Any Catastrophic Mechanical Failures in High Mileage Trucks?

[Kamil]

Regarding brakes - depends how you drive. I'm 70% city driving, so at 55k miles (2010MY) I'm on second set of front pads and rotors, and they're dying, and I just changed the rears, third set.

And a wheel bearing just pooped.

 

[Titanpat57]

Sold my 1st truck (two years ago) with a 130,000 on the ticker...nice fellow that bought it is still wheeling it and now towing with it.

Only problem was the front bearings at 125,000...dealer said wheeling through water does them in.

 

[jayhat]

Traded in my early 2010 w/ 117,000 miles last year. All I ever sunk into it were for regular consumables - oil changes, wiper blades, tires, and brakes.

 

[DKFTPNYC]

well not realy! it goes bwahhhhhhhhhh and then WAHHHHHHHHH!!! after 8300rpm

ahh, i thought that was the sound of the intake runners switching at 8300. word on the street is if you run synthetic vtec oil, vtec dont crack till 11k!! :zoom:

staying on topic, i'm sub'd to see if there are any foreseeable things i need to be concerned about. I only avg maybe 10k/year, albeit hard NYC miles. Highway miles are much gentler.

 

[fattire]

My 4th Gen (bought it brand new in 2003) had 175k on it when I sold it to my brother and bought my 5th Gen. He sold it at 225k when the cats went out. He lives in an area with emissions testing and it would not pass without the new cats. It was just not worth that expense on a 13 year old vehicle. That was the only major issue during it’s entire life unless you count valve cover seal replacement which was only like $600 at the dealership.

My 5th Gen just rolled 90K. I’ve had one issue which is a (very slow) leak on the input seal of the transfer case. It was an easy fix, but I just didn’t have the time to do it myself due to work travel. $1,300 at the dealership for that one. We plan to keep it and make it my oldest’s when he turns 16 in 4 years.

I have zero worries about that.


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[desertred]

......
As I approach my normal tolerance limit for daily commuter I’m tempted for once in my life to show restraint and see how long this truck can go. Should I pop for another extended warranty and buy something out to 150,000 miles? Anyone here sell those?

Approaching 90K on my 2010 SR5 and no issues other than regularly scheduled maintenance. Still on the original brakes. I do put a lot of highway type miles (62 mile round trip commute) and understand your commute. I would have similar miles to yours, but I have two other vehicles to share mileage. I did buy an extended warranty (only one I ever bought) when I bought the truck as it had the most electronic features that I have ever encountered i a vehicle (and knew the cost of repair for might hit the cost of the warranty). I won't do that again - at least on a Toyota.

Like you, I have not heard of any catastrophic issues occurring with the 5th gen. The only maintenance item that I have heard of with some commonality is wheel bearing failure, and that has only been reported occasionally. I hadn't heard of the rear differential seal until this thread. So, unless something materializes that causes me concern, I hope to keep this 4Runner until she wears out.

 

[jbjones85]

had a previous gen Tacoma (same/similar drivetrain) and drove that to ~130K with nothing other than routine maintenance. I except my 4runner to easily get to that point and if my vehicle ADD doesn't kick in far beyond that.

 

[bamma]

60k miles transmission went out. Both cv's leaked at 65k. Head cracked at 75k. Transfer case linkage at 77k. Transmission out again at 80k. Then sold it.

Oh wait, that was my Ford Ranger. Been driving Toyotas since. Close to 600k miles with a poorly packed wheel bearing from the factory and an airbag recall being the only issues. Other than that, just regular maintenance.

 

[rihavens]

60k miles transmission went out. Both cv's leaked at 65k. Head cracked at 75k. Transfer case linkage at 77k. Transmission out again at 80k. Then sold it.

Oh wait, that was my Ford Ranger. Been driving Toyotas since. Close to 600k miles with a poorly packed wheel bearing from the factory and an airbag recall being the only issues. Other than that, just regular maintenance.

One of my friends is on his third engine in under 100k miles. Oh, wait. That's a Jeep.

 

[bamma]

One of my friends is on his third engine in under 100k miles. Oh, wait. That's a Jeep.

The sad thing for me was I had found a certified 92 Tacoma pickup for $12k when shopping for my first car. My Dad thought it made more sense to buy a cheaper domestic and bought me the ranger for $6k. After two years of ownership we spent almost $6k in repairs before selling it for scrap the tranny went out the second time. The worst part is I didn't have use of my vehicle for close to 1/3 of the time I owned it as it was in the shop. The only good thing that came from the Ranger is I learned a valuable lesson. A Toyota in the driveway is worth far more than a Ford in the shop.

 

[rihavens]

The sad thing for me was I had found a certified 92 Tacoma pickup for $12k when shopping for my first car. My Dad thought it made more sense to buy a cheaper domestic and bought me the ranger for $6k. After two years of ownership we spent almost $6k in repairs before selling it for scrap the tranny went out the second time. The worst part is I didn't have use of my vehicle for close to 1/3 of the time I owned it as it was in the shop. The only good thing that came from the Ranger is I learned a valuable lesson. A Toyota in the driveway is worth far more than a Ford in the shop.

I've made the mistake of buying TWO domestic sports cars. I had a Kia in between and it ran like a tank. I should have kept that little beast. Anyway. We also bought the wife an Acura, and it's engine just got rebuilt at under 80k miles. It's insane how short some of these vehicles last. Now, my 2011 4runner could blow up tomorrow, but pretty confident it won't.

 

[tristero]

Hit 100k today. No real issues. Engine, trans, tcase all look and feel new. I will be taking the transmission to a specialist to have it flushed though.

Even in California, I have some surface rust on rear axle and frame welds, but easy fix.

 

["krax"]

124K on my '11.

Zero repairs so far. Just regular maintenance. Goal is 300K+.

 

[lukeskywalker]

My rearview camera very very randomly (and seldomly) doesn't work in reverse. Just a black screen. Haven't been able to recreate it.

A few days ago, I parked my 4runner to nap in it. Woke up an hour later and the battery was dead / the car wouldn't turn to start the engine. Had to jump it with my jump kit. Strangest thing. Nothing was on or plugged in, keys were out of ignition. Never happened again, and is fully charged, holding a healthy charge.

 

[SalsaRed]

I have 142,000 miles on my 2010 SR5 and nothing too catastrophic so far. I did have the front diff replaced under warranty at the dealership because of the growling problem. Thanks to this forum I found the TSB that convinced the service guy to cover it.

Other than that I’ve replaced the brakes once, both front cv shafts and LCA’s (both due to my stupid choice of a pry point during suspension work and not checking my detachable end link nuts, which loosened and destroyed the cv boots). Normal oil changes. Replaced passenger front wheel bearing and abs sensor.

I am hearing a rattling/ticking noise when I rev the engine or accelerate a little near a building. I think it’s just something loose, but I need to do some investigation.

 

[teotwaki]

I bought my 5th Gen because my 2005 4th Gen was over 239,000 miles when I sold it yesterday. No repairs to engine, transmission, transfer case, driveshafts or diffs. No starter, fuel pump, alternator or water pump replacements. I did replace the radiator at 213K.

I replaced the right front wheel spindle and bearings in the high hundreds otherwise normal brake maintenance and so on.

Hope my new 5th Gen performs even better.

 

[doxidad]

Only major problem I had was in 2015 on my 2004 Sport. @220K miles my cats failed. Since I am in a location that does E-Checks I would need to repair before next vehicle registration renewal - this was a daily driver so that's when I upgraded to a 2015 SR5 and last October to a 2017 TRD ORP.

 

[Ryan1975]

My rearview camera very very randomly (and seldomly) doesn't work in reverse. Just a black screen. Haven't been able to recreate it.

A few days ago, I parked my 4runner to nap in it. Woke up an hour later and the battery was dead / the car wouldn't turn to start the engine. Had to jump it with my jump kit. Strangest thing. Nothing was on or plugged in, keys were out of ignition. Never happened again, and is fully charged, holding a healthy charge.

I’ve heard of this before. Parkingnwith the keys out of the ignition and in the vehicle caused it to do something weird. I guess the DUI rule should be followed. Keep the truck unlocked and throw the keys in a bush away from the vehicle.

 

[Kistle]

85K on my 2011 SR5. Had both the transmission and the prop shaft replaced under under warranty due to specific Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs). 1st to 2nd gear shift "shudder" for the transmission, and the slip yoke "clunk" for the prop shaft.

Other than that, just routine maintenance. Did brake pads at 75K, still had a little life left.

JA

 

[lukeskywalker]

I’ve heard of this before. Parkingnwith the keys out of the ignition and in the vehicle caused it to do something weird. I guess the DUI rule should be followed. Keep the truck unlocked and throw the keys in a bush away from the vehicle.

What do you mean? Are other people having issues with this too?

Very very curious now.