Prado service requirement frequency?

[Theodor Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Theodor]

I am interested in purchasing a Prado so I have been researching info about them. However one aspect I haven't been able to nail down is the frequency of mechanical services and what is involved. I am assuming a minor service is something like 10,000kms for a diesel and 15,000 for a petrol engine, and the standard checks and changes are done e.g. oil.

When are the major services and what is involved? I've heard around 150,000kms the rubber belt and nearby stuff like the water pump are changed. What else should I be aware of?

On my old Opel Zafira the internal chain drive was normally done around 120k kms. Of course it was very expensive and whether it had been done or not affected the resale value. So I just don't want to purchase a second hand car and then find I'll have a major service required within a few thousand clicks.

Thanks in advance.
Mark

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Petrols are 10,000k
D4D are 10,000k
1kz, the early diesels are 5000km

Every 80,000 is generally a major service.

When you look at a Prado grab out the service book and have a flick through and will have everything listed.

Cheers Andrew

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Services are as AJ has listed above but if I had a D4D I would be doing an oil and filter change every 5k.
With the petrol the majors are 40, 80, 120k etc

[Theodor Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Theodor]

How about tyre changes? How long do the tyres last if you have a semi-off-road set?

Actually what tyres do people recommend for casual weekend 4WD driving? I'd like to access more of the hard to get to inland NSW lakes and rivers for fishing.

[MelbournePark Member Find all posts View Profile Close MelbournePark]

I went through my service book for a D4D 150. The first 100k was around 22 hours servicing; the second around 28 hours. Services are 1.8 hours roughly, plus bigger ones at around the 40K mark, 4.6 hours. The first 3 years are covered by a capped price scheme too.

Changing three differential oils is an increase in cost over normal vehicles consumerable costs. Mitigated though by the long life of Toyota transmissions and the body ... IMO.

For a diesel, adding the 5K oil change interval would increase those hours of service somewhat, plus consumerable costs. I wonder too, if one is recommending 5K services, mightn't a Toyota extended warranty cost less? Particularly if the work the vehicle does is not severe ... for instance, if the mileage was bitumen highway mileage, IMO 5k servicing would be a waste of money.

I think though I will get one of those oil filters to get inbetween the crankcase venting recirculating tube. I am curious too about whether Toyota's water separation filter for its distillate does the job ... because some people put in bigger water separate filters ...


As far as tyres go ... hmm ... my 90 series would get 90k out of a set of tyres with lots of tread left. I think Cooper tyres offer a 90k guarantee, but that requires rotation and front end alignments. I know they do this on their Cooper AT#3 M&S 70% road tyres which are pretty quiet on the bitumen.

Prices? A set of the above tyres cost around $1,300. The RACV used to say that 4WDs cost a lot in tyres, but the RACV never realized IMO that 4WD tyres last much longer than car tyres. IMO 4WD tyres cost no more than car tyres when you work out the mileage, and if one works out the people and gear carrying work done, they are cheaper than car tyres IMO.

IMO too, a chassis isolates the body from road shocks and vibrations. Which is not the case with cars or monocoque 4WD vehicles.

[Theodor Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Theodor]

Thanks all. That's really been helpful. I now have a better idea on the kms i'm willing to get on a 2nd hand vehicle.