You should think about traveling if necessary. I bought mine with 120k about 3 months ago for $8500. I flew about 500 miles to get it but don't regret it. I got a great deal, had frequent flyer miles so the ticket was free, and I got to enjoy a mini-road trip right off the bat.
Common 4th gen problems?
- Thread starter chowwwww
- Start date
Yes, that is one of the option. I'm in socal and have been searching for 4runners in norcal and in arizona as well.
If they won't let you take the car to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection (which would include taking off the skid plate), then you really don't want to buy it.
GLP
New member
From everything I have read the warranty applies to all owners, not just original. The warranty reads as follows:
"The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement described herein for all owners of covered vehicles until May 31, 2017, regardless of mileage or date of first use of the vehicle."
Covered vehicles are 03-05 for the 4Runners with cracked dashboards.
Very true!
ben550
New member
They are reliable but will still require work. I recently bought an 06 with 159k miles for $10500. I had to have the timing belt and water pump changed, am going to replace the calipers, need to replace the shocks/struts and have to deal with some rust clean up. But it seems to be in good shape. As long as you are willing to either do some cleanup work yourself or pay someone to do it, yes they are reliable and should last a long time with good care.
I wouldn't worry about 140k. I would not however buy one with over 180k.
badfishesonly
New member
Advice on my V6 4.0L
Hey Everyone,
I have a 2005 Limited V6 4.0 with 246k miles. I was on a long trip recently and broke down very far from where I live. The local mechanic looked at it and said that the engine was pretty much blown and the best move would be to throw a new motor in or sell it. I'm not saying he's wrong but I was hoping to get some outside perspective based on what happened on that drive and what we saw after I broke down.
So basically when this happened I was driving up I75 for about 5 hours straight. I was running around 80-85mph and I often look at the Temp gauge on the dash and it was normal as usual. I started to feel like I was losing a little bit of power but honestly wasn't sure. I'm now also pretty sure there was some blueish smoke coming out of the exhaust. I only noticed the smoke when a car would be near me and their headlights would illuminate behind and I kind of noticed the smoke in my rearview mirror. I wasn't sure if it was smoke or if maybe just the hot exhaust and cold air but thinking back it was definitely smoke.
I obviously should have pulled over after both the slight power loss and the smoke but I kept driving for another 10 minutes until I started hearing a noise coming from up front and started seeing smoke coming out of the hood. I started to pull over then I lost power when engine shut off. and power steering and dash started lighting up with alarms. Temp gauge was still normal though. I pulled over and popped hood and noticed oil splattered throughout engine bay and dipstick was sticking halfway out. I still had plenty of coolant.
I looked closer and saw that my serpentine belt was partially shredded and cords of it wrapped around the radiator fan. I freed up up the radiator fan and got it towed to a mechanic. I explained all this to them and they thought that the serpentine belt shredded and shards of it smacked the dipstick which is why it was popped out. He thought replacing the belt and topping off oil would fix the issue but then we tried to crank it and sounded way different than usual and wouldn't start. He thought it sounded like no compression and so did his boss when listening to it on a phone call. He pulled two of the spark plugs and they were soaked in oil and basically said the Piston rings are fried and the motor is shot. One more piece of info, a few weeks prior to this my check engine light came on throwing a P0137 code which is for low voltage from O2 sensor. I don't think that code played a part of this but just wanted to give you all the info.
Does hearing all that lead anyone to a specific issue it could be?? Was that mechanic correct and the rings are fried along with possible other internal damage? I'm going to have them do a compression test tomorrow but wanted to get any outside help too. The car is 6 hours away from where I live and basically either have to sell it this weekend if the motor is shot or figure out if it could be a lesser problem. Thanks so much for the help!
Hey Everyone,
I have a 2005 Limited V6 4.0 with 246k miles. I was on a long trip recently and broke down very far from where I live. The local mechanic looked at it and said that the engine was pretty much blown and the best move would be to throw a new motor in or sell it. I'm not saying he's wrong but I was hoping to get some outside perspective based on what happened on that drive and what we saw after I broke down.
So basically when this happened I was driving up I75 for about 5 hours straight. I was running around 80-85mph and I often look at the Temp gauge on the dash and it was normal as usual. I started to feel like I was losing a little bit of power but honestly wasn't sure. I'm now also pretty sure there was some blueish smoke coming out of the exhaust. I only noticed the smoke when a car would be near me and their headlights would illuminate behind and I kind of noticed the smoke in my rearview mirror. I wasn't sure if it was smoke or if maybe just the hot exhaust and cold air but thinking back it was definitely smoke.
I obviously should have pulled over after both the slight power loss and the smoke but I kept driving for another 10 minutes until I started hearing a noise coming from up front and started seeing smoke coming out of the hood. I started to pull over then I lost power when engine shut off. and power steering and dash started lighting up with alarms. Temp gauge was still normal though. I pulled over and popped hood and noticed oil splattered throughout engine bay and dipstick was sticking halfway out. I still had plenty of coolant.
I looked closer and saw that my serpentine belt was partially shredded and cords of it wrapped around the radiator fan. I freed up up the radiator fan and got it towed to a mechanic. I explained all this to them and they thought that the serpentine belt shredded and shards of it smacked the dipstick which is why it was popped out. He thought replacing the belt and topping off oil would fix the issue but then we tried to crank it and sounded way different than usual and wouldn't start. He thought it sounded like no compression and so did his boss when listening to it on a phone call. He pulled two of the spark plugs and they were soaked in oil and basically said the Piston rings are fried and the motor is shot. One more piece of info, a few weeks prior to this my check engine light came on throwing a P0137 code which is for low voltage from O2 sensor. I don't think that code played a part of this but just wanted to give you all the info.
Does hearing all that lead anyone to a specific issue it could be?? Was that mechanic correct and the rings are fried along with possible other internal damage? I'm going to have them do a compression test tomorrow but wanted to get any outside help too. The car is 6 hours away from where I live and basically either have to sell it this weekend if the motor is shot or figure out if it could be a lesser problem. Thanks so much for the help!
MikeinNH67
Senior Member
[MENTION=800444]badfishesonly[/MENTION], I know you are new here but it's best to create your own thread on this. You probably need to comment on some other posts first but you'll end up with more replies. I did reply to the other thread you posted to.
AuSeeker
Elite Member
[MENTION=800444]badfishesonly[/MENTION] just an FYI to be able to start your own thread it's stated in the forum rules you need 15 posts to start your own topic or to send PM.
To build up your post count browse the forum and comment on a few of topics, you can get to 15 posts in short order.
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