bigskyeric
New member
Hello Everyone.
I just picked up my 04 Limited in Galactic Grey Mica on saturday morning from the local VW dealership. 181,000 miles, but... in perfect shape. The dealership had it on their lot for 3 months and wanted $13,500 for it. But the miles obviously scared off everyone who looked at it. I walked out the door paying $8800 cash. It was well taken care of by the dealership in Washington state, where it came from, and was maintained by the local toyota dealership as recent as 20k miles ago. It came with brand new tires, new brakes, and shocks. I've driven a brand new 08 4 runner and I can honestly say my 04 feels and drives as good as a brand new one.
I sold my 01 BMW 740il last week, and so far, I am very impressed with my 4runner. I know 181k is a lot of miles, but I was looking at a car that would hold its value and something worth repairing. And the reviews I've read about the 4runner have been overwhelmingly positive. It truly is a perfect Minnesota car.
A little background on my ownership history. This is my 41st car (I'm in my mid 30s) I've bought and sold cars as a hobby for years, most of which have been hondas. The cars I've owned the longest over the years are my 64 Chevy Corvair convertible. I've had it for 20 years and will never get rid of it. An Acura CL-S (3 year) a 90 Prelude (4 years) and my 740IL lasted me almost 3 years. Everything else was a year or less of ownership.
So far I've ran across 2 issues with the 4runner. One being, it won't go into 4 low. I've read a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer will solve this issue.
And the second, after driving it about 100 miles the check engine light came on, and seconds later the VSC Lights came on. I've read this is most likely due to Catalytic Converters. (expensive) I can say I am upset Toyota would have such a flaw in the design that the stability control goes out because of the CEL. I'm under the impression it's the O2 sensors failing. As the car runs fine, idles fine, has lots of power and got almost 22 mpg yesterday.
My questions are: Who here has experienced the 4low issue and did you fix it? How many people replaced the O2 sensors after thinking their Cats were bad. What other common issues should I be looking for and should maintain now before something goes wrong. What is the preferred engine Oil/filter? preferred power steering fluid? And lastly, is the avg mpg meter on the dashboard accurate?
My to do list is fairly small so far. Change the front/rear diff fluids and transfer case fluid. Oil Change and power steering fluid is dirty. And of course, figure out the CEL cause.
Thanks Everyone! I look forward to getting to know all of you.
-Eric
I just picked up my 04 Limited in Galactic Grey Mica on saturday morning from the local VW dealership. 181,000 miles, but... in perfect shape. The dealership had it on their lot for 3 months and wanted $13,500 for it. But the miles obviously scared off everyone who looked at it. I walked out the door paying $8800 cash. It was well taken care of by the dealership in Washington state, where it came from, and was maintained by the local toyota dealership as recent as 20k miles ago. It came with brand new tires, new brakes, and shocks. I've driven a brand new 08 4 runner and I can honestly say my 04 feels and drives as good as a brand new one.
I sold my 01 BMW 740il last week, and so far, I am very impressed with my 4runner. I know 181k is a lot of miles, but I was looking at a car that would hold its value and something worth repairing. And the reviews I've read about the 4runner have been overwhelmingly positive. It truly is a perfect Minnesota car.
A little background on my ownership history. This is my 41st car (I'm in my mid 30s) I've bought and sold cars as a hobby for years, most of which have been hondas. The cars I've owned the longest over the years are my 64 Chevy Corvair convertible. I've had it for 20 years and will never get rid of it. An Acura CL-S (3 year) a 90 Prelude (4 years) and my 740IL lasted me almost 3 years. Everything else was a year or less of ownership.
So far I've ran across 2 issues with the 4runner. One being, it won't go into 4 low. I've read a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer will solve this issue.
And the second, after driving it about 100 miles the check engine light came on, and seconds later the VSC Lights came on. I've read this is most likely due to Catalytic Converters. (expensive) I can say I am upset Toyota would have such a flaw in the design that the stability control goes out because of the CEL. I'm under the impression it's the O2 sensors failing. As the car runs fine, idles fine, has lots of power and got almost 22 mpg yesterday.
My questions are: Who here has experienced the 4low issue and did you fix it? How many people replaced the O2 sensors after thinking their Cats were bad. What other common issues should I be looking for and should maintain now before something goes wrong. What is the preferred engine Oil/filter? preferred power steering fluid? And lastly, is the avg mpg meter on the dashboard accurate?
My to do list is fairly small so far. Change the front/rear diff fluids and transfer case fluid. Oil Change and power steering fluid is dirty. And of course, figure out the CEL cause.
Thanks Everyone! I look forward to getting to know all of you.
-Eric
