4th gen questions

[ndamico]

Hi,

i have a 01 t4r and love it.. that being said my girlfriend is in the market for one. she likes mine very much but we test drove a few 4th gens (a 2003 and a 2007) and she does like them for the amenities. i know quite a bit about the 3rd gens but nothing about the 4th.

i know this is a 4th gen forum so the answers may be biased but how do the 4th gens hold up compared to the 3rd gens? do the motors have the same long term durability as well as the drive train components? any major issues with the v6 or v8 offered on the 4th gens?

i just trying to find some good info about comparing the 2 generations. i've seen plenty of 3rd gens last a long time with tons of miles as long as they are cared for but where i live (sacramento, ca) i see maybe 1 4th gen for every 20 3rd gens.

i'm not hating so please don't think that.. just trying to learn so i can help her make a good decision.

thanks

 

[JayKumar]

I own a 3rd gen V6 as well as a 4th Gen V6, and honestly knock on wood both are great motors. Both of them have been driven to hell and back...96% of the time they have been dogged (meaning they have been pushed to the limit) but well maintained. Havent had a problem yet on either. So consistency on both i must say is great. You would think the newer things are the worse they get on dependability. but no in this case i have 60K on one of my 4th gens (the one i rape) and it runs well knock on wood. the 3rd gen has 250K on it and its still strong. I also have another 4th gen that my mom drives and its got 108K and it has no problems...but that one has been babied. so time will tell.

 

[Nuke]

I've owned a 2nd gen ('90), a 3rd gen (00') and now a 4th gen (08'); all V6's.

I have to say that each one was a step up in comfort and ride quality. I did/do a lot of towing with all 3 of my T4R's and the V6 is very capable (despite it's need for a bit more torque). My biggest gripe about the 4th gen is the switch to engage 4WD and the associated delay time for the solenoids to pull it in.

In addition to my 3 T4R's I've owned 3 other Toyotas, one of which my son is still driving. Not including my present T4R, the least amount of mileage I put on any of the other 5 was 152,000 miles. The others were near or over 200,000 miles. I think I spent less money on emergent repairs with all 6 then I did on any one of my crap domestic vehicles. IMO, there's no reason to think that Toyota quality is going downhill.

 

[ndamico]

thanks for the replies. is the v6 on the 4th gens much more powerful than the v6 on my 3rd gen (2001)? how are the v8's on mileage compared to the v6? we are going to look at a 05 sport 4x4 tomorrow.

 

[chaz]

v6 gets about 2 more mpg than the v8, maybe this link can answer ur questions about the differences in the years. Toyota 4Runner History

 

[jlmilligan]

I have had a V8 4g and two friends have V6 4gs. They get 18 to 22 mpg and I used to get around 16 to 17. All three are driven pretty reasonably. We don't drive like an old lady but we don't drive like we did when we were 19 either. If it is a road warrior I would go with the v6. However, I did love the full time 4wd of the V8. That is one of the many reasons I decided to go with a Landcruiser for my replacement.