Thank you for the warm welcome and Happy New Year to all. 2025 , 1958 model owner for one week . In Virginia.

[Mike G]

After a great deal of research, with the initial intent to wait for the 2025 reworked 4 Runner, decided to go in the direction of the 1958 LC. Wanted something that would last, but also handle driving on the beaches of The Outer Banks. Won’t be doing that though until our designated beach buggy, 2018 Dodge Ram gives up the ghost! So far so good love the 1958, opted not to go with the next model up since all the bells and whistles did not interest me. The car is quite, smooth ride, safety suite is unmatched in terms of standard equipment. Only issues I did not know up front: Must use premium gas, can live with that one. The other issue though is the “w” shadow when using low beams on a dark road. Dealership claims they were unaware and are reporting to Toyota, but I have seen discussion on this forum as well as others. Any updates on a fix, or do we simply live with it?
Thanks for any insight.

 

[Nuke]

Howdy Mike, and congratulations! Welcome to the forum. The requirement for premium fuel is a highly debated subject, as both the new Tacoma and 4Runner do not have this stipulation, and with an apparently identical engine. Sure wish we could speak with Toyota engineers, to determine if the LC engine is in fact tuned differently, or an MPG benchmark goal is the reason.

 

[southernLC]

Welcome, Mike! I too have the w shadow. I read on another thread that this is to keep the headlights out of eyes of oncoming traffic on that side of the road.

 

[Mike G]

Thank you for your responses. Any other perspective to share on either subject please do. I will be having further conversation with the dealerships management this week. Happy to share any updates, although they appear to be stumped regarding the headlight shadow, and have reported the issue to Toyota as a possible safety issue. Their resident expert has told me the “premium gas” issue is a recommendation, not a must do, 89 octane is okay. Since the manual seems fairly clear on the subject I am hesitant .
Thank you again!

 

[PDPete]

Thank you for your responses. Any other perspective to share on either subject please do. I will be having further conversation with the dealerships management this week. Happy to share any updates, although they appear to be stumped regarding the headlight shadow, and have reported the issue to Toyota as a possible safety issue. Their resident expert has told me the “premium gas” issue is a recommendation, not a must do, 89 octane is okay. Since the manual seems fairly clear on the subject I am hesitant .
Thank you again!

Pretty sure the headlight notch is intentional, it's been brought up in other threads as well, and occurs for both the 1958 round headlights or the standard LC trim with the square headlights. If you're driving on a straight 2 lane road, it is noticeable that the notch does essentially line up with on-coming traffic, so the glare reduction claim makes sense...and probably not something that Toyota will intend to "fix". I personally don't mind it, but did notice the very first time I drove at night.

Regarding fuel, it is noted that other vehicles with the same powertrain (Tacoma, 4Runner), do NOT have the same recommendation for premium gasoline, so it seems that the engine can handle normal fuel just fine...but I only know what I read here (and other places) and am not an expert...will probably plan to continue to use the recommended octane value myself

this is probably the most in-depth user analysis I've seen here on the subject, but there are several other threads as well...

Premium vs Regular MPG: A 34-Tank Test

Like most of you, I've been curious about why the T24A-FTS is rated at the same horsepower when spec'd for Premium on the LC vs Regular for the Tacoma. Since I didn't have access to a dyno or a Tacoma I could run on Premium vs Regular and comparing that data to my LC, the most I could do was to...

www.landcruiserforum.com

 

[Mike G]

Thank you very much, greatly appreciate the continued discussion .
I too have seen the same explanation of the mysterious “w” shadow. What I do not understand though is; if that explanation is indeed intentional for the purpose described, then why are the dealers unaware of it? Further, why is it not mentioned in any manual, marketing material, or review? Seems odd. Unfortunately, for me, it is a distraction when driving on dark winding roads. I will live with it if there is no remedy since I do otherwise love the LC.. Thank you again!

 

[PDPete]

Thank you very much, greatly appreciate the continued discussion .
I too have seen the same explanation of the mysterious “w” shadow. What I do not understand though is; if that explanation is indeed intentional for the purpose described, then why are the dealers unaware of it? Further, why is it not mentioned in any manual, marketing material, or review? Seems odd. Unfortunately, for me, it is a distraction when driving on dark winding roads. I will live with it if there is no remedy since I do otherwise love the LC.. Thank you again!

Honestly, they should be.

While I don't necessarily expect something like this to be in the manual (though a footnote may be nice), it is the type of thing that dealers should be able to explain...as it's likely the sort of thing that won't be limited to a single model...again though, that's assuming it IS an intentional "feature" designed to prevent headlight glare for on-coming traffic. If it's a somewhat new thing Toyota is doing, however, they're likely just not aware of it.

I understand that most dealers don't know EVERY single in-and-out about EVERY single vehicle on their lot, especially not the models that they don't sell as many of (i.e. I expect most know a lot more about the Tacoma than the LC, just due to sales volumes)...unfortunately most dealers are motivated to sell cars, not be experts on them...which is why I appreciate when dealers do seem to be enthusiastic about the product they are selling and knowledgeable on it beyond what the 3 page brochure has to say...but these are fewer and far between these days... I always know going in that I've likely done a LOT more research on the vehicle(s) I'm coming in to look at than they have.

 

[Mike G]

Thank you , good thoughts. One more layer though. I have seen discussions in a forum that dates back to July 2024 regarding the “w” shadow on that years model 1958 LC. That said, I would think Toyota would be aware, with plenty of time past to respond, providing an explanation, minimally educating their dealers. When I took mine back to the dealer last week, their head mechanic, and a gentleman who described his role as being that of reporting product anomalies to Toyota, Both were genuinely unaware. While both did agreed that the issue is real, could pose a safety hazard in some conditions , and would in fact include that comment in their report to Toyota. Not suggesting something nefarious is going on, but the purpose, if there truly is an intentional one, is a best kept secret .
Thank you again all for contributing.

 

[jnsplace]

I never really noticed it until someone mentioned the intentional shadowing. I goggled it and it's been awhile for awhile; not just Toyota either Hyundai and Subaru have it as well.

 

[PDPete]

Not suggesting something nefarious is going on, but the purpose, if there truly is an intentional one, is a best kept secret .

Or that dealer and mechanic had never had anyone else mention it to them with any concern or have enough interest to notice or look into it.

My honest opinion is that they should have been able to explain it to you, other auto-makers have apparently been developing similar ways to reduce headlight glare for on-coming traffic (so this isn't exactly ground breaking), though it does seem like it's new for Toyota

My personal experience with it was: Yes, I noticed it almost immediately...yes, it raised a minor amount of concern that something wasn't right with the headlights (perhaps mis-aligned or mis-focused?)...once I got home and researched it and found a likely reason why they're like that, I just said to myself "Oh, makes sense", moved on, and now it doesn't bother me. I don't think it's a safety issue, the headlights still illuminate the road and surroundings adequately, much more so than older vehicles I've owned in the past. If it doesn't seem like there's much info on it, it's probably just because it's only on relatively new cars, and the vast majority of owners aren't inquisitive enough to ask why.

 

[ovʀʟxnᴅ]

You're definitely going to want larger tires if you're spending a lot of time in sand. Airing down works, of course, but I don't care to do that unless it is absolutely necessary. A little more flotation, along with a larger diameter so that low range isn't so low, and the LC will be great on sand. The north end of Carova was really soft last week! Here though, it was easy cruising. When you're rinsing off afterward, make sure you flush the channel around the rear hatch and through the rear tail light trim. That area brought home a lot of sand.

 

[Mike G]

Thank you, great advice. We are in Frisco, one half mile south of Ramp 49. We will continue to use our current beach buggy, Ram 4x4 pu. Although, and I am sure you know, sand gets into everything, especially when it is blowing 35-45 mph , as it is at the moment.
Back to the “W” shadow: Dealer genuinely unaware that the issue existed. They had their top guy take a look, we adjusted the beam upwards. Helps a little. Awaiting a response from Toyota…..