So much good information in here, thank you!!

Welp, finally got around to test driving a 4th gen. Super clean 2008 Urban Runner with 85,000 miles. Only problem was it wouldn't shift into 4lo and the dealership wouldn't budge a DIME off the sale price of $15,990. No way can I justify spending $18k all said and done on a 12 year old car. Anyone have any tips on getting 4lo to engage should this happen again?

Search around this site, plenty have had good luck getting the actuator un-stuck. Can you make the repair a condition of the deal?

If you're trying to un-stick it before you buy, get the engine/drivetrain warmed up and try engaging it multiple times (ie: try it, back up and try again, etc.).

And speaking as the guy who bought a 2008 with 35k and Toyota certification, I definitely wouldn't let higher miles scare you - I can attest, these low milage 4runners command quite the (un-justified) premium.

Oh Trust me, I tried everything. I had my phone on me and was searching the forum for tricks/tips on engaging 4lo and none of them worked. I hear yea on the price premium. My mindset is either get an older (4th gen) reliable 4Runner for reasonable money, or just go all out and get a newer one. I don't like this middle ground in the high teens price wise. Feel like it defeats the purpose of getting an older one in the first place.

Barring using the vehicle to try and free it up, apparently hitting the actuator with a rubber mallet has also worked to free it up (I suspect this is how Toyota "fixed" mine).

And yah, my 2008 was only a few years old when I bought it but if I had to do it over today, I'd either go with a new(er) truck or something older with a few miles that I could pay cash for and mod. Good luck man

thanks for the great info!

Newbie looking for advice:

I'm looking at a 1 owner2007 4runner limited with 42 service history records, no damage or accidents. Unfortunately, I don't see water pump replacement or anything "big" in the service records. Just fluid changes and battery swaps. The tint is peeling off one of the windows, but other than that it looks great.

BUT, following this great forum's advice I entered the VIN into the nifty Toyota owners website and got this (as the last 2 service records):

Putting in the VIN on the Toyota owner page brought this up for the 2007 Limited (last entries before it went to auction):
3/12/2020

CK ENG LT ON

CK ENG LT ON~|~THE CUSTOMER STATES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON-ADVISE PERFORM COMPUTER DIAGNOSIS AND HEALTH CHECK. IN SOME CASES THE ENGINE LIGHT CAN COME BACK ON AFTER A REPAIR IS COMPLETE DUE TO POTENTIAL IMPROPER READINGS FROM FAILED PART.~|~ ~|~DRIVABILITY DIAGNOSIS ALL

Customer Pay23/12/2020

GENERAL REPAIR

GENERAL REPAIR~|~VEHICLE IS SOUNDING UNUSUAL AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. VEHICLE SOUNDS LIKE SHE IS DRIVING A TRUCK~|~REAR DIFF NEEDS TO BE R@R~|~CUSTOMER DECLINED WORK


Question: Is this indicative of careless driving, or is this normal for a 4th gen with 102k miles?

Rear diff needs to be replaced? That's definitely not normal. I just bought one with 167k and it doesn't sound like that. I'd ballpark a rear diff at $2k plus 1.5k for the timing belt (those are probably low estimates).

Honestly it kinda sounds like she just did the bare minimum and that's it... I'd pass, personally. Nothing wrong with getting one with a bit more miles that's actually been maintained well.

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Agree with @Magnetnerd - don’t buy someone else’s problems. Good on you for doing the research to catch that.

LOL at “sounds like she’s driving a truck.” Did she think it was a car?

bump, can this get re stickied? Weird that it was undone.

Lots of good information here

Very helpful. I'm getting into a 4th gen v8, have a few prospective vehicles. Is there a way to determine if the timing belt has been done, without service records?

I've only found a few that have it listed and being that they're all 120k-150k on the clock, one of my main questions will be determining if the belt has been done. I know that some shops may not be logging that OR people might've been working on their own vehicles.

I see a lot of info in this thread, I am having trouble finding exactly what to watch for when buying. I know the timing belt, 4H/4L, and rust issues. And that calipers can lock up. Are there any other go-to's as far as what to watch for?

Why are so many service records showing "PCM reprogrammed" around 90k?

I'm going to go look at it today. I always ask for frame pics and from the photos, it checks out. It's a 3 owner vehicle originally from NJ and then CO for almost a decade. I pulled the carfax and it doesn't show anything about TB, but according to the seller, it was done around 150k miles (will see if it shows the date/mileage when I see it today). The only thing is that apparently the cats are finicky (but passed emissions) and the fan in the dash is loud and inconsistent? I'm excited to go see/buy it, but kinda nervous at the same time with it having 220k miles. It will be my secondary vehicle, so it'll be alright though. I've had a 5th gen 4R, GX460, and 1st gen Sequoia as well and am excited to have a 4r under my arsenal again (currently drive Tesla Model 3 Performance as daily). Oh, and will be paying around $10k.

I hope this works out for you, but a 4th Gen that's only ever been kept in two winter-weather states? Sounds like you're fully aware of this but take a good, hard look at that frame. They can make it look pretty in the pics.