4th Gen vs. 5th Gen......sluggish????

[VT4RunnerSR5]

Hey everyone,

So I traded in my 08 SR5 for a 14 SR5 in October. It's been a little over 6 months of "normal" Vermont winter weather driving to and from work. I find the 14 to be really sluggish and barely wants to get out of it's own way compared to the 08. Both were/are v6, 4wd. Anyone else noticing this??? Just curious.

Thanks!

 

[Miguelon]

Hey everyone,

So I traded in my 08 SR5 for a 14 SR5 in October. It's been a little over 6 months of "normal" Vermont winter weather driving to and from work. I find the 14 to be really sluggish and barely wants to get out of it's own way compared to the 08. Both were/are v6, 4wd. Anyone else noticing this??? Just curious.

Thanks!

You are correct. I am in the exact same boat. I miss the get up and go that my 4th gen had

 

[96r50]

This has been discussed and debated ad nauseum. The consensus is that a 5th generation 4Runner is not a 4th generation 4Runner and the simple solution is if you want to go faster press harder on the skinny pedal. If that doesn't work there's a thread about a supercharger you should check out. Just don't hold your breath while you wait for it eep:

 

[Jayhawk5G]

There are a few fixes for this... the first has been stated, simply press harder on the go pedal, throttle response and shift points have been dialed back at part throttle situations in favor of fuel economy. The second fix is to drive to your local Toyota dealership and trade your truck on a 4th gen.... good luck

 

[LandCruiser]

You have several options

-tell us all the T4R 5th G is a POS and you're selling it and going back to whatever it is you had before
-write Toyota/your dealer an angry letter telling them your truck is a lemon
-ponder insane and unrealistic modification to the e-throttle, ECU, gearing, and headers to "improve it"
-get excited about the supercharger that is never coming
-call us idiots for liking our trucks
-switch to premium, swat shifter to S, and stomp skinny pedal to the right of the brake pedal

 

[PHXTE]

It's a better than two ton truck designed to be badass off-road. I mean, what did you really expect?

Go buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Hemi if you want to win stop light races, I guess.

 

[VTtrout]

Hey everyone,

So I traded in my 08 SR5 for a 14 SR5 in October. It's been a little over 6 months of "normal" Vermont winter weather driving to and from work. I find the 14 to be really sluggish and barely wants to get out of it's own way compared to the 08. Both were/are v6, 4wd. Anyone else noticing this??? Just curious.

Thanks!

Hey Vermonter! Same thing here. I commute between exits 4 and 7 on 89, up and down hill the whole way and my SR5 is sluggish if I don't hammer on it. I also only get between 16 and 17 mpg, but again, up and down hill the whole way. That said, I like this one much better than my 2nd, 3rd, or my wife's 4th gen.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

Mine goes like a bat out o' hell!

Maybe they work better in the boonies in northern Nevada above 4000 feet.... My wife's Camry goes a bit faster but weighs about a ton less - but aint worth a $#!T going over rocks higher than 3 inches.

 

[VT4RunnerSR5]

You have several options

-tell us all the T4R 5th G is a POS and you're selling it and going back to whatever it is you had before
-write Toyota/your dealer an angry letter telling them your truck is a lemon
-ponder insane and unrealistic modification to the e-throttle, ECU, gearing, and headers to "improve it"
-get excited about the supercharger that is never coming
-call us idiots for liking our trucks
-switch to premium, swat shifter to S, and stomp skinny pedal to the right of the brake pedal

LandCruiser.....just asking a question. Didn't bad mouth the truck, or anyone else's truck, or Toyota's in general. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this. This is a forum to ask questions and discuss things....correct????

 

[LandCruiser]

LandCruiser.....just asking a question. Didn't bad mouth the truck, or anyone else's truck, or Toyota's in general. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this. This is a forum to ask questions and discuss things....correct????

Not knocking you, it's just how these kinds of threads have gone since the 5th gen came out.

I left out that they usually end in at least one or two bans...

 

[03_4x4Runner]

LandCruiser.....just asking a question. Didn't bad mouth the truck, or anyone else's truck, or Toyota's in general. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this. This is a forum to ask questions and discuss things....correct????

Yes I notice this everytime I drive it especially coming from my 03 V8. The 5th gens are slugs until the rpm gets up higher. The 5th gen weighs aprox 400 lbs. more then the 4th gen and appears to have less torque at low rpm. The 5th gen appears to run about the same once the engine gets some rpm built up. Other say push the gas pedal harder but when it is floored and still does not want to go quick what else can you do. I think in flat parts of the country it may be fine but taking off from a stop on inclines leaves me wanting for more. I have just learned to lower my expectations and live with it.

 

[Jetboy]

I'd really like to try one with either 3.9 or 4.10 gears and stock tires size. I suspect that would make a world of difference in how it "feels". But alas 4.10 are nonexistent for this vehicle so far and 3.9 gears from the GX are hard to justify the cost for such a small change. I suppose the easy way to try this out would be to toss a set of 255/70/17's on and see how it feels.

A "power" mode in the electronics would be nice though. I have a 5th gen and a RX350. On paper they should be very similar in performance, but the rx350 is a lot more aggressive in the throttle response. I drive like an old man most of the time so it really doesn't bother me. And I've run up to around 105mph without any lack of power, so it goes as fast as I want. If someone comes out with a 4.10 rear end I would have to consider it. I'm crossing my fingers that the new Tacoma has a 4.10 rear 8.2 axle, but i'm not super optimistic. I had really hoped they'd bump up the Taco to a Prado 150 chassis with the stronger frame adn coils out back, but no luck there either.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I have a similar situation in a mirror way with my 1200cc sportbike.

It will smoke any car on the road but ain't worth a shit in snow, a dirt road or on a trail.

Weird huh?

 

[StarGazer]

Yes I notice this everytime I drive it especially coming from my 03 V8. The 5th gens are slugs until the rpm gets up higher. The 5th gen weighs aprox 400 lbs. more then the 4th gen and appears to have less torque at low rpm. The 5th gen appears to run about the same once the engine gets some rpm built up. Other say push the gas pedal harder but when it is floored and still does not want to go quick what else can you do. I think in flat parts of the country it may be fine but taking off from a stop on inclines leaves me wanting for more. I have just learned to lower my expectations and live with it.

I'm not sure what type of terrain you were on when you "floored" it and still weren't satisfied. I've been all over the west (Sierras, Rockies, Cascades) and have never had trouble climbing over anything I've pointed my truck at. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever actually floored (pedal literally all the way down) it before. It's just not necessary unless you're trying to do 95 mph up a steep grade.

I personally like the non-aggressive throttle response as it is better for feathering the skinny pedal over obstacles. I had an Xterra before and it had an overly aggressive (IMO) throttle and was jerky when trying to crawl slowly.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

I'm not sure what type of terrain you were on when you "floored" it and still weren't satisfied. I've been all over the west (Sierras, Rockies, Cascades) and have never had trouble climbing over anything I've pointed my truck at. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever actually floored (pedal literally all the way down) it before. It's just not necessary unless you're trying to do 95 mph up a steep grade.

I personally like the non-aggressive throttle response as it is better for feathering the skinny pedal over obstacles. I had an Xterra before and it had an overly aggressive (IMO) throttle and was jerky when trying to crawl slowly.

I am talking about taking off from a dead stop on an incline or barely moving. My driveway is approx. 25-30 degrees at the steepest point and if I stop on the incline to go get my mail it barely wants to get moving let alone gain any speed no matter how hard you press the gas pedal. My old 4th gen just climbed right up without a struggle. When I pull my atv trailer with 2 atvs up this driveway you better have some momentum built up or it may not make it. It is kind of embarrassing when my friend with a V8 chevy truck climbs the same driveway with the same load without any struggle. He would laugh his butt off if I had to go into lo range to climb my driveway. As I said once you get moving on normal roads and the rpm get a little higher it is fine,

 

[wfo9]

I think they have some aggressive tq mgt and conservative throttle mapping in the ECU on the 5th gens.

The motor has some good grunt once the vvti kicks in 4 - 6k...

Mine is great with the 4.56 gears. Motor feels much more potent. at all RPMS (for obvious reasons) But it is a compromise with MPG and high speed 70+ hwy feel.

They should have come with 4.10s as an option.

 

[adoihcj]

I remember these types of posts when I had my 2010. It's called new technology and the engine is a VVTI engine (variable valve timing with intelligence). What that means is if you drive it like any other vehicle, you'll think it feels sluggish. This is meant to conserve fuel. Just press harder on the pedal and you won't be disappointed. I know it's hard to think about giving your vehicle too much gas but this is how the 5th gen works. I love the sound the engine makes when I push on that pedal hard and I also love the power that kicks in when you do so.

 

[mrt6644]

I just bought a 2015 Trail edition, coming from an 08 FJ Cruiser.
The FJ Cruiser had basically the same engine and drive train.
The 08 FJC was much quicker off the line, even though the 15 has more power.
Im assuming the 4Rnr is dialed back for fuel economy.