MajorCommonBody & Rust

Toyota Land Cruiser 70: Body and chassis rust - A-pillars, sills, door bottoms and rails on coastal/farm trucks

Body and chassis rust - A-pillars, sills, door bottoms and rails on coastal/farm trucks is a common body & rust fault on the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 on the 2000 onward cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $500 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 20 documented faults on the Toyota Land Cruiser 70.

Vehicle: Toyota Land Cruiser 70
Years: 2000 onward
System: Body & Rust

This page covers the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Toyota Land Cruiser 70 faults20 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Chassis and structural rust yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

NZ 70 Series lead hard lives on farms and beaches, and rust is the number one value-killer: A-pillar and windscreen surround rust is a documented model weak point, along with door sills, door bottoms, under-bonnet seams and surface-to-structural rust on chassis rails. Stock trucks that carted fertiliser, lived near salt water or launched boats can rot badly while looking tidy from three metres. Windscreen-surround and pillar repairs mean glass out and panel work, so costs escalate fast, and structural chassis rust can make a WoF unobtainable.

What you would notice

Bubbling paint around the windscreen pillars or gutters
Rust blisters along door bottoms and sills
Flaky scale on chassis rails and crossmembers
Damp, rusty smell in the cab
Previous windscreen replacement with sealant smears

How to check it

Where to look. Windscreen surround and A-pillars, door bottoms, sills, under-bonnet seams, chassis rails and crossmembers underneath

Run your fingers around the windscreen surround and A-pillars feeling for bubbling under the paint.
Open all doors and check the bottom seams and sill edges.
Get underneath: probe chassis rails, crossmembers and cab mounts with a screwdriver handle - scale that flakes off in sheets is structural trouble.
Lift carpet/mats if possible.
Ask where the truck lived and worked.

Parts involved: Chassis and structural rust.

What it costs to put right

$500 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Has it ever had rust repairs, and are there photos or invoices?”
“Did it live near the coast or get used on beaches or with fertiliser?”
“Has the windscreen been out for rust repair before?”

Now check the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

70 Series Store: Top 10 common 70 Series problems (A-pillar rust on coastal vehicles)
LandCruiserClub.net threads: 'Acceptable Rust?' and 'Rust, chassis repair, Help'
I Love Cruiser (AU): 70/75/79 Series common issues guide (bonnet, sills, chassis rust)

Toyota Land Cruiser 70 buyer questions

Is body and chassis rust - a-pillars, sills, door bottoms and rails on coastal/farm trucks serious on a Toyota Land Cruiser 70?

We rate it major and common on the Toyota Land Cruiser 70. NZ 70 Series lead hard lives on farms and beaches, and rust is the number one value-killer: A-pillar and windscreen surround rust is a documented model weak point, along with door sills, door bottoms, under-bonnet seams and surface-to-structural rust on chassis rails. Stock trucks that carted fertiliser, lived near salt water or launched boats can rot badly while looking tidy from three metres. Windscreen-surround and pillar repairs mean glass out and panel work, so costs escalate fast, and structural chassis rust can make a WoF unobtainable.

How much does it cost to fix on a Toyota Land Cruiser 70?

$500 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Toyota Land Cruiser 70 years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2000 onward Toyota Land Cruiser 70. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.

How do I check for it before I buy?

Run your fingers around the windscreen surround and A-pillars feeling for bubbling under the paint. Open all doors and check the bottom seams and sill edges. Get underneath: probe chassis rails, crossmembers and cab mounts with a screwdriver handle - scale that flakes off in sheets is structural trouble. Lift carpet/mats if possible. Ask where the truck lived and worked. Look here: Windscreen surround and A-pillars, door bottoms, sills, under-bonnet seams, chassis rails and crossmembers underneath