I'm hunting for a Hiace to turn into a windsurfing van. For the amount of money I want to spend most have 200 - 250,000 kms on them and are 2.8 or 3.0 Diesels built in the mid-late 90s (NZ Market). I wouldn't mind having an auto (because I'm fed up with rowing my way through town) but I know little about the life span of the autos used in the Hiace.
Does anyone know if they are as reliable and long-lived as the rest of the vehicles?
auto's rarely last as long as manuals, but toyota aren't too bad, If you keep up your servicing,
But If your constantly hauling a large amount of weight, or towing, the manual may be a better option
We get them in with 600,000 , still running,
we also get them with 400.000 blown,
You've just got to be lucky,
If you want your auto to last, it needs regular service,
A decent transmission cooler (preferably separate to your radiator)will go along way towards making your box last longer
We have one the size of two v8 radiators under our v6 holden converted mercedes sprinter, 2 x thermo fans cooling it, and have had absolutely no problem with
The gearbox in 2 years of hard daily towing with a tandem and a car on it
Weight around 5 tonne, for van trailer, and payload,
The reason I mention having a tranny cooler that is kept away from the radiator, means If the engine overheats, or is running hot,
It won't transfer the excess heat to the transmission
CHEERS
Some get there, some don't,
Auto or manual if driven badly wont last long. When you test drive an auto so long as it dosent hold gears to long or whine then theres not much else you can do to check it apart from having an auto trans shop pull it down.
I wouldnt hesitate buying an auto if the rest of the vehicle is in good nick.
Thanks for this info guys especially re longevity.
Don't know if I'll need a trans cooler in the South Island of NZ???
If your going to work the vehicle hard, like going up and downhill alot, Stop start often on long trips
Or are going to tow or carry a load, Or even If you are a leadfoot and drive it hard,
The transmission will get hot reguardless of the ambient temperature.
(good luck)
