How close is the 4runner to the Tacoma in terms of Problems and TSBs?

[morphius909]

I was just browsning the Tacoma forums and they are having issues with Odd transmission shifts and Something about trucks bottoming out due to leaf spring issues?

Are these things we should be worried about? My perception was that the 4runner and Tacoma were nearly identical, so if they have a TSB for 2005-2010 Transmission issues, will we as well?

 

[Uneek]

No issues with my '05 Taco. IIRC, the 5-speed auto in the Tacoma isn't the same unit as 4Runner's. The rear leafs are soft and it doesn't much to hit the bump stops. There is a TSB for it.

Tacoma tailgates are inherently weak, quite a few have bent theirs. A couple have also cracked the plastic bed. A couple people have cracked/broken welds on the engine cross member. Another issue with some '05s were driveshaft carrier support breaking.

My only issue with the Tacoma is the under carriage rust. Maybe I just got lucky with mine.

 

[toto]

Believe it or not, the version of the 1GR-FE V6 engine that is made in North America is slightly different than the one made in Japan. That seems to imply that an issue with one doesn't automatically appear in the other. For example, there was a TSB for a passenger-side timing cover leak that didn't affect the 4Runner. The problem was that robot was a little thin with the sealant, so the problem was isolated to North American production. On the flip side, Tacoma doesn't have the perpetual TSB for foul catalytic converter smell like the 4Runner does.

The 2009-10 Tacoma tranny problem is just software. All Toyota transmissions are engineered to try to achieve optimum fuel economy, and they also try to learn your driving habits and factor that in to the shift decisions. Sometimes the software makes bad decisions and shifts at strange times. There's now new software available to fix that. The same thing happened with the 3.3L V6 powertrain used in the 2004 V6 Highlander / Sienna / Lexus RX 330.

I think Toyota tried to reduce the cost of the truck when they designed the second generation (2005+), so they created some issues with weaker parts like the tailgate and the leaf spring pack. They fixed the tailgate in 2008, but the leaf spring pack has become a perpetual TSB. They still use a 3-leaf pack at the factory, and will put on a 4-leaf pack if a customer complains (under warranty, of course). The 4-leaf pack makes the ride a little stiffer, but it seems like a necessary thing to have if you really expect to use the truck like a truck.

So far, I think my 4Runner is one of the few Toyota models made in the last few years that lives up to the name Toyota. The Tacoma is a good truck - don't get me wrong. I just think that the 4Runner is made very, very well, whereas the Tacoma and other models show signs of cutting little corners here and there. Then again, the Tacoma has a lower MSRP than a 4Runner. so maybe it's not a totally fair comparison.

 

[Quentin]

I was just browsning the Tacoma forums and they are having issues with Odd transmission shifts and Something about trucks bottoming out due to leaf spring issues?

Are these things we should be worried about? My perception was that the 4runner and Tacoma were nearly identical, so if they have a TSB for 2005-2010 Transmission issues, will we as well?

First, the 5th gen 4Runner doesn't have a leaf spring suspension (I don't know if your 4th gen does, but I doubt it.) So, you should be safe from that one.

Second, the 4Runner is essentially a Land Cruiser Prado... which is very different than the Tacoma. The only thing the two vehicles share is the engine (1GR-FE). The transmission is supposedly a different 5AT unit. As said above, some of the 1GR TSBs are related to assembly at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, which supplies the north america Tacoma plant, not design.

 

[Acidmeld]

First, the 5th gen 4Runner doesn't have a leaf spring suspension (I don't know if your 4th gen does, but I doubt it.) So, you should be safe from that one.

Second, the 4Runner is essentially a Land Cruiser Prado... which is very different than the Tacoma. The only thing the two vehicles share is the engine (1GR-FE). The transmission is supposedly a different 5AT unit. As said above, some of the 1GR TSBs are related to assembly at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, which supplies the north america Tacoma plant, not design.

They also had lotsof quality control problems at the numi plant in cali. No doubt due to the presence of the uaw. They have recently shut down that plant and are moving to an as yet unnamed facility.

 

[toto]

It's named - the U.S. Tacoma production moved to the Tundra plant in San Antonio, TX. The Tacoma is also made in Mexico just south of California about 30 miles east of Tijuana. All of the Tacoma beds are made at the Mexico plant, even if final assembly will be in the U.S.

 

[Scoobs]

They also had lotsof quality control problems at the numi plant in cali. No doubt due to the presence of the uaw. They have recently shut down that plant and are moving to an as yet unnamed facility.

That would be incorrect.

At the end of February, when NUMMI workers knew they only had a few weeks left, a surprise audit confirmed that quality had not eroded.

Toyota inspectors checked 100 vehicles, split evenly between Corolla passenger cars and Tacoma trucks, said David Karlin, a quality control team leader on the Tacoma truck line.

The audit found that the Corollas had 0.1 defects per 100 vehicles and the Tacomas had 0.16 defects per 100, Karlin said. The goal was 0.2 defects per 100 vehicles.

"That was an awesome result," Karlin said. "The quality is still there."

Rich Castaneda, a San Jose resident who works in quality control on the Corolla at NUMMI, recalls the differences between his years at the Ford plant in Milpitas and at the NUMMI factory.

"The quality is so much better at NUMMI," he said. "At Ford, you did only one job unless somebody quit or retired. At NUMMI, I was taught five or six jobs."

Perhaps NUMMI was a victim of its own success. Toyota learned so much from the plant about how to manufacture in North America, that over the decades it became a less essential cog for the automaker.

"NUMMI just lived past its useful life," Cole said. "The real curse was the overcapacity. NUMMI had old capacity, and old capacity is always more vulnerable."

 

[Uneek]

First, the 5th gen 4Runner doesn't have a leaf spring suspension (I don't know if your 4th gen does, but I doubt it.) So, you should be safe from that one.

Second, the 4Runner is essentially a Land Cruiser Prado... which is very different than the Tacoma. The only thing the two vehicles share is the engine (1GR-FE). The transmission is supposedly a different 5AT unit. As said above, some of the 1GR TSBs are related to assembly at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, which supplies the north america Tacoma plant, not design.

4Runners, IIRC, since 2nd gens have coils on the rear. The 4th definately has coils in the rear. The Tacoma shares a similar, if not identical, front suspension setup.

 

[Jesse1983]

The Tacoma shares a similar, if not identical, front suspension setup.

very similar, but not identical. the 4R doesn't have billy's up front (on any model), and has more coils on the driver side to account for additional weight (which would have helped the Tacoma). The UCA's are identical though.