Be honest, late 3rd Gen 4Runner a good daily driver?

[NVAGVUP]

Edit: Please read later posts for clarification of my intent. I might have given the impression i was looking for general advice on what makes a good daily driver. I am really just looking for experiences and anecdotes that might speak to the longevity and day-to-day reliability of well-maintained 3rd gens.

Hello, everyone. I recently bought my wife a 2016 TRDP, and wouldn't you know it, the gearhead in me is back.

So, I have been toying with the idea of trading my 2012 Civic for a 3rd gen 4runner, to have something I can tinker with a bit more heavily than I am willing to with the Pro (Ive got 33s on it now and a 2" lift in the mail, but we want to keep it clean enough that it isn't out of place at a nice restaurant or being valeted).

I would probably buy one with maybe 200k miles, and pretty much take it straight to my mechanic. I figure perhaps $4k (total guess) would be enough for them to replace pretty much every hose, belt, seal, fluid, and anciliary component (alternator, starter, pumps, etc) in the powertrain, plus suspension bushings, LBJs, brake pads and shoes, and the radiator. (Aren't you proud of me for reading the stickies?).

The goal would be to establish a good mechanical baseline.

As most of you know, it is usually the little things like fluid leaks that end up causing catastrophic failures, and annoying things like failing starters and alternators that end up leaving you stranded. Barring all those grimlins inherent to older vehicles (which will hopefully all be put to rest with the refresh), these powertrains are known to go several hundred thousand miles, right?

Assuming it wasn't abused or neglected, and I continue maintenance at conservative intervals, would you guys expect this vehicle to last at least another 100 or even 150k without much drama (that I don't cause myself )? That is how much longer I was expecting to keep the civic.

I am pretty mechanically inclined, and have owned modified vehicles in the past (a couple turbo MR2s and a Suzuki samurai--all of them modded to the point of seeing engines rebuilt and reinstalled by me, etc). So, I will probably do the expected performance upgrades myself once my mechanic gets it running well.

Is this a reasonable plan? Or am I out to lunch?

Thanks!

2002 T4R Sport Thundercloud 188,000 owned since new. My second 4R. First was a leased 99 sport for work. Lives in Northern New England with severe winter weather, mountains, ocean, snow, virgin construction sites. Up here 4R take a beating from salt. It was walnut blasted and re-undercoated after 9 years , always washed after every storm, has been serviced by the book or better, new shocks and springs at 170K, $1500; a new mother board controller $500, and at about 170,000 miles vehicle paid the New England salt price in many small and bigger ways. Rust replacements: Steering rack, front sway bar, a shock mount replacement, several frame welds, rear diff cover replacement [Barnes 4WD] , numerous metal underneath pieces, yearly under coating redo, and then the electrical corrosion. The combination of salt air and salt roads plays games with the complex electrics on the vehicle. After the extended 100,000 mile warranty expired I've put about $1000 into corroded or failed electrical parts plus the time to figure them out. Right now the only issue remaining is a sometimes battery warning light that comes and goes.

Having said the above I will tell you this T4R has never left me stranded in any place , any weather, regardless of what was going on with it's idiot light xmas tree. It pulls a 2900GVW trailer weekly, and at 184,000 mi hauled a fully loaded trailer over the mountains to Montreal and back with no issues. It burns no oil, gets 17 to 22 mpg, runs all day at 70 mph on the turnpike or crawls through mud, snow ice [4 studded snows in winter] with the most flexible AWD/4WD and center locking diff system available. It goes anywhere, effortlessly. Not the cheapest to own or run , but the Best vehicle I have ever owned.

I will drive it until one of us dies. Its license plate says it all:
'NVAGVUP'

 

[SpidermanGeek]

I am really just looking for experiences and anecdotes that might speak to the longevity and day-to-day reliability of well-maintained 3rd gens.

Geez.. have you browsed T4R.org... like..at all?! lol.

A well maintained 3rd Gen will probably outlast most vehicles half or even a quarter of it's age & mileage.

Rust and neglect are really the only true enemy of the 3rd gen.

 

[huvgti]

I think it's a great DD. I live around DC and the roads here are terrible. Parking is crowded, traffic is aggressive, every bit of land is developed so there are odd approach / departures from parking lots, there's very few areas to wind out and enjoy a fun car here without making an early morning weekend trip.

The 4Runner is a tank, OME and 5100's are really nice for the garbage roads. I never worry about weather or not being able to get around if it snows. I'll park it anywhere, it's 20 years old. I can go up to the mountains and go skiing without even planning really, just jump in and go. It gives you some seriously nice options for recreation while making your slog to and from work more relaxed.

It's great not to worry about it or about where you drive it. Now I just need a sports car for the occasional weekend trip or auto x.

 

[thegipper]

You shouldn't have to spend 4k to bring your 4R up to snuff. I would replace every fluid on the vehicle, new radiator, LBJ's (oem only), any steering/suspension component that needs it, extended rear diff breather mod, belts and hoses.

These are pretty solid vehicles, there is no reason to replace parts like the starter/alternator ect if there is nothing wrong with it. Use the money you saved for when/if anything else fails.

I enjoy driving my 4R to work and around town a lot. I drive it about 50% of the time and my newer Camry the other half.

 

[absalom]

Yes, 3rd gen is a great DD, but the 4th gen is even better.

 

[frodiesel]

Both my dailies have over 265k miles. A 98 camry and 99 4runner. My last daily went 312k and i gave it to a buddy bc the turbo was shot but still ran fine. He still drives it. Hope to see 500k out of my 4runner. I would just keep a rainy day fund for a transmission on those 01-02. And keep all fuild healthy, dont go too crazy with mods right away.

 

[AZBub]

Ok, so I daily drive my 4Runner 48 miles each way, 5 days a week. I have to say that having to fill up roughly every 3rd day does suck. That is my only complaint.....and my lack of window tint in ARIZONA. I'm a little biased, I've had trucks my whole life, minus a stint with a Fusion. I'm used the bumpy jarring swaying nonsense of larger vehicles. When I'm in a car it feels like Mario Kart on the freeways. No bueno.


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[TXLX1]

Depends who you are. I wasn't raised a sissy so I am comfortable with daily driving an old truck that rides like a mechanical bull on highway expansion joints. You just need to realize the limits compared to a normal car.

^This. My old beat up 97, lifted, 33's, auto locker, 350k miles rides exactly like that. But the powertrain package and capability of it (plus has power windows and AC) makes it a very usable daily driver and weekend adventure truck. I love it, wife hates it.... So I drive it and she drives a 100 series mall crawler.

My number 1 dislike is the fuel mileage / gas tank situation. I start eyeballing the gauge around 150 miles and start looking for stations around 200-225 miles per tank.

 

[Johny Octane]

I Drove mine every day every where, my wife had an accident and it got totaled. I bought a 2000 Tundra to get me around while I rebuild the 4Runner. I am to the point now that I am driving the 4Runner again and I will likely sell the Tundra. The 4Runner to me is a wonderful daily. It is quiet, smooth, tracks well, easy to work on and I personally love them.

 

[4BUMR]

Absolutely no regrets about the decision to make an '02 limited my DD. As a mild gearhead there are plenty of engaging mods, maintenance and repairs to keep me happy. It's super reliable, comfortable (although this is a relative term) and functional. Only potential caution would be fuel economy if gas spikes.


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[AntleredRuin]

I bought my 4Runner specifically as a DD. It's 2wd (I know, I know, but I live in Houston; flatter than Keira Knightley's chest), so it doesn't see much off-roading. Still worth it, though.

I drive roughly 25k miles a year and I love driving the T4R, and in Houston, that's nothing but stop and go traffic. I bought it with 132k and currently around 164k.

I was driving an '03 Rav4 and while it gets close to 30mpg, I just wasn't feeling it. (My wife loves it though).
The 4Runner feels stronger, albeit not as peppy. Feels more solid and smooth.
I can get 23.5+ MPG highway if I stick at 60-65 and keep the RPMs down.


While I know that Civics and Corollas are reliable, as a whole, 4Runners are more statistically reliable. They rank up there with super-duty work trucks in the reliability scale.
Not including replacing the LBJs and radiator as prevention, and other basic maintenance, the only repair I've had to make was the fuel pressure regulator (and as this is a very rarely failing part, I felt comfortable getting a used one from eBay for $35).
$35 in repairs on a vehicle that I spent $4500 on 32k miles ago? Not bad.

Even if mileage isn't the best, reliability will put that money right back in your pocket, and then some. Especially now that 3rd Gens are getting older and cheaper, most people don't need to finance them, and insurance is a steal.
I see some people say that it's not worth buying a new car until your current one starts costing the same per month in repairs as it does the car note. This is absolutely stupid. $200+/ month for car note, but not worth buying a new one if it only costs $195+ to repair every month? Ridiculous.
Reliability wins, hands down. It will save you money, every time. Gas savings equate to tens of dollars per month; not having to repair something every month equates to hundreds if not thousands.



We also have the fan-****ing-tastic community here on T4R arty: that can pretty much solve any problem you can throw their way which WILL save you a shit-ton on the unfortunate eventual repairs that you will have to make at some point in the 4Runner's life.

While there are forums out there for commuter cars, I can guarantee you that the community won't be near as knowledgeable or helpful as on T4R.
I put a post on the Rav4 site 2 and a half months ago. No one answered a simple CEL question, and the thread is now only on the second page. Virtually 0 traffic on that site. Complete waste of time posting there. Absolutely no one know or cares about most commuter cars, other than making them loud obnoxious ricers.

 

[TMP]

Love my '02. 229,000 miles, I keep up on all the maintenance and do most of my own work m/mods and love every minute of it. I don't commute for work (home office) so not really concerned with gas mileage.

 

[Lindenwood]

I see some people say that it's not worth buying a new car until your current one starts costing the same per month in repairs as it does the car note. This is absolutely stupid. $200+/ month for car note, but not worth buying a new one if it only costs $195+ to repair every month? Ridiculous. Reliability wins, hands down.

I definitely agree with this. But, I'll throw in a note: my time, at this point, is more valuable than my money. I don't ever expect to have an issue paying for repairs if necessary. However, I got burned out long ago being under the hood of vehicles once or twice a month chasing down grimlins or fixing leaks and such just to get to work.

I do still enjoy turning wrenches and sparking up the welder for the fun stuff (mods and upgrades), and do expect the occasional repair just from being an old vehicle. But, I am not sure I will ever get excited again about replacing timing belts on stock engines or resealing valve cover gaskets for the umpteenth time .

Thanks for all the replies! Going to shop around a bit and probably pick one up by April!

 

[AntleredRuin]

I definitely agree with this. But, I'll throw in a note: my time, at this point, is more valuable than my money. I don't ever expect to have an issue paying for repairs if necessary. However, I got burned out long ago being under the hood of vehicles once or twice a month chasing down grimlins or fixing leaks and such just to get to work.

I agree with this, so get a 4Runner already! Aside from aforementioned lemons, they just work! :banana:

 

[tx_shooter]

Yes, 3rd gen is a great DD, but the 4th gen is even better.

Troll.

My wife is driving my "old" 2006 Tacoma now. Every so often when I drive it I still wonder if I should have found a good 4th gen 4R or not. Then I drive my 3rd gen and I know I did the right thing.

 

[J i m s t e r]

I stick 120 miles a day on my 96 Surf. I could get a smaller, more economical vehicle, but I am a regular mountain biker and we camp in the Summer. The wife has an Audi cab so the Surf is ideal for the day-to-day. The diesel does about 30mpg. I don't owe anything on it.

What has gone wrong? New cylinder head at 310K. Rear axle seals. Rear heater pipes. Not bad for a 21-year old. Still goes great.

I drove a bunch of new stuff while it was off the road getting the head done. Meh.

 

[Rock_Rat]

Hey OP there are a lot of great inputs on this thread, however, I don't think any of them directly answer the question you're looking for.

First of all I am the original owner of my 4runner. Purchased in October 2000 and had to wait for it to arrive from Japan. Drove it home with 12 miles on it.
Aside from all of the preventive maintenance and all the other insights from everyone else in this thread here's the skinny.

History From 2000 - 2014

• Since 2000, I have NEVER been left stranded.
• I never had a check engine light.
• Around 2012 or 2013 I had a whoop, whoop, whoop, sound from the drivers side and it turned out to be the rear axle bearing.
• That was all the "unscheduled maintenance" that I had to do
• I've had a 0770 code e-Solenoid for the over-drive in the tranny for about four or five years now. I just keep re-setting it. One day it will crap out on me. (I'm expecting to do a replacement .)

Vehicle was primarily used for coaching (I'm a soccer coach and transport a lot of speed and agility equipment and soccer balls etc with me) camping, utility vehicle for dirt, fertilizer, pvc pipe for sprinklers etc... as I live on acreage, work, and 4WD for the occasional rough winters that we get here in the PNW. Spent most of it's time at trail heads. I did not do any true off-roading. Park and hike.

History From 2014 - Current

• In 2014 I got a knock sensor code with a check engine light.
• No idiot when it comes to wrenching and troubleshooting but this one stifled me.
• That's when I reached out to everyone here on the site.
• Replaced the sensors with OEM the KS code went away.
• I got an intermittent 420 code for catalytic inefficiency and replaced both O2 sensors, MAF, filter etc. It didn't fix it but slowed it down.
• Ended up being somewhere in my exhaust because after I changed my exhaust system last year it never returned. Probably the upstream catalytic converter.

Post lift Issues

• Torn inner CV boot - no surprise there.
• Still resetting the 0770 code every so often
• No codes
• Picking up a bit of pinging every now and then but I think it's just bad gas. Lukas and higher octane and it goes away.

So there's a 16 year snapshot on the reliability of the 3rd gen. I have 350,000 miles. As a coach I've been all over Washington State, out to Boise, California, and Oregon. Just did the WABDR post lift without hesitation. Heading to Az in May for the Overland Expo, Zion, Grand Canyon etc and then plan on doing the OBDR in July.

What you need to do is try and do a side-by-side comparison with apples-to-apples. If you can find an original owner in a 2001 Tahoe, Yukon, Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Escape and any other SUV in a similar price range that 's where you get a true assessment of the reliability of the vehicle.

Be forewarned - you first have to find one with 350,000 miles on it. good LUCK!

I'll echo what some of the guys have already told you but also add my own .02. IF I wasn't an original owner I would NOT have bought a 3rd gen to build up for "overlanding" and offroading the way I WANT to. I would have bought an LC. However, it makes absolutely NO sense for me to do that with a great platform already sitting in my garage.

Now if you're wanting to compare reliability with other vehicles different generations then that 's a different story.

Final Thoughts
Read through this forum and DO YOUR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE! There are things that go catastrophically bad on this generation with higher mileage and you MUST be proactive! Read, read, read. You will learn a LOT by just reading this forum.

• Transmission failures
• Lower ball joint failures
• Rear axle seals
• Front axle bearings
• Radiator failures
• Steering rack failures
• Torque Converters
• Stuck in 4WD
• Head gaskets and cracked heads
• ABS

Some of those items above WILL leave you stranded and can be costly. There's your homework. Research the above ^^^.

All the other stuff is typical of any old car, bushings, suspension components like ITRE, OTREs, gear oil, filters, fuel pump, bla bla bla.

Unfortunately I have NO OTHER vehicle to compare this one to as I've NEVER kept any of my vehicles longer then a few years. The ones that I've owned did give me problems but never left me stranded.

The scariest time for me was in my 1970 Trans Am making a run after midnight from North Carolina (Stationed in Goldsboro) back home to New York for the weekend. Got stranded on the loop in DC at 0,dark hundred popping open the hood with sandpaper filing the points and gapping to a matchbook. Old school dual ignition, points condenser type folks will know exactly what I'm talking about.

One other time I was left stranded. AMC CJ7 Renegade with a 304 (V-8). Stationed in Tucson. Did some crawling in Mt Lemon, returned and just finished installing a flex fan and a new four core radiator. Ready to hit the tanque verde wash. I was hauling until....whop, whop, whop, bang bang. "What the hell?" Helps to finish the job before you head out. Forgot to secure the radiator.

Anyway, you won't go wrong, but it's an old rig and you will need to do mtx. If you lift it, expect to do more "unscheduled" maintenance. Hope this sheds a bit of light on the lifetime expectancy of a 3rd gen. Find one with the lowest possible mileage you can get for a reasonable price. Good Luck.

 

[fblainen11]

I have been in a 3rd gen since 2013 and have used it as a DD every day.
I had a 97 2wd that was very reliable. Only issue was a bad radiator that I replaced for $100.
I now have an 01 4wd that I bought with 160k on it last year.
I paid a pretty penny for it, but it is in great condition inside and out with no rust.

I drive at least 30 miles per day round trip, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it across country right now. Only reason it doesn't go on trips is because we use my wife's 2005 Land Cruiser.

 

[1985taylor1925]

I'm seeing too much of the same thing here, so I'm gonna play devils advocate, and be very honest about a few gripes I have. Call me wimpy or butt hurt or whatever. But read my points first.

I would say the third gen is not a great choice for a daily driver, DEPENDING on what type of driving you mainly do. Of course everything is relative to what else you've driven. Here are my reasons.

- Gas mileage is poor
- Seats are on the stiff side for long drives
- The suspension is antiquated and ride is rough. It's pretty harsh on a bad city road
- Creature comfort's are limited, at least compared to newer vehicles
- Road noise and wind noise are fairly loud
- Stock brakes are not strong enough for the weight of the truck
- you're basically driving a box, so when it's windy out the truck thinks it's a sail boat
- It's underpowered

People who think the 3rd gen is sufficiently powered are delusional, have never driven another vehicle, or have never tried driving one at 6000+ feet on a windy day. Looks like you live in Florida so it might not affect you as much, but around here at higher elevation it's just way too underpowered. When I drive up to the local mountains I have to keep o/d off to keep the revs way up or else deal with constant shifting. Honestly, I don't like driving the truck up the pass.

I currently live at home with my parents (not because I want to, but because I got really sick about two years ago and had to move back home and I'm still trying to recover). I drive my moms 05 Accord frequently when going to my appointments in Denver. The thought of having to drive my 4runner on the highway at 75 mph and constantly having to brake quickly in Denver traffic is unnerving. I hop in the accord and everything is just so much easier, faster, and more comfortable. Highway driving back in Wisconsin where the elevation is lower and the roads are flatter and the wind doesn't blow 100 miles an hour was no concern. But driving on the highway here is a completely different experience.

I should also add that I have had an untraceable vibration since I bought my truck, which makes me avoid the highway. If I could get that worked out it would be bearable.

All that being said, I still love my 3rd gen and would have a hard time getting rid of it. There are a lot of great things about it, most of which have been mentioned

 

[Unner]

Stock yes, it's a fine daily driver for anyone, just keep in mind it's an old truck. The design on these trucks and motors is 20+ years old.

It's not "underpowered" really, everything else just got fast in the last 20 years. A new Camaro V6 will do 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, a stock Twin Turbo Supra was only slightly faster at 4.6 seconds... One was the king of the streets, the other is a pretty common car. That said, I don't have a problem jumping out into a reasonable gap in traffic in mine which weighs close to 5,200 pounds. I wouldn't be pulling into a gap any smaller in a Camaro because I don't drive like that...

The braking isn't great stock but it's not bad either. With the TBU it's amazing. My truck stops great even with all the weight. After driving an 03 Yukon XL the other week mine seems to stop telepathically.

When you start modding them they can start to become less ideal for DD duty, but if it's something you enjoy then it's worth it. I don't get great gas mileage, but it's not that bad either. (15-16 city/17-19 highway) It's not the most comfortable ride, but it's not that bad either (lift and LT tires). It doesn't have air conditioned seats and lane sensing blah blah blah, but I don't need those things.

It's worth it to me to drive a truck that I like, I enjoy driving, and is one of a kind. Walking out to my truck is great, I wouldn't get the same feeling walking out to a 2012 Civic.

So as long as you accept it for what it is and don't complain about things it wasn't meant to be it's a fantastic DD stock or modded like mine. Walking out to mine the other day I got two compliments in 10 seconds. One from a guy who was taking a picture of the truck and another who had just hopped out of a stock 4th gen. That makes you feel pretty good too.

The reliability is great too. Mine has never left me stranded. The only things I've "had" to replace that weren't preventative maintenance or something I broke were rear axle seal and bearing, transfer case output shaft seal, front diff seal, valve cover gaskets, alternator, and the rubber accordian tube for the intake. That's over 60k miles, and I may have caused the alternator failure with some soupy mud water. That was the only thing that could have left me "stranded", but it gave warning signs, like the horrid noise it started making and therefore did not leave me stranded.

If money really isn't an issue I'd spend the extra cash and get the lowest mileage one you can find. Maybe 120k or so? Then do the maintenance it needs, upgrades it needs (TBU, tranny cooler, LBJs, etc.) and mod from there.

Just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt just like everyone elses. Do what you feel is best.