my 4runner is too damn reliable
- Thread starter Gecko123
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BlackWorksInc
New member
WoW... WXMan you have a problem child, I won't deny you that! That's a rare occurance for sure..
But then again... I don't remember Toyotas losing wheels at 70 mph because of bad quality wheel bearings (Durango), or cracking their frames every time you go off-roading in them (GC.) Toyotas are engineered better than most any Chrysler product made, Jeeps included; though the older Wranglers and even the newer ones when they aren't falling apart are nice too.
Toyota's Rust issue is well documented also, I have no clue why they didn't make a better undercoating from the factory, but the majority of those rust claims revolve around the old Pick-Ups, T100's, and Tundras; but do extend into alot of the other truck/SUV platforms. But then again I have seen GM trucks barely held together by rust from the salt belts (I deal with used cars so I see a health cross section of all brands) we're talking the frame and body is flaking so badly I can hit it lightly with a hammer and it bends and sheds metal like a dog in summer.
Many people have documented that Toyotas have a better over all Quality than most car brands, its not a "we made this **** up claim. If Chry Corp was such a great company, then why are they called Fiat now? I know I pick on them a lot on this forum and in general, but with good reason; out of all the brands I deal with BMW and Chrysler are the largest amount of mechanical, electrical, and quality failures I see going back from the early 90's to present. For ****'s sake the 5.7l Hemi's drop valve seats because they overbored the hole in the cylinderhead! I have one sitting on our lot that dropped one seat and has 3 more almost sliding out completely! Unfortunately, when we looked into it it is not at all a rare occurrence!
BMW? Oh with the locking their customers INSIDE their vehicles, because of mostly electronic door lock mechanisms, VANOS failures ranging from leaking to out right kablooey; or how about the majority of exhaust lifter issues they have? Lets not get into the 20+ revisions of their GDI injectors that STILL crack their tips and cause anything from fuel trim errors to blown turbos, I have 2 338i's with twin turbo failures all with less than 40k on the clock... hell, I'm a Toyota Tech and I repair more BMWs than I ever get to touch Toyotas anymore.
Lets not forget that blighted I-Drive system, who the hell thought that ridiculous pile of garbage up? I spend more time fiddling with that thing trying to change radio stations than keeping my eyes on the road! Not to mention trying to just check my damn oil level because someone thought it'd be a brilliant idea to get rid of a dipstick! Because what? 2oz of weight is THAT important on the bloated pigs we call modern cars?
Sorry if this got a bit ranty... but Toyota may not be the best manufacturer in the world, but they are a hell of a lot better than bottom of the barrel Chrys... I mean Fiat and BMW.
But then again... I don't remember Toyotas losing wheels at 70 mph because of bad quality wheel bearings (Durango), or cracking their frames every time you go off-roading in them (GC.) Toyotas are engineered better than most any Chrysler product made, Jeeps included; though the older Wranglers and even the newer ones when they aren't falling apart are nice too.
Toyota's Rust issue is well documented also, I have no clue why they didn't make a better undercoating from the factory, but the majority of those rust claims revolve around the old Pick-Ups, T100's, and Tundras; but do extend into alot of the other truck/SUV platforms. But then again I have seen GM trucks barely held together by rust from the salt belts (I deal with used cars so I see a health cross section of all brands) we're talking the frame and body is flaking so badly I can hit it lightly with a hammer and it bends and sheds metal like a dog in summer.
Many people have documented that Toyotas have a better over all Quality than most car brands, its not a "we made this **** up claim. If Chry Corp was such a great company, then why are they called Fiat now? I know I pick on them a lot on this forum and in general, but with good reason; out of all the brands I deal with BMW and Chrysler are the largest amount of mechanical, electrical, and quality failures I see going back from the early 90's to present. For ****'s sake the 5.7l Hemi's drop valve seats because they overbored the hole in the cylinderhead! I have one sitting on our lot that dropped one seat and has 3 more almost sliding out completely! Unfortunately, when we looked into it it is not at all a rare occurrence!
BMW? Oh with the locking their customers INSIDE their vehicles, because of mostly electronic door lock mechanisms, VANOS failures ranging from leaking to out right kablooey; or how about the majority of exhaust lifter issues they have? Lets not get into the 20+ revisions of their GDI injectors that STILL crack their tips and cause anything from fuel trim errors to blown turbos, I have 2 338i's with twin turbo failures all with less than 40k on the clock... hell, I'm a Toyota Tech and I repair more BMWs than I ever get to touch Toyotas anymore.
Lets not forget that blighted I-Drive system, who the hell thought that ridiculous pile of garbage up? I spend more time fiddling with that thing trying to change radio stations than keeping my eyes on the road! Not to mention trying to just check my damn oil level because someone thought it'd be a brilliant idea to get rid of a dipstick! Because what? 2oz of weight is THAT important on the bloated pigs we call modern cars?Sorry if this got a bit ranty... but Toyota may not be the best manufacturer in the world, but they are a hell of a lot better than bottom of the barrel Chrys... I mean Fiat and BMW.
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ddnww
New member
agree on the foreign, also add benz and rovers, idk bout the Chrysler, maybe the newer stuff. but I had a 92 Chrysler imperial I bought for $500 when I was younger and that was one of the best cars I ever owned. had over 200k and still purred like a kitten. although I love them, id say buy a GM if your looking for problems.Yeah it can get boring after a while.
Buy a BMW or Chrysler, you'll never have this problem with them.
Everybody is going to have an opinion on their vehicles. I've personally owned several Chryco and GM vehicles over the years. Earlier Chryco vehicles were very reliable...especially that Slant-6 engine. But they also rusted out. EVERY CHRYCO car from the 60's and 70's I owned..or relative owned or someone I knew owned..or one I passed on the road...ALL HAD RUSTED FRONT FENDERS...at the top near the windshield...EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Toyota/Nissan/Honda all had major rust problems right up to the early 90's. But they no longer rust out like they use to. Here in the New Hampshire..we do get our fair share of snow and use of salt...And my 05 4runner with over 230k miles has ZERO body rust. And the rust it does have on bolts and such is minimal.
While every manufacturer does have problems....I've found that Toyota/Nissan and Honda have far fewer problems then GM or Chryco or Ford. Chryco being the worse of the three. My brother-in-law is a retired Chryco Executive. He drives a Honda. He and his two sons own a Heating and AC service company. All 4 of the trucks are Toyota. He had Dodge trucks, but they were so unreliable....he switched to Toyota.
What I've found over the years is if you keep your vehicle for only 100k miles then any manufacturer will do. But I tend to keep my vehicles well past 200k miles. Most past 300k miles and a few past 400k miles. I don't want to keep repairing a vehicle every other week. My Toyota's/Lexus, Nissans and Honda's have met that challenge. My wifes 96 Honda Accord was about the most reliable vehicle I've ever seen. After over 240k miles when we gave it to my niece for college....I put a total of $4 in repairs (not including PM like brakes/tires/battery...etc). I've yet to see any vehicle with that repair record. My 4runner is close to that. The one exception is the damn calipers. If the calipers didn't have this issue of getting stuck all the time...it would be right up there with the Accord. The calipers are the ONLY repair I ever had to do.
Toyota/Nissan/Honda all had major rust problems right up to the early 90's. But they no longer rust out like they use to. Here in the New Hampshire..we do get our fair share of snow and use of salt...And my 05 4runner with over 230k miles has ZERO body rust. And the rust it does have on bolts and such is minimal.
While every manufacturer does have problems....I've found that Toyota/Nissan and Honda have far fewer problems then GM or Chryco or Ford. Chryco being the worse of the three. My brother-in-law is a retired Chryco Executive. He drives a Honda. He and his two sons own a Heating and AC service company. All 4 of the trucks are Toyota. He had Dodge trucks, but they were so unreliable....he switched to Toyota.
What I've found over the years is if you keep your vehicle for only 100k miles then any manufacturer will do. But I tend to keep my vehicles well past 200k miles. Most past 300k miles and a few past 400k miles. I don't want to keep repairing a vehicle every other week. My Toyota's/Lexus, Nissans and Honda's have met that challenge. My wifes 96 Honda Accord was about the most reliable vehicle I've ever seen. After over 240k miles when we gave it to my niece for college....I put a total of $4 in repairs (not including PM like brakes/tires/battery...etc). I've yet to see any vehicle with that repair record. My 4runner is close to that. The one exception is the damn calipers. If the calipers didn't have this issue of getting stuck all the time...it would be right up there with the Accord. The calipers are the ONLY repair I ever had to do.
Jeffs386fla
New member
I hope the Toyota is reliable.I have always been a GM owner and have had ZERO issues,my work van is a 2005 Express 2500 that has over 250,000 miles and still runs like new uses no oil and even looks great(except for a bit of pain peeling on the hood) we really were looking to get a new Tahoe when we bought this 4Runner and its only our second Toyota ever,the first was a 06 Camry that I was a bit disappointed with but it did run great.
emelianenkov
New member
I have an 05 with 63k
I am on my 4th set of inner tie rods, I have failing O2 sensors, bad front wheel bearings, change my calipers and rotors annually due to seizing and warping, I have frozen LCA bolts, a whining engine, an exhaust leak (sounds like a weedwhacker when I drive with my windows open haha)... I'm on my second transmission, alternator, and starter. Bolts shear off constantly, I'm on my 3rd set of factory skids, the frame rust is terrible for a 9 year old vehicle, but I live in New England, so I brought that upon myself.
All of this is my fault, but God this is quite the money pit. I still would not trade my truck for the world. She will be in my family until it rusts out. It'll be a trail rig someday
I do have to say, for the amount of abuse I give my truck, it handles it like a freakin champ! Lets see any other vehicle stand up to the emelianenkov torment/torture tests
I am on my 4th set of inner tie rods, I have failing O2 sensors, bad front wheel bearings, change my calipers and rotors annually due to seizing and warping, I have frozen LCA bolts, a whining engine, an exhaust leak (sounds like a weedwhacker when I drive with my windows open haha)... I'm on my second transmission, alternator, and starter. Bolts shear off constantly, I'm on my 3rd set of factory skids, the frame rust is terrible for a 9 year old vehicle, but I live in New England, so I brought that upon myself.
All of this is my fault, but God this is quite the money pit. I still would not trade my truck for the world. She will be in my family until it rusts out. It'll be a trail rig someday
I do have to say, for the amount of abuse I give my truck, it handles it like a freakin champ! Lets see any other vehicle stand up to the emelianenkov torment/torture tests
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I have to admit I do like the styling and handling of German cars and have always been tempted to get a used BMW but I know it will come with a lot of headaches
To be honest I don't really like the looks of most Toyotas. The 4runner is different. It looks good and is reliable, hence the high resale value. What else can you ask for?
To be honest I don't really like the looks of most Toyotas. The 4runner is different. It looks good and is reliable, hence the high resale value. What else can you ask for?
preacher35
New member
Geez.... Seriously? Yes, it has the "big sun roof". Good grief I hate the Acadia! I hate driving it. I hate constantly arguing with the dealer over it. And I absolutely hate how it mucks up the look of my T4R when sitting next to it on the driveway.
emelianenkov
New member
God invented fire for scenarios like this. BURN THAT AMERICAN POS CAR
TRDCal
New member
Need a hug?
Not ever vehicle is going to be a gem, it needs to be taken care of. Sounds like your 4runner wasn't and you didn't do a very good pre-buy inspection OR your an @sshole and karma is out to get you 
RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
My 3rd gen has been the most reliable car I've owned since I bought my first vehicle back in '87. I bought my '99 in '04 with 97k on the odo and it needed new front discs and rear axle seals and in the 9 years and 81k miles I've owned it my fix-it list has included:
Rear and transfer case seals replaced
Coil pack shorted out
starter replaced
And another set of axle seals just recently
and soon I need to replace my headlamp due to a seal leak
And my major maintenance has only included new coils/shocks and TB and waterpump but otherwise it's been business as usual with this truck which has been great considering it gets used during off road/camping season and is my DD.
I've considered selling it here and there but I just can't bring myself to let such a reliable vehicle go.
Rear and transfer case seals replaced
Coil pack shorted out
starter replaced
And another set of axle seals just recently
and soon I need to replace my headlamp due to a seal leak
And my major maintenance has only included new coils/shocks and TB and waterpump but otherwise it's been business as usual with this truck which has been great considering it gets used during off road/camping season and is my DD.
I've considered selling it here and there but I just can't bring myself to let such a reliable vehicle go.
The other thing to watch out for on the Acadia is the timing chains. The Enclave/Acadia/Traverse eat timing chains like you or I eat breakfast. And people wonder why I jumped ship to 4Runner a few weeks ago?
I should know I purchased a car with GM's HF V6 too a 2012 Impala LTZ it was a lot of car for the money but it already had a defective high pressure fuel pump replaced... (I actually do like the car for 22K I got a brand new car with a V6 and leather seats! Yes I know the value on them drop like bricks but I won't be selling it!) Long story - it was very bad for GM it cost them a Tahoe sale! I bought what I really wanted in size and price a midsize BOF SUV. Luckily if you change your oil every 3-5K or every six months whatever comes first you shouldn't have a problem on the Acadia if it has the revised part.
If the timing chains haven't gone and you have been going more than 5K between oil changes they will fail too. Luckily you have a 5 year 100K on the engine/trans. Actually on my Impala if they go they can get to them without dropping the engine out... On an Acadia you won't be so lucky to get to the timing chains - you have to drop the entire engine out below the vehicle. Not covered under warranty it is a two thousand dollar repair.
Best of luck with the Acadia. I just thought as a "GM man" who just bought a 4Runner I would provide some insight. The Acadia does ride and drive a lot more like a car than a 4Runner but they don't tow worth a darn and get fuel economy that rivals a 4Runner.
Brazenhead
New member
Trade it in for another 4th gen T4R, while it still has some value. I've got a friend who's sister owns an Acadia and she's on the third engine with less than 60,000 kms on the vehicle. Wtf? I don't know the details behind these failures but I do know that's fvcked up!
I purchased my 05' SE 4Runner brand new with only 30miles on it in Feb. 2005. I've also been very lucky to not have any issues with it since I bought it. It runs as good as the day I bought it. I've logged on 94,500 miles on it. I do hear a high pitched sound on the front driver side tire when I press on the brakes. I'm assumming it's a caliper, but the Toyota dealer can't replicate the sound when they check it out. It comes and goes. From what I've read in this forum, I'll have to replace it eventually. No biggie. The truck is paid for and I'm going to drive it til the wheels fall off. Literally.
redbull9944
New member
Just wondering if you were a previous J**p owner...:heh:I have it for 3+ years now and nothing breaks down on it. This is crazy.
20034RunnerV84x2
New member
I have a 2003 SR5 V8 2WD. Other than a frozen front pass side caliper, problem free (except for the VSC/ TRAC which won't accept a 0PC, no idea why) and tires (2 sets in less than 2 years, replacing this them this week hopefully) and a break Job which is routine, problem free. I've put 27,017 miles on her in less than 2 years of ownership.
My cousins had a 2012 Durango that had an engine knock at 3,000 miles. Chrysler wouldn't fix it so they filed lemon law and won. After that they bought a 2013 Sequoia Limited 4WD. It now has something like 6,000 miles and not a single issue.
I love the styling of most BMW's but the problems aren't worth it.
My cousins had a 2012 Durango that had an engine knock at 3,000 miles. Chrysler wouldn't fix it so they filed lemon law and won. After that they bought a 2013 Sequoia Limited 4WD. It now has something like 6,000 miles and not a single issue.
I love the styling of most BMW's but the problems aren't worth it.
No I wasn't.
My parents had a 1991 jeep Cherokee but didn't really encounter too many issues that I know of
My first car was a 1981 toyota celica, ver reliable. Then I bought a 1990 GTI, very fun to drive but lots of small electrical problems. Then a 1995 Passat and that was a mistake, poor transmission. Sold it and got a Camry, very reliable but somewhat of a boring car. Now with the 4runner I get the best of both worlds, the car looks nice and is reliable.
This is a timely thread for me. My 2005 4Runner ticked 100k miles today. Other than maintenance my only repairs have been hub assembly's. Front left went at 90k. Front right is starting to go. I have a small amount of rust developing on the hood and back door, but it's very minimal. Overall it has been very reliable and I plan to keep it until at least 200k. My other car is a 2009 Lexus ES 350. It's hard to beat Toyota reliability. I owned a 2008 BMW 535i, loved it, but it had issues.
WXman
New member
Need a hug?
In all my years of experience, the @ssholes are the ones who lie to people and contribute to pushing the Toyota propaganda.
How many times in this thread do I have to state that my 4R was a one owner rig that WAS well taken care of, was taken to a Toyota dealer for maintenance and service all it's life, and has all the records? I looked at quite a few and this one was the best specimen I could find.
And yet, it's riddled with problems. Again (for the second time in this thread) I don't point this out to say I hate my truck. I love this thing actually. I point this out to show that Toyotas are not made out of gold like many people would have you to believe. They have issues just like anything else you can buy.
