Is there a reasonable ECU programmer for the 4Runner?

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gundrted+t4r

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Hello all

I'm coming from an '08 Wrangled Rubicon. We currently have a '15 Limited and have an '17 TRD Off-road Premium coming.

When I got my AEV Wrangle lift it included an ECU programmer. The programmer allows me adjust all kind of different settings like: increase idle when winching, clear ECU codes, TPMS settings, DRL functions including lights on all the time, speedometer adjustment for tire size and a lot more.

AEV's ProCal Module
American Expedition Vehicles - Brute Kit, V8 HEMI, Aftermarket Jeep Conversions, Products, Wheels, Accessories and Highline Kits for Jeeps (TJ, JK, WK, XK).

Is there anything similar for the 4Runner?

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gundrted+t4r said:
Hello all

I'm coming from an '08 Wrangled Rubicon. We currently have a '15 Limited and have an '17 TRD Off-road Premium coming.

When I got my AEV Wrangle lift it included an ECU programmer. The programmer allows me adjust all kind of different settings like: increase idle when winching, clear ECU codes, TPMS settings, DRL functions including lights on all the time, speedometer adjustment for tire size and a lot more.

AEV's ProCal Module
American Expedition Vehicles - Brute Kit, V8 HEMI, Aftermarket Jeep Conversions, Products, Wheels, Accessories and Highline Kits for Jeeps (TJ, JK, WK, XK).

Is there anything similar for the 4Runner?

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No. Nothing available for ANY Toyota. That's why they run for a long time and lead in reliability and durability. Nobody can F it up. Toyota's code is secure.
 
The Techstream tool (OBDII -> USB cable + Windows software) lets you make a bunch of changes to settings including viewing ECU codes, changing TPMS, and a bunch of minor preferences like seatbelt chime, door lock options, etc. As far as I know you can't make any serious changes to the ECU.

The official Techstream is dealer-only but you can find knockoffs online easily (eBay etc). There are other threads here about Techstream.
 
gundrted+t4r said:
Hello all

I'm coming from an '08 Wrangled Rubicon. We currently have a '15 Limited and have an '17 TRD Off-road Premium coming.

When I got my AEV Wrangle lift it included an ECU programmer. The programmer allows me adjust all kind of different settings like: increase idle when winching, clear ECU codes, TPMS settings, DRL functions including lights on all the time, speedometer adjustment for tire size and a lot more.

AEV's ProCal Module
American Expedition Vehicles - Brute Kit, V8 HEMI, Aftermarket Jeep Conversions, Products, Wheels, Accessories and Highline Kits for Jeeps (TJ, JK, WK, XK).

Is there anything similar for the 4Runner?

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Click to expand...

NOPE! ECU is encrypted.
 
Bullydog has the BDX for the 4R. I have the previous version on my tundra. It's ok, but lacks. There customer service was pretty bad before, but now that SCT owns them, it's just awful.

https://www.bullydog.com/Products/unfiltered-product/bd/BDBDX/bully-dog-bdx

I really have no idea if there would be gains in power for the 4L. I'm sure the other adjustments would possibly warrant the price. You get more for the money than a sprint booster (you can adjust throttle sensitivity with the bullydog)

I wouldn't call it a tuner. It's all canned

EDIT: looks like it's just for the 10-13 T4R.
 
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1engineer said:
No. Nothing available for ANY Toyota. That's why they run for a long time and lead in reliability and durability. Nobody can F it up. Toyota's code is secure.
Click to expand...

I disagree with the logic flow here.

Jeeps still manage to F themselves up without any ECU modding.. and Toyota's reliability has far more to it than just a secure piece of code.

IMO Toyota (along with many car manufacturers these days) are trying as best they can to prevent the end-user from touching anything beyond filters and tires.

Keep as much of the vehicle in the realm of the locked and unknown to maximize your trips to the good ol' dealerships, whom are more than glad to keep your business with them as your only option.

In short: Its purely a business decision and has nothing to do with reliability.
 
I agree and disagree with that. On one hand I definitely think they are trying to get you into the dealership more. On the other hand, there are a ton of people smarter than us building these things so they probably know what they're doing in regards to programming it. I'm sure someone will come out and say otherwise, but anytime I've known someone to mess with their programming, that particular vehicle was always in the shop more than people who didn't. Sometimes it's more than greed that makes the companies do what they do. After all, it wasn't just greed and advancements in engineering that had a lot of companies remove grease fittings from drive trains.
 
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borfoo3 said:
I disagree with the logic flow here.

Jeeps still manage to F themselves up without any ECU modding.. and Toyota's reliability has far more to it than just a secure piece of code.

IMO Toyota (along with many car manufacturers these days) are trying as best they can to prevent the end-user from touching anything beyond filters and tires.

Keep as much of the vehicle in the realm of the locked and unknown to maximize your trips to the good ol' dealerships, whom are more than glad to keep your business with them as your only option.

In short: Its purely a business decision and has nothing to do with reliability.
Click to expand...

How many 4Runners go to the garage for problems?
 
Cbzr1107 said:
I agree and disagree with that. On one hand I definitely think they are trying to get you into the dealership more. On the other hand, there are a ton of people smarter than us building these things so they probably know what they're doing in regards to programming it. I'm sure someone will come out and say otherwise, but anytime I've known someone to mess with their programming, that particular vehicle was always in the shop more than people who didn't. Sometimes it's more than greed that makes the companies do what they do. After all, it wasn't just greed and advancements in engineering that had a lot of companies remove grease fittings from drive trains.
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Exactly.
 
To me, it's about being reasonable. I can completely understand why Toyota wouldn't want people messing around in the ECU with certain things. I've owned 2 vehicles where I had programmers or "tuners". JK Unlimited and a Commander Hemi. I mainly bought those for the ability to change things like the OP said. Tire size speedo fix, gears speedo fix and TPMS shut-off, etc. I tried some of the "tunes" and I never thought it did much. And it was never as smooth... Left that stock.

I would love to cut off the seatbelt reminder alarm. Most other vehicles I've owned, even as recent as a 2015 Forester, allowed you to do that through Easter Eggs hidden like a contra code. You didn't have to buy anything for that. I guess I'll look into Carista...
 
Maybe I used the wrong term in the title. I'm not looking for a tuner to mod the engine, shift points and so on.

Turning off a chime, adjusting TPMS/DRL or updating tire size will not effect reliability.

I looked at Carista and wow it's expensive for what you get. Not sure I'll go that way. I may look into some of the eBay knock off setups but they require Windows and I run a Mac.

I'm kind of surprised no one makes a similar product to the AEV option. It's nice cuz it's locked to only specific options and really very you can mess up ... Unless you really try

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gundrted+t4r said:
Maybe I used the wrong term in the title. I'm not looking for a tuner to mod the engine, shift points and so on.

Turning off a chime, adjusting TPMS/DRL or updating tire size will not effect reliability.

I looked at Carista and wow it's expensive for what you get. Not sure I'll go that way. I may look into some of the eBay knock off setups but they require Windows and I run a Mac.

I'm kind of surprised no one makes a similar product to the AEV option. It's nice cuz it's locked to only specific options and really very you can mess up ... Unless you really try

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I just went to the dealer and in five minutes he changed the few parameters I wanted changed. Door lock logic, seat belt alarm and a few other things.

Doing it yourself is fine, but once you change them it's not like you are going to change them again. That was my logic so for free I got my changes made.
 
Having something like Flashcal for the 4R would be kind of nice... used it to adjust the speedo for tires and some other features. That alone was worth the price of admission. Plus you can turn around and sell it for a small discount and maybe end up $20 out of pocket.
 
bofa said:
Having something like Flashcal for the 4R would be kind of nice... used it to adjust the speedo for tires and some other features. That alone was worth the price of admission. Plus you can turn around and sell it for a small discount and maybe end up $20 out of pocket.
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Being able to recalibrate my speedometer would be lovely. Sigh.
 
1engineer said:
How many 4Runners go to the garage for problems?
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I'm not sure what the point is here, but I'm guessing not many.

As an Engineer myself, I understand the "we understand our product the most, so keep your hands to yourself" approach.
However, as a customer who paid in cash for his 4runner, I would like to decide how I break it as well. Even if it was death by overly-optimistic supercharger tune (a.k.a. stupidity)..

Best bit is, the average dude/gal driving their 4Runner back and forth to their kids soccer match won't loose an ounce of reliability with the factory unlocked ECU they'll never touch.. Just saying
 
borfoo3 said:
I'm not sure what the point is here, but I'm guessing not many.

As an Engineer myself, I understand the "we understand our product the most, so keep your hands to yourself" approach.
However, as a customer who paid in cash for his 4runner, I would like to decide how I break it as well. Even if it was death by overly-optimistic supercharger tune (a.k.a. stupidity)..

Best bit is, the average dude/gal driving their 4Runner back and forth to their kids soccer match won't loose an ounce of reliability with the factory unlocked ECU they'll never touch.. Just saying
Click to expand...

Do what you want as of course it's your vehicle. If you want to tune the 4Runner though you need to replace the electronics. Or engine.

Question: Why did you buy a 4Runner instead of something you can mess with? Like a Jeep? Ford? Chevy?
 
LawnDart said:
Being able to recalibrate my speedometer would be lovely. Sigh.
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This! I believe this is what the original poster meant to address. Having just sold a Jeep with an AEV lift the Procal was a nice tool to calibrate the speedo for larger tires, or adjust my TPMS warning light so that it didn't come on when I chose to run lower pressures than the factory setting.
 
hammerheadt4r said:
This! I believe this is what the original poster meant to address. Having just sold a Jeep with an AEV lift the Procal was a nice tool to calibrate the speedo for larger tires, or adjust my TPMS warning light so that it didn't come on when I chose to run lower pressures than the factory setting.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it just can't be done. Thus is life.
 
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