Problems · NHTSA complaints

1997 Toyota Land Cruiser problems

Owners filed 17 complaints about the 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser with NHTSA between Aug 1998 and Oct 2022. The most-cited component is tires (3).

Complaints
17
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Tires3
  2. Service brakes, hydraulic3
  3. Equipment3
  4. Fuel/propulsion system2
  5. Seats1
  6. Engine and engine cooling1
  7. Service brakes, air1
  8. Steering1
  9. Power train1
  10. Wheels1
  11. Vehicle speed control1
  12. Air bags1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
19983
19993
20003
20012
20020
20031
20040
20050
20061
20071
20080
20090
20100
20110
20120
20130
20140
20151
20161
20170
20180
20190
20200
20210
20221

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Tires

3 reports
“TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER. THE VEHICLE HAS INTERCO - TRXUSM/T, SIZE 265/75/16 TIRES. THE DOT#T 4FW8T5M 20504. THE CONTACT PURCHASED 6 SNOW TIRES AND 2 OF THEM HAVE BLOWN OUT WHILE DRIVING AT 62 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. THE CONTACT'S REAR PASSENGER TIRE BLEW OUT. THE RUBBER UNWRAPPED AROUND THE BEAD, AND IT EXPLODED THERE AND RIPPED THROUGH TO THE TREAD. THE TREAD REMAINED INTACT AND EACH OCCURRENCE WASIDENTICAL. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 29, 2006 AND THE WEATHER WAS NOT A FACTOR. THE INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED SIX TIMES. TTHE CONTACT IWASCERTAIN THAT THERE WERE NO OBSTRUCTIONS ON THE HIGHWAY. THE TIRE MILEAGE WAS 1,500. THE TIRES WERE AFTER MARKET SNOW TIRES. THE TIRE DEALER AGREED TO ACCEPT THE TIRE VIA MAIL TO INVESTIGATE THE DAMAGE AT THE CONTACT'S EXPENSE. THE CONTACTWAS UNCERTAIN OF THE RECOURSE WITH THE TIRE DEALER TO REPLACE THE TIRES. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED WITH THE AUTO AFTER MARKET TIRES. *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 5, 2007TiresODI 10177907

Service brakes, hydraulic

3 reports
“FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL FELL OFF. ALSO, LOSS OF BRAKES WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO MAKE A CURVE AT APPROXIMATELY 25MPH THERE WAS INDICATION OR PRIOR WARNING.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 19, 2001Service brakes, hydraulic, WheelsODI 878551

Equipment

3 reports
“I WAS PULLING OUT FROM A STOP WHEN I GOT BLASTED IN THE FACE OUT OF AIR CONDITIONER VENTILATION WITH SOMETHING THAT MADE ME GO BLIND HYPERVENTILATE HAVE SEVER MUSCLE CRAMPS ARMS AND LEGS WENT NUMB. THE AIR IN THE TRUCK WAS TESTED AND IT WAS ISOBUTANE, BUTANE, 2-METHYL BUTANE,PENTANE,TOLUENE, ETHYLBENZENE AND XYLENES BLOWING THROUGHOUT MY TRUCK!!!!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 9, 1998EquipmentODI 701251

Fuel/propulsion system

2 reports
“Fuel tank develops crack and leaks when filled more than 10 gallons approx 1/2 full. There is a specific point on the tank where it cracks on top. The metal is very thin at this point and possibly with newer Ethanol fuels the tank expands and contracts far more in hot weather? This problem is well documented on Toyota Land Cruiser websites, specifically IH8MUD.com. The website is telling owners to log complaints with NHTSA. I would think leaking gas is a major safety issue along with being an emissions violation. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. Manufacturer gives no response. The FJ 60/62 Land Cruiser (model before, did have a recall on the fuel tank) No warning lamps or messages OBD2.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 11, 2022Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11488878

Seats

1 report
“AUTOMATIC FRONT SEATS HAVE STOPPED WORKING AND PARTS OF THE MECHANISM ARE FOUND ON THE FLOOR BOARD.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 5, 2015SeatsODI 10723598

Engine and engine cooling

1 report
“OUR 1997 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER IS NOW INOPERABLE DUE TO MULTIPLE FAILURES IN REPAIRS BY FOLSOM LAKE TOYOTA. COOLANT PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN NOTED SINCE 1999 WITH THE ABOVE REPAIR FACILITY FAILING TO CORRECT DEFECT. CURRENT PROBLEMS INVOLVE FOLSOM LAKE TOYOTA REFUSING TO CORRECT FAILED REPAIRS, COOLANT MIXING WITH ENGINE OIL CAUSING AUTO TO BE UNUSABLE. *JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 15, 2006Engine and engine coolingODI 10162481
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.