2021 4Runner has some serious sound insulation!

[2021nightshade4x4]

I took delivery of my Nightshade in May of 2021. I was coming straight out of a full sized Range Rover with acoustic/solar/climate glass. The perception of sound levels at interstate speeds is too similar to differentiate. I’m impressed.

My wife and I can literally hold a whisper conversation at 70 MPH on concrete freeway. Door closure and body panels sound significantly different, vehicle to vehicle, however.

How does Toyota achieve this? I don’t believe these doors are stuffed with sound deadening, nor do we have very good windshields [emoji6]

Is the 4Runner, as a whole, just THAT air-tight?


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[RobS10]

LOL! Was literally just thinking of how quiet out new 2022 ORP is (definitely quieter than our '99 4R) as I drove my wife home from picking her up at the bus station in downtown San Francisco earlier today. One thing I noticed is the front door window glass is definitely thicker (and darker tint) than our '99.

 

[Ripper238]

This happens as you age and your hearing only gets worse.

 

[nass40]

i think all the 5th gens have the good sound insulation

 

[Florunner78]

My 4R is loud AF. Our GX460 is quiet like you mentioned.

 

[214RUNNER]

The gen 5 4 runner isn’t that quiet stock but better than most trucks, I did sound deadening on all the doors including rear, floors and behind all the side panels was going to do the roof but decided on not doing it. Makes a big difference still not as quiet as a euro vehicle but very close. I noticed a big difference in the doors they don’t have that cheap tin sound when I close it. I think if I didn’t have theTRD exhaust it would be perfect hi way driving off the gas very little road noise compared to with out the deadening.

 

[Bumbo]

Depends on what you are used to... I don't find it to be that quiet, but its not bad either. Average.

 

[CajunMikeR]

My 2013 F150 FX4 was a hell of a lot quieter than my 5th gen 4Runner, especially at highway speeds. And the F150 had Nitto Trail Grappler M/Ts, where the 4Runner has Ridge Grappler R/Ts. Even my 2008 F150 with M/Ts had a quieter interior than the 4Runner. The sound deadening is crap on 4Runners.

 

[6uam671_T4R]

This happens as you age and your hearing only gets worse.

LMFAO! That would be my explanation

 

[Jared_B]

Gotta love driving a tank! I do however hear a fair amount of creaking going on, but I also abuse mine every other weekend in the mountains, but turning the volume up seems to make the creaking go away, lol.

 

[Nikko]

The gen 5 4 runner isn’t that quiet stock but better than most trucks, I did sound deadening on all the doors including rear, floors and behind all the side panels was going to do the roof but decided on not doing it. Makes a big difference still not as quiet as a euro vehicle but very close. I noticed a big difference in the doors they don’t have that cheap tin sound when I close it. I think if I didn’t have theTRD exhaust it would be perfect hi way driving off the gas very little road noise compared to with out the deadening.

This is what I want to do as well. How tough was it? I have a TRDP and the exhaust noise on the highway is annoying. Did you follow a write-up or video to take everything apart?

 

[spartacus]

It's quiet until, you put a roof rack on.

 

[Ryance39]

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't call the 5th gen quiet... Quieter than my 3rd gen was, sure, but definitely not quite compared to other things.

I do like the robustness of the door seals though.

 

[uh0h50]

Do the 21s or 22s have new windshield glass? I wonder if the side windows are any different than previous model years.

Edit: I also wonder that if I need to replace my windshield in the future, will the newer windshields fit in the 21 (22?) and below?

 

[joshelliot]

Do the 21s or 22s have new windshield glass? I wonder if the side windows are any different than previous model years.

Edit: I also wonder that if I need to replace my windshield in the future, will the newer windshields fit in the 21 (22?) and below?

My 2022 glass isn't that great, I have 4 chips and now circular crack the size of a soda can (I think I got hit by a meteor in New Mexico, sounded like it at least) lol ... The truck has almost 14,000 miles on it now, and it's been coast to coast and seen 17 states so far. My first rock chip was on a drive down to Florida, then they just seemed to pile up thereafter. I don't tailgate and try to stay away from trucks when possible... I drove all my previous cars the same with no chip issues to speak of. I'll be looking into exterior window film protection once I get the windshield replaced, anyone tried it?

Other than that, the truck has been flawless

 

[Ripper238]

In all seriousness my 4R was never that loud till i put off road tires on and my Maxtrax on the roof. Sure its not quiet like my Acura, but its also no 3-4th gen 4Runner noise wise without that stuff.
I Higley doubt they did much of anything to the 21-22 models to make it quieter, it was not a loud vehicle to begin with. Thicker glass? More sound deadening? All welcome improvements but I doubt they would do this now, maybe 6th gen.

 

[Jetboy]

In measured db tests, the 4R and GX460 have the same highway noise db. The aerodynamics and sound levels change significantly when you add stuff that causes turbulence - roof racks, lifts (especially "leveling" kits that send a ton more air underneath), tires, sliders, etc. It's easy to forget how quiet they are on stock highway radials when they are new and unmolested.

I know some have the hood inside cover/sound absorbing mat and other don't. I'm not sure what other differences there are between years and production cycles. IIRC all vehicles after sometime around 2019 are required for FMVSS purposes to have laminated side glass. That likely adds sound absorption to the front side windows as well.

I find mine to be very similar in highway noise on street tires with no roof rack to my RX350 in most cases. The place where the 4R is noticeably louder is at higher highway speeds - 80mph plus, and on concrete highways. Concrete highways are just loud AF anyway, but it's a lot worse in the 4R. The RX is obviously a CUV and has more underbody cladding and highway oriented tires that no doubt help a lot. And it has some sort of felt like material on the inside of all of the fender liners that probably is noise absorbing where the 4R has think plastic. I think that area alone would be a good spot to target sound dampening. Probably something as simple as spray on bedliner there would go a long way toward quieting the road noise.

 

[nightfall4rpro]

I think it is decently quite depending on if you start adding roof rack, tires, exhaust ect....

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

It's quiet until, you put a roof rack on.

Maybe this explains the 50/50 split in the comments between “yeah it’s great!” and “what are you talking about?”


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[RobS10]

IIRC all vehicles after sometime around 2019 are required for FMVSS purposes to have laminated side glass. That likely adds sound absorption to the front side windows as well.

Safety Glass on all the side windows? Seems like that would open up a whole new safety issue if someone were trapped in the car.