What to Look for When Buying a Used 4th Gen

[wolverine_man]

Please let me know if this has already been covered, but I did do a search first and found no such thread.

I am shopping for a used 4th Gen T4R (either 2004 or 2005) due to my financial resources. I am also not looking at anything over 45k miles. I understand some subtle differences like the 5-speed on the '05 V6, etc. What I am looking for is advice on things (if any) which might go wrong in the mile range or on those particular years. I did not find any recalls, as I thought would be the case.

Thanks

Damien

 

[Even Steven]

Please let me know if this has already been covered, but I did do a search first and found no such thread.

I am shopping for a used 4th Gen T4R (either 2004 or 2005) due to my financial resources. I am also not looking at anything over 45k miles. I understand some subtle differences like the 5-speed on the '05 V6, etc. What I am looking for is advice on things (if any) which might go wrong in the mile range or on those particular years. I did not find any recalls, as I thought would be the case.

Thanks

Damien

The 4th generation 4Runner has been pretty much bulletproof in terms of reliability. In general, not much goes wrong with these vehicles.

Some of the more common complaints that you'll read about here are a sulfer smell from the exhaust system after hard acceleration. I believe Toyota will replace the catalytic converter to help remedy that complaint.

Some people also complain about a driveline clunk, which can be fixed by a few shots of grease into the slip yoke on the driveshaft. Again, not a real problem.

The only other thing that owners seem to complain about is that the factory sunroof can get stuck in its tracks and refuse to move. I've heard this often enough to believe it is somewhat common, but my own sunroof has never once given me a problem.

Other than that, I really don't think there are common issues with these vehicles. For all intents and purposes, the 4Runner has virtually no issues with its powertrain or 4wd system. I don't know if I've ever read an engine or transmission related complaint that wasn't something that was a completely isolated and unique issue to just one person.