We picked up a 2016 4Runner SR5 Premium from the Copart Auction in Salt Lake City. Great looking black paint with a slight dark blue sparkle. It has the third-row seating as well. I reached out to the prior owner who gave me a full set of Husky mats that are in "like new" condition.

The prior owner hit some black ice and slid into a curb with the left side of the truck. Impact damaged the front bumper, left headlight, left front fender, broke the front left wheel and did some minor damage to the left rear quarter panel. Turns out that the front left steering knuckle was bent along wit the left rear axle shaft.

The truck was in Utah and I was short on time and tools so I took it to a local Big O Tire shop in Provo, Utah. Frankly, they were terrific.

They swapped out the steering knuckle with a new one $$$$ about $1,000. I then found the rear axle issue. I found a used one from a wrecking yard in Salt Lake. Axle, hub, seal and rotor, $250. It also came with a park brake cable. Mine if fine. If anyone needs one let me know and it is yours, just pay the shipping.

We ended up installing a new left rear caliper, rear rotors and rear pads, they didn't need them, but a miscommunication with the tech, well, it has new rear brakes. (I kept the caliper (needs a seal) the two rotors and pads for future use).

The 4Runner drives like a new truck. It is amazingly tight for having 83,000 miles.

The prior owner was on his way home with Indian takeout. The interior was covered with rice and chicken curry. Rice was in every nook and cranny from the front dash vents to the rear side pockets, along with some half eaten pizza slices, tortilla chips, gold fish crackers, some cheese snacks and a few covid masks.

I spent a few hours vacuuming and detailing the interior and had an hour to spare so washed the entire truck and then clayed and polished the hood and the right side of the 4Runner, paint looks amazing (Flex 3401 and Rupes blue pads and course polish followed up with some Blackfire One Step, incredible!) Hood has a few scratches that didn't quiet polish out, but without a paint depth gauge, I didn't want to burn through the clear. The truck will need a full detail inside and out, but this was a fun start.

I ordered up a new front bumper cover and left fender from Larry H. Miller in Murray, Utah, their online parts prices are about the best in the country. I found a left headlight and rear tail lights here in San Diego for a great deal, $50 for the headlight and $100 for the new tail lights. I need to find a TRD matte black 17 inch wheel, a Toyo Open Country tire. I also need a left side roof air bag.

If anybody has a left side curtain air bag, let me know!

Can't wait to get it back to San Diego and get the body and paint work completed. This looks like a keeper!

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Good find and save.. Good luck.

Here is a shot from the auction photos.

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The thread title had me thinking you were still facing issues. Great to hear you managed to sort it out! Nice to know that the car got a second life and didn't have to be totally scrapped.

I too have a black 4Runner and have started the modding journey.

I drove the 4Runner 705 miles from Provo, Utah to Pacific Beach, California. The truck ran like a sewing machine. Absolutely no issues. I kept is around 84 mph most of the way. I averaged 18.1 mpg. I was a bit surprised, I thought that it would have gotten better mileage than that. Gas was $4 a gallon in Utah and almost $6.50 in California.........(I will withhold any political comments). It doesn't have the power of our Gen 4 V8 4Runners and gets about the same mileage per gallon. However, it is a larger truck. It tracked well and the cruise control worked great, even going over mountain passes. Heater worked great, it was in the high 30s when I left and A/C is ice cold, in the 90s in San Bernardino.

I ended up buying two new TRD rims from Larry H. Miller Toyota in Salt Lake, they were $230 each. I also got a new Toyo Open Country tire, when the wheel broke during the curb impact, the broken rim ran on the inside of the tire cutting it up. I should have picked up a new TPMS sensor at the same time, it completely skipped my mind. Tires are surprisingly quiet.

I removed the left side curtain air bag before I left. A bit of a pain, lots of 10 mm bolts. I haven't quite figured out how to get the grab handles reconnected, the little tabs don't seem to want to reinstall.

I did a complete interior detail yesterday afternoon. The prior owner must have had a load of Chinese or Indian food in the truck. Cooked rice was everywhere, add in some french fries and gold fish crackers, well you get the idea. There was even rice in the dash air vents. It still has a bit of a food smell, not offensive, just there. Time for the ozone machine.

I ordered up a decal removal wheel from Amazon. Time for the red mountain decals on the doors and the baby on board sticker on the rear cargo door to come off.

Waiting for the body shop to free up. It will need a new front bumper, left headlight, left rear taillight and left front fender. The journey continues.......

Our 4Runners have the aerodynamics of a toaster. Wind resistance v. speed is not linear, it's exponential. Speeds over 65 take a toll on fuel efficiency. I'm surprised you saw over 18 averaging almost 85.

Ha, I also have a Range Rover Sport, almost the same aerodynamic qualities! I have done that trip about 30 times in the Rover, I average about 19 mpg, but on Premium gas. I flew up on Breeze airlines out of Orange County, my one-way flight into Provo was $36. Fuel cost on the one-way on the 4Runner was about $200. Breeze is an amazing airline by the way.

sounds like you scored big time. nice find.

Yeah I have two 150-175 mile trips that I make routinely and my limited with 20's and a slight lift usually gets 18.5 if I can keep the cruise around 74. At 85 i'd probably be closer to 16-17mpg, probably lower

i have a '16 TEP, picked it up w/ 73k... and love it. i've sniffed 20mpg, but thats a rare trip and not at 85 mph.

my grandfather used an ozone machine to get smoke smell out of clothes and houses. you mentioning it made me smile.

good luck with your new rig!

I removed the red mountain decals from the sides and the "Baby on Board" sticker from the rear liftgate. Still waiting for the paint shop to get a vacancy..........

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