The '12 SR5 is a year old today and I have racked up 54,000 miles already. Not one problem and has not been back to the dealer for anything. 5 oil changes at 10K each with Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20 and Toyota factory filters, 1 Toyota air filter at 40K and 2 sets of tires with Toyo OC AT2 currently on it. I manage construction projects and am commuting 186 miles a day to a jobsite right now. I need the 4 wheel drive to get to my house in bad weather and the jobsite is on top of a WV mountain with a 15% grade up to it. The 4Runner works perfect for my needs right now. I have averaged 17.7 MPG overall with 40% 2 lane, mostly hills, rural roads and 60% interstate highway, at 75 -80 MPH. I wish the mileage was better but until somebody (Toyota, are you listening) puts a 4 cyl. turbodiesel in one of these, I just live with it. Think I am going to put a set of Bistein HD shocks on it to firm it up a little and get rid of that dreaded nose dive every time one of those darn deer run out in front of me. So it has been a vey positive year for the 4Runner and I will probably run it another year before getting another vehicle. If you think this is a lot of mileage, I bought a 2000 Tacoma brand new and put 206K on it in 2 1/2 years with the same thing, oil changes, filters and tires. You gotta love these Toyotas.
1 year old today & 54K miles
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cbreze
Member
Wow, I've had my '12 one year also and just turned 10,000 miles. At this rate I wont hit 100,000 till 2023 or so. I'm not holding back, driving as much as I need but live in a smallish town and ride my bike a lot. I've driven Toyotas since 1974 and loved everyone of 'em. Most trouble free vehicles on the road.
Whiplash Willy
New member
That is crazy! I am getting depressed that I already have 12k on my '13 in 6 months of ownership! At this rate I will have 120k miles on mine before it is paid off!
Have you not done any other service besides oil and Air Filter?
I am curious about the financial side of putting 100k on a new vehicle in 2 years, then selling it. Does your work pay for your car, or give you some kind of allowance? Do you get paid mileage? It just seems to me that you would be losing alot of money from vehicle depreciation.
My company pays me mileage which ends up more than enough for the vehicle, gas and maintenance. Though not exactly great resale value, a 2 year old Toyota with a 100k is worth a lot more than ANY domestic vehicle at that point. Reliability and resale are the 2 biggest reasons for me buying Toyota or Honda. I have done no other service other than oil and filters and never have, I have always thought most of the recommended service is for dealer profit not increased reliability. By my count I have driven well over 2 million miles in my life and have never done anything other than basic maintenance and have never had more than a routine problem..ie. altenator, starter, brakes, etc. The only real thing I am anal about is tires, I only buy good quality tires and run them to about half tread or when they start to hydroplane. That is your only contact with the road, DO NOT skimp on those.
1Engineer, I am in Parkersburg. You hit it right on the head as I only buy Toyotas or Hondas for my drivers, toys are something else as with my Vette. I like both brands, the Hondas are usually a little smoother and refined and the Toyotas are a little more rugged and basic. I have owned most models of both brands and my favorites have been the CRV (2 of them) and this 4Runner. I will admit though, the new upcoming Colorado with the 4 cyl. diesel is intriguing to us long haulers. I just can't figure why Toyota doesn't put the diesel from other markets in the Tacoma (owned 4 of them) or 4Runner.
Merry Christmas to southern WV. I get down that way every now and then to our plants in Glen Lyn, Va. and Clinch River Va.
I forgot to mention another tactic I use to help combat resale with higher mileage. I always buy a leftover model year vehicle at the end of the year (late December). My 4Runner is 1 year old to me but 2 model years old to KBB or NADA with the '14s out. If I trade next December, it will have 100k but be 3 model years old but I will have owned it 2 years. The good and bad to this strategy is that you can usually get a real good deal in late Dec. as the dealers want to move them for tax purposes which is good, but you can't always find the exact vehicle and options you may want which may be bad. But I know I am never going to have a daily driver more than a year or two. Just a little knowledge I have picked up over 30+ years of doing this.
Newf4R
New member
Impressive! Sounds similar to my situation. I only did a little over 40k this year though (and that's km's). I loved the 4Runner since childhood, but the resale was a deal breaker for me. Funny I also bought a '12 late in the year for same the same reason. The deal was better and I'll unload it at 2 years old and between 80k & 90k.
My mods have been minimal for this reason. Change the tires and I'm also running Blizzaks in the winter. I wish I did the Bilstein 5100s day 1 though. Nose dive is long forgotten!! Despite my sig I'm actually running 1.75" front and 1.5" daystar spacers in the rear.
Better fuel economy would be nice with all the going, but I you're not getting something as nice as the 4Runner with any better... and good luck trying to keep it in Eco if you live anywhere with mountains.
Any thoughts on what's next? Another 4Runner... I've aAlready been looking at the new Tundra.
My mods have been minimal for this reason. Change the tires and I'm also running Blizzaks in the winter. I wish I did the Bilstein 5100s day 1 though. Nose dive is long forgotten!! Despite my sig I'm actually running 1.75" front and 1.5" daystar spacers in the rear.
Better fuel economy would be nice with all the going, but I you're not getting something as nice as the 4Runner with any better... and good luck trying to keep it in Eco if you live anywhere with mountains.
Any thoughts on what's next? Another 4Runner... I've aAlready been looking at the new Tundra.
I like the interior of the new Tundra a lot but that 5.7 just drinks fuel. Looking at some of the Tundra forums and a coworker who has one, 14 - 16 MPG is typical and he gets about 11 MPG in town. Talk is that the '15 Tundra will have an 8 speed automatic and some drivetrain updates so it may be better by the time I am ready to trade this time next year. I am still hoping to read someday that Toyota is going to put a 4cyl. turbodiesel in the Tacoma or 4Runner but I have been hoping for that for years now.
Where are you reading about an 8 speed? I've not heard of anything powertrain wise yet. I do expect they are well into updates for the AT and the engines in those, though. The reviews of the ZF 8 speed in the Ram have been very good.
vicpick58
New member
Me too, I got mine in April of 12 and have 64k. Nice to know there are others out there that drive even more. And they seem to be holding up well.
vicpick58
New member
Those new shocks will change your outlook on life, for the better. But be aware (I was not) that the 4600 HDs did not come with mounting hardware.
I had to order the front rubber mounts separately from somewhere else and re-use the rears.
But once I got them on, what a difference. Love them, the Runner should have had them from the factory.
Does not completely eliminate the nose dive but does help a lot. Keeps the headlight beams from bouncing up and down so much.
