuel light illuminate. - Spacious Cabin and 3rd row seat can accommodate adults (ideal for 170cm tall). - Cup holders 1st, 2nd and 3rd rows. - Premium Options is a must, Cooling and heated front seats and heated rear seats (2nd row). - Factory ride height commendable for beach and light off road. - Excellent visibility, large side mirrors and blind spots. - 4WD aftermarket support from many large reputable leading brands.

Thing's that I do not like, although Toyota has this upgraded in the August 2020 onward Landcruiser Prado. - 130kw / 450nm, power is sluggish for size of vehicle. It could do with more power. If you're planning to tow over 2.5T, this vehicle may not be for you as you will notice the car will struggle up hill. The new 2020 Landcruiser Prado will come with bigger turbo, revised pistons and software that produces 150kw / 500nm. - Infotainment considered poor, no apple/android, sound quality to be average and factory Sat Nav is mediocre. However, the new model will now come with 9inch Screen and apple/android. - On freeway/high speed you will notice the front bonnet will have vibration/ripple. - Average boot space with 3rd row down and no boot space with 3rd row up (you can only fit an umbrella folded up). - 6 months service intervals/10,000km.

Rear tail gate opens side ways, regardless whether you opt for a flat tail gate or spare wheel mounted and I would personally opt to have the spare wheel mounted as you will get the additional 70L fuel take (long range combined 150L) versus having the wheel underneath. Flat tail gate will only reduce the weight of the mounted spare wheel and appearance. As noted above, Premium option is a must if you could stretch a few thousand more as the GXL is probably the most popular spec. As you move on to the VX its a higher price tag and you will only gain benefit of a few extra driver safety tech and creature comfort (2nd face lift had KDSS on VX which is now only available on Kakadu) and Kakadu will start getting you into the Landcruiser 200 series (GXL Spec).

During my ownership of over a year, I've been please with the overall comfort and driveability. There is capped price servicing for the first 3 years / 60,000 at $240 each service. Toyota also "Your Service Price" so you can expect what your next service cost is outside of the capped price program. Diesel engine is quite noisy compared to the European cars and car will drop lower gear on slight incline time to time.

I have had no DPF issues or warranty claim to date. I don't regret my purchase and a happy owner. Would given a 5 star now if I owned the new spec Landcruiser Prado.

The most reliable car ever made – Car was purchased at 88000kms, drove till 115000kms, service as required. Went off road on occasions, never disappointed me. Sold the car after 2.5 years, price depreciated 5000 in total. I mean I could sell it for 1500 more but was eager to get my next car, so just agreed to the first offer. Sold within 4 days of posting ads on carsales. If your… Read more

looking for something reliable with good resale value or good for off road, don't go chasing butterflies after land rovers, get Toyotas and mission accomplished.

Crack Piston at 118,000km – Purchased our new Prado Diesel June 2015. Travelling on the M1 up to Newcastle when the cruise control could not keep the car moving and were losing speed. We stop the car and the car was shaking so we turned it off and mad a clucking sound. They car could not be restarted. Got a tilt tray to take it to Toyota Cardiff but they were too busy. Took… Read more

it to a local mechanic where it was thought that something wrong with the injectors. Then on the back of a tilt tray we had the car sent to our mechanic in Sydney. The diagnostic was that it had a least a cracked piston but it could have more problems. Parramatta Toyota dealer would not look at the Prado unless it was at their service centre. Another tilt tray, so delivered to them on March 2. We were told that they would take pictures, and send them to Toyota Australia for an outcome in a couple of days. We phoned every second day for an update but got told more pictures were needed. One occasion the service person laughed another made reference that stop phoning we’ll phone you when it’s ready. Until one day a phone call with the solution. Toyota Australia will pay for the bottom end but we have to pay the top end. We got the Prado back on April 2. No one gave us service car while Toyota procrastinated on what to do or while the repairs happened. A whole month without a car. No one from Toyota or the dealership has discussed why it happen, the cause of the problem, what was replaced or how we could have prevented the problem. We just got the invoice for 5k and told pay this. Also there was 118k on the clock and returned with 121k. Our car is always serviced. We have had Toyota’s in the past but I don’t think they are as reliable as they say. I don’t believe spending 70k for major break down to happen just after the warranty period is value for money. Oh What a Feeling has now a different meaning. A bitter taste.

It's like a lemon – Bought second hand prado from maddington Toyota Perth. Done only 97k. I thought would be good car. But turns out it's like a lemon. Rear door is loose, even been to Toyota dealership 3 times. Its just rattle they couldn't fix it. Not really happy with Toyota response in it. Show details

It’s a great car but engine!! Bit too small for its size – Bought my 2020 kakadu overall it’s great car but I owned 2009 before which was more powerful engine the new 2.8 litre diesel not enough power !! Apart from that it’s great car!! Show details