Hey guys I am upgrading from a 3rd gen to a 4th. And I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want. I have read through as much as I could find on here, but I wanted to hear from some owners.

I am for sure going V8 & 4wd. I am deciding between the Sport or Limited. I am searching from 06-09 but would prefer an 08 or 09.

I am leaning limited for the leather seats, airbags, dual-zone AC, & JBL sound.

I much prefer the look of the sport, but I can always swap the sport hood and get better rims. But can you swap the roof rack and running boards on the limited? Also, how durable/easy to clean are the seats?

Anyway, what do you have? What do you like? What's an over-rated or under-rated feature?

Thanks!

When I was shopping for mine, MY PRIORITY was the condition and milage for the rig as well as the price. I let that dictate what I buy as everything else I can swap out or live with. I was going to buy a Limited Silver 07 4Runner but they were not flexible with the price nor was another 04 SR5. I got lucky and was found a Sport Edition. XREAS was ok but when it leaked I had them swapped out. Good luck

Airbags (assuming you mean side + curtain) became standard for all trims in... 2007? Not sure on the year. But for the years where they were an option, in my experience you're more likely to find them on LTDs.

JBL was an option for all trims. More likely to find on LTDs, though. If you want factory nav, you're gonna have to go with a LTD.

Roof rack and running boards are swappable. The LTD has running board lights (and thus extra wiring) that the SR5/SE don't have.

For all seats (but especially leather), the driver-side seat bolster is prone to tearing over time.

If the 4R you want has X-REAS (standard on SE, optional on LTD) and/or rear air suspension (optional on V8 LTDs), I'd set aside some cash for its (eventual) replacement.

Might be a good idea to look at the product brochures for the full list of options if you haven't already.

I was in the same boat last year. Primarily was price/mileage/condition, but I was leaning towards the sport. However, found a great deal on an 07 limited V8 in a color I didn't know I wanted (Shadow Mica, originally wanted silver). After finding out more details I'm glad I went this way. Things I really enjoy:
-Heated seats (Can be added to anything with enough creativity)
-Dual climate control (CANNOT Be changed!)
-The leather has held up well and easy to clean
-JBL with nav/bluetooth (not that I need it since I use a phone, but it sounds good enough that I don't have to replace it, and got a GROM audio interface for music)
-Courtesy lights on the running boards (can use the wiring for other lights down the road)
-I wanted the side curtain airbags as well
-My driver seat bolster has a small tear but is still in great shape

I also found that most of the limiteds I checked out were in better overall condition than the sports... They seemed to be better taken care of.

And to answer your questions. Yes, you can replace the hood, running boards, roof rack from a sport if you can find them. Hoods are tough, but the others are easier. If I find a hood I'm going for it, but I like the roof rack (works great with Yakima crossbars) and I'll move to metal sliders at some point down the road.

Sport Edition vs Limited

Sport vs. Limited Package

Sport with X-REAS vs Limited

Sport or Limited? Which to buy?

I just got a limited(07 V8) and I LOVE mine. Leather is hard to take care of and it shows its age over time but I just couldn't do cloth seats.... its so Hideous... Mine is suppppper clean with 156K so I gotta do some upkeep.

Once you change the running board lights to LED, it looks soo much better. The Nav is a outdated but its nice to have especially when you don't have cell service. Mine is an 07 and it came with bluetooth (calls only no audio), but all I did was get a bluetooth enabling device that plugs into the cigarette lighter and now I can switch between audio and calls.

Avoid the XREAS or rear air suspension, from what I read its costly to maintain and repair. In my opinion, the only real benefit from SE is the hood, which to me doesn't look that nice anyways. The limited 18's look better than the SE 17 rims.

Good luck, hope you find what you're looking for.

I have the nav too. I got the GROM audio USB3 system. It plugs into the CD input behind the dash and interrupts the signal (can use either though!) It plays all my music through my phone, and when a call comes in it stops the music, I can answer the call on the steering wheel; and when I hang up, it resumes the music. It's been the best oem+ option that I've seen so far.

I'd echo most of the things above. Wasn't aiming for a particular trim and was also looking at GX470's as well.

Ended up with a limited and definitely like the heated seats, dual zone climate control, and the running board/courtesy lights. Leather is in good condition, no rips/tears and trying to take care of it, but will replace if needed down the road.

Have XREAS and the rear air bags. XREAS working still, but going to be replaced by bilsteins as soon as I make a decision on springs, which will also eliminate the factory air bags. I will likely use aftermarket firestone bags and plumb into the factory compressor, as I've found that feature to be absolutely fantastic when loading up for camping or hauling around mountain bikes and people, etc. - very nice to have the same ride height and weight compensation all the time.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that the sports will have the bigger brakes that were an option on the limited. This will limit you to 17 inch wheels and up.

I have an '07 Sport and some of the Limited features would be nice to have (other than leather - never liked it in cars) but I have loved this truck since the day I got it in 2014. To answer a specific question, I had reservations about the Sport seats when I first saw them b/c they're black, which is notoriously hard to keep clean. I don't know what these things are made of but 1) they're indestructible and 2) vacuum them and wipe them with a damp cloth and they look like new. That goes for the fabric panels in the doors too.

Watch the frame rust, make sure all 4WD modes work properly, and all the best in your search.

- Sport has XREAS suspension which is probably end of life at this point

- Sport has JBL audio which is a huge PITA to upgrade

- Sport has larger brakes which limit what wheels you can mount straight up

Go with what blackjackck says, buy the first clean one you find as clean 4th gens are becoming difficult to find. Dont get locked into V8 either, the V6 is a great engine. Just purchase one post 12/05 build date to avoid head gasket issue on the V6

Thansk for the heads up. I did see that option when I was thinking of upgrading my head unit for apple carplay. I am happy with my set up, I paid ~$10 for the bluetooth device and I didn't have to take apart my dash or anything(I plug the device into my trunk outlet). I still get my steering wheel controls and my music does stop when I get a call because I'm essentially "listening to the radio". I just have to click my phone and switch over to my 4runner bluetooth when I pick up phone calls which happens in the blink on an eye.

The roof rack and running boards are a direct swap. I actually just swapped from the sr5 rack to the sport rack and it fits perfectly. As far as trim levels either one is nice. If you are DIY savy you could do the leather yourself if you wanted to start with a sport model but if you feel like you are going to want things like the auto lights, memory seats, and dual climate control just understand those things cannot be easily added later and would require thousands to retrofit whereas swapping a roof rack and hood would be more cost effective

Thanks for this thread, I've got a steep learning curve.

Just picked up an 06 Ltd today. Super clean 128000 mi. Wanted the features of the LTD, and especially the 4.7 V8.

Can you recommend a thread on maintenance that should have been done at this point to keep this running as long as I read that they are capable of?

2005 4Runner maintenance schedule?

100,000 mile Maintenance??

At 120K+ miles, what kind of maintenance schedule should I follow?

120000 mile service for 2004 4runner?

DIY 120K service?

130K Maintenance?

Thanks much Bossman. Much to do starting with the fluids.