I've seen a few posts where people say they prefer party mode???

When I press Party Mode all the sounds goes to the back like I thought it was supposed to for tailgating..

So are people saying that the sound is actually better while driving in party mode?

yes, exactly. when i say i prefer party mode, i am referring to when i am driving. compared to disabled party mode, having it enabled gives you increased clarity, non-distorted bass, and clean treble. basically, it seems to me that party mode custom optimizes the settings to make the music sound better.

Also, in party mode, all power is diverted to the very front speakers and the very rear (hatch) speakers - the 2nd row speakers receive no power and thus play no music in party mode. i found this out during my pre-delivery inspection; i was checking all the speakers and thought the 2nd row speakers were defective since i didn't hear any music coming from them. i later realized that this is a feature of party mode.

Someone needs to rig up a disco ball that comes down from the ceiling when the party mode button is pressed.

Im always in Party Mode. It seems so small and tinny without it. Party Mode is like surround sound kinda thing...it is not high end audio file quality...but is pretty damed freking good....especially for an SUV or off road ride. I like it. Im always in Party Mode.

PS; LOVE the Ipod connection. It blows XM away when you can have the shuffle of your own songs controlled by the steering wheel.

Stupid question - how do you know when party mode is on? If I press the button, nothing lights up or anything. I think I pressed it once but wasn't sure so pressed it again and by that time I had no idea if it was on or off. I couldn't really tell the difference in sound. I wish the button itself lit up or something.

It does sounds so much better in Party Mode. I try to turn it off but it just does not sound as good. I fight 'force' myself to turn it off for a while to see if I can adjust to it.

Hmmm. . . .maybe I'm confused. I thought party mode shifts all of the sound to the rear speakers, or do I have this backwards?. When I engage (what I think is) party mode, I don't seem to get any sound from the front or mid speakers - just the rear. However, I haven't stuck my head down by the door to check, as I have only engaged party mode while driving. I prefer normal mode while driving, where I get sound from all the speakers. I use the party mode effectively as a semi-mute button or when I want to engage conversation with a passenger.

are you sure you don't get any sound from the front speakers?

when i turn PM on, i get sound (great sound at that) from the front and hatch speakers, but NOT from the 2nd row speakers.

I think the Party Mode works differently in the Limited than it does on the SR5 and possibly the TE. When I test drove an SR5 I noticed a significant difference b/w party mode and "non-party mode". When I took delivery of my Limited, I can't tell the difference. I tested out another Limited before I left the dealership because I thought mine wasn't working, but it too had the same results. The salesman said it only works when the back door is open. Not sure that is right though.

For those with an SR5 or TE, when you hit the party mode button, does the system gradually silence, then sound gradually come back on, or do you hear the difference immediately?

immediately

i cant tell the difference...i have a trail edition and when you press the button it goes silent then comes back on...no sure wats suppose to happen...none the less i luv my 4runner

Same here. No difference. Does the hatch have to be open?

There's no way to tell that it's on other than to notice the difference in sound. I think this is a big dissapointment. They could have put a light on the switch or an indicator on the radio to let you know when PM is on.

Wow...Im surprised that some of you dont hear the difference. In my truck it is significant. I am a professional sound engineer and musician but I dont think that matters..its that significant and should be apparent to everyone....I wonder if there are problems with the systems in some of your rides.... ? The rear door does not need to be open for it to work.

Yeah it's strange i'm kind of an audioenthusiast and think I would be able to hear it.