Toyota Chaser: common faults & what to check

Which Toyota Chaser are you looking at?

6 generation variants documented. Pick the shape you recognise: the faults, the servicing and the timeline below all narrow to it. Free, no account needed.

Petrol

4 variants documented

1996–2001JZX1001996–2001JZX1002.0 petrolPetrolDocumented issues4 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: TTTNIS via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

1996–2001JZX1001996–2001JZX1002.5 petrolPetrolDocumented issues7 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: TTTNIS via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

1996–2001JZX1001996–2001JZX1002.5 turbo petrolPetrolDocumented issues7 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: TTTNIS via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

1996–2001JZX1001996–2001JZX1003.0 petrolPetrolDocumented issues5 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: TTTNIS via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Engine not documented

2 variants documented

1992–1997JZX901992–1997JZX90Engine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues3 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: Mytho88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

2000–2008JZX1102000–2008JZX110Engine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues0 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: No machine-readable author provided. Mytho88 assumed (based on copyright claims). via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.

Now narrow it to the engine

A 1.8 and a 2.4 of the same car do not fail the same way, so the faults below narrow to the engine as well as the year. Free, no account needed.

Start your free check on this Toyota Chaser

No plate needed. You get the risk score, the buyer's checklist and the guided inspection for the exact car you picked above — not the whole nameplate.

The checks worth doing on a Toyota Chaser before you hand over any money. Every documented fault is listed below, each with its own page.

• Serious issue

  Request timing belt service records with date and odometer.

  See why

  1JZ-GTE / 1JZ-GE Timing Belt Failure and Turbo Oil Feed Starvation

  Both 1JZ-GTE and 1JZ-GE engines fitted to the JZX90/JZX100 Chaser are interference designs requiring strict timing belt replacement intervals. On 1JZ-GTE models the turbo oil feed restrictor blocks with sludge from neglected oil changes, causing turbo bearing starvation. This is the most widely documented serious mechanical fault on the Chaser and is compounded by the now-old age of all examples in NZ/AU.

  What you would notice

  • Engine cranks but does not start after belt snap
  • Blue or white exhaust smoke under acceleration or at idle when warm
  • Turbo shaft play and grinding or whistling noise
  • Oil consumption without external visible leak
  • Loss of boost or boost creep on 1JZ-GTE

  Typically $500–$6,500 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Inspect ball joint boots for cracking or grease leakage.

  See why

  Front Lower Control Arm Ball Joint Wear

  High-mileage JZX90 and JZX100 Chasers exhibit front lower ball joint wear that accelerates on cars that have been driven hard or modified for performance. The ball joint is a pressed-in design; separation at extreme wear is sudden and causes loss of directional control. Aftermarket ball joints are available but quality varies widely.

  What you would notice

  • Clunking or knocking from front suspension over bumps or on steering input
  • Vague steering or pulling under braking
  • Rapid or uneven front tyre wear
  • Vehicle wandering on straight roads

  Typically $350–$800 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Warm the engine and watch the exhaust on a trailing throttle and on hard re-application for blue smoke.

  See why

  1JZ-GTE turbo seal wear and blue oil smoke on the boosted 2.5

  On the single-turbo VVT-i 1JZ-GTE Tourer V the CT15B turbocharger's oil seals harden and wear with age, and many NZ imports have been hard-driven or over-boosted, accelerating the damage. Oil is drawn past the worn seals into the intake, showing as blue smoke on deceleration or when the throttle is reopened, with oil film building in the intercooler piping. Aged valve stem seals on both the GE and GTE add blue smoke on cold start-up.

  What you would notice

  • Blue/grey smoke on deceleration or when getting back on the throttle
  • Puff of blue smoke on cold start-up
  • Oil film or wet residue inside the intercooler and boost pipes
  • Rising engine oil consumption between services
  • Whistling, chuffing or shaft play from the turbo

  Typically $900–$3,200 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Ask for a dated invoice proving the belt, tensioner, idlers and water pump were changed and at what odometer.

  See why

  Overdue timing belt on the 1JZ/2JZ engines of aged imports

  The 1JZ-GE, 1JZ-GTE and 2JZ-GE straight-sixes in the Chaser drive their camshafts with a rubber timing belt due for replacement roughly every 100,000 km or ten years. Because import history is often unknown, the belt fitted may be decades old and well past its life. A belt that snaps or jumps teeth causes a sudden loss of running, and combined with a worn water pump and tensioner the whole front-of-engine service is a known deferred cost on these cars.

  What you would notice

  • No documented timing-belt change in the service history
  • Cracked, glazed or perished belt visible under the timing cover
  • Ticking, squealing or rattle from the front of the engine
  • Coolant weeping from the water pump behind the belt
  • Rough running or a no-start after the belt has jumped

  Typically $700–$1,800 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Inspect rear differential output flanges for oil weeping or residue.

  See why

  Rear Differential Output Shaft Oil Seal Leak

  The rear differential on JZX90 and JZX100 Chasers develops output shaft oil seal leaks at high mileage. Seal degradation causes gear oil to weep onto the rear brake disc and caliper, contaminating brake pads and reducing braking effectiveness. Mildly driven examples may show only external staining; hard-driven or drift-modified examples can have severely degraded seals with significant fluid loss.

  What you would notice

  • Gear oil staining or wetness at rear axle flange where driveshaft enters differential
  • Gear oil smell from rear of vehicle
  • Contaminated rear brake pads reducing stopping power
  • Low differential fluid level on inspection

  Typically $300–$900 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Lift the boot carpet and spare, and the cabin carpet edges, to probe the floor pans for soft spots.

  See why

  Rust in sills, arches, floor and rear subframe mounting areas

  Chasers that never saw factory rustproofing and lived through Japanese winters can carry corrosion, and it compounds once in the NZ climate. The vulnerable areas are the rocker panels and sills, rear wheel arches and seams, the floor and boot floor under the carpet and spare, and critically the rear subframe mounting points where structural rust can fail a WoF. Blocked sunroof drains rot the cowl and floor from water ingress.

  What you would notice

  • Bubbling paint or flaking at the sills, rockers and rear arches
  • Soft or holed metal in the floor pan or boot floor
  • Rust and scaling around the rear subframe mounting points
  • Damp carpet or standing water from blocked sunroof drains
  • Crusty seams along the cowl and wheel-arch lips

  Typically $500–$6,000 to put right.

Toyota Chaser service schedule

What falls due, and at what distance, for each generation of the Toyota Chaser. These are the model’s intervals — the car’s own service book is the only thing that can tell you what has actually been done to it.

What these repairs cost on other cars

Some of the Toyota Chaser’s documented faults are repairs other models share. Each page lists the documented NZ cost for every model it affects.

• Cambelt Replacement Cost
• Turbo Repair and Replacement Cost

Other Toyota models