4Runner Drivers: They hate us ‘cause they ain’t us

I just bought a 22 4Runner at the beginning of April because cars were scarce and it was still looking like the 2022 model year could be the last for the 5th Gen.

I know the 6th Gen will look better, have more power, and get better MPG. But those were not at the top of my list. Reliability and resale value were my #1 and #2. It is clear after seeing what's been happening with the Tundra that the 6th Gen, at least early on, could see issues. Second, the growing rumor is that the North American 4Runners won't be build in the Tahara factory for the 6th Gen, which is concerning.

The fact that the 5th Gen is a naturally aspirated 4 Liter that is bullet proof will make it collectible one day. Mark my words. A well taken-care-of 5th in the right trim will be highly sought after one day. I know I will get criticized for this, but yes, that matters to me. I even PPF'd the vehicle for this reason.
 
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Did you ever see if you could get the vehicle set to have it off by default before trying that permanent disable TSB I linked a while back?



I mean you're not wrong; but there isn't much in the way of BoF vehicles left that directly compete with the 4Runner. Not to mention those that are relatively in the same "class" have plenty of issues with their new technology and extra gears. I still don't get people's obsession with having "new" things for the sake of new things; I suppose it's just that Apple mentality bleeding into other categories.

I also don't really understand the need for so many superfluous features? Most of the feature lists in Toyota/Lexus, let alone other brands just make me cringe. People on this forum already throw fits over the cost of "special features" like XREAS, KDSS, and having an infotainment system or replacing a Smart Key. You want to deal with replacing seat climate modules, back door assemblies w/ actuators, useless panoramic sunroofs, ridiculous amounts of expensive computers, sensors, etc. out of pocket? Then again... the reality is the vast majority of people get sucked into buying vehicles they probably can't afford because of all the shiny bells and whistles so it syncs up to their iPhone (that they probably couldn't afford or irresponsibly spend their money on), so that when it all breaks... they can get sucked into buying a new car with more things to break... :shrug: Job security I guess?

I feel like the whole industry and "critics/journalists" are just modeling themselves after Apple and similar companies, hide poor engineering and quality with shiny "features," shiny gimmicks, and hype the hell out of all of it to lock people into their ecosystem and keep you buying the latest and greatest because why do you want to spend $6k to fix the massaging crotch warmers in your seat when you can get the newest version in the latest model! Man... when did I become a boomer? :twitch:


could not agree more.
my wife has a Volvo XC90 which has all the bells and whistles. zippy drive. nice luxury drive, but something about driving the 4runner can not be beat. it is comfortable, high, no gadgets, simple yet amazing... I am old school....
I always say if you want a girlfriend buy a benz, if you want a good wife buy a Toyota (4runner) lol
 
I always say if you want a girlfriend buy a benz, if you want a good wife buy a Toyota (4runner) lol

Worst she can do is ask for those animal print stickers for the rear windows

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Love my 4runner. I do wish it had more power (magnuson helps but still could be better). and a better infotainment system but other than that its rock solid. It is definitely a proven and reliable platform.

A perfect example of ruining a good thing is the new Tundra. On paper it looks great honestly but it looks likes that engine is having tons of issues.
 
My wife and I both have 5th gens and we both daily drive them. I have no complaints and don't have any power issues, etc. It is an SUV not a sports car. I have had plenty of powerful cars, most recently a C7 Corvette. I don't expect the 4runner to take a entrance ramp or exit pulling a full G! Or get up to 60 in less than 4 seconds - LOL. It does what it is supposed to do, and I find it a hell of a lot more comfortable than the corvette on a long trip!
If I had to complain...it has 4 doors! :bolt:

But, hey...everyone expects/wants different things from their vehicles. So, opinions, complaints, likes, dislikes will vary with every post.

Ok, gotta give you a hard time about the C7 as you are the first owner i have interacted with since I came up with this analogy.
First, remember this is ribbing of a good nature. While I admit the C7 is a marvel of engineering and great bang for the buck. (I have had many fast cars, bike and have done many track days so I some experience with go fast stuff). Anyways...what the heck happened to the rear end of the C7. In my opinion it does not match the rest of the car. I know many people dont like it. Now, getting to my analogy I was looking at one in traffic the other day and thinking about what to compare it to.....and don't take this personally as if like something, go for it, screw everyone's (including mine) opinion.

I thought it looked like a turd that broke off prematurely and was not tapered on the end.

My GF has an Italian mastiff, So I see and pick up up lots of big turds lol.

anyways, thats my comparison.
 
are you serious? i loved it. great for long drives. what don't you like about it?


Not OP, but I also despise it and refuse to use it. Hypersensitive to folks changing lanes in front of you, doesn’t follow close enough, etc.


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you know you can adjust it to follow closer. there are 3 settings there you can adjust following distance.

Not OP, but I also despise it and refuse to use it. Hypersensitive to folks changing lanes in front of you, doesn’t follow close enough, etc.


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I love my truck, it's my third 4Runner and my first brand new one. I like it and I modded it the way I want. I don't care what others have to say, I'm happy with it, and it's paid off.
 
Ok, gotta give you a hard time about the C7 as you are the first owner i have interacted with since I came up with this analogy.
First, remember this is ribbing of a good nature. While I admit the C7 is a marvel of engineering and great bang for the buck. (I have had many fast cars, bike and have done many track days so I some experience with go fast stuff). Anyways...what the heck happened to the rear end of the C7. In my opinion it does not match the rest of the car. I know many people dont like it. Now, getting to my analogy I was looking at one in traffic the other day and thinking about what to compare it to.....and don't take this personally as if like something, go for it, screw everyone's (including mine) opinion.

I thought it looked like a turd that broke off prematurely and was not tapered on the end.

My GF has an Italian mastiff, So I see and pick up up lots of big turds lol.

anyways, thats my comparison.

HAHA...thanks for the laugh!!! I needed that (trying to get a closing date set, mortage co. has their heads up their ass). I will admit, when the C7 first came out I had similar thoughts, but it grew on me. I love that car, but now, I'd rather go with a C8. Anyway, I get your analogy and can appreciate it. Still giggling!
:lookout:
 
Even the closest I find to be too far away for normal traffic, but that's just my preference.


Couple questions (anyone answer, this is not a rebuttal)

1.) does radar cruise take you all the way down to 0 if traffic comes to a complete stop?

2.) could the “far out” nature of the radar cruise be indicative of a deeper issue with TSS? That it may kick in at the wrong time and apply the brakes?


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My wife’s neighbor just inherited a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with 60,000 and was about to put it up for sale for 12,000 but my wife’s dad told him he needed to put it up for Atleast 16,000. He was going to just let it go because blue book likes to undervalue the used car market. Anyways he ended up selling the truck in a day for just over 16,000. In the SF Bayarea
 
Couple questions (anyone answer, this is not a rebuttal)

1.) does radar cruise take you all the way down to 0 if traffic comes to a complete stop?

2.) could the “far out” nature of the radar cruise be indicative of a deeper issue with TSS? That it may kick in at the wrong time and apply the brakes?


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1. It takes you down to 28 I believe.

2. It definitely applies the brakes when nothing is in the lane like on a curve. I absolutely hate the radar cruise and never use it. I use regular cruise. I do however like rear cross traffic alert.
 
Apple and similar companies, hide poor engineering and quality with shiny "features," shiny gimmicks...

Which apple product are you talking about exactly? This is the second time you've mentioned it so I'm curious.
I have used macbook pros since they came out. The only issue I ever had was eventually the butterfly keyboard on my '18 failed, so Apple replaced it.
I honestly can't think of a piece of apple hardware I've owned that wasn't engineered and built well for the time it was released.
Their software, however - esp itunes/music and their icloud syn - could use some work.

My biggest problem with the 4runner that isn't something an owner can address is the lack of power and it's magnified b/c I live at 5.3k feet and only go up from here. The engine is poorly tuned for performance and really should have more torque and hp for its size all while being mated to a limiting transmission.
 
I feel the same way about my 2016 Trail with 47k. At 44 300k is about 30 years away and I don't think I will want or need anything else by the time I hit 74 :tongue:

Reliability is where it’s at in my book. Some of those new car dash screens stick up like an open laptop. Looks ridiculous IMO. Keep it simple and make it reliable are my 2 requirements. An actual button for everything and everything in its place. Done and done Toyota. My 2012 SR5 with only 52k mi is my sweet spot. Might be my last vehicle.
 
I feel the same way about my 2016 Trail with 47k. At 44 300k is about 30 years away and I don't think I will want or need anything else by the time I hit 74 :tongue:


I feel the same way. I bought my 2005 new when I was 26. I'm 43 now and it's been 17 years of joy. I have 185,000 miles and by the time I hit 300K, i'll be around mid/late 50s if not 60s.

I might get crazy and finally buy a 6th gen when I turn 50. I'm still debating it because I'm not sure if I could part with my 4th gen that's been so reliable for all these years.
 
Which apple product are you talking about exactly? This is the second time you've mentioned it so I'm curious.
I have used macbook pros since they came out. The only issue I ever had was eventually the butterfly keyboard on my '18 failed, so Apple replaced it.
I honestly can't think of a piece of apple hardware I've owned that wasn't engineered and built well for the time it was released.
Their software, however - esp itunes/music and their icloud syn - could use some work.

My biggest problem with the 4runner that isn't something an owner can address is the lack of power and it's magnified b/c I live at 5.3k feet and only go up from here. The engine is poorly tuned for performance and really should have more torque and hp for its size all while being mated to a limiting transmission.

I mean you can look around and find what I'm talking about rather easily; I used to use Apple products (Macbook and Macbook Pro specifically) back in like '08-ish? But after a while I ended up looking at a lot of weird engineering flaws (not just in Apple) and it led me down a big rabbit hole that genuinely turned me away from Apple and their products. Louis Rossman and his channel are a good place to start (just be aware he can be a bit over the top sometimes; but he does show the hardware, the faults, and explains why it's a poor design and/or why something failed as he repairs it; so you can see a lot of what he's talking about for yourself), but he's not the only independent source out there. You can find a lot of history on Apple's engineering failures, poor customer service, and general lack of care for anything beyond entrapping customers into their ecosystems and getting in their wallets. But onto some examples of the engineering and customer service blunders with such hits like:

-A1226/A1260 2007-2008 Macbook Pro GPU failures (partially a supplier issue, partially design, and partially crap customer care), warranty would refuse to cover the affected product if they couldn't turn it on to run a diagnostic (except that in many cases, the GPU would die so catastrophically it would take out the logic board)

-A1286 2011 Macbook Pro GPU failure, Apple got sued in 2014 (IIRC?) due to failure to acknowledge the well known fault in their GPUs. When they lost that case they half-assed the repairs they were required to do by basically shoddily resoldering/refurbishing the boards and slapping them back in.

-iPhone 4's poor cellular antennae placement (basically if you held it like any other normal human being holds a smart phone it'd kill cell reception) with most of Apple's customer "help" being "you're holding it wrong."
-iPhone 6/6+ touchscreen problems due to structural issues with the chassis and poor placement/design of the controller for the screen.

-A1278 Macbook Pro SATA cable failures (I genuinely have no idea how the hell they managed to **** up something as simple as a SATA cable and it's routing...)

-2012 Retina Macbook Pro w/ U8900 logic board GPU failures, not only does it not seem like Apple can design a GPU circuit; but their "fix" for this was to just slap a rubber pad to squish the affected SMD chip to the board for better connection... rather than just resolder it and/or replace it with a better design.

It goes on quite a bit when you really dig into it; it's not even just the engineering failures that are crappy, their consistent attempts to blame the customer for using their product wrong (i.e. arguing that you're using a Macbook Pro too heavily and over-stressing the GPU; even though they advertise it being specifically designed for that...) and when they can't get away with that, they just half-ass the repairs because why take care of your customers when they already spent probably way too much on your "premium" hardware. They aren't the only company out there that sells poorly engineered stuff or half-asses their repairs on said poor engineering; they're just one of the few that actively go out of their way to hide it, blame it on everyone else, and then insist you buy their latest and greatest product. What's worse is that because they get away with selling poorly engineered stuff, gaslighting the customer for their problems, and convincing said customer to just spend more money on more of their products; everyone else goes "well if Apple does it and makes money, then we should too!" and it creates this abhorrent cyclical feedback loop of garbage in, garbage out from lots of companies trying to chase Apple.

Anyways, Imma get off the soapbox; we're talkin' 4Runners here not rotten fruit! You asked and I figured I'd give you a genuine response rather than just telling you to look for yourself. :)

~

I like how everyone likes to shit on the A750x series as if it's a bad transmission... The issue with the lack of power has more to do with the engine tuning and high torque band than much to do with the transmission (I think there's a few threads way back where we talked about off the line performance between 4th and 5th gen V6 vehicles and why the 5th was slower and more "gutless" feeling despite having more power on paper; BTW they use the exact same transmission). It's also something you could theoretically fix, if you wanted to buy a supercharger from Magnusson. lol
 
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I drove a 2018 Audi Q5 teknik with every option imaginable. It even had a refrigerated glove compartment. Very tight, fast and great in the corners but it was not reliable. I chose a '22 4runner for it's reliability above all else. I wanted another pick up truck but the taco was too small and didn't drive as well as the 4R. The '22 Tundra was great but it's technology reminded me of the Audi with an inevitable break down and it's a bit too big to take to Costa Rica for the next chapter of my life.

I chose the 4Runner for it's simplicity, reliability and body on frame old school design.
 

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