Toyota reliability

Register to hide this ad
A few months back I posted that a coworker who drove a company vehicle (2011 Toyota Sienna) that went close to 360K miles on the original transmission fluid before it failed. Yes, 360K miles without changing the transmission fluid, ever.
That is amazing if you ask me. Here is the link to the thread...

Toyota Longevity

Basically everything was all original beside engine oil, filters, power steering pump, water pump, brakes and tires. He did nothing else on that mini van.
 
Last edited:
I’ve driven tons of miles in Toyotas since 1982. Actual break/fix items have been very few, and often self-inflicted. For example, flushing the OEM red out of my cooling system and replacing with Prestone green with silicates, then having a water pump failure 15,000 miles later. Duh.

There are lots of gripes on here about not enough horsepower, “dated” engines and transmissions, “outdated” tech, etc. But their 4Runner still starts and runs every day. Sometimes it’s like the insane reliability is taken for granted, and that Toyotas should be head and shoulders above every competing vehicle in every other aspect as well, for a lower price. Reliability in a Toyota is an expected thing.

If reliability were treated as a feature, and you stack-ranked all common features of all vehicles, in my book it would be feature #1. And Toyota would own it.
 
JD Power is a publicity firm. There's nothing to trust there.

That being said, the 4Runner has been known to be extremely reliable.
 
Always heard about the great Toyota reliability, so my first was a new 1992 pickup with the infamous 22RE engine. Oil changed religiously using Mobil 1 since new. Threw its timing chain at 49000 miles just out of warranty. Toyota was “kind” enough to pay for half the parts ;-(
A decade and a half later, I bought my brother’s 1997 4Runner with 100K miles on it. Drove it about 60K more miles and handed it down to my daughter and it now has ~200K on it. Other than the usual stuff (Battery’s, timing belt and water pump, brakes, etc.), it has required a radiator, starter (twice), blower motor, AC compressor, one fuel injector, various oil leaks fixed (and needs another one now), brake master cylinder, rear axle seal.
So I’d say it has done no better or worse many other makes/models of cars. However, it has never left either one of us stranded, and I loved driving that old 3rd gen more than any other car I’ve ever owned. Bought a Honda CRV after I handed down the 3rd gen, but had problems with that car that Honda wouldn’t/couldn’t fix, so traded it for a 5th gen 4Runner last year.
It’s been good so far, other than a whining rear differential that Toyota replaced under warranty THAT ALSO WHINES :hurt:
 
BlakeA said:
Always heard about the great Toyota reliability, so my first was a new 1992 pickup with the infamous 22RE engine. Oil changed religiously using Mobil 1 since new. Threw its timing chain at 49000 miles just out of warranty. Toyota was “kind” enough to pay for half the parts ;-(
A decade and a half later, I bought my brother’s 1997 4Runner with 100K miles on it. Drove it about 60K more miles and handed it down to my daughter and it now has ~200K on it. Other than the usual stuff (Battery’s, timing belt and water pump, brakes, etc.), it has required a radiator, starter (twice), blower motor, AC compressor, one fuel injector, various oil leaks fixed (and needs another one now), brake master cylinder, rear axle seal.
So I’d say it has done no better or worse many other makes/models of cars. However, it has never left either one of us stranded, and I loved driving that old 3rd gen more than any other car I’ve ever owned. Bought a Honda CRV after I handed down the 3rd gen, but had problems with that car that Honda wouldn’t/couldn’t fix, so traded it for a 5th gen 4Runner last year.
It’s been good so far, other than a whining rear differential that Toyota replaced under warranty THAT ALSO WHINES :hurt:
Click to expand...
Geez you’ve had a lot of trouble. I’ve put over 1.3 million miles on maybe 12 Toyotas with less than half the problems you’ve had. Timing chain? Starter? AC compressor? Axle seal? Never a problem with any of those.
 
thennen said:
Geez you’ve had a lot of trouble. I’ve put over 1.3 million miles on maybe 12 Toyotas with less than half the problems you’ve had. Timing chain? Starter? AC compressor? Axle seal? Never a problem with any of those.
Click to expand...

These are all known issues on the 3rd gen, especially once they hit over 200k.
 
A few outliers but Toyota’s are generally very dependable. Although most cars can be very reliable if taken care of properly since new Toyota’s just seem to handle it better
 
Over 7 years/86,000 miles on the road with mine. Only thing I’ve replaced is a battery (outside of brakes, tires, and oil changes).
 
Toyota is garbage. It'll be in the shop (assuming it makes it to the shop without flipping over and catching fire) more than it's on the road. Anyone looking at a 4Runner should go buy a Jeep instead.

:peep::banplease::laugh:
 
Hey. Like any car, of course there will be questions that need to be addressed. In general, I think this car is one of the most hardy and roomy
 
Just my thoughts... Let the market speak to the OP's question.

Look at resale values of Toyota vehicles (e.g.4Runner, LandCruiser), even compared to their Lexus brethren. The 4Runners depreciate less than almost any other relatively new vehicle. The why is at the heart of the OP's question. Why do even Lexus GX models depreciate so much more than the Toyota options?

In 1999 I bought a 1986 FJ60 for roughly 50% of what the original owner bought it new for in 1986. Twenty years later, in 2019, I sold it for under 25% less than the original owner bought it new for and it had 200,000 miles on it. Yes, it was in great shape and properly maintained, but what other manufacturer can produce results like that? Granted this is a niche market.

(These valuations do not reflect the differences in the value of a dollar over that same time period, so YMMV greatly)

When I looked at options for replacing that 35yo FJ60, some late model used 4Runners were being sold for at or near what I could buy a brand new 4Runner for from a dealer, so I bought a new TRD ORP.
 
Yeah, I'm not exactly a kool-aid drinker when it comes to Toyota reliability based on my experience with my 3rd gen and now my 4th gen.

However, and it's a big however, I think most of the issues I've run into are just the deal with having a higher mileage truck. So there's that.

My 4Runner is in the shop today in fact because of some mysterious MAF sensor code getting thrown and put into limp mode. My 4th gen has kind of been a nightmare.
 
atalarico said:
Yeah, I'm not exactly a kool-aid drinker when it comes to Toyota reliability based on my experience with my 3rd gen and now my 4th gen.

However, and it's a big however, I think most of the issues I've run into are just the deal with having a higher mileage truck. So there's that.

My 4Runner is in the shop today in fact because of some mysterious MAF sensor code getting thrown and put into limp mode. My 4th gen has kind of been a nightmare.
Click to expand...
Did you buy your 4Runners new?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 296 (members: 1, guests: 295)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,306
Messages
3,554,046
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top