MidnightOffRoad
New member
For the most part, I love my new 4R. I'm happy with my purchase and would make it again. But we can always make things better. Here's the things that Toyota got wrong.
*(I'm coming from a 2007 SR5) in a new 2018 TRD OffRoad
1) Cup Holders. The depth of the cup holders is about 2 inches. Seriously. And because the holders are fairly large to accommodate a lot of stuff, anything remotely tall runs the risk of either being knocked over inadvertently or tipping over in hard turn conditions.
2) The hangers above the rear doors are absolutely flimsy. Thinking about hanging more than a T shirt behind you? Don't. They're begging to be snapped off.
3) The pull weight of the rear hatch has gotten SLIGHTLY better, but there's no reason you should have to do a near pullup to get the hatch to come down. Toyota needs to tune the struts better. Hands free the rear hatch is fine. With 10 bags of groceries or both hands full trying to pull the hatch down with one finger is ridiculous sometimes.
4) Locking fuel cap. Or better yet, upgrade to the capless technology that everyone else is going to. Yes, I know the likelihood of someone stealing fuel or sabotaging your fuel system is low.
5) Rear lighting. Ever notice that the rear cargo area is darker than the inside of a cow at night? How much would it really cost to put a cargo light there? Seriously. I'll pay the extra $50 for a far rear light.
6) The black hole between the seats. This isn't exclusive to Toyota, but for some sadistic reason, the *******s who laid out the vehicle insist on a gap between the seats that eats objects (it particularly LOVES to eat cell phones) and it's big enough to eat, but small enough to prevent anyone that doesn't have toddler hands from reaching between the console and the seat. If you see a 4Runner on the side of the interstate with the flashers on, there's a 50% chance it's some poor guy who literally had to stop and spend 3 minutes with a flashlight trying to dig out his cell phone.
7) Oil filter relocation. Say it with me. Again, this isn't exclusive to Toyota and my maintenance is covered for years, but if you've ever had to change your oil, there's probably not a single person who hasn't cursed at the idiot engineer who insisted on locating the oil filter where it's either impossible to remove without getting oil on SOMETHING else, OR you have to devise some sort of catch. Oil filter relocation kits are not expensive and would be even cheaper if done from the manufacturer. Rather than use an oil boy and vacuum it out of the dipstick (which I also recommend), wouldn't it be easier if they just put the ****ing thing somewhere easy to access and easy to remove without making a mess?
8) The "oh shit" handles are in such a terrible location/position. How many of you have ridden in a 4R over rough terrain and thought ("this is probably the most uncomfortable and awkward place they could have put this handle. Not only is it in a weird location, the angle on the grip is wrong.
9) I'm spoiled with owning a vehicle that has an aftermarket computer/display which I can access any of the 90+ vehicle sensory output values. Everything from A/F ratio, knock timing, transmission temp, ambient intake temps, coolant temp, diff temp, tire pressure, and "accelerometer" which gives readouts in every direction (stopping, accelerating, turning). The vehicle is chocked full of sensors that all communicate back to the ECU. It would cost PEANUTS for Toyota to add an "app" to the infotainment screen that allowed the driver to monitor all sorts of information. Seems trivial, but it's better than some of the analog information you get on the gauges, more accurate and comes in really handy when say towing up and down hills where your trans is constantly shifting and you want to know it's temp. They already have SOME of this feature in the center display with the mpg metrics.
*(I'm coming from a 2007 SR5) in a new 2018 TRD OffRoad
1) Cup Holders. The depth of the cup holders is about 2 inches. Seriously. And because the holders are fairly large to accommodate a lot of stuff, anything remotely tall runs the risk of either being knocked over inadvertently or tipping over in hard turn conditions.
2) The hangers above the rear doors are absolutely flimsy. Thinking about hanging more than a T shirt behind you? Don't. They're begging to be snapped off.
3) The pull weight of the rear hatch has gotten SLIGHTLY better, but there's no reason you should have to do a near pullup to get the hatch to come down. Toyota needs to tune the struts better. Hands free the rear hatch is fine. With 10 bags of groceries or both hands full trying to pull the hatch down with one finger is ridiculous sometimes.
4) Locking fuel cap. Or better yet, upgrade to the capless technology that everyone else is going to. Yes, I know the likelihood of someone stealing fuel or sabotaging your fuel system is low.
5) Rear lighting. Ever notice that the rear cargo area is darker than the inside of a cow at night? How much would it really cost to put a cargo light there? Seriously. I'll pay the extra $50 for a far rear light.
6) The black hole between the seats. This isn't exclusive to Toyota, but for some sadistic reason, the *******s who laid out the vehicle insist on a gap between the seats that eats objects (it particularly LOVES to eat cell phones) and it's big enough to eat, but small enough to prevent anyone that doesn't have toddler hands from reaching between the console and the seat. If you see a 4Runner on the side of the interstate with the flashers on, there's a 50% chance it's some poor guy who literally had to stop and spend 3 minutes with a flashlight trying to dig out his cell phone.
7) Oil filter relocation. Say it with me. Again, this isn't exclusive to Toyota and my maintenance is covered for years, but if you've ever had to change your oil, there's probably not a single person who hasn't cursed at the idiot engineer who insisted on locating the oil filter where it's either impossible to remove without getting oil on SOMETHING else, OR you have to devise some sort of catch. Oil filter relocation kits are not expensive and would be even cheaper if done from the manufacturer. Rather than use an oil boy and vacuum it out of the dipstick (which I also recommend), wouldn't it be easier if they just put the ****ing thing somewhere easy to access and easy to remove without making a mess?
8) The "oh shit" handles are in such a terrible location/position. How many of you have ridden in a 4R over rough terrain and thought ("this is probably the most uncomfortable and awkward place they could have put this handle. Not only is it in a weird location, the angle on the grip is wrong.
9) I'm spoiled with owning a vehicle that has an aftermarket computer/display which I can access any of the 90+ vehicle sensory output values. Everything from A/F ratio, knock timing, transmission temp, ambient intake temps, coolant temp, diff temp, tire pressure, and "accelerometer" which gives readouts in every direction (stopping, accelerating, turning). The vehicle is chocked full of sensors that all communicate back to the ECU. It would cost PEANUTS for Toyota to add an "app" to the infotainment screen that allowed the driver to monitor all sorts of information. Seems trivial, but it's better than some of the analog information you get on the gauges, more accurate and comes in really handy when say towing up and down hills where your trans is constantly shifting and you want to know it's temp. They already have SOME of this feature in the center display with the mpg metrics.
