2016 4runner Changes

[1engineer]

Oh my...
First, google Tahara Toyota Plant. Thats where the 4Runner is built and accounts for about 25% of their production. There are around 300 4runners produced there every day lol. They are going to cut it down to 300 a month? Okay. Vans and Camrys are not even produced there.

Next. For the umpteenth time, a vehicle does not have to get a specific gas mileage! Under CAFE rules all vehicles that are produced by a specific manufacturer get averaged! Google that too!

Next. The 4Runner is not a low volume vehicle! There were as many 4runners sold last year as Camaros or Mustangs!

Last. How many dealers actually know what is going on? I buy a few of the things you guys posted like colors but the other stuff? Really?

Last postscript. The reason only a few 4Runners were sold in 2009 was demand. Remember what happened in 2009?

Cmon guys, get a grip.

 

[Az4runnin]

Supercharger in 2016 Really thats Funny as TRD just announced there Done with Superchargers so Thats total BS. 3.5 in the Last year of the 5th Gen....Not Buying that either.. It's getting the 5.7 V8 Trust me my Buddy said So.

 

[swimmer]

Next. For the umpteenth time, a vehicle does not have to get a specific gas mileage! Under CAFE rules all vehicles that are produced by a specific manufacturer get averaged! Google that too!

.

Yes, this means a specific vehicle does not need to get a certain mpg but each vehicle contributes to the average which is why the 4runner mpg matters in relation to CAFE.

 

[qs933]

Last. How many dealers actually know what is going on? I buy a few of the things you guys posted like colors but the other stuff? Really?

Agreed -- 2016 fleet ordering for the 4Runner started on June 1. It takes a few weeks, but info around colors should make its way to online databases soon. Here's one dealer's site that has the 2016 Tacoma models and colors (fleet ordering for the Tacoma started May 1). Pricing on that site is not accurate -- pricing for the Tacoma and 4Runner is expected in August.

I'd take any other speculation about production strategy, the next generation's release date, etc. with a grain of salt, especially from the dealer. Just the "sniff test" of the 350/month production is ridiculous. This is a model that sells between 7-8K units a month.

Here's the real clincher in my mind. They're only going to build and ship 350 T4Rs to the entire US market per month. They're focusing production on more popular models like the Highlander and Sienna. The dealer said they'd be getting far fewer T4Rs per dealer in 2016. How many T4Rs were imported in 2014? How many are projected to sell in 2015? Does this mean that a 2016 T4R is going to be harder to find and the price will be MSRP+ when they are available? Does the 4Runner go the way of the FJ Cruiser in a few years?:rip:
That's all for now folks. :sadwave:

A salesperson that tried to dupe me into believing something so ridiculous would not be my salesperson for long. Obviously he/she is using FUD to get you into taking whatever 2015 model arrives, even if it isn't quite what you wanted. It's a very classic technique to close the deal on the '15, because who knows what they'll be charging when the 2016 4Runner is as scarce as a Ferrari!

 

[1engineer]

Yes, this means a specific vehicle does not need to get a certain mpg but each vehicle contributes to the average which is why the 4runner mpg matters in relation to CAFE.

...and who is so far ahead of other manufacturers that they are selling their credits to others? Yep. Toyota.

 

[LandCruiser]

Here's the real clincher in my mind. They're only going to build and ship 350 T4Rs to the entire US market per month. They're focusing production on more popular models like the Highlander and Sienna. The dealer said they'd be getting far fewer T4Rs per dealer in 2016. How many T4Rs were imported in 2014? How many are projected to sell in 2015? Does this mean that a 2016 T4R is going to be harder to find and the price will be MSRP+ when they are available? Does the 4Runner go the way of the FJ Cruiser in a few years?:rip:
That's all for now folks. :sadwave:

Sounds like a dealer's BS excuse not to give you a deal on a truck because "it's so rare and in so demand" he HAS to put a $5000 ADM on it and a "protection package."

I'd tell him I'd like a dinner and movie before getting such a crappy handjob.

The 4runner's sales for the past few years have been steadily CLIMBING.

 

[nb rob]

2 of the 3 salesmen I spoke with didn't know squat about the trim levels that are offered NOW.
Why are these guys suddenly prophets from tahara?

 

[DesertCanyons]

Just the Facts

... pricing for the Tacoma and 4Runner is expected in August.

... Just the "sniff test" of the 350/month production is ridiculous. This is a model that sells between 7-8K units a month.

A salesperson that tried to dupe me into believing something so ridiculous ...

This quote is what I'm hearing from the last several posts above. Not to single anyone out, but:

Thanks for the feedback on the production quantities. The number the dealer sited was for the US market only. Shipping 350 units per month is the same as 4200 per year, or total units for 2016. How many units were sold last year in the US alone? And I recall reading they only built 1500 TRD Pro models for the US. Whatever it was, Jeep is selling about 10 times as many Wranglers, IIRC.

If Toyota builds 300 units per day that's about 6000 to 7000 per month. (6600 for an average 22 working days in a month) That's production for the World Wide market.

The dealer has little incentive to upsell me to a 2016 or cinch the deal on the 2015 I already have ordered. The price I'll pay is fixed based on the basic, no-accessories model I ordered and the Costco discount I already secured. It's hard to beat $35,445 + T&L, unless dealers start drastically marking them down at end of year. The only incentive is, he keeps me in the deal he offered and guarantees the sale when it comes in. He could easily sell my vehicle for more on the lot without the Costco discount.

I'm replacing my 1995 Jeep because it's getting hard to find parts for it. I need to take possession of this 2015 sooner rather than later.

When I specifically asked him about a 6 speed or 8 speed trans' or an engine change for 2016 he said none was planned. The So Cal/Southwest dealers all attended a pre-sales meeting with Toyota here in the LA area so his info is probably direct from the Toyota marketing team, based on real info.

The new Tacoma was announced over a month ago. No surprise that info is starting to be available about that.

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] No I don't know what happened in 2009 and why sales were down. Please explain. That the 5th gen came out in 2010 is history, but did anyone know that in the first 2/3 of 2009? Probably not.

 

[nb rob]

I'm not 1engineer, but the USA suffered a serious recession that began in q3 of 2008.

I remember because my clients are in the USA, and I just finished building a home theater.
And then I didn't have work for 2 years. Ouch.

 

[DesertCanyons]

I'm not 1engineer, but the USA suffered a serious recession that began in q3 of 2008.
...
And then I didn't have work for 2 years. Ouch.

Good point. I forgot about that. Not a minor factor. Thanks.

P.S. I "Liked" your post not because this was good but because many of us suffered the same consequences, me included.

 

[Bilbo]

Just to add a few real numbers ...

Current Toyota 4Runner sales in the United States are running about 8,000 per month (8,549 in May). The Canadian sales are about 400 per month (452 in May).

Toyota 4Runner Sales Figures - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

 

[LAB4US]

Current Toyota 4Runner sales in the United States are running about 8,000 per month (8,549 in May). The Canadian sales are about 400 per month (452 in May).

Toyota 4Runner Sales Figures - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

And a quick review of the chart there seems to indicate May 2015 was best selling month ever for T4R in both US and Canada! :driving:

 

[1engineer]

This quote is what I'm hearing from the last several posts above. Not to single anyone out, but:

Thanks for the feedback on the production quantities. The number the dealer sited was for the US market only. Shipping 350 units per month is the same as 4200 per year, or total units for 2016. How many units were sold last year in the US alone? And I recall reading they only built 1500 TRD Pro models for the US. Whatever it was, Jeep is selling about 10 times as many Wranglers, IIRC.

If Toyota builds 300 units per day that's about 6000 to 7000 per month. (6600 for an average 22 working days in a month) That's production for the World Wide market.

The dealer has little incentive to upsell me to a 2016 or cinch the deal on the 2015 I already have ordered. The price I'll pay is fixed based on the basic, no-accessories model I ordered and the Costco discount I already secured. It's hard to beat $35,445 + T&L, unless dealers start drastically marking them down at end of year. The only incentive is, he keeps me in the deal he offered and guarantees the sale when it comes in. He could easily sell my vehicle for more on the lot without the Costco discount.

I'm replacing my 1995 Jeep because it's getting hard to find parts for it. I need to take possession of this 2015 sooner rather than later.

When I specifically asked him about a 6 speed or 8 speed trans' or an engine change for 2016 he said none was planned. The So Cal/Southwest dealers all attended a pre-sales meeting with Toyota here in the LA area so his info is probably direct from the Toyota marketing team, based on real info.

The new Tacoma was announced over a month ago. No surprise that info is starting to be available about that.

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] No I don't know what happened in 2009 and why sales were down. Please explain. That the 5th gen came out in 2010 is history, but did anyone know that in the first 2/3 of 2009? Probably not.

Yes, Toyota builds that many 4Runners for the NA market. There are only a few other countries that have 4Runners in our configuration and those sales are in the hundreds, not thousands. US is #1, Canada is #2 and a long way back from the US at around a 10:1 ratio.

Most medium and large vehicle sales cratered in the 4th quarter of 2008 and the floor dropped again in 2009. The 4Runner was no exception. Just for grins here is the Jeep Grand Cherokee numbers here Jeep Grand Cherokee Sales Figures - GOOD CAR BAD CAR and the 4Runner has a similar curve.

Remember it's a DEALER that is giving you this info, take it with a grain of salt. There is much better and more accurate information here in this forum section than about anywhere else as long as you know how to vet the BS from the fact.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

i'll hop in on the RUMINT bandwagon


I talked to the lead tech guy at the stealership today. He said that the 2016 models will have a 3.5L and an optional supercharger from factory. He was positive that the 4.0L was going the way of the dinosaur

Brace yourselves for a pussified version (not that they had any balls to begin with). After I mentioned the supercharger he tried selling me one for my 2015 LOL. Going from NA to FI on a truck without any aftermarket ECU mapping..... no thanks.

First off the 3.5L D4S engine hasn't even been released yet as of this post (it will debut in the 3rd Gen Tacoma. Second the TRD Supercharger program has been discontinued as of this year; mostly due to high investment vs. return & the fact Toyota will be delving into TurboCharging in the near future.

Pretty much everything that tech guy told you sounds like speculation and wishful thinking unfortunately.

Oh my...
First, google Tahara Toyota Plant. Thats where the 4Runner is built and accounts for about 25% of their production. There are around 300 4runners produced there every day lol. They are going to cut it down to 300 a month? Okay. Vans and Camrys are not even produced there.

Next. For the umpteenth time, a vehicle does not have to get a specific gas mileage! Under CAFE rules all vehicles that are produced by a specific manufacturer get averaged! Google that too!

Next. The 4Runner is not a low volume vehicle! There were as many 4runners sold last year as Camaros or Mustangs!

Last. How many dealers actually know what is going on? I buy a few of the things you guys posted like colors but the other stuff? Really?

Last postscript. The reason only a few 4Runners were sold in 2009 was demand. Remember what happened in 2009?

Cmon guys, get a grip.

I'm not entirely sure how much they may be ramping down the production, if any but I do recall a similar trend with the 2009 model year of a slight downturn in production as they geared up for the 5th gens.

While the vehicle doesn't have a specific gas mileage, I am sure that it does not help the over all average at this point; though the 4Runner will probably be safe until the more stringent requirements fall into effect in the next 10 years, so I'm not too concerned about that (though the fact that Lexus dropped the GX series in favor of the TX concerns me that Toyota is considering shaving down their BoF fleet, since the 4Runner is really only a NA model now with the lack of a 5th gen Hilux Surf.)

I would say it is a low volume vehicle in comparison to Toyota's other offerings, it's not as small a share as the FJ was and still has good sales. But the 4Runner has never been a large volume seller as compared to the Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Rav4, and Sienna. But it's by no means a low volume vehicle like the FJ was; I do agree that some people think it has smaller sales than it does.

Dealers don't get much if any information until the last minute if they're lucky from my experience.

I think the recession has something to do with it, but I also think that it's probably not uncommon to taper production off a bit as you start retooling the factory for the next generation as well. What is more interesting to me is that in '09 they dropped the V8, adjusted some of the options, and brought out the "Urban Runner" trim level. A "special" run like that usually happens around a generation's beginning or end as they try to boost sales of remaining in stock units.

 

[qs933]

...Thanks for the feedback on the production quantities. The number the dealer sited was for the US market only. Shipping 350 units per month is the same as 4200 per year, or total units for 2016. How many units were sold last year in the US alone? And I recall reading they only built 1500 TRD Pro models for the US. Whatever it was, Jeep is selling about 10 times as many Wranglers, IIRC.

The numbers I cited (7-8K/month) were also for the US market only. You can view Toyota's US stats for May 2015 and 2015 YTD on their PR site here.

To answer your question: in 2014, Toyota reported 76,906 4Runner units in the U.S.

The point wasn't to beat you over the head with stats. The point was that a dealer's claim that Toyota will be scaling back to 350 units a month in the US next year seems highly unlikely and would make me question why he would make such a statement. And a good reason would be...

...The only incentive is, he keeps me in the deal he offered and guarantees the sale when it comes in. He could easily sell my vehicle for more on the lot without the Costco discount.

As someone who has been in sales (not auto sales, but this is something that applies across industries), keeping you in the deal may be the only thing that matters to him at this point. A deal in the hand is better than two in the bush.

The new Tacoma was announced over a month ago. No surprise that info is starting to be available about that.

Sorry, I didn't make my point clear. The 2016 Tacoma was available for fleet orders starting May 1. It took a few weeks, but ordering info for it (e.g. colors) has slowly made its way to publicly accessible sites, such as the dealer site I mentioned.

The 2016 4Runner was made available for fleet orders starting June 1, one month after the Tacoma. I'd expect to see the ordering info (e.g. colors) start to make its way to those sites soon.

This is also why the info from the dealers about colors is plausible, as that info has already been made available to them (at least for fleet orders).

 

[kapp_badbloodz]

First off the 3.5L D4S engine hasn't even been released yet as of this post (it will debut in the 3rd Gen Tacoma. Second the TRD Supercharger program has been discontinued as of this year; mostly due to high investment vs. return & the fact Toyota will be delving into TurboCharging in the near future.

Pretty much everything that tech guy told you sounds like speculation and wishful thinking unfortunately.

Hence I said RUMINT...

Thats military speak for Rumor Intelligence

 

[cjacob316]

You mean special edition like the TRD pro?

Looking at the sales numbers from May, the 4runner still outsells a number of popular SUV's. In fact most of the vehicles on the list ahead of the 4runner seem to be glorified wagons classified as SUV's to increase the fleet average mpg. A lot of which I don't see having repeat consumers like the 4runner. The other factor I would consider is the number of 4th gens sold. A lot of people still own their 4th gens, and like them. For a lot of people it probably didn't make sense financially to upgrade to a 5th gen, but now their vehicles are 10 years old and you can figure to start to see an increase in 4runner sales from repeat consumers. I think the sales would have to be "poor" over multiple generations for them to truly consider getting rid of it. As for CAFE, Sequoia goes before the 4runner.

 

[LUVDA4RUNNER]

I have a 08 4runner. Waiting to see when they announce the 6th gen to decide if I want that or the final year of the 5th gen. I hope to hear some news on the next gen soon

 

[invisible4Runner]

I'm dying to find out about the 6th gen (assuming there is one) - but I assume any such news is the better part of a year away. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can provide insight into when the next gens are normally announced - or when creditable rumours normally come out

I have a 08 4runner. Waiting to see when they announce the 6th gen to decide if I want that or the final year of the 5th gen. I hope to hear some news on the next gen soon

 

[cjacob316]

I'm dying to find out about the 6th gen (assuming there is one) - but I assume any such news is the better part of a year away. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can provide insight into when the next gens are normally announced - or when creditable rumours normally come out

I typically don't pay attention, but the 2016 Tacoma was announced late in 2014 and not unveiled until early 2015. You likely won't see any real changes in the 4runner before a 6th gen except for the changes to the "special edition" colors that have been discussed. Quite frankly though, I'm still thinking '18 just based on the average 4 years after refresh Toyota has followed. If they do it sooner then great, I just wouldn't get my hopes up. The Prado is due for a redesign first, and if they plan to keep the Sequoia, I think that needs to be redone very soon. It's very far behind.