Lets face it....the 4th gen is starting to age

[Border411]

95K miles on mine and this is what it needed:

-New serpentine belt
-New plugs (now iridium)
-New front calipers (and pads because of it)
-New front shocks (which also made it so I could level it out!)
-1 bulb in the dash
-Re-pack of front CV joints w/new clamps
-New lower ball joint boots (they were just starting to leak)

For sayign all that, that has been it. As of now the truck owes me nothing.

 

[bigwebb83]

I thought the v8's came with iridiums and didn't have to be done until 100k?

 

[DocMT]

I thought the v8's came with iridiums and didn't have to be done until 100k?

That's what I thought too, but someone said 60K is the change interval. I could have sworn I read 100K somewhere.

 

[DaveS]

Frozen front caliper replaced at 36,000 miles and then another at around 80,000 miles (part of owning a 4Runner I think - I gather the 5th gen is the same caliper and design regardless of how common this issue is)
New alternator at around 70,000 miles
Replaced the parking brake mechanism within the rear hubs around 80,000
Replaced one of the front axle joints at around 88,000 miles
New intermediate steering shaft at around 90,000 miles
Had a minor problem with the front passenger indicator light that ended up replacing the socket and bulb around 70,000 miles I think - not uncommon I gather as well.

Other than that the scheduled service and maintenance as per the handbook and replacement of rotors and pads as expected. Been an expensive past 12 months but hoping I am over the hump now..

 

[FireEngineer]

Have any of you flushed transmission, power steering, or differential fluid?

I haven't had any unplanned maintenance except when the carwash removed my rear wiper without my permission.

I've wished for more things to break so I have an excuse to replace them with fun stuff... I probably should stop wishing for such things.

 

[simple]

Starting to age??? Man... don't say that! I just paid off my rig yesterday, 2.5 years early :guitar2:

Have any of you flushed transmission, power steering, or differential fluid?

I haven't had any unplanned maintenance except when the carwash removed my rear wiper without my permission.

I've wished for more things to break so I have an excuse to replace them with fun stuff... I probably should stop wishing for such things.

I did a trans flush. I got a pretty good deal from the dealer, as it would have only been a 70-100 cheaper if I had done it myself. And although I've done some serious work, I don't feel like messing with the trans. 70k, probably unnecessary, but nice to have it done.

I changed out the diff and transfer case fluids myself, that was easy. Changed out my serpentine belt at 40k, cause mine was squealing pretty bad. In a few months, I'm going to replace the rotors, calipers and brakes since the rotors are at least warped, and the calipers are probably frozen. I'll replace my brake fluid when I do that too. Other then that...nothing really. My passenger side fan will make chirping noises once in a blue moon. But nothing else outside of the basic maintenance.

Replaced the parking brake mechanism within the rear hubs around 80,000
Replaced one of the front axle joints at around 88,000 miles
New intermediate steering shaft at around 90,000 miles

How did you know that stuff needed to be replaced?

 

[TAMPA_4RUNNER]

Plugs changed after 30K??

I got 80k on my 06 Sports Ed. V6 4x4, haven't touched the plugs at all and it runs great. Thinking about giving the MAF sensor a shot of the cleaner, but other than oil changes, tires, alignment, brakes, and 2 front rotors thats it! knock on wood

I change the oil myself a few times then take it to toyota for the whole oil/lube job.

what else is recommended for a truck with my mileage on it? No need for timing chain replacement in my V6 correct?

 

[DocMT]

Plugs changed after 30K??

I got 80k on my 06 Sports Ed. V6 4x4, haven't touched the plugs at all and it runs great. Thinking about giving the MAF sensor a shot of the cleaner, but other than oil changes, tires, alignment, brakes, and 2 front rotors thats it! knock on wood

I change the oil myself a few times then take it to toyota for the whole oil/lube job.

what else is recommended for a truck with my mileage on it? No need for timing chain replacement in my V6 correct?

You are way overdue for plugs. I'd change them soon if I were you.

There is no scheduled maintenance for the timing chains on the V6. The V8 uses a timing belt and does have a maintenance interval (just in case a V8 owner reads this and didn't know).

 

[DocMT]

Have any of you flushed transmission, power steering, or differential fluid?

Not yet, but I'm planning on doing my front differential, transfer case/center differential, and rear differential very soon.

 

[TOYLUVA]

What happened to the transmission?

check out my thread " is my tranny history?" i dont really know. internal failure under normal driving conditions.

 

[DaveS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveS ?

Replaced the parking brake mechanism within the rear hubs around 80,000
Replaced one of the front axle joints at around 88,000 miles
New intermediate steering shaft at around 90,000 miles

How did you know that stuff needed to be replaced?

____
Parking brake mechanism broke when replacing rear rotors

Axle joint - tech picked it up mtce service - damaged enough that it would not allow him to grease the joint - driver feel was a sense of wandering on the road

Steering shaft - steering became heavy - felt notchy - heavier at some points than others - tech diagnosed in 15 minutes and since the repair the issue is now gone - my local dealership is actually very good at fixing things right first time thankfully and they gave me a break on price on this one given proximity to the axle work

 

[18A4Runner]

Can you tell us a little more about the issue? What happened? Your 4Runner wouldn't go into 4wd, so the dealer replaced the actuator? How much was the part & the labor? Did they say what caused the actuator to fail?

This happened to my 2006 SR5. I bought it used with 60K on it. Took it home and could not get 4WD to engage. I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the actuator free of charge and since they overlooked it and sold it to me under the auspice of a certified Toyota they gave me 4 tires of my choice for free to keep me from complaining to Big Toyota.

The head mechanic said that this was a pretty common problem which costs on average about $3000 to fix. However he explained that this is also a highly preventable problem with a bit of easy preventable maintenance. He suggested engaging 4WD HI and driving for a few miles at a minimum of once every two weeks and to engage 4WD LO and make a few loops around a parking lot to circulate the fluids and keep everything lubricated.

My 4Runner he guessed after a quick look at the actuator that the previous owner had most likely never engaged the 4WD function in the four years he owned it.

So as I saw so eloquently posted earlier "use it or lose it"

 

[EinVB]

This happened to my 2006 SR5. I bought it used with 60K on it. Took it home and could not get 4WD to engage. I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the actuator free of charge and since they overlooked it and sold it to me under the auspice of a certified Toyota they gave me 4 tires of my choice for free to keep me from complaining to Big Toyota.

The head mechanic said that this was a pretty common problem which costs on average about $3000 to fix. However he explained that this is also a highly preventable problem with a bit of easy preventable maintenance. He suggested engaging 4WD HI and driving for a few miles at a minimum of once every two weeks and to engage 4WD LO and make a few loops around a parking lot to circulate the fluids and keep everything lubricated.

My 4Runner he guessed after a quick look at the actuator that the previous owner had most likely never engaged the 4WD function in the four years he owned it.

So as I saw so eloquently posted earlier "use it or lose it"

That's good to know... Thanks!

For some reason I recall hearing from someone years ago that if you run your 4WD on dry pavement that you can damage the 4WD system... I'm no mechanic, but know some basic things and this doesn't make sense to me. Furthermore, the owner's manual makes no such warnings... so I guess that was complete BS!

 

[DocMT]

That's good to know... Thanks!

For some reason I recall hearing from someone years ago that if you run your 4WD on dry pavement that you can damage the 4WD system... I'm no mechanic, but know some basic things and this doesn't make sense to me. Furthermore, the owner's manual makes no such warnings... so I guess that was complete BS!

The 4th gen 4Runner has a center differential. You can drive it in 4wd on dry pavement without any concerns. If you lock the center differential, then you should not drive on dry pavement because you can damage the system. So be careful.

 

[stanleybb50]

This whole thread doesn't say much in the way of T4R reliability IMO... I'm currently lookin to drop 20 large on a used runner soon in hopes of a long lasting reliable vehicle for many years to come, but this thread is makin me nervous... lol. Someone make me feel better! (Still buyin one soon tho either way and can't wait to find her....!)

**edit... sorry for reviving an old thread...

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

 

[krravi]

2007 SR5 4WD. 55000 miles.

Replaced iridium spark plugs at 30k myself.
Oil change and tire rotation at 5k intervals.
Wheel alignments, twice.
Replaced melted rear door hatch handle under warranty.
Replaced differential and transfer case fluid.
Lubed the shaft drive with grease.
------------------------------

Things i plan on doing
- giving the front a little lift to level with the back
- Front Crash bar with big fog lights
- Get it professionally detailed topped off with the Toyota Paint protection/sealant( i found this to be the best. Even better than meguiars)
- Navigation/better speakers
- New Tires.


And thats all i have done.Gives me 365 miles per tank and i do around 70-75 on the highway and engage 4WD every time it rains to keep them lubed and to prevent tire slippage on sharp turns.

As for the design, my colleague just shelled out around 48k for the brand new 4Runner after trading in his 2003 sports limited edition.

Its a little boxy though there are a ton of new features like KDSS, crawl control etc... 20 HP more too.

But i think our 4Runner is a classic design. Not too brash or aggresive nor feeble. Just the right smug confidence of a highly capable vehicle.

 

[DaveS]

I live in an area where the frost heave is so extreme it feels like I am offroading every day on my way to work - that accounts for a lot of my problems plus the crazy amount of salt here probably accounts for the rest. For context I reckon I have spent 3k on repairs beyond regular mtce over 7 years and that is with crazy Canadian parts prices - I spent almost twice that on a domestic in the same period.. If it makes you feel better I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

 

[CookieRoe]

This whole thread doesn't say much in the way of T4R reliability IMO... I'm currently lookin to drop 20 large on a used runner soon in hopes of a long lasting reliable vehicle for many years to come, but this thread is makin me nervous... lol. Someone make me feel better! (Still buyin one soon tho either way and can't wait to find her....!)

**edit... sorry for reviving an old thread...

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

As with ANY VEHICLE ON EARTH, when the miles are around 100K miles, then certain items need to be addressed. No big deal. Otherwise, the 4Runner is one of the most reliable vehicles you can buy. (SUV/car or whatever)

 

[mdrudy]

That's what I thought too, but someone said 60K is the change interval. I could have sworn I read 100K somewhere.

In my 2007 Scheduled Maintenance Guide it says that the V8 plugs are not due until 120,000 miles. All of the the other intervals (30,60 and 90) are only for the V6.

And does anyone know when they started using the iridium plugs in the V8?

 

[Synister]

Coming up on 30k for my '09, bought it new with just under 12k (dealer vehicle) and have put 18k on it since May. Up until now the dealer has done all regular maintenance as part of the pre paid mx plan. The only thing Ive had to replace is the air filter. Im pretty stoked to get my hands dirty at 30k as I normally do most of my own wrenching. Plan to drain and fill both diffs and T-case with synthetic, new spark plugs, zerk lube, oil change, tire rotation, and replace cabin air filter. All these things are scheduled mx items with the exception of t-case/diff drain/fill and all fall easily in the DIY realm of maintenance. Many of the mx issues (i.e. driveline "clunk", seizing calipers, etc) are fairly minor (in comparison to known issues with similar domestic models), well known and with detailed fixes. While no vehicle is perfect, you could look at that as a benefit to buying an older, well established model. Who knows what surprises await with a 5th gen?