2006 Toyota Land Cruiser Pricing and Specs

If the engine power has returned since this episode, I’d be willing to suggest that what happened is that the vehicle had gone into limp-home mode. This happens when something like the transmission or engine becomes hot enough that to continue at normal pace might cause damage to the vehicle. It’s the car’s way of saving its own life, if you like. When it does, you can expect a warning light and a reduction in power, just as you experienced.

Towing a caravan up hills is a great way to get a transmission really hot, or even a turbocharged engine such as the one in your LandCruiser. If the vehicle returned to normal once it had cooled down, then you shouldn’t have any ongoing problems, but another oil change and perhaps transmission service might be a good idea as these fluids can lose their mojo once they’ve been really hot even once.

For a start, you can rule out the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) as the culprit as these weren’t fitted to the LandCruiser until many years after 2006. Nevertheless, if there’s a smell of anything when the vehicle is idling, there’s either something wrong with the mixture the engine is burning or there’s a leak in the exhaust system somewhere.

Since the problem has suddenly occurred, it’s probably the latter and you need to check all the joints in the exhaust system, the system itself for rust holes or damage, and even the turbocharger plumbing which can become loose and allow a leak.

So why do you only smell it at idle? Simply that when the vehicle is moving, the movement of air around the vehicle is whisking the fumes away. When you stop, the fumes `catch up’ with the vehicle, and you can smell them. This needs to be checked out as exhaust fumes can be very dangerous to humans, up to and including carcinogenic.

As an estimate if it’s got a petrol engine it would be $20,000-$25,000, it the engine is a diesel it would be $29,000-$33,000.