Yeah, since it's a base model, I'm going to guess they didn't put the fuse in the fuse box for the brake controller. And that's just a pure guestimation But I've seen stupid stuff like that in new vehicles.
You guys have my full respect. One of the very few car reviewers testing and reviewing a vehicle using real world use cases-and could always find glitches or issues so that prospects are informed and manufacturers can improve. What a great due diligence.
Currently on my honeymoon and drove through the Ike for the first time ever. I drove through the tunnel and was like oh Eisenhower tunnel thats cool. Then started driving downhill and put two and two together and was like OH MY GOSH IM ON THE IKE! Just started freaking out and my wife was so confused. I was like the TFL crew have been here many times! Roman, Andre, Tommy, everyone!! Was super cool!
The brake controller is turned on/off in the settings menu. Go to "Settings" / "Vehicle Customize" / "Utility" / "Brake Type" and select the the correct one. You will probably find it was set to "Off"
@MrTonaluv There are more sections to the owners manual. Roman just did a poor job looking. He looked at the how to tow section; not the brake controller section. The manual clearly explains what is needed to set up the brake controller for a trailer with electric brakes.
Shouldn’t be that difficult. I had a taco and 2 new tundras , some things were always a pain in the ass like putting it in 4x4 or taking it out of 4x4 . Loved all 3 trucks but why doesn’t it just work like the other trucks …..
Ha!!!! My 5 year old son playing with his legos, seemingly not paying attention hears Roman’s outburst and says, “ I heard a bad word!” 😂😂😂😂 Someone missed the edit 😅😅😅
Do a trailer test with a larger enclosed trailer that has more wind resistance for comparison against an open trailer. That's where my 4Runner struggles. Thanks!
Great point. I tow a 25' RV travel trailer which is 3800# empty, 5000# gross. Those numbers don't tell the whole story.. It's also 10' 6" high at the A/C unit and 7.5' wide. On paper, a Honda Pilot can tow it. Yeah, not so much. (We tried it...once.) Wind resistance makes a big difference if you're towing near max. (At least the TFL guys have thinner air that high up. Lol.) We now tow that RV with a max-tow-rated F150. Lesson learned.
The gauge cluster screen they use isn't visible from the passenger side. I rode in the passenger seat of one of these with sunglasses off and you can't see anything from the passenger seat on the screen. It gave me an impression of cheapness for that screen.
That's because it's not a landcruiser. It's a prado in the rest of the world, the real landcruiser is larger, more powerful and better in every conceivable way. The car they are testing here is what people take kids to school in here in Australia.
I traded my 2018 Tundra due to the fact I couldn’t get brake controller to work correctly. They tried to fix it a couple times unsuccessfully. Intermittently on and off. My 2021 worked flawlessly.
I've seen the same brake controller fail before towing with my Ram 3500. It was a loose 7-pin connector. I suggest due to the sideways mount, checking the brake controller while someone holds/cocks the 7-pin connector.
You guys have tested how many Tundras with brake controllers? Land Cruiser is the same process, go into the settings and select a trailer brake type first. Then you can increase gain/use the controller.
@@chadedwards6643 They don't crap on Toyotas all the time. Come on. xD To be fair, the owner's manual should tell them what Travis said above and the fact that it didn't is kinda silly.
I was towing across South Dakota into a bad headwind. I think it was as tough as towing up the mountain. Normally get around 10 mph towing my trailer. Across SD I was getting only 6 mph.
I’ve done exactly this. A 20 mph headwind with long undulating hills kills your millage more than the mountains. Mine went from 9 to 4.5mpg. I get 9-12 towing in the Rockies. Sure in the mountains you’ll burn more going uphill but you’ll make that up on the down slope. And there’s a definitely drag coefficient advantage at high altitude with thin air.
This is what I’ve been saying all along. 7000’ in Wyoming on a 95* day in a 30+ mph headwind gave my truck more trouble on flat ground than some of the biggest grades I’ve climbed.
5.8 and 6.0 mpg seem extremely optimistic to me. People were making fun of all the Ram/Jeep trucks for only reading down to 4.7 mpg for years because we knew that was BS.
From the owners manual. Reading is fundamental. "The trailer brakes can be controlled by the Trailer brake controller via the 7- pin connector. By selecting the type of brakes that are being used on the trailer (electric or electric-overhydraulic) and setting the “Gain” for the controller, the manual brake slider is used to slow just the trailer."
So what did they do incorrectly? They certainly know how a brake controller works, they know how to set the "Gain" but it seemed like they were unable to set it, like the system wouldn't let them.
@@anthonyc1883you have to go into the menu to select the type of trailer brakes before increasing the gain. It’s been that way for years on Tundras and they’ve tested how many of those?
Upon rewatch it looks like the brake type they selected was “brake controller off”, which explains why they couldn’t adjust the gain. They needed to select the correct electric brake type for gain to work 🤦♂️
@@anthonyc1883 They didn't set up the brake controller. That is what they did wrong. You have to select the type of trailer brakes. They had it turned off.
I hate people with no clue trying to tell others how to do something. This is the number one complaint with this channel is because. Most of the information they relay is not correct and anyone with experience offroad knows that these people have no clue whatsoever they are talking about. JS. I know I’m not the only one who feels like this 😮
The LC has 958 pounds of payload. Your tongue weight was 550 pounds. I can only assume Andre and Roman, along with their cameras, weigh more than 208 pounds......so you were overloaded, correct?
@@sarahstephens5966 Until something goes wrong and then the liability all lands in your lap because =YOU= were the one who was [lawyer-speak:] illegally and irresponsibly towing beyond their vehicle's capabilities. Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the physics, but if you have enough to lose you also need to pay attention to the ratings even if they're arbitrary.
I'm still waiting to see how this plays out between Tundra's engines failing, new Tacoma power trains (though seems 2.4 turbo in more vehicles seems ok). The Nissan Frontier is discounted with NA v6 is hard to argue against esp price vs Tacoma now.
If what Toyota says is causing the failures is correct, it has nothing to do with an unreliable engine design. It is a machining error in not properly clearing machining debris.
@@sarahstephens5966 Had chevys all my life. I have owned almost a dozen chevy trucks from 70s all the way up to 2014. Switched to toyota a few years ago(have owned a 2019 taco 2 corollas 2018 and 2023 and a 2019Tundra) and I wont go back! GM screwed up in 07 with the advent of the AFM engines and quality with thier transmissions has always been iffy. My last 2 chevys combined and 07 sierra and a 2014 2500HD cost me over 25k out of pocket and both around 100k miles. One engine and one trans and a whole host of issues from interior to chassis and engine components. I just dont trust them anymore. During this time I watched my father put 225k on his 1st gen tundra and only do maintenance. I finally bit the bullet and switched.
OK, if the LC is 700 lbs more that the Taco, how much does the 4R weigh? I think the 4R is a better vehicle to test directly against the LC because they are competing for the same market. Also. $15K more for something with a brake controller that doesn't work right from the get go doesn't inspire much confidence in current Toyota quality, especially since the TFL guys already broke a front drive axle in the Taco in what was obviously not hard use. It makes me at least, a little wary about buying a new Toyota in the future in addition to getting mad when I see a dealer added sticker right next to the factory sticker that says "Market adjustment" $6000 and usually has along with it "Protective film treatment" $900 or some similar nonsense. I'm giving other brands a much harder look than I used to.
Brake controller issue was user error. You set up the trailer brake type and turn on the brake controller. Then it works. They didn't go into the menu and set it up.
Once I had an all-wheel drive suv, I couldn't like the part time. Especially LC and GX which gives you the ability to use 4LO without locking the center diff.
User error on the brake controller. Come on guys, dig a little deeper. You should be familiar that modern brake controllers need to be turned on by selecting the brake type on your trailer. "Off/surge brakes" and the brake controller won't be active. Electric brakes and the brake controller will be active. Roman was also looking in the wrong section of the manual. He looked at the "How to Tow" section. Didn't look up the brake controller section. It's all right in the manual to to select the brake type so you can adjust the controller. They had it set to off. From the owners manual. "The trailer brakes can be controlled by the Trailer brake controller via the 7- pin connector. By selecting the type of brakes that are being used on the trailer (electric or electric-over hydraulic) and setting the "Gain” for the controller, the manual brake slider is used to slow just the trailer."
Wait until the Broverlanders get a hold of them and throw 35's and roof top tents and crap on them and can't make it more than 150 miles to do their "expeditions"
All these new Toyota engines have been disappointing. Toyota seems to have joined the ranks of other manufacturers building disposable vehicles. Sad day.
That's a stretch. This new 2.4L has a LOT going for it. Makes more torque waaay lower in RPM than the 4.0L and 3.5L V6's did. Try it before you dismiss it from an armchair.
I care about squat. Possibly controversial, another thing I care about is getting down mountains while saving my brakes for emergency braking. Back in the 90's I was involved in testing tow vehicles to see how safely they can go down a mountain road. What we found was if you used the service brakes at all to maintain speed, even in bursts like TFL does, your emergency braking will be compromised significantly. Instead of targeting a particular speed, the safety way to descend a mountain is to slow down and downshift. Downshifting to a lower and lower gear, eventually you will find a gear, and speed, where the tow vehicle will be able to maintain speed - without using the service brakes. Doing this, if you encounter an emergency and need to stop as quickly as possible, your service brakes will be cold and able to stop you in the shortest distance possible. Note I don't mean using a high enough speed for aerodynamic drag to slow you down, but using a lower gear and and a lower speed.
What have you guys heard or experienced running 87 octane vs 91+ ie premium in the Landy’s and /or Toyota’s turbo hybrid engines ? Be it the 4 in the aforementioned LC or the 6 in their Tundras ? I’m assuming it’s fine just a modicum of performance drop. Curious as to your take?
I know it would add more time but you need to start figuring out the exact fuel usage. Or at least compensate by the same factor that the mpg guessometer is off (always seems to overestimate mpg) when you fill it up at the end. I think more people would care about the overall mpg from the front range, up and over the Ike and then back home than just on the 8 mile stretch. Also your Landcruiser has less than 1k in payload so a bigger family of four shouldn't take that on a camping trip.
I own a highlander like that and ow I'm scared! I don't use the roof and don't go to car wash. You are the best and love your program. The supply chain you were thinking of is LEAN MANUFACTURING. It works in some ways but it's a real pain in the shipbuilding world here in Maine. Managers praise it, mechanics say it sucks,!!!!!
You guys mentioned you were surprised the gauntlet fuel economy wasn't better in the hybrid. Have you ever seen a hybrid do better than a non-hybrid in this test? Hybrids are amazing for fuel economy in stop and go traffic and can help significantly in commutes - but, (unless there is a huge battery) they really don't help on the highway at a constant speed, and often hurt when climbing very long, steep grades. Basically for a hybrid to really help, you need to be changing speed up and down regularly.
Thanks, I think TFL forgot to select the trailer brake type so probably was off. I've been curious if way to increase hybrid braking without a trailer. The land cruiser needs a B drive like other hybrids for downhills. Maybe in a software update could make a new drive mode for B Mode so have Eco, Normal, Sport and B Mode that would be awesome.
Great video, gentlemen. The Land Cruiser was top of my list to replace my Lexus GX but now having seriou second thoughts because we will be towing. It will be interesting to learn what the payload of a hybrid Taco is?
The GX is not a good tow platform so I am not sure why you are having second thoughts about the LC? Doesnt look to be any worse. Biggest issue with the LC is the tiny gas tank. Its only 18 gallons which is small even compared to the GX. I went from a GX460 to an LX570 to tow and the difference is huge in both stability and power. If I was going to buy something this size to tow it would be the GX550 or LX600 with the 3.4L. The 3.4L will tow much better than even the hybrid 2.4 and both have a larger gas tank.
One thing I'd like you guys to address is what does the premium fuel requirement bring to the table? Is improved MPG enough of a justification for premium on a $/mile? I just can't bring myself to consider a premium fuel required car unless it's like diesel where you can get better overall cost to operate.
I just looked at a Land Cruiser at my local dealership, sticker price $58,870 with cloths seats and highway tires. It’s a nice looking vehicle but is smaller than the last model Land Cruiser and felt to be about the same size as my 2018 4Runner.
If you're in tow haul, when you squeeze the brake controller, it should be designed to turn on automatically, but I think you have to go in the settings menu and manually turn it on. What good is a manual if it doesn't tell you this? ( I was originally thinking that the real paper manual was nice)
He looked in the wrong section of the manual. He looked at the How to Tow section. Didn't look up the brake controller section. It's all right in the manual to to select the brake type so you can adjust the controller. They had it set to off. From the owners manual. "The trailer brakes can be controlled by the Trailer brake controller via the 7- pin connector. By selecting the type of brakes that are being used on the trailer (electric or electric-over hydraulic) and setting the “Gain” for the controller, the manual brake slider is used to slow just the trailer."
Wait, the Hybrid Land Cruiser with more torque and hp did not get better mpg when towing and did not tow any better than the non-hybrid Tacoma? What's the point of the hybrid?
Why did you think the hybrid would help towing? Where did that come from? Its a 1.87 kwh battery. If they started the IKE at 100% charge and the let the battery drain completely to 0%, that's only enough capacity to provide 12.5 hp over the 8 minute climb. This is when the truck is probably needing to use 225 hp to pull the trailer up the hill. So even in that extreme scenario where they COMPLETELY drain the hybrid battery from 100% to 0%, its only providing ~5% of the power needed. They would never let the battery do that.
@Jay-me7gw towing requires more hp and torque than not towing. If the battery increases hp and torque you would expect to see the most benefit while towing. If not, what's the point of having the hybrid?
@@SchuViews But it doesnt increase the power. I just explained why. The battery is tiny and it cannot provide a meaningful amount of sustained power even for just 8 minutes. I am not arguing the hybrid is a good idea. If your intention is to tow, its stupid and is honestly just 500 lbs of dead weight you have to drag up the hill. The benefit is going to be in city driving for the most part. It will improve low end torque and eliminate lag from the turbo all while provinding improved efficiency. Although, the efficiency thing is questionable considering the same exact system in the Tundra is fairly worthless.
I'm surprised that the hybrid didn't make more of a difference! It was 1-2s faster to 60 but the Tacoma was no slouch either and handled the weight just fine. While the land cruiser includes it standard, the Hybrid is almost $4k option on the Tacoma and it doesn't seem like the performance is justifying it when you account for the added complexity as well. When will we get to see a drag race between the Tacoma and the Land Cruiser?!
Agree the non-hybrid in a Land Cruiser would suit me fine. Those of us who want the non-hybrid will have to settle for the 2025 4Runner (or Tacoma) instead of the Land Cruiser.
I have wanted to see someone use the trailer brake control, have seen them for years but have never actually used, or seen used. can you do a video with a split screen that shows the controller , and how it is used. I think you have all used them so many times, its ubiquitous, but for many its just something in the manual, but the manual is bad it does not show the step by step, and i mean "dont leave any singe step out no matter how small". thank you.
not a good way to end the week for toyota. first the tundra engine recall, now the trailer brake in the land cruiser. to be fair the ttv6 engine doesnt seem to have a design flaw or bad part, it was a manufacturing issue that left shavings in the block. easier fix in the factory as opposed to the 100k or so tundras already built w this recall. the trailer brake should be an easy on. also, the placement of the trailer wire harness plug is dumb and hard to reach. it will break off as soon as you go off road with a trailer which some people could do with an overland trailer. the take away here is that this awd suv hybrid is not more efficient towing than the tacoma w the same engine and lighter powertrain. maybe the LC in a flat or city tow would do better, but i wonder if the electric motors were even helping at hwy speeds, thus the extra weight of the hybrid system would knock fuel economy on something like the IKE.
I truly do not believe that is the case.. Either way it should have been addressed sooner IMO. The main reason I didn’t buy the taco was due to the issues they have been having. GMC builds a far better 2.7, made for the extra wear of a turbo compared to the taco’s new motor. Highly doubt people will see 200k plus miles out of that new engine. Just my opinion.. I also would never want a battery pack under my back seat, if you ever seen a battery fire you wouldn’t either..
Seems like Toyota has set themselves up for a lawsuit. Most people towing aren't going to have a wireless trailer brake to employ when they can't figure out the factory trailer brake. Toyota does know better for sure.
Level is important on heavier loads. More importantly is the weight going back over the steer wheels which is where the WDH comes in. I think they know this. Not sure it is all that important here with this small load, but if it did excessively squat it would be important.
I don’t think the trailed have a good connection. In a few area, it looked like the trailer lights were flickering but that may be because they are LED. Also, having seen a few instrument clusters in the Toyota line, they really suck for the cost of the vehicle.
That vehicle is called a Prado in Australia and is not available here yet but it is reported to cost $90000 for a GXL model. Other than it looks different it is almost mechanically the same as the current model with the same diesel engine with a heavy battery to add more unwanted weight. A missed opportunity to match the Ford Everest with the 600 nm v6 engine which is outselling Toyota at the moment. Toyota should bring the petrol hybrid out which will be much better power wise.
It's just a shame nobody understands that until their trailer starts to dogtail and tries to flip them over. People think they can just hook up and everything will be fine. Trailering anything at all should require an additional test/endorsement on your drivers license, imo
I had the same problem with the brake controller on a gx 550 recently. I wasn't able to do the towing I wanted. I thought it might have been a prototype issue. Guess not.
Was the 7 pin plug installed correctly? It looked like it needed turned 1/4 turn clockwise to properly seat. If so, that was a very flawed test. Just sayin........
So tiny turbos can tow. But how reliable are they long term when used for towing? Does that little engine have to work so hard that it wears out much sooner?
Hello Arndre. I understand that you think the truck shall slow down atomatic in the downhills for secure driving, but I don't think you are driving without using a lower gear in downhills when you normally are towing like we are teached when we should have our driving lisence. Thanks guys. Best Regards from Arne in Norway
The new Sequoia was a joke which is why. They interior space sucks cause of the batteries, it has no generator capability like the Tacoma hybrid or Land Cruiser(or F150 powerboost), it lost the full-time 4wd transfer case, etc.
Calm down y’all have 0 patience or loyalty. You just want to tear things down 😂 like what else do you throw away immediately if it isn’t constantly perfect? Do you just completely disregard the many decades of of reliability we know from them because they have some troubles with brand new products??? Like breath go for a run or do some yoga 😅y’all be too ready to be dismissive to get your rocks off
@@LafemmebearMusic every Ford I own with a factory installed brake controller works perfectly, it's so simple and for Toyota to throw years of reliability away because of something so simple is sad and lazy engineering, things like that shouldn't be over complicated.
@@LafemmebearMusicI would expect a vehicles that costs as much as a house to work 1000% perfect 1000% of the time. I have zero patience for a manufacturer that charges $80k for junk. Doesn’t matter if the badge on the vehicle says Toyota.
Incorrectly judgmental. TFL guys simply didn't turn it on. It's on them not Toyota. You have to set up the brake type on modern Fords, too. Like my Superduty. And, he looked in the wrong section of the manual. He looked at the How to Tow section. Didn't look up the brake controller section. It's all right in the manual to to select the brake type so you can adjust the controller. They had it set to off. From the owners manual. "The trailer brakes can be controlled by the Trailer brake controller via the 7- pin connector. By selecting the type of brakes that are being used on the trailer (electric or electric-over hydraulic) and setting the “Gain” for the controller, the manual brake slider is used to slow just the trailer."
