Very much a Noob here, in fact, I've never owned a 4Runner before.

That being said, I'm definitely not new to Toyota's, having owned 6 other 'Yota's including my current two (03 Sequoia and 06 Prius). I love Toyota's for the ease of maintenance, longevity, engineering, and overall quality!

My Prius is currently rocking 210k+ miles, and the Sequoia is at 189K.

With that being said, I know that every model has its quirks and things that may need replacing sooner than other (for example, the rear hatch lever on my Sequoia has been replaced at least twice).


So, what items should I be looking at when assessing whether to buy a 4th Gen 4Runner with some mods? I've attached pics to this post - I happen to know the owner (he's a friend), and I know he's treated it well.

It's a 2005, with around 205k miles. At 180k, he had timing belt and water pump done, and it also has newer brakes and tires.

Any problem areas I should look at when assessing?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Is it the v8? Doesn’t look like those mods would cause any problems. Mods will typically just cause more expensive repairs if they go bad unless you return to stock. Bigger lifts, tires can wear the suspension/ axle components quicker and put more stress on components

But it’s a nice looking 4runner

I had a friend that bought this gen which had a v8 and about 2 months after he got it, he had to totally replace the v8 (he went and got 2nd and 3rd opinions) ... other than that it is a good looking 4Runner... and if its a good friend then he can tell you about any issues he would be having. I would make sure drivetrain (transfer case, differentials, trans) fluids are new (after you get it) and rebuild the shocks if that is an option too.

When you go off-roading take it easy... I see a lot of FAIL videos of people treating their 4Runners like a quad or UTV off road and breaking parts.

If it's a 6 cyl the transmission can have a jerking feeling when accelerating and getting to around 30mph, after passing roughly 35mph it goes away. It's not really jerking but more like running over the rumble strips on the road. It can come and go....at least mine does....and just depends on how fast/slow I'm accelerating from a stop. It can happen the whole trip to the store or not show up for 3 months. As far as I know it doesn't cause any damage and if it doesn't bother you then don't worry about it. Some people completely flush the trans and it solves the problem, sometimes makes it worse.

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You asked for opinions. Here’s mine.

Run from that.

One reason: snorkel. If he actually needed and used that feature, it’s been buried MANY times in water or mud.

My $0.02.