First of all, I'd like to say....by the sound of your post and how well you tolerate alot of the imperfections of the 4Runner...you and Mr.Tom sound like good men.
Let me start of by saying, I have been a Toyota customer since highschool. Everyone in my family has a Toyota. I have a 4Runner, my dad has my 94' 4Runner, my mom has a 2002 Camry, my sister has a 2007 Camry, my other sister has a Lexus RX330, and my brother has a 94' Supra Turbo, and a Corolla that just wont die! I purchased another Toyota because none of these cars mentioned ever gave us sulfur smells, noises, thumping/clanking, etc...NOT AT ALL! Dont beleive me, PM me and I'll personally take you on a ride in every single one of those cars. Now, I know cars that come from Japan....and I know how much pride and how well the quality is "suppose" to be. My 94' 4Runner has taken a beating like you wouldn't beleive...NO JOKE! My brothers Supra gets abused every single time he drives it, not to mention the punishment it gets from me when I take it out on the weekends. At the end of the day, both cars purrrrrr at idle, don't smell, dont even make a noise inside and out. For those who are saying, "Limited is just leather and Nav and etc..." No, its not! Watch the dealers carefully when servicing Limited, XLE, and other upscale versions versus the rest....you would be surprised. I have researched very well, and found TSB's left and right. But you see, thats the problem...my vehicle is a 2008. There isn't even a "used car" tab in edmunds for 2008 4Runners...let alone TSB's for a 2008? I have shown the morons at Toyota the TSB's for both 4Runners and Lexus GX's, and they're answer is: "if Toyota doesnt have a TSB for your year vehicle, we cant work on it!" and "Lexus and Toyota are two different companies, sorry!" Yet, if I had a USED GX (which costs less than a new 4Runner) and went back to the dealer and said, "hey, I smell sulfur, feel a thump, and hear all kinds of noises" they would be more than happy to service the car...as if I brought them candy or something. My point is, Toyota no longer cares about its customers and figures "ehh, they'll learn to live with it." As far as thinking I was getting a luxurious SUV that was well built....not so. A great 4X4 for going in 10feet of snow and mud, and climbing Mt. Kilaminjaro (however its spelled), and hunting lions in Africa where noises and clanks dont matter, then yes Toyota has succeeded there. Its funny how no one, not even the FTS's and now three dealerships cannot figure out my problems. The sulfur smell is caused by an alternative metal compound in the catalystic converter. Remember in Chemistry, when you combined sulfur and magnessium?...remember that really bad stink. Hmmmm, isnt that the stuff they use in the 4Runner cats? What happened to the nickel based metal, oh yeah it caused cancer to the workers, so lets just give them a shitty catalitic conv. it will cut costs and save lives. How is it that Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Acura, Honda, and the other manufacturers that have SUV's with big engines dont have a sulfur stink? This issue alone, drops the value of your car by almost $10k...google it...and guess what, there is a law about that. By the way, for those who really think Toyota won't buy my car back...please be patient, thats all I ask, as I will be more than happy to post my success all over this thread. Finally, for the 19yr kid who's parents got him a 4Runner <----that says it all!....mommy and daddy won't be around for ever son, and guess what, you better hope your 4Runner is still running after college...because cars aint cheap anymore wonderbread.
