I just completed my 1st year of ownership and wanted to say what everyone already knows. 4th gen is great. I came out of a Crown Vic so I wanted something tough, reliable, and easy to DIY maintain. And I wanted a proper body on frame vehicle. There was only one choice.

It took about a year to get my example up to par. As bought, it needed new to me carpet, one HVAC actuator, two door lock actuators, rear hatch release service, instrument cluster service, front door glass swap for OEM, and an interior out cleaning to get rid of pet odor. (Front glass was optional but I found a cheap OEM set at the JY.) My brake pump motor failed about two months in which as a bonus cured pulling to one side under hard braking. The biggest and most surprising improvement was changing front wheel bearings. Truck is as quiet and refined inside as a Lexus RX350. I find the ride to be as good as my Crown Vic which had cop suspension. Rack and pinion steering is sharp and responsive. I did everything myself and without difficulty. I'm sold!

What years are 4th gen?

2003-2009

4th Gen doesn't get much love from some folks, but I think it's one of the better generations.

Agreed!

I had my 4runner for about 3-4 years, and despite having spent $6k on a blown head gasket, and still having some "major" items to repair (cat converters to remove P430/420 codes, rotted gas tank straps/skid plate, LCAs, heater core to fix passenger side lack of defroster, and a pricey undercoating) I still loved my '04 4Runner. I just got rear ended last week, so I'm waiting to hear back in a week or so whether it's fixable or a write-off. I am looking again for another 4th Gen, but a refresh model V8, but am also considering a 2nd Gen Tacoma.

I loved my 4th gen! Had it for roughly 8 years, put around 100k miles on it and never had an issue with it besides regular maintenance!

It's a great truck, but beware - brake calipers seizing is a common occurrence. I think I've replaced my rears twice and the fronts 3 times. (I would never just replace one side - if my front driver caliper seizes, I'm doing both fronts.)

It's a pretty easy DIY job though and the parts are cheap.

I've got 256k miles on my 2005 V8