Toyota Landcruiser Towing

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duggydo

Active member
I just watched Andre's video about how the Land Cruiser sucks at towing. There are several things he points out that seem to be easy fixes for Toyota. I don't know why they made so many poor design choices. The only SUV I've ever towed with was a GMT800 Tahoe. It was simple and really no different than a truck for towing. It seems like Toyota is just phoning it in with design choices lately and this is just another example.

 
Didn't that Tahoe come with the goofy plastic hitch cover like the LC? I know the one I drove had one. Typical Toyota though. They are never first with the tech and when they do bring it, it's very conservatively designed usually making it frustrating. Having to turn on a brake controller is odd, but at least they have one. Like their cameras, great that they have them, but they only work when going slow or in 4L.
 
duggydo said:
I just watched Andre's video about how the Land Cruiser sucks at towing. There are several things he points out that seem to be easy fixes for Toyota. I don't know why they made so many poor design choices. The only SUV I've ever towed with was a GMT800 Tahoe. It was simple and really no different than a truck for towing. It seems like Toyota is just phoning it in with design choices lately and this is just another example.

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I’m going to do a towing video with that same Land Cruiser on Wednesday. I need to watch this one and see where he thought it sucked.
 
Just finished the video. He doesn’t like the cover, the placement of the tow/haul mode, turning on the trailer brake controller and wants more settings on the screen. I think that covers it. I’ll be sure to address those concerns.
 
testerdahl said:
Just finished the video. He doesn’t like the cover, the placement of the tow/haul mode, turning on the trailer brake controller and wants more settings on the screen. I think that covers it. I’ll be sure to address those concerns.
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I'm shocked that a brake controller is standard equipment. I don't think a Bronco even has it available as an option.
 
Dusdaddy said:
Didn't that Tahoe come with the goofy plastic hitch cover like the LC? I know the one I drove had one. Typical Toyota though. They are never first with the tech and when they do bring it, it's very conservatively designed usually making it frustrating. Having to turn on a brake controller is odd, but at least they have one. Like their cameras, great that they have them, but they only work when going slow or in 4L.
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The one you drove was probably a newer Tahoe then. This was an early 2000's model.
 
Dusdaddy said:
I'm shocked that a brake controller is standard equipment. I don't think a Bronco even has it available as an option.
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All bronco except the bronco raptor have a towing rating of 3500lbs or below. Technically, nothing that they can legally tow needs a brake controller.
 
He had a simlar take with the Lexus GX, first time I've ever heard them say a vehicle is rated for too much weight. It's odd because the GX is the same powertrain as the Tundra but he ran out of pedal on the Ike quick. I wonder what's going on there.

The brake controller on the LC is goofy, it should automatically turn on when a trailer is hooked up. Having to remember to go deep into the settings is scary for the people that aren't regular towers.
 
Fightnfire said:
He had a simlar take with the Lexus GX, first time I've ever heard them say a vehicle is rated for too much weight. It's odd because the GX is the same powertrain as the Tundra but he ran out of pedal on the Ike quick. I wonder what's going on there.

The brake controller on the LC is goofy, it should automatically turn on when a trailer is hooked up. Having to remember to go deep into the settings is scary for the people that aren't regular towers.
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I think that's a solid complaint. Honestly, I'm not so sold on the other issues. I know people see the LC as a truck, but I skipped through some of the truck vs LC comparisons. It didn't seem like a realistic comparison to me. IMO.
 
I think Andre was trying to illustrate that the software could be much better. I agree, the other complaints are mostly nit picking except the hitch and chain space.

Is the GX the first turbo car up the ike running out of pedal?
 
Fightnfire said:
The brake controller on the LC is goofy, it should automatically turn on when a trailer is hooked up. Having to remember to go deep into the settings is scary for the people that aren't regular towers.
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Yeah it is odd you have to turn it on. I guess that does force one to choose which type of brake system they have. Which is probably good for those who do not tow often and will make them check the manual where it is easy to find.

When you plug in a trailer and get in your GMC, does it ask you what type of brakes or does it default to pure electric? My Ram is old enough to not even have any settings like type of brake or trailer names, etc., just a controller.
 
Dusdaddy said:
Yeah it is odd you have to turn it on. I guess that does force one to choose which type of brake system they have. Which is probably good for those who do not tow often and will make them check the manual where it is easy to find.

When you plug in a trailer and get in your GMC, does it ask you what type of brakes or does it default to pure electric? My Ram is old enough to not even have any settings like type of brake or trailer names, etc., just a controller.
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I had to google around for that lol, all of the trailers I've used are electric but It auto detects as soon as plugged in. It also reminds you to turn on Tow/Haul when a trailer is plugged in and auto jumps to the trailer selection/entry if the trailer isn't pre-programmed and recognized. If it is, then it's selects the trailer and loads the entered values.

Entering the trailer is nice as it tracks MPG with trailer, total miles towed and can run system checks for each trailer with a few other things. I don't really think all of that is necessary on a mid-size SUV but nice to have.

It just seems like a badly implemented afterthought on the LC. The menus should at least be on the larger infotainment screen with everything in a towing section. I could see LC's towing small campers, boats, jet ski's, snow mobile's etc.
 
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I max towed today with the Land Cruiser. It was rather nerve racking, but OMG the fuel economy. I'm waiting on Toyota to respond to some questions about error messages that popped up. You'll want to watch this one. Sorry for being vague, but wow was that a day!
 
Fightnfire said:
I had to google around for that lol, all of the trailers I've used are electric but It auto detects as soon as plugged in. It also reminds you to turn on Tow/Haul when a trailer is plugged in and auto jumps to the trailer selection/entry if the trailer isn't pre-programmed and recognized. If it is, then it's selects the trailer and loads the entered values.

Entering the trailer is nice as it tracks MPG with trailer, total miles towed and can run system checks for each trailer with a few other things. I don't really think all of that is necessary on a mid-size SUV but nice to have.

It just seems like a badly implemented afterthought on the LC. The menus should at least be on the larger infotainment screen with everything in a towing section. I could see LC's towing small campers, boats, jet ski's, snow mobile's etc.
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Yeah, I still say GM does the best with towing software. Although the new Ram's are much better than before but I haven't played with one yet.
 
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