Buying a used Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series (2022 on) in the UAE

The Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series in the UAE

Toyota unveiled the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series (LC300) on 10 June 2021 “in a Middle East-centered online reveal”, as the successor to the 200 Series. Toyota’s release says it moved to the new GA-F platform while keeping a frame structure, and that its new twin-turbo V6 (3.5-litre petrol or 3.3-litre diesel), paired with a 10-speed automatic, outperforms a conventional V8; a naturally aspirated V6 with a six-speed automatic is sold “in some areas”.

Gulf News reported on 20 June 2021 that Al-Futtaim Toyota had handed over the first 50 UAE cars. Toyota UAE’s 2021 pages listed a 4.0-litre, a 3.5-litre twin-turbo and, by October, a 3.5-litre GR Sport. Toyota UAE added a Land Cruiser Hybrid for 2025, with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 and one electric motor, and its 2026 line-up still offers the 3.5-litre (409 hp, 10-speed automatic) and the 4.0-litre (271 hp, six-speed automatic), both four-wheel drive.

There is no US-market 300 Series. Toyota’s US newsroom said in August 2023 that the Land Cruiser was returning to North America “after a three-year hiatus”, for 2024, powered only by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder hybrid; Toyota’s global release of 2 August 2023 calls that car the Land Cruiser 250 Series and lists the 2.4-litre turbo hybrid for North America. A Land Cruiser bought from the US with a 2024 or later model year is a 250 Series, not a 300 Series.

What to check first on a used Land Cruiser 300 Series

• The recall work: in October 2026 Gulf News and Emarat Al Youm reported three Al-Futtaim campaigns covering cars built from 2021 to 2024. Give Al-Futtaim Toyota the VIN and ask which apply and whether each is done.
• The version: match the engine on the papers to the car. Toyota UAE pairs the 4.0-litre V6 with a six-speed automatic and the 3.5-litre twin-turbo with a ten-speed; Toyota’s manual shows where the engine number is stamped on each engine block.
• Oil changes for dusty use: Toyota’s manual sets oil and filter changes every 5,000 km or six months for a petrol Land Cruiser 300 Series driven mainly on dusty roads (on the 3.5-litre even before the maintenance reminder appears, and on the 4.0-litre under its dusty-road and towing schedules).
• The underbody: Toyota warns that sand or stones trapped under the car after off-road driving can cause a breakdown or fire.

Land Cruiser 300 Series problems by system

This section rests on Toyota’s general-market Land Cruiser 300 owner’s manual (publication OM60S14E), which Toyota UAE lists for the Land Cruiser 2022 and which carries notes for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; this 2021 edition covers the petrol and diesel versions, not the Hybrid, so ask Al-Futtaim Toyota for the Hybrid’s own manual. The section also rests on recall campaigns announced in the UAE and Qatar and reported by the press. The 300 Series was not sold in the US, so US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) records do not cover it.

Engines, fuel and engine software

Toyota’s manual lists the 3,445 cc V35A-FTS twin-turbo petrol V6, the 3,956 cc 1GR-FE petrol V6 and the 3,346 cc F33A-FTV twin-turbo diesel V6, and asks for petrol of research octane number 95 or higher. For the Gulf, Toyota’s schedule adds fuel injector cleaner to the tank every 10,000 km on both petrol engines (the 1GR-FE and V35A-FTS). Ask whether the service record shows it.

Two of the October 2026 UAE campaigns concern the engine. Emarat Al Youm and Gulf News reported that 6,571 cars of the EXR, VXR, GXR, GR Sport and Signature grades built in 2023 and 2024 may have machining debris that damages the crankshaft bearings, causing knocking, rough running, hard starting or a stall; Al-Futtaim inspects them and replaces the engine free where needed. A second campaign, for 7,453 cars built from 2021 to 2024, updates the V35A engine control software, which may not allow properly for the cooling fan, so that output at full throttle may not match the approved figures. In August 2024 Qatar also recalled 2022–2023 “Land Cruiser Turbo” engines over machining debris, the Qatar Tribune reported, without naming the generation.

Ten-speed automatic and four-wheel drive

The largest UAE campaign, 15,750 cars built from 2021 to 2024, concerns the ten-speed automatic: Gulf News reported that certain gears may let it over-speed, which can damage it, cut drive or, in some cases, leak fluid and raise the risk of a crash or a fire; Al-Futtaim reprograms the transmission control unit. Toyota’s manual calls for one automatic transmission fluid only, Toyota Genuine ATF WS, so ask for the fluid record as well as the campaign record.

To change between high range (H4) and low range (L4), the manual says to stop completely, select N (neutral) and hold the switch until the low-range indicator comes on or goes off; Toyota warns that moving the gear lever before then can leave the car free to roll, even in P. The centre differential lock works below 100 km/h, and with L4 selected and the centre differential locked, the stability control switches itself off. Toyota says to lock the centre differential only when the wheels are stuck or the surface is slippery or bumpy, to unlock it for normal driving on dry, hard roads and never to press the switch while turning; the front and rear differential locks, where fitted, are for a spinning wheel in a ditch or on a slippery or ragged surface, at no more than 8 km/h. So try the range shift with the car stopped, and ask the seller or the inspecting workshop to show the differential locks working on sand or gravel. On any car, a low-range or differential-lock light that flashes rapidly is a fault Toyota says needs a dealer.

Land Cruiser Hybrid (2025)

The Qatar Tribune reported in September 2025 a Qatari recall of the 2025 Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid over engine control software that can light the engine warning lamp and put the car into a limp mode of about 60 km/h. On a hybrid, ask Al-Futtaim Toyota whether a matching UAE campaign exists for the VIN.

Off-road use, heat and towing

The manual says to check the brakes straight after driving in sand, mud or water, and to carry out a maintenance inspection after each day of off-road driving through rough terrain, sand, mud or water. Any tyre over six years old must be checked by a qualified technician.

The manual warns that towing a loaded trailer up a long, steep incline above 30°C may overheat the engine. Its weights table gives 3,500 kg with trailer brakes and 750 kg without, from tests at sea level, without splitting the figure by market, and it says the Toyota warranty does not cover damage from commercial towing. Its break-in advice says a car fitted with new powertrain components should not tow for its first 800 km; in our view that would cover a replacement engine, so ask whether one was fitted under the bearing campaign and at what reading. Ask Al-Futtaim Toyota to confirm the towing figure for the model code.

Land Cruiser 300 Series recalls by year

The table lists only recall campaigns that name the 300 Series, as announced by Al-Futtaim Motors with the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, or by Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and as reported by Emarat Al Youm, Gulf News and the Qatar Tribune. How severity is rated: High means an official recall naming the 300 Series covers that year; no complaint counts are used, as there are no NHTSA records for this generation. UAE notices give the year built and Qatari notices the model year, as shown. Every row is therefore High.

No official source we found lists every UAE campaign for the 300 Series: when we read it on 14 October 2026, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism’s Toyota recall page still showed a single notice, for the 2022 Toyota Raize, and the three 2026 campaigns above come from press reports of Al-Futtaim’s notice. Ask Al-Futtaim Toyota, with the VIN, for the full campaign record, and use Toyota UAE’s recall search.

UAE-market cars, other Gulf cars and imports

On a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market car, Toyota’s manual says the VIN appears on a Certification Regulation label that also gives the year of manufacture and the country of origin; cars for most other markets carry a manufacturer’s label instead. A car first sold in another Gulf country went through that country’s Toyota agent: the Qatar Tribune names Al Abdulghani Motors in Qatar, and Al Eqtisadiah (April 2024) names Abdul Latif Jameel as the Land Cruiser agent in Saudi Arabia, where the Ministry of Commerce asks owners to check the chassis number on its recall centre site. Ask for that agent’s records.

The Toyota UAE pages we read (the 2021 and 2026 line-ups and the 2025 Hybrid page) list no diesel, while the manual also covers the F33A-FTV diesel, so a diesel 300 Series is likely to have been first sold outside the UAE. The Qatar Tribune’s March 2026 report of a Qatari recall naming diesel LC300 models shows diesels were sold in Qatar; ask for the import papers.

Toyota did not sell the 300 Series in the US, so NHTSA’s US recall records describe no campaign on it, and a 2024-on US Land Cruiser is the 250 Series. VINCheckr’s recall section lists NHTSA’s US recalls for the model and year, so read any recall it shows for a 2024-on year as a 250 Series campaign. It does not show Gulf campaigns or whether a recall is open on this VIN: take the table above to Al-Futtaim Toyota, with the VIN, as a list of questions.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spec vs US spec: what actually differs

Checking a Land Cruiser 300 Series for past accidents

For a car registered in the UAE since new, police records are the main source: the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Abu Dhabi Police both list an accident inquiry by chassis number among their public e-services. VINCheckr searches the UAE accident records available to it, from MOI and, during periods when MOI cannot be reached, Abu Dhabi Police; a clean result means no accident was found in those records, not that the car was never repaired.

VINCheckr also searches bid.cars, plc.auction and carsbidshistory.com and links to any listing it finds, with photos where the listing has them. A listing shows the car was offered at a US auction at least once; its title and damage fields show whether it was sold as salvage.

Checking the mileage

We found no public UAE odometer register, so line up every dated reading: Al-Futtaim Toyota service visits, recall work orders (including any engine replacement) and registration renewals. VINCheckr adds European mileage readings where available, from registers and sales listings; for a car kept in the Gulf they are usually absent, which is no data, not a clean bill.

Where to find the VIN on a Land Cruiser 300 Series

Toyota’s manual puts the VIN on the front right of the frame, on a door-pillar label and, on some models, under the windscreen. Toyota UAE says it is the chassis number on the Mulkiya (registration card); all must match.

Where to find the VIN on a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series

Land Cruiser 300 Series inspection checklist

1. Compare the VIN on the frame, the door-pillar label and, where fitted, the dashboard with the Mulkiya.
2. Ask Al-Futtaim Toyota, with the VIN, which of the 2026 engine-bearing, engine-software and ten-speed transmission campaigns apply and whether each is complete, and for the service history.
3. If the engine was replaced, get the work order and confirm the replacement engine number with the agent.
4. For a petrol car used on dusty roads (either engine), check that the oil and filter were changed at least every 5,000 km or six months.
5. Put the chassis number through the MOI or Abu Dhabi Police accident inquiry, and ask the seller about any repair it lists.
6. Start from cold and listen for knocking or rough running; check that every warning light goes out.
7. Drive for half an hour, with hard acceleration on a slip road where it is safe and legal, and note any flaring revs, harsh shift or loss of drive.
8. With the car stopped and N selected, shift into L4 and back to H4, waiting each time for the low-range indicator to stop blinking before moving the gear lever; ask for the centre differential lock (and any front or rear lock) to be shown on sand or gravel, not on tarmac, and check that no low-range or differential-lock light flashes rapidly.
9. On a lift, look for fluid on the transmission housing and for sand-driving damage to the frame, underbody and recovery points.
10. Read the tyre date codes; ask who fitted any tow bar, winch or lift kit.
11. Have an independent workshop inspect the car before you pay a deposit.