How did you know it was time for a 3rd to 4th gen?

[TejasRunner01]

Hey everyone! I currently have a 1997 Toyota 4runner and I really love it. It just is getting old and starting to show some wear. There is nothing immediately wrong, but I know that things could begin to creep up as it gets older. When did you decide it was more worth getting a 4th gen rather than just paying to keep your 3rd gen going?

Thanks for your response!:cheers:

 

[THatfield]

I still have my 3rd, but I wanted to upgrade. I’m sure I’ll sell it one day but I just can’t now. It’s been like a loyal dog. So it’s in retirement, reserved for off-roading and other debauchery.

I upgraded because, while I love it, it’s midevil compared to the 4th gen. Let me just start with POWER. I went for all the marbles and got a V8. I was tired of never having any get up and go. I will never have that problem now lol. Comfort-wise, I needed more room and more supportive seats. I’m 6’5” and 270 pounds. I needed more room for trips. After about 3 hours my knees get sore and my bad back reminds me what a bastard it can be. Heated, supportive, leather in my 4th combined with the roomier cabin have me quite comfortable.

You ask when I decided it wasn’t worth paying to keep up on the 3rd. Well 4 months ago I dumped 1500 into the 3rd and 10 months ago another 1500. Overall that brings my total investment to 6500. Which I’ve driven nearly 40,000 miles in the time I’ve owned it, just about a year and a half. But honestly it wasn’t that I couldn’t keep putting money into
It, cause it at this point it’s good to go for at least 60,000more miles.

It was the little things that got old. My driver door latch was worn and the truck always thought the door was open. My clock no longer worked. The interior has seen better days for sure. The exterior has lots of custom work from off road adventures.

Call me crazy, but I just looked at it and it looked tired. I recently got promoted, moved and needed something reliable and new to make trips home, so the time was right.

Hope this helps. And forgive my rambling, but my 3rd gen is special to me for sure. But my 4th.... that V8 makes me smile too.

 

[TejasRunner01]

That was a very great explanation. Thanks for that! You also gave me a chuckle a few times. What were the two $1500 repairs?

 

[techno]

Also kept my 3rd gen to use as a spare, but the main reason to get a 4th gen was having a second kid and the need for a 3rd row to meet my transportation needs. I need to drive 4 adults and 2 kids around regularly and just could not bring myself to get a minivan, and I wanted something that's offroad capable too.
I still enjoy driving the 3rd gen, but the 4th is a much nicer vehicle.

 

[T4R2014]

Lol, the 4th gen feels dated AF too. At this point the only reason to have a third gen is because you just want to.

 

[MSRP.]

For the time being, I have both.
V8 has 180k miles, rust, hole in driver floorpan, exhaust is in 2 pieces, o2 sensor fault codes, returns 14mpg in the city, probably needs a new bearing/cv axle due to whinning at speed, RAS works and holds air for about 2 weeks, in reality, need to do a conversion and replace the XREAS as well
’99 v6 has 120k miles, no rust, elocker, need to replace the starter as it does not crank well on a hot-start

I’m DD-ing the v8 for the winter, as it will crank consistently, requires no time for the transmission to warm up and shift into second gear
The footwell is certainly larger, and heated leather seats are nice, both have dedicated winter tires

If they both were running in tip-top condition, I would still drive the v8 beater as I can’t fathom some chump rear ending the pristine 3rd gen.

 

[simple]

Lol, the 4th gen feels dated AF too. At this point the only reason to have a third gen is because you just want to.

Valid. But I’ll argue that whil a 5th gen, particularly the 2014+ refresh, is a nice face lift, technology wise, you’re not getting a whole lot more than a 4th gen. I got a 2015 SR5 Premium, and the only thing that was new was the side mirror blinkers, a back up camera, and bluetooth audio. Don’t get me wrong, those are nice, but when you start talking a 36-40k vehicle, there’s a lot of modern features that you’re not getting. The radio display is straight out of 2003, the NAV is awful, the camera, while nice is static line. The more I drove it around, the more I hated that I paid so much for what I got.

I went back to a 4th gen and have been much happier. The only thing that sucks is that I paid nearly as much for my 3yr old 4th gen in 2007 as I did for my 9yr old 4th gen with 70k more miles. Those things have appreciated in value I feel like.

 

[THatfield]

That was a very great explanation. Thanks for that! You also gave me a chuckle a few times. What were the two $1500 repairs?

first round was a lift kit and tires... so not so much a repair as replacing worn suspension with upgrades and bigger tires to replace the worn out stock tires.

second round: Timing belt, water pump, radiator, bigger trans cooler, new hoses, new plugs, new wires, new thermostat, new PCV, new battery, new fan clutch, new lower ball joints and outer tie rod ends.

other than that it's been solid.

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

How'd I know it was time to switch from 3rd to 4th gen...? Easy decision

Picked up my (now backup) '04 4Runner the next day

 

[aabottom]

Hey everyone! I currently have a 1997 Toyota 4runner and I really love it. It just is getting old and starting to show some wear. There is nothing immediately wrong, but I know that things could begin to creep up as it gets older. When did you decide it was more worth getting a 4th gen rather than just paying to keep your 3rd gen going?

Thanks for your response!:cheers:

When I drove it for 18 years through the 4th Gen series, totaled it, and bought a new 5th Gen 2016 4Runner SR5 Premium Silver.

 

[TejasRunner01]

I have enjoyed reading all of your responses. Sometimes I wish somebody would rear end my 4runner hard enough to total the vehicle but soft enough for me to not get hurt haha. Any more stories?

 

[Beaumont67]

2.5 years ago, our family vehicle went from a base 2002 Volvo v70 wagon 2.4L / to a 2008 RAV4 Limited 3.5L-v6-269HP AWD.
- fuel @ 3 mpg less, is just a small price to pay, for all the refinements & performance gains...it night & day different
- heated power leather seats / heated wipers / heated side mirrors, etc...best option, in Northern climate
- wife even dusted off a v8 Mustang, last summer...its quick & fun, to drive
- and just enough technology, a simple & well thought out SUV
- on the other hand, sons 2015 Lexus RX350 has more bells & whistles than I care to learn
- drove it home (this week) and took me 15 minutes to figure out how to turn on the FM radio / with the leather console mouse controlling the 8" navigation screen...like learning how to use a new cell phone
- and I find, the rear backup camera is a real distraction / I know how to use my mirrors & eyes, I'd sooner rely on...has served me well, for over 4 decades

^^ Having said all this / 3rd Gen vs 4th ?
- I love my mint 2000 4Runner SR5 4x4 (low 85K miles, most reliable & rust free), but driving wife's RAV4 brings a bigger smile to my face
- my T4R will last me, another 15-20 years...and be my DD'er &/or our backup vehicle...until I'm to old, to drive
If we didn't have the v6 RAV4 (Gen3), family would be in a newer v6 Highlander or a ~2008-09 4Runner...more HP / comfort & luxury...spoils.

 

[radlynx]

I have enjoyed reading all of your responses. Sometimes I wish somebody would rear end my 4runner hard enough to total the vehicle but soft enough for me to not get hurt haha. Any more stories?

just look for drivers who are texting and not paying attention pull out in front of them and slam your brakes.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[radlynx]

Hey everyone! I currently have a 1997 Toyota 4runner and I really love it. It just is getting old and starting to show some wear. There is nothing immediately wrong, but I know that things could begin to creep up as it gets older. When did you decide it was more worth getting a 4th gen rather than just paying to keep your 3rd gen going?

Thanks for your response!:cheers:

i didnt have a 3rd gen so i have nothing to compare it to. i started with a 4th gen and is really happy about it. bought it new, 2005 v6 sr5 model. so far, did not spend a lot on maintenance until recently when i replaced the front shocks, lower control arm, bolts, springs, front axle, transmission seals, lower ball joint and removed the sway bar. also replaced the front wheel bearing, removed the rust and repainted it. sooner, my exhaust pipes will fail due to rust. my front cross bar is rusted through and soon will need a shop to replace it. all in all, its a reliable truck. i get tempted with the newer model but the monthly payment is a struggle and stressful. i will just buy other toys.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[TejasRunner01]

Thank you to everybody who posted! Anybody else?

 

[wtmtnrunner]

no great story...

had a 98 that seemed like it was ready for a transmission overhaul and we were planning a trip to the outer banks in a few weeks, so.... found a sweet 05 with 36k miles ( this was in 2011) bought it, loved it, much more space, more power , nice features (sport model) drove it for 40k and traded that for a Mini for the wife. I now have an '04 V8 limited, love the power, love the features, love the space and still get in the area of 20mpg, can't beat it...:thumb:

 

[TowMeOut]

I reeeeaalllllyy wanted a nice 3rd Gen and found a few in OK shape. In FL finding a 4x4 with less than 200K is really hard. Most of those still have significant rust and I was kind of scared of the less than stellar reputation of the 3.4L with regards to overheating and head gaskets.

I started looking at the 4th Gens and the same applies here in FL. 4X4 is hard to find unless it came from up north. In that case they're rusty underneath, get to FL, then start corroding from the top down.

I hunted for about 6 months on Craigslist/FB/Cars.com and finally picked mine up over near Tampa. I kind of regret not going with the V8 even though I don't tow anything heavy. I just loved the sound/power of the 4.7L (I had an '06 Tundra right before getting the T4R).

Overall, the 4th gen seems to have been kind of abandoned by the offroading aftermarket community since they didn't sell them in Australia (Prado instead?) and the introduction of the FJ Cruiser here kind of stole their thunder too.

 

[Keros]

Couldn't find a 3rd gen that was both nice and reasonably priced. Lots of cheap junk on the market and overpriced clean rigs.

Decided if I was going to pay the Toyota Tax, I might as well spring for a V8 truck and get the 4th gen. My friend that's a Dodge truck [nutcase] convinced me that the V8 is the way to go.

There's things that friend and I disagree on, but that was not one of them. Very good trade up.

My previous 3rd gen met its fate with a drunk driver. Rust In Peace old friend.

 

[Legender]

My first 4runner was a 1997 limited 2WD that I bought with about 80k miles on it. Used it as a daily driver until my daughter got married and gave it to them when it had 100k on it. They drove it in the ground and put 100k miles on it in about 6 years with, I'm sure, little to no maintenance. Eventually bought a 2002 SR5 with 150k on it and used it until I sold it at 180k to get an older Lexus.
But ended up missing the 4runner... have always loved the look of that little SUV. Bought the 2004 after looking for a while. The 4th gen is bigger, more powerful but still has the great 'tough little SUV' look and feel to it. I do love the Toyota and Lexus reliability and will probably always own a 4Runner.
This is my second 4WD vehicle after my 2007 Jeep mis-adventure. Could not get rid of that dog fast enough to suit me.