The automotive industry doesn’t sit still for a second. From electric cars and touchscreens to virtual assistants that seem pulled straight from the movies. But… what else do we need? In this battle to dominate the market, Toyota is breaking all the rules.
In a market that demands more innovation, more features and more power, Toyota is still producing in 2025 the same diesel engine it launched in 1990: the legendary 1HZ!! It’s not the fastest or the most modern, but it has earned the reputation of being one of the toughest and most reliable engines of all time. Its secret doesn’t lie in being innovative, but in what many modern engineers have forgotten: mechanical simplicity!!
That’s right, if this engine survives, it’s not because of nostalgia, but because it keeps working where others fail: in Australian mines, remote farms, war zones, African deserts… and it’s still being installed new in vehicles like the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series. More than three decades later, the 1HZ hasn’t disappeared: it’s more alive than ever!
Toyota has conquered the world with its diesel
The Toyota 1HZ is a naturally aspirated inline-six engine with overhead camshaft, 129 horsepower and 210 lb-ft of torque. It has no turbo, no direct injection, no fancy sensors. What it does have is a cast iron block, a forged crankshaft, and a mechanical fuel pump capable of handling the dirtiest diesel on the planet. And that changes everything.
Why the 1HZ works
The key to its success lies not in what it has, but in what it doesn’t. No belts that can break, no electronics sensitive to heat, the 1HZ can be started with basic tools and keep running even after years of extreme use.
In 35 years, the design has barely changed. In the early 2000s, Toyota added electronic fuel control and an EGR valve to meet emission standards, but the heart of the engine is exactly the same. Why change something that doesn’t fail?
The favorite engine in the most extreme places on Earth
This engine isn’t meant for city SUVs or family cars. It’s built to survive in places where giving up is not an option. We find it in the HZJ76, the HZJ78 Troop Carrier and the HZJ79 pickup, all part of the Land Cruiser 70 family, sold in markets like Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
In those regions, where driving 300,000 kilometers on dirt roads is normal, the 1HZ proves its design stands the test of time. Farmers, NGOs, military units… all still rely on this engine as the ultimate workhorse, who would choose anything else with a record like that?
Stories of impossible mileage
There’s no shortage of stories showing its reliability. In forums and social media, Land Cruiser owners with the 1HZ engine boast of passing 600,000 kilometers without a single major failure. In some cases, the vehicles have been repainted, restored or even repaired after accidents, but the engine remains untouched, starting at the first turn of the key.
Why hasn’t Toyota stopped making it?
Why would they stop? The answer is simple: because there’s still a real, functional demand. And it works!! Toyota continues to build vehicles with this engine because they’re still sold new in countries where reliability matters more than technology. And the best part is, there are still spare parts, specialized mechanics and technical knowledge to keep them going.
Fighting planned obsolescence
Think about it, in today’s world where everything has an expiration date, Toyota has been fighting with the same model for 35 years. You could call it revolutionary, but really it’s just smart. They live by the motto “if it works, don’t touch it”. And that’s exactly what they’re doing.
It’s not alone: other engines that endure
The Toyota 1HZ isn’t the only engine with a reputation for being unbreakable. The Toyota 1GR-FE, a V6 gasoline engine launched in 2002, and the legendary Mercedes-Benz OM617 are also often named among the most reliable ever made. But none of them has stayed in production for over 30 years without major changes like the 1HZ.
This engine isn’t going to win races or wow at a classic car show. But it’s going to do its job every day, without complaining, without asking for anything in return. And that, deep down, is what many people are still looking for: an engine that doesn’t quit.
While other engines are built to last 200,000 kilometers and then disappear, or to show off on the street… the Toyota 1HZ keeps rolling. And as long as someone needs it in some remote corner of the planet, Toyota will keep making it.