Would you buy again?
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blues
New member
I'm not a big guy...5'10", 175-180 lbs and I don't find the driver's seat all that comfortable either. Strangely, it seemed more comfortable before I tilted the front up slightly and increased the lumbar support. Too bad it doesn't have a memory setting...but it shouldn't be too hard to get it back to where it was when I drove it off the dealer lot. It's primarily the under butt padding or lack thereof that seems somewhat lacking to me. It's hard to express precisely or quantify.
Engineer
New member
Yes (in reality I wouldn't say yours is more capable but its certainly not less). I am not sure where people came up with the magic idea that putting new shocks on a 4runner make it any more capable. For a VERY VERY select few that might beat on them hard enough to overheat them a larger shock would make sense but if anyone thinks that slapping on OME, Icons, Radflo, Kind, Toytec , Bilsteins etc makes a 4runner any more cable to run trails in Moab or similar they are mistaken.
.....and yes I do have Radflo shocks and while I like them it is the one area where I think I would go a different direction if I was to do things over and have purchased cheaper, lower maintenance OME or 5100's to achieve the desired lift which was needed to clear 285's and spent the money elsewhere
The only option that I think truly gives any of the 4runners a leg up off-road is the TRD/Trail E-locker in the rear and even that for what most people do it doesn't matter.
I am 6'3" and 235lbs and find it comfortable. It is one of those "different strokes for different folks" things.
Not the most comfortable of course, I think a Tahoe I borrowed for a while once was more comfortable as was my 2007 f250.
That is what I came from, a 2003 Eddie Bauer Explorer with the v8. I liked that thing really, but too bad it was a POS or I would have still had it. It was a comfortable ride.
Trans went out at 72k, four wheel bearings replaced by 88k. It was losing water somewhere causing to fill up once a week. The back window strut was broke. After the trans was replaced, it started the same symptoms again at 113k.
I traded it in when the trans started messing up on what I thought I could get by with at the time (due to funds also), a Ford Edge, but thankfully I have excelled at the income thing and got my 4r two years later as that Edge was a miserable experience.
ST1FLER
Banned
The TRD suspension is nothing spectacular. You can achieve the same thing for a few hundred bucks. The only thing better on a pro from the showroom is AT tires.
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blues
New member
I had the V-8 as well w/ 4x4. Had to special order the 4x4 as the Miami dealer said he never got requests for it so didn't stock any. (I was still living and chasing bad guys in South FL back then but planned to relocate to the western NC mountains in two years.)
Mine was a low mileage vehicle but I could see the issues on the horizon which hadn't yet (for the most part) come to pass. I was going to trade it in at the Toyota dealer when I was purchasing my 4R for cash but on the day before both my UPS driver and local FedEx drivers offered to take it off my hands for the very small amount I intended to ask from the dealer. (Both guys are nice guys and I wanted to give them a good deal in case those "issues" with the Ford cropped up sooner rather than later. The UPS driver got it because he made the offer first.) So that's how I got rid of it, got the vehicle I'd wanted for quite some time and was able to remain friendly with both men. :zoom:
trying to decide
Had a 3rd Gen before, Have a FJ now... Trying to decide between a used 2015 TRD Pro, or a new 2018 TRD Offroad Prem, both are the same 40k price. I've never had a 5th Gen so I do not know how to compare, so far all I've been able to decipher is... the Pro, has no sunroof, and no sliding rear deck... the 2018 has sunroof, and deck, and no KDSS.
Other than that, im clueless and scratching my head.
Alternative is a full-size 2018 Silverado Midnight Edition LTZ Z71 but likely not since the thing is huge compared to what I drive now, and its 15k more lol, and not a Toyota, though it does have lifetime warranty and oilchanges.... Would be like driving a limo around.
Had a 3rd Gen before, Have a FJ now... Trying to decide between a used 2015 TRD Pro, or a new 2018 TRD Offroad Prem, both are the same 40k price. I've never had a 5th Gen so I do not know how to compare, so far all I've been able to decipher is... the Pro, has no sunroof, and no sliding rear deck... the 2018 has sunroof, and deck, and no KDSS.
Other than that, im clueless and scratching my head.
Alternative is a full-size 2018 Silverado Midnight Edition LTZ Z71 but likely not since the thing is huge compared to what I drive now, and its 15k more lol, and not a Toyota, though it does have lifetime warranty and oilchanges.... Would be like driving a limo around.
97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
My 5th gen was my third 4Runner, owned 2 x 4th gens before this. I would definitely buy again, however I would try to find one without the third row. Options were limited at the end of 2017 when I bought and the only Nautical Blue I could find had the third row, that is the only thing I'd really want to change honestly. I like the premium package and the sun roof was a must, just hate having the third row due to space loss and the fact that I don't have kids and have no need to carry 7 people in my vehicle
alirawk
Member
Although I love my rig, if I could’ve foreseen all the things I’d do to it, I would have bought a Tacoma. I’ve taken out the rear seats because I do so much hauling. Have an RTT so I never use the sleeping platform i had made. Also because of the rtt, I never use the sunroof. The only reason I didnt initially get a Tacoma was because they had drum brakes in the rear, and I think still do. I was somewhat vindicated for this choice when a year or so after I bought my t4r there was a recall of a quarter million Tacoma’s because of sudden loss of control. Still, I love my rig and have had a blast building it and exploring the country with it. Next rig will be a truck though.
Isn't it just the Pros that don't get the sunroof? (Im new to 5th Gens, I am most certainly wrong)
Curses... I keep flopping back n forth with the truck thing too, also you brought up something I haven't thought about in my current dilemma, I also have a RTT but its on a M416 trailer, I was going to put it on the 4Runner, the sunroof is useless with it up there eh? Hows the gas mileage? I didn't want a Tacoma, because the different complaints, and it would likely be as comfortable for my family as my 4runner.
This is my first 4Runner. I have been driving Chevy Avalanches since 2003 - I've had three of them. The last one was a loaded 4WD 2013, and I loved it. I would probably have bought another one but alas, they quit making them Great, comfy ride, lots of bells and whistles, and very capable vehicle. But I found that a) they were getting very expensive, b) I wasn't using the pickup bed as much anymore, and c) found I wanted more secure and protected interior space. Also, I wanted something a bit more reliable, long term, and I am a few years away from retirement. I would miss the 'midgate' functionality, but that was not a show stopper.
I looked at every possibility with an open mind, and that led me directly to the Toyota family. I could afford a Lexus GX, but the lack of a functional back window and the barn door layout did not appeal to me at all.
I keep two vehicles, one more functional and one for fun. My current sporty car is a 2017 Mazda Miata RF. I am looking to replace that with a Corvette sometime in the next few years.
The 4Runner will very likely serve my needs very well for a long time. I really like it, and have already done most of the modding I want to personalize it for me. Too soon to tell what I might buy next, but it won't need to be replaced for years.
I looked at every possibility with an open mind, and that led me directly to the Toyota family. I could afford a Lexus GX, but the lack of a functional back window and the barn door layout did not appeal to me at all.
I keep two vehicles, one more functional and one for fun. My current sporty car is a 2017 Mazda Miata RF. I am looking to replace that with a Corvette sometime in the next few years.
The 4Runner will very likely serve my needs very well for a long time. I really like it, and have already done most of the modding I want to personalize it for me. Too soon to tell what I might buy next, but it won't need to be replaced for years.
