[dsfra]

Have a 2012 5th gen TE - 72,000 (fun-filled) miles, but (yikes!) 10 years old. Lots of towing (3,900 lb trailer), plenty of freeway, fair amount of fairly ambitious wheeling, not so much local/commute; has received plenty of regular maintenance and TLC. So... what have you guys found that craps out with old age, but kinda independent of miles? The parts guys at my local dealer report no real specific repeat issues, e.g. they don't sell 20 bottom radiator hoses a day. Any words of wisdom based on your experiences?

Hoping for lots more years and miles, but starting to worry about long trips...

P.S. Did various searches but got nothing relevant - hard to know how to ask for what I'm looking for; so many different ways to phrase the search.

[Muskrat14]

Yours is older than mine but I’ve got double the mileage.

Only non maintenance item I’ve ever done was the driver side needle bearings.

Drive it and enjoy it.


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[Something_Awesome]

I think you meant breaks, not brakes. With that said, brakes! I think there a few people on this forum dealing with a pretty serious braking issue. I have heard of ABS-related issues before than spans multiple gens. But I feel like if you were to have had this problem, it would have revealed itself already.

I’m not sure if these issues are being had by people that do modifications, heavy off roading, or what. Though I do not know of any correlation. But it’s damn scary because it seems like the issue does not manifest itself until you have to brake hard.

[ArthurKotb]

I pull a 23' Airstream with my 2004 SE V8, about 6,000 lbs. I have a little over 130K miles. I also pull a 17' bass boat. Pulling the Airstream, I've been down to Florida, across to Texas, west to Oregon and along the northern border. I've been to D.C. a couple of times, over the mountains. Many times up to northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and down to Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi with the boat.

O2 sensor somewhere about 60K
Battery at 85K 11/2015
Timing belt/water pump maint at 78K 4/15
Front calipers, rotors, pads at 96K 2/2017
Rear calipers, rotors, pads at 126,170K 7/21
Tires (4) at 106K 4/19 (3rd or 4th set)
Spark plugs at 98K 6/17
Transfer case seal about 117K
Oil & filter every 5K
Air filter every 30K

Other than maintenance items, the two biggest expenses have been the O2 sensor and the transfer case seal (which was a very minor drip). I plan on keeping this 4Runner until it can no longer pull my trailers.

I bought a 91 Camry new, kept it 29 years/ 188K miles. The brake lines rusted through and it was estimated at $800 to repair, so I donated it. I miss that car. That V6 was fun to drive and the only non-maintenance part I ever replaced was the alternator.

We still have the '99 Sienna at 120K. My wife says "when they pry it out of my cold dead hands". She loves it.

I have bought 5 Toyotas, still own 3, and would have kept the '89 pickup if I had somewhere to park it.

[CutthroatSlam]

2014 SR 5 hitting 290K miles right now. In addition to the above routine wear related parts replacement list, I had to replace the air valve on the driver’s side. Also the wires into the plugs of the harness there on the air valves are crimped in poorly and I’ve had to repair those. Otherwise, just routine maintenance and no major repairs.

[scanny]

In my old 2010 the only thing that got broken is 11 years is neutral safety position switch on transmission. It was showing sings of failure for few months before I decided that it won't fix itself and get mechanic to replace it. Got about 130,000 miles om my T4R before if got totaled in accident. Other than that - just a regular maintenance and wear, like brake pads and rotors, battery, tires etc.

[1000MPH]

2010 122k
Replaced:
Rear hatch rubber switch cover
Door belt moldings/weatherstripping
Skid plate bolts
Plastic fasteners

Sitting on the shelf:
KDSS Anti-sway Bar OEM rubber bushings
OEM serpentine belt idlers.

On the shopping list:
Front wheel bearing assys

[bluebullet]

2011 Trail KDSS failed due to corrosion from road salt. The $1700 option cost $3000 to repair. I traded it for a 2020 ORP and will get the extended warranty to deal with salt issues. Too many electronic components these days.

Our 99 SR5 remains our reliable snow car with a 5 speed manual.

No other major issues with the 4 4Runners we have owned. The 3rd gen (99) SR5 was a big step up from our 94 2nd gen with rack/pinion steering a 3.4L vs 3.0L engine.

[dsfra]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. The only unexpected thing so far for me was the little o-ring on the bottom A/C line connector at the condenser - a slow leak and easy enough to replace.

Dealt with the sticky 4-low position sensor switch just in time, before having to deal with replacement. Now in the habit of using 4-high, 4-low, multi-terrain, hill descent, rear locker, and a-trac at least once a week - wet or dry, straight line, slowly, just enough to get good engagement a couple of times to keep things moving. Was having a reluctant rear locker - used to take many tries before it would stop blinking and really sense locker engagement was ok and tell whatever processor was involved - now engages first time, every time. Same with 4-low. Also do the 10 miles monthly per the manual on gravel. Interesting post mortem on a sensor switch: Failure analysis: failed transfer case switch = non-operational rear diff lock | Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

[Cheers!]

My 2015 limited has 70,000 miles.

I don't tow abtravel trailer. But only small uhayl trailers for picking up renovation materials. And small skid steers at tge local rental yards.

I would say my plastic chrome plated door handles are all chipping and peeling.

My 4runner eats brake pads. But I do use aggressive pads like hawk hps or LTS.

In your case as well as my. We should look at doing a basic drain and fill of our automatic transmission fluid in the very near future.

[curmudge1]

My 2012 TE (red) has about 164,000 miles, no trouble yet.

I did get the "propeller shaft" replacement under warranty, should be some info on this site, there was a TSB about low speed jerking. It wasn't really a bad problem, just an annoyance.

I have no qualms about hitting the road for an 8 hour trip, like we did for Christmas. FWIW.

Originally Posted by dsfra

Have a 2012 5th gen TE - 72,000 (fun-filled) miles, but (yikes!) 10 years old. Lots of towing (3,900 lb trailer), plenty of freeway, fair amount of fairly ambitious wheeling, not so much local/commute; has received plenty of regular maintenance and TLC. So... what have you guys found that craps out with old age, but kinda independent of miles? The parts guys at my local dealer report no real specific repeat issues, e.g. they don't sell 20 bottom radiator hoses a day. Any words of wisdom based on your experiences?

Hoping for lots more years and miles, but starting to worry about long trips...

P.S. Did various searches but got nothing relevant - hard to know how to ask for what I'm looking for; so many different ways to phrase the search.

[mnofpeace]

2014 owner here w/ 140,000+ miles so far


both front door locks dont work...but thats why God gave me thumbs

one front brake caliper has been replaced


uuummmm....that's about it for me

[Humble Leader]

2012 with 155k ish miles. these are the things that broke for me, which does not include regular wear and tear

- neutral safety switch, just did this in March
- spare tire hoist seized with rust so I had it replaced

I did the valve cover gaskets, spark plug o rings and cam shaft gaskets earlier in 2021. I don't classify that as broken given they lasted 150k+ miles which is acceptable to me

my XREAS absorbers were replaced as well in 2021 (it was still original). It didnt break, I had one slight weeping rear absorber so I replaced all 4 corners

[vlad drac]

2010 SR5 w/ 177K - No towing, no offroading

Other than fluids, brakes (3rd set pads/rotors) and battery (3rd one) -
ECGS clamshell bushing/needle bearing repair @ 80K
Front driver side wheel bearing replaced @ 115K, passenger side @ 130K
Door belt moldings replaced on both sides
Alternator replaced @ 150K
XM antenna has been dead for a while but I'm not paying $400 for a new one

[flyrv9]

[2013 SR5 35K miles. Being retired we don't drive much! No real issues other that time related things. Changed wiper blades a couple weeks ago. Battery changed about two years ago. TPMS sensors are going bad - they have about a 7 or 8 year battery life.

We also have a 2000 Tundra with 135K miles. So far I've changed 2 coil packs, 3 oxygen sensors (not hard to do with the oxygen sensor socket). I had the timing belt and water pump changed at 90K. Also changed out the headlight bulbs - others were getting dim. Also have been through a couple of batteries; and changed brakes - need to do that again.

If you are in an area with harsh winters and lots of salt used to clear roads, then you would have several more things to look at.