Whiplash Willy
New member
Just wanted to report back in after a little over a week of ownership!
Everyone I have met that has seen the Runner comments on how nice it looks!
I have already burned through about 1 tank and a half! (cost me $73 to fill it with 1/8 of a tank left :shocked
I am averaging about 18mpg, which is pretty good since 5% of my drive is HWY, and the rest is City and Backroads.
The Sulfur smell has died down, and the 4runner no longer stinks up my garage.
I got my weather beaters in, and the fit is good, but not as good as I would have hoped, especially the flap that goes over the door sill area. I think I need to better trim the nubs to make it flatter. Also, I would have thought the weather beaters would have been a little softer, but the material is about as hard as the weather techs, it just doesn't have that textured surface. They are pretty slippery. Having owned the original huskys, Weather Techs, and Weather Beaters, if i could do it over, I think I would have gotten the weather techs, but the weather beaters will be fine. Definitely better then the original husky liners though!
Also, I now know what people are talking about with think sheet metal...Every time I shut a door, I can see the door skin ripple, as well as the roof of the car bow out from the air pressure. I saw a new highlander do the same thing, which makes me feel better, that Toyota is thinning sheet metal across the board, and not just with the 4Runner. It makes me miss the thick heavy doors on my TDI Golf, as well as the insanely over engineered steel milled door hinges.
I have noticed though that sometimes when I am slowing from a stop, or starting out from a stop, I feel a little clunking/loosness in the drivetrain. It sounds kind of like the Driveshaft TSB I read about here, but I though the newer ones had it taken care of. Maybe it is just a rough downshift as well, what do you guys think, is something like this normal, or should I be concerned? My 2001 Runner did the same thing, but I just though it was because it had 100k on it and something in the drivetrain was worn, or maybe it is just normal...
Also, I much prefer the feeling of the handling and braking of my 3rd gen over the 5th gen. I don't know if it is just the extra weight of the 5th gen I am feeling, or the suspension setup. Can the suspension be upgraded to make the 5th gen to not feel as massive in corners and when breaking?
I know it looks like all I have to say is negative things, but I do overall love my 4runner. I love its toughness, and not having to worry about something breaking on it all the time, like I did with my TDI... I love being able to make light of speed bumps and pot holes, as well as passing a line of cars to the right in the gravel shoulder, when the 2 lane road gets backed up from people stopped to turn left.
I haven't been able to do much off roading, but I did find a little area I could engage the 4wd, and play around a little. When you take these trucks off the pavement, everything makes sense. Even with the crappy stock tires, my Runner felt like it could handle most obstacles, without even trying!
Everyone I have met that has seen the Runner comments on how nice it looks!
I have already burned through about 1 tank and a half! (cost me $73 to fill it with 1/8 of a tank left :shocked
I am averaging about 18mpg, which is pretty good since 5% of my drive is HWY, and the rest is City and Backroads.The Sulfur smell has died down, and the 4runner no longer stinks up my garage.
I got my weather beaters in, and the fit is good, but not as good as I would have hoped, especially the flap that goes over the door sill area. I think I need to better trim the nubs to make it flatter. Also, I would have thought the weather beaters would have been a little softer, but the material is about as hard as the weather techs, it just doesn't have that textured surface. They are pretty slippery. Having owned the original huskys, Weather Techs, and Weather Beaters, if i could do it over, I think I would have gotten the weather techs, but the weather beaters will be fine. Definitely better then the original husky liners though!
Also, I now know what people are talking about with think sheet metal...Every time I shut a door, I can see the door skin ripple, as well as the roof of the car bow out from the air pressure. I saw a new highlander do the same thing, which makes me feel better, that Toyota is thinning sheet metal across the board, and not just with the 4Runner. It makes me miss the thick heavy doors on my TDI Golf, as well as the insanely over engineered steel milled door hinges.
I have noticed though that sometimes when I am slowing from a stop, or starting out from a stop, I feel a little clunking/loosness in the drivetrain. It sounds kind of like the Driveshaft TSB I read about here, but I though the newer ones had it taken care of. Maybe it is just a rough downshift as well, what do you guys think, is something like this normal, or should I be concerned? My 2001 Runner did the same thing, but I just though it was because it had 100k on it and something in the drivetrain was worn, or maybe it is just normal...
Also, I much prefer the feeling of the handling and braking of my 3rd gen over the 5th gen. I don't know if it is just the extra weight of the 5th gen I am feeling, or the suspension setup. Can the suspension be upgraded to make the 5th gen to not feel as massive in corners and when breaking?
I know it looks like all I have to say is negative things, but I do overall love my 4runner. I love its toughness, and not having to worry about something breaking on it all the time, like I did with my TDI... I love being able to make light of speed bumps and pot holes, as well as passing a line of cars to the right in the gravel shoulder, when the 2 lane road gets backed up from people stopped to turn left.
I haven't been able to do much off roading, but I did find a little area I could engage the 4wd, and play around a little. When you take these trucks off the pavement, everything makes sense. Even with the crappy stock tires, my Runner felt like it could handle most obstacles, without even trying!
Last edited:
