SunPilot
New member
My sunroof rattles also! I wish there was more room under hood for extra battery, etc. The air box on my V-8 takes up a hell of a lot of room
What do you think is the 4Runner's weakest link?
- Thread starter SunPilot
- Start date
My sunroof rattles also! I wish there was more room under hood for extra battery, etc. The air box on my V-8 takes up a hell of a lot of room
ElZilcho
New member
Just my opinion but, the Achilles heel (for me) is the ECU location. On my 80 series if I was doing a water crossing and misjudged it I could stall the motor and once I got pulled out I could dry out the distributor cap, blow the water out of the plugs, and I'd be on my way. (Assuming I didn't go charging in like an idiot and hydro-lock the motor.)
On the 4 gen 4runner if you misjudge a water crossing and stall out, water gets to the ECU and your hooped. Stranded. No field fix. You're getting towed home or your leaving a mystery truck in the woods for someone to find in a few years.
That's the only chink in the armor I can think of. Most everything else either has a field fix (blown axles/diffs/prop shafts), an aftermarket upgrade (skid plates), or is avoidable (timing belt/general maintenance).
...some would say water crossings are avoidable too; but I wouldn't.
On the 4 gen 4runner if you misjudge a water crossing and stall out, water gets to the ECU and your hooped. Stranded. No field fix. You're getting towed home or your leaving a mystery truck in the woods for someone to find in a few years.
That's the only chink in the armor I can think of. Most everything else either has a field fix (blown axles/diffs/prop shafts), an aftermarket upgrade (skid plates), or is avoidable (timing belt/general maintenance).
...some would say water crossings are avoidable too; but I wouldn't.
Severe Rust and Calipers seizing. Obviously not a problem for the drier climates. How a recall or class action lawsuit has never happened is beyond me for the calipers. At least a newly designed caliper would be nice from toyota. I'm not a fan of the VSC engaging and cutting power to the engine when I need it either.
SunPilot
New member
Being out here in the desert, rust is not an issue. It does seem a lot of people complain about it though. I wonder why Toyota doesn't do a better job of rust prevention on an expensive machine like this, especially when a lot of them will be subjected to off road use in less than ideal conditions.
Based on my experience with mine, the transfer case actuator. What a crappy design. The domestics had their issues with electronic actuators in the 80's and 90's, but they pretty much figured them out by the 2000's. Not to mention, when they did fail, it was a $100 part (or less) and could be replaced in 30 minutes. Not Toyota, they decided to complicate the crap out of shifting a transfer case. Especially when it's already a full time system, I just want to be able to trust that it will shift to low range when I want it to.
I've had two 80 series LandCruisers and they had levers that just worked. I would love to have a lever in my 4Runner. Bitter much???:lmao:
Jack
I've had two 80 series LandCruisers and they had levers that just worked. I would love to have a lever in my 4Runner. Bitter much???:lmao:
Jack
Currently working on a rear differential problem right now. At 130k. The other problem people seem to have a lot is the 4wd actuators.
HCWatson997
New member
Knock on wood, I’m at 267,500 with no issues so far and I’ve had it for nearly 50,000 so far
SunPilot
New member
Good for you. Keep it rollin'
