Looking to buy a 3rd gen - how many miles are too many?
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quicksilvr
New member
How many miles are too many? I probably wouldn't buy a 3rd gen 4runner with 400K miles or more. Anything under 400K, if the price was right and the truck was right, I'd be game.
I have a 98 4runner. It has 252,000 miles on it.
I used it hard. Drove a lot in the snow, and towed by 5000 lb boat up and down a 7200 foot mountain regularly. Also, I drove a heavily loaded trailer to and from Cal to Ok, and back.
I changed oil every 7500 miles until I converted to mobil 1 and now change it every 15,000 miles.
I do change the transmission fluid by draining it at every oil change.
I put in a new radiator recently, starter, attena, and one rear axel oil seal.
The car still runs well and I do not plan to sell it any time soon.
Hope this helps in your decision making.
I used it hard. Drove a lot in the snow, and towed by 5000 lb boat up and down a 7200 foot mountain regularly. Also, I drove a heavily loaded trailer to and from Cal to Ok, and back.
I changed oil every 7500 miles until I converted to mobil 1 and now change it every 15,000 miles.
I do change the transmission fluid by draining it at every oil change.
I put in a new radiator recently, starter, attena, and one rear axel oil seal.
The car still runs well and I do not plan to sell it any time soon.
Hope this helps in your decision making.
Smog-guy707
New member
mine has 220k ish and going storng and tow 2 yamah waverunners and the time and take it to the snow a few times a year. it has never let me down.
i didnt have any plans for mods either
i didnt have any plans for mods either
brian2sun
Elite Member
I bash the crap outta mine on rocks weekly and I have only replaced chassis parts that I would have anyways under Toyota's general maintenance recommendations for a 200K vehicle. I'm actually still on all my original u-joints. If I can put my truck through what I have, I think these trucks would last practically forever if you only drove them in the city.
I love driving my 212K 4runner.. to work, to the store, to other states, anywhere. I've had it for 10 years and don't see myself selling it for at least another 10 years, maybe never. We're not talking about Explorers here, 150K is puberty for a Toyota.
Nunyabiz
New member
I am also in Raleigh and just bought my 4Runner about 2 months ago with 157,xxx miles on it.
Runs like a top, all I have needed to do mechanically to it is replace all the fluids with synthetic and I need to change the water pump because it is the original water pump with almost 160K miles on it.
But other than that the original owner seemed to take very good care of it so I have no problem with it having almost 160,000 miles on it.
I don't put that many miles per year my vehicle so with less than 8,000 miles a year on average I figure I should get at least 12-15 more years out of it maybe much longer before needing any serious engine work.
One thing I have found out is that living in Raleigh is hard on your gas mileage because if you aren't going UP hill only means your going down getting ready to go up, no flat driving around here at all.
I had to drive out to Charlotte to find my 4Runner, everything I saw anywhere near here was driven hard and put away wet and absolutely nothing looked worth buying unless it was at Carmax with a starting price of $13K.
I went and looked at dozens of 4Runners at dealerships and a couple from private parties and all were dead stock, high miles, beaten to hell and anything less than 8K wasn't even worth looking at.
I saw one at a dealership on Capital Blvd that they wanted $7,900 for, had over 150K, was a 2000 "looked" good in the online photo but I got there and I literally had to laugh, the thing was destroyed inside and out, tires bald not even legal they were so bad, was so far out of alignment I could see it as I walked up to it and the interior looked like they drove into Africa and let it sit there for a year or two with the doors open.
Needless to say it was very discouraging to hunt for 4runners in this area.
My advise unless you already know of one you are interested in, is to look only for private party to buy from and look on craigslist and autotrader etc and look in EVERY area in as far away as you are willing to travel to look at it.
That is how I found mine, I widened my search to the entire state and even into Virginia and South Carolina and was actually even looking at some vehicles on the West Coast in Oregon.
Found one in Charlotte at about 2:30am he had just put it up for sale about 4-5 hours earlier, I emailed him immediately gave him my phone number he called about 7am, I said I will be there in Charlotte by noon with cash in hand. Got there and the 4Runner was best I had seen by far at any price, checked it out, drove it about 30 minutes, put in 4 wheel drive a few times, asked him what is bottom dollar was he said $7,700 I said sold didn't even try to haggle at all.
Runs like a top, all I have needed to do mechanically to it is replace all the fluids with synthetic and I need to change the water pump because it is the original water pump with almost 160K miles on it.
But other than that the original owner seemed to take very good care of it so I have no problem with it having almost 160,000 miles on it.
I don't put that many miles per year my vehicle so with less than 8,000 miles a year on average I figure I should get at least 12-15 more years out of it maybe much longer before needing any serious engine work.
One thing I have found out is that living in Raleigh is hard on your gas mileage because if you aren't going UP hill only means your going down getting ready to go up, no flat driving around here at all.
I had to drive out to Charlotte to find my 4Runner, everything I saw anywhere near here was driven hard and put away wet and absolutely nothing looked worth buying unless it was at Carmax with a starting price of $13K.
I went and looked at dozens of 4Runners at dealerships and a couple from private parties and all were dead stock, high miles, beaten to hell and anything less than 8K wasn't even worth looking at.
I saw one at a dealership on Capital Blvd that they wanted $7,900 for, had over 150K, was a 2000 "looked" good in the online photo but I got there and I literally had to laugh, the thing was destroyed inside and out, tires bald not even legal they were so bad, was so far out of alignment I could see it as I walked up to it and the interior looked like they drove into Africa and let it sit there for a year or two with the doors open.
Needless to say it was very discouraging to hunt for 4runners in this area.
My advise unless you already know of one you are interested in, is to look only for private party to buy from and look on craigslist and autotrader etc and look in EVERY area in as far away as you are willing to travel to look at it.
That is how I found mine, I widened my search to the entire state and even into Virginia and South Carolina and was actually even looking at some vehicles on the West Coast in Oregon.
Found one in Charlotte at about 2:30am he had just put it up for sale about 4-5 hours earlier, I emailed him immediately gave him my phone number he called about 7am, I said I will be there in Charlotte by noon with cash in hand. Got there and the 4Runner was best I had seen by far at any price, checked it out, drove it about 30 minutes, put in 4 wheel drive a few times, asked him what is bottom dollar was he said $7,700 I said sold didn't even try to haggle at all.
josh.bunch
New member
I bought mine in 2007 with 142000. Today I have 267K. No plans to get rid of it. If you change fluids regularly I dont see why they can't last forever. When I go to salvage yards around me i hardly ever see Runners. I went to 15 yards last weekend and saw 4 runners of any generation. There is a reason why they are not there and still on the road.
BrianSD_42
New member
just be prepared for it to break down. a lot of the guys on this forum fix and maintain their own trucks.
there are a lot of people who run into major set backs starting around 120-130k miles.
I have listed all my maintenance in the beginning of my build thread, link is below.
there are a lot of people who run into major set backs starting around 120-130k miles.
I have listed all my maintenance in the beginning of my build thread, link is below.
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
I agree with this. Seems like a lot of guys have great luck with 3rd gens. They typically get excellent ratings for reliability. But there are duds out there, and I think mine is one of them. Since I got it a year ago, there has never been a time where it didnt have some sort of issue, and I drive the think like a grandma. I dont think the miles will really indicate the condition of the vehicle, but rather how it has been maintained and used througout those miles. You could get one with 200k miles that goes another 200k. Or you could get one with 100k that turns into a money pit. A lot of the guys on the site beat there's up off roading, and claim it does great. But I would never buy a 4runner that has been used off road extensively. I learned a lot from my purchase, and a few things I would check are:
-Tranny fluid oil. Is it a healthy red, or is it brown to dark brown, which might indicated it has been neglected. And this could mean a tranny failure in the near future.
-Steering rack. See if it has a bad leak, or any movement. A new one is over $600. And a rebuilt one is risky. I paid 300 for a rebuilt rack, and it was absolute trash.
-Front end tightness. Mine has a lot of front end vibrations and shakes. Iv put a lot of time and money into this with new front end components, and it still hasnt been fixed. If you search the site you will find several threads on this. Seems to become an issue with a lot of guys. BE SURE to drive it on the highway before you buy to make sure it is smooth.
-Intervals between oil changes.
These are just a few, and Im sure a true expert would have other criteria to check. But I could have saved a ton of money had I known to look for these issues when I bought mine. So maybe this will save you time and money in the long run.
