Toyota Land Cruiser 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 550 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 68 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 32 in every 100178 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 17 yearsabout 134,888 miles
First tests counted: 550

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 178 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 35 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Noted on 23 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time: 68in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 5in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 27in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 67.6% of 550 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 73.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 27 not fixed make the 32 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 69 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
1996	73 in every 100	328
1997	66 in every 100	726
1998	68 in every 100	717
1999	66 in every 100	743
2000	62 in every 100	670
2001	63 in every 100	878
2002	65 in every 100	902
2003	63 in every 100	1,135
2004	65 in every 100	1,474
2005	65 in every 100	1,426
2006	62 in every 100	1,051
2007	65 in every 100	899
2008 This car	68 in every 100	550
2009	65 in every 100	367
2010	76 in every 100	583
2011	73 in every 100	425
2012	82 in every 100	387
2013	83 in every 100	407
2014	81 in every 100	684
2015	84 in every 100	688
2016	87 in every 100	576
2017	86 in every 100	434
2018	87 in every 100	579
2019	87 in every 100	571
2020	87 in every 100	395
2021	88 in every 100	452
2022	91 in every 100	923

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

Is the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser reliable?

With 550 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist. In 2025, 67.6% of 550 first MOTs on the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 73.1%. Among 178 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (19.7% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 2.5× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Toyota Land Cruiser 2008?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (19.7% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 2.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Drive shaft joints and boots (front) stand out?

Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (19.7% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 2.5× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.

What are common problems with the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser include Drive shaft joints and boots (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.

What does this Toyota Land Cruiser 2008 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.