4Runner vs FJ Cruiser

[BamBam]

Well I guess I'm a lucky man! I have both 08 FJ and just purchased a used 06 4rner for my wife. Her Mits was totaled the week before my trip to Moab and the FJ Summit. I tried talking her into another FJ (that would be so kool have 2 fj's :jump any way she doesn't like the blind spots in the FJ. The funny part she has the better 4wd system then my FJ along with the V8 and tow package. Of course I told her next year we can trailer the FJ to Moab and the Summit with her car! :lookout:

Hey, nice to see you here as well! I would love to have kept my 4Runner. I was so close to keeping it and buying a 2007 FJ, but the one I was buying just seemed a tad risky due to the weak differentials in the 07's and the fact that it was throwing up all kinds of trouble codes.

I miss my 4Runner for sure. Mine was essentially the same as the one you bought Sarge and your wife will not be disappointed. I almost had my wife talked into selling the Pilot and keeping the 4Runner, but she's in love with the built in DVD player of all things, because it keeps the kids quiet. Plus it has the third row seat which comes in handy for hauling around their little friends. Oh well. I like the Pilot and think it is as nice of a family hauler as you will find. I just miss the 4Runner. That V8 is a work of art, and the 4 wheel drive system is second to none. I just am not much of a driver, have a short commute, and spend most of my time at home and like to tinker, and when I do go somewhere it is typically somewhere fun like off-roading, mountain biking, snowboarding, etc. so the FJ makes sense for my teacher's salary.

 

[Old Sarge]

Hey, nice to see you here as well! I would love to have kept my 4Runner. I was so close to keeping it and buying a 2007 FJ, but the one I was buying just seemed a tad risky due to the weak differentials in the 07's and the fact that it was throwing up all kinds of trouble codes.

I miss my 4Runner for sure. Mine was essentially the same as the one you bought Sarge and your wife will not be disappointed. I almost had my wife talked into selling the Pilot and keeping the 4Runner, but she's in love with the built in DVD player of all things, because it keeps the kids quiet. Plus it has the third row seat which comes in handy for hauling around their little friends. Oh well. I like the Pilot and think it is as nice of a family hauler as you will find. I just miss the 4Runner. That V8 is a work of art, and the 4 wheel drive system is second to none. I just am not much of a driver, have a short commute, and spend most of my time at home and like to tinker, and when I do go somewhere it is typically somewhere fun like off-roading, mountain biking, snowboarding, etc. so the FJ makes sense for my teacher's salary.

She has enjoyed so far, except when she ran it out of gas...LMAO! Sorry...I got chewed out over that one. That was the first week she drove it! With the leather and all the options, it is her first "luxury" vehicle and has told me that I will not be taking it off road. But unfortunately due to the accident her doctor has told her she cannot drive any significant distance. She has several budge disks and will have to under go neck surgery to repair it. :moping: Hopefully I will be able to get the fluids changed and some other things done while she recoups. Hope to meet you on a trail sometime! :frog:

 

[BamBam]

She has enjoyed so far, except when she ran it out of gas...LMAO! Sorry...I got chewed out over that one. That was the first week she drove it! With the leather and all the options, it is her first "luxury" vehicle and has told me that I will not be taking it off road. But unfortunately due to the accident her doctor has told her she cannot drive any significant distance. She has several budge disks and will have to under go neck surgery to repair it. :moping: Hopefully I will be able to get the fluids changed and some other things done while she recoups. Hope to meet you on a trail sometime! :frog:

I had the same surgery on my neck 2 years ago and on my lower back six months ago. Believe me... the neck surgery is a piece of cake. I am serious when I say that if they called me tomorrow morning and said I was having a neck fusion at noon that I wouldn't even bat an eye. It was that quick and easy for me. I came out of it with a bit of a sore throat and tremendous relief. I couldn't believe how much better I felt and how much better my neck has felt continually as time has pressed on after the surgery. I was ready to return to work full bore in 2 weeks.

Now when you need the lumbar surgery... that is another ballgame and probably the most ridiculously painful experience of my life. It still hurts six months later. She will get through the neck thing fine. Just make sure she has it done by a competent neurosurgeon and she realizes she will be pretty tired for a couple of weeks and be glad to have a spray bottle of chloraseptic at her side. Just make sure the surgeon goes in from the front and NOT from the back. It makes tons of difference. If you ever have any questions about it just PM me. I'm glad to talk about neck surgery and related matters all you want!

-Jon

 

[Old Sarge]

I had the same surgery on my neck 2 years ago and on my lower back six months ago. Believe me... the neck surgery is a piece of cake. I am serious when I say that if they called me tomorrow morning and said I was having a neck fusion at noon that I wouldn't even bat an eye. It was that quick and easy for me. I came out of it with a bit of a sore throat and tremendous relief. I couldn't believe how much better I felt and how much better my neck has felt continually as time has pressed on after the surgery. I was ready to return to work full bore in 2 weeks.

Now when you need the lumbar surgery... that is another ballgame and probably the most ridiculously painful experience of my life. It still hurts six months later. She will get through the neck thing fine. Just make sure she has it done by a competent neurosurgeon and she realizes she will be pretty tired for a couple of weeks and be glad to have a spray bottle of chloraseptic at her side. Just make sure the surgeon goes in from the front and NOT from the back. It makes tons of difference. If you ever have any questions about it just PM me. I'm glad to talk about neck surgery and related matters all you want!

-Jon

Thanks brother, I will do just that!:biggrin2:

 

[howdy]

wow..this is an old thread, good read for sure:

We currently have both;
2010 Trail, 2010 Trail Team FJ.
I will say this, as long as I have something with a little ground clearance, these will never see dirt. I cannot imagine wheeling the 4Runner in stock form, more of a grocery getter..luxury cruiser with rear locker, terrain select, crawl control, A-Trac, traction controll....OMG Really ?

 

[IdahoAngler]

I now have one of each too. Been admiring the FJs for years and finally bought one last month. I kept my 1997 4runner...couldn't part with it.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I like the FJ Cruiser and considered getting one when I was out looking for a new SUV. The FJ Cruiser uses a lot of similar components from the 4Runner, but it is slightly "beefier" in some aspects. For example the springs and shocks are much stiffer and better suited for off-road use than the 4Runner from the factory. I'm not sure why the turning radius is so different but IIRC I believe the wheels are also offset slightly differently. The FJ comes with "rubberized" flooring instead of carpet and is built interior wise to handle dirt/mud/snow better than a stock 4Runner.

The real difference between the FJ Cruiser is that its supposed to be the 4Runner's "rough and tumble little brother" vs the semi-luxurious 4Runner. It comes with features like optional angle, level, altitude meters. off-road lights, more agressive A-Trac, manual trans with manual T-case, factory equipped LT Tires ect ect. Its why Toyota has no plans to discontinue the FJ as of right now because its their niche market vehicle to compete against other "trail-ready" rigs like Jeep Wrangler.

 

[IdahoAngler]

I like the FJ Cruiser and considered getting one when I was out looking for a new SUV. The FJ Cruiser uses a lot of similar components from the 4Runner, but it is slightly "beefier" in some aspects. For example the springs and shocks are much stiffer and better suited for off-road use than the 4Runner from the factory. I'm not sure why the turning radius is so different but IIRC I believe the wheels are also offset slightly differently. The FJ comes with "rubberized" flooring instead of carpet and is built interior wise to handle dirt/mud/snow better than a stock 4Runner.

The real difference between the FJ Cruiser is that its supposed to be the 4Runner's "rough and tumble little brother" vs the semi-luxurious 4Runner. It comes with features like optional angle, level, altitude meters. off-road lights, more agressive A-Trac, manual trans with manual T-case, factory equipped LT Tires ect ect. Its why Toyota has no plans to discontinue the FJ as of right now because its their niche market vehicle to compete against other "trail-ready" rigs like Jeep Wrangler.

A big reason I bought my FJ is the 6-spd manual transmission. :driving:

 

[Msivley]

Ok so my 2 cents as I have an 03 v8 4x4 4runner and hubby has an FJ.

The v8 dwarfs the V6 and my hubby HATES when I point that out ( and I do alot ! )
The factory lockers on the FJ make it climb way better than my FJ ( we'll see who gets the last laugh when Ray installs my ARB lockers )
I like my interior better ( hubby hates it but he agrees ) with one consensus. The ceiling line is way too low in the 4th gen. His FJ has much better head room.
The rear window rolls down and he hates that too.
I prefer the FJs roof rack as it is much more functional stock vs stock ( though I will upgrade soon )

Power - 4 runner
Tire Clearance - FJ
Stock climbing ability - FJ
Interrior comforts - 4 runner ( minus the roof consesion )
gas mileage - same ( were both getting 22.5 average )
Aftermarket parts availability - FJ by a long shot

* last note. My V8 is all wheel drive. My understanding is that without the transfer case lock engaged , the 4 runner is 1 wheel drive and power goes to any one tire randomly. We changed the front drivers side tire and the truck started rolling. I do prefer the rear wheel drive set up of the FJ but this is a minor ordeal.

Summing it all up. M-F my truck is preferred. For radical climbs on the weekend his truck takes it much easier. Please remember this is a 4th gen 4 runner comparison to a 07-09 FJ , not any other gen 4 runner or taking into account any modifications. Anyone can mod a vehicle to be better than another vehicle stock , its all based on the size of your wallet.

 

[KidVermicious]

My understanding is that without the transfer case lock engaged , the 4 runner is 1 wheel drive and power goes to any one tire randomly.

No, it is not "one wheel drive". There's no such thing as "one wheel drive", I don't know where this meme comes from.

It's full time four wheel drive. Due to the nature of the differentials on the transfer case and between the axles, if one wheel starts spinning significantly faster than the others it will rob all the available power, but when all four wheels have traction all four wheels are being driven.

 

[JB.]

My V8 is all wheel drive. I do prefer the rear wheel drive set up of the FJ but this is a minor ordeal.

To each his own, but when people say this it seems there are often misconceptions involved about the actual differences.

The real difference is simply which engine is preferred.

There's no meaningful extra wear and tear with the full time system and it's actually a little simpler. Extra fuel consumption attributable just to the awd is tiny. Exercising the CDL and low range actuators is easier.

Then there's drivability, but that's subjective so I'll leave it there.

 

[Msivley]

I'm a little confused and maybe you guys can help me out.

My understanding is the front and rear differentials on the AWD unit were limited slip. The truck has a center differential lock as well. So without the center diff locked it would only send power to the front or back ( random ) and drive or passenger side ( random ) until the tire slipped.

If it were truly awd and I lifted all 4 tires off the ground on jack stands and put it in drive wouldn't all 4 tires spin the same speed? When I lift the truck and try this only the front drivers side spins. If I give it some gas the passenger will kick in. If I lock the center diff the front driver and rear passenger spin. If I give it gas all 4 will spin but its apparent the full power is not going to all 4. I was told I would need ARB air lockers to make it a true AWD. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[28.]

I'm a little confused and maybe you guys can help me out.

My understanding is the front and rear differentials on the AWD unit were limited slip. The truck has a center differential lock as well. So without the center diff locked it would only send power to the front or back ( random ) and drive or passenger side ( random ) until the tire slipped.

If it were truly awd and I lifted all 4 tires off the ground on jack stands and put it in drive wouldn't all 4 tires spin the same speed? When I lift the truck and try this only the front drivers side spins. If I give it some gas the passenger will kick in. If I lock the center diff the front driver and rear passenger spin. If I give it gas all 4 will spin but its apparent the full power is not going to all 4. I was told I would need ARB air lockers to make it a true AWD. Am I doing something wrong?

Is this on a V8 4runner 4WD? If so most power goes to rear then to front as needed... Not sure what the split is though..

 

[Msivley]

Yes 2003 V8 4wd. We tried to change the front drivers side tire on driveway. When we lifted only the front drivers side tire from the lower a arm the truck started rolling down the driveway ( ie why I like when Ryan lifts the front of his FJ on the driveway it doesn't roll ). This is what made us think it was 1 wheel drive until slippage or locker was engaged.

 

[Thai]

Yes 2003 V8 4wd. We tried to change the front drivers side tire on driveway. When we lifted only the front drivers side tire from the lower a arm the truck started rolling down the driveway ( ie why I like when Ryan lifts the front of his FJ on the driveway it doesn't roll ). This is what made us think it was 1 wheel drive until slippage or locker was engaged.

4runner V8 full time 4wd system.

Open differentials front and rear.

Center differential with lock capability...this controls power flow b/w front and rear axles.

No limited slip.

What it has is 4-wheel traction control system. Traction control manages torque/power flow left and right on the same axle. By using wheel speed sensors, if a tire is slipping (spinning faster than the opposite tire on the SAME axle), then traction control intervenes and slow down that spinning/slipping tire via ABS brake pulsation until the two tires (on SAME axle) spins at the same speed. In doing this, traction control evens out effective torque distribution to both tires on the same axle...so that the spinning/slipping tire does not get all the power while the tire with traction (on same axle) gets nothing. So, in a way, TC provides limited slip-like differential without any LSD hardware.

Again, TC controls power flow left and right on each axle.

Center differential controls power flow b/w front and rear axles. Center differential is a Torsen T-3 (if I remember correctly) unit. It is a true limited slip differential. (Remember, this is the CENTER diff, not the front and rear axle differentials.) Because limited slip diff varies power depending on traction, the actual amount of torque distribution varies. This is where the LOCKING mechanism comes in. In off-roading, you don't want a computer to tell you how much torque goes here or there because the computer is only REACTING to the terrain, not predicting what you need. By locking the center diff, you force the differential to split power evenly b/w the front and rear axles...no power shifting back and forth while off-roading...no guessing where the power is.

In addition, locking the center differential also turns off VSC (stability control). Traction control is STILL ACTIVE. VSC is good for on-road, but bad off-road. VSC tends to de-throttle you whenever it senses slippage. So, it would suck royally if you were going up a rockledge and, all of a sudden, VSC cuts your engine power completely because one of your tires is slipping. This is where killing VSC (via center diff lock) is vital.

Hope this helps.

 

[Msivley]

That does make sense. So in the case I explained about :

Since the vehicle was not running ( keys not in even in ignition ) the TC system would not be involved. In this case the non running vehicle diffs would act as LSD and the center would as well correct?

Reason Im asking is to make sure something is not wrong with center or front/rear diffs. Wasn't happy that only the front drivers tire was keeping the truck from rolling down the driveway. Of course I could use the e brake , but I assumed the rear tires would be engaged and not allow the truck to roll ( ie like jacking up the front of a rear wheel drive ).

Thanks again for taking the time to explain this to me. On a side note , does this mean ARB lockers really aren't worth it for these rigs?

 

[Thai]

Since the vehicle was not running ( keys not in even in ignition ) the TC system would not be involved. In this case the non running vehicle diffs would act as LSD and the center would as well correct?

Thanks again for taking the time to explain this to me. On a side note , does this mean ARB lockers really aren't worth it for these rigs?

Isn't it common knowledge to use hand brake on a stand?

Can't answer the first part...someone smarter can take a swing. Why would the axle diffs act as LSD when there are no LSD parts in it?

No, ARB lockers is needed if you intend on off-roading over tough terrain. Lockers are "predictive" not reactive like TC. In other words, if you lock a locker before going up a rockledge (for example), you have full power to both tires (on same axle) all the time...you don't have to wait for slippage to occur before you get traction. In other words, with TC, you potentially could lose momentum as the computer tries to figure out which tires (on same axle) need to braked. TC is reactionary because it does NOT know that you're off-roading (much less going up a rockledge). It has to wait until you're losing traction before it can react. A locker (if operate correctly) avoids this because there is always power available to both tires (on same axle) all the time. Lockers prevent loss of momentum rather than react to it.

 

[89FourRunner]

Speaking specifically about the NEW 4Runner (trail) and the NEW FJ, I would rather have the 4Runner trail. For the longest time I wanted an FJ as my next new vehicle, but I really like the 4Runner Trail. The Sr5 and Limited 4Runners the dealers can keep, not interested. I am interested in the trail. I have love for the new FJ though! Don't get me wrong!

I think as long as TOYOTA continues to build a body on frame FJ and 4Runner (and Tacoma) they still have the best options for NEW off road vehicles. I am crazy about the old ones though.

 

[dwc]

I just picked up a 2013 4Runner Trail on Monday. There weren't many in Minnesota: only 2, and the price was right. I previously owned 2 FJs: 1 auto and 1 manual. Visually, the 2104 isn't appealing to me, so I scooped up the 2013.

I moved to the 4Runner because it has 4 doors, is a little more civilized than my bone stock FJ was, and is almost as capable off road in stock form. For some reason the 4Runner feels much longer, even though it's only 6 inches longer than the FJ.

Anyway, I'm glad I made the move. If that 2013 FJ Trail Teams edition had been sitting on the lot when I stopped by, I might have picked it up...but it wasn't meant to be.

 

[IdahoAngler]

I still have both and drive them about equally. Made a few changes to the FJ.

Richocet aluminum skid plates, lifted with Radflo 2.5" coilovers and Radflo rear shocks/springs, new Total Chaos UCAs, new Metal Tech lower links. Also sent the rock rings out for powder-coating black.

Next is bigger tires. :biggrin1: