Wife is tired of climbing in and out of the jeep when her cars not available so it's time to look into something else. Talk to me about 4 runners. Anyone got anything to watch out for? Definite must haves? I'd want the third row option for sure. Anyone got one they wanna part with? Looking for one a few years old.

2015 jeep wrangler going up for sale soon.

Good looking Jeep, but what were you thinking with those wheels? Is it the angle or are they like 24 inches? That's some serious gangster rolling there.

Can't get third row in 4WD for some reason...

That's what came on it when i purchased. Never made it to changing them.

Her last car was a complete lemon and is now gone. But if i have her car for some reason etc.

bb2003 said:

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Can't get third row in 4WD for some reason...

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Yes you can. Limited has 3rd row and 4wd. We have one. 3rd row is useless though.

I have had a couple of 5th gen Limited's. We have a 2021 now. We opted for no second row. In our experience it is a cruel joke of a third row. And it takes up vertical cargo room.

Aas far as getting in and out it will be a good bit easier than a lifted Jeep.

The Limited is unique in the 4Runner line up because it has a center differential for full time 4wd. The steering input is hardly anything more than a transfer case part time system.

The Nightshade ones come with a matching spare tire and rim.

Have a 2017 TRD Off-road 4Runner. I still like it, but am planning an upgrade to a new GX or LC in a couple years. Maybe even a new 4Runner as full redesign is coming soon

A few thoughts:

1) As others have said, 3rd row is a joke.
2) Pretty good off-road chops if not planning to have it be a pavement queen. I appreciate it still has the manual 4WD stick and some other goodies.
3) I do suggest a relatively simple and inexpensive suspension upgrade though to level and fix the nose dive. Even the wife noticed how much better it handles/drives after that. Note: This doesn't apply to top trim level.
4) The naturally aspirated V6 and 5 speed combo leaves a good bit to be desired. It's bulletproof, but it's lacking.
5) The front seats aren't super comfortable. My wife has remarked on this a number of times. I manage as mostly do short drives, but longer drives of 2-3 hours get a bit rough.
6) The Toyota fake leather is incredible. My kids have spilled stuff in it repeatedly, I've gotten mud/grease/etc on it, and it still looks new.
7) If you get a newer version, get one with the LED headlights. The older ones like mine I did a conversation as stock headlights are lacking.

Great car overrall though. Only have ever done basic maintenance to it, and I appreciate the simplicity of knobs to control most things.

Thanks for the info everyone

Stone simple, they haven't changed much at all since 2010. With basic maintenance, they'll run forever and depreciate really slowly. Huge aftermarket support to upgrade whatever you might want.

As noted, weak points are the stock shocks, but those are an easy upgrade. They're slow, kind of loud at interstate speeds from wind/tire noise, but if that doesn't bother you and you don't want luxury features (go for a Lexus GX in that case) you won't find a better vehicle.

I had no idea, we ended up with a 2wd SR5 as wife was adamant about the third row. I will say we use it more than I thought we would. It's tiny but ok for shuttling kids around town. My 12yo is 5'10 and she can very tightly fit back there. grumpily...

ktownag08 said:

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Have a 2017 TRD Off-road 4Runner. I still like it, but am planning an upgrade to a new GX or LC in a couple years. Maybe even a new 4Runner as full redesign is coming soon

A few thoughts:

1) As others have said, 3rd row is a joke.
2) Pretty good off-road chops if not planning to have it be a pavement queen. I appreciate it still has the manual 4WD stick and some other goodies.
3) I do suggest a relatively simple and inexpensive suspension upgrade though to level and fix the nose dive. Even the wife noticed how much better it handles/drives after that. Note: This doesn't apply to top trim level.
4) The naturally aspirated V6 and 5 speed combo leaves a good bit to be desired. It's bulletproof, but it's lacking.
5) The front seats aren't super comfortable. My wife has remarked on this a number of times. I manage as mostly do short drives, but longer drives of 2-3 hours get a bit rough.
6) The Toyota fake leather is incredible. My kids have spilled stuff in it repeatedly, I've gotten mud/grease/etc on it, and it still looks new.
7) If you get a newer version, get one with the LED headlights. The older ones like mine I did a conversation as stock headlights are lacking.

Great car overrall though. Only have ever done basic maintenance to it, and I appreciate the simplicity of knobs to control most things.

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I'll second all of this and add that when you get the third row, you lose a bit of cargo space. What you gain are seats that are difficult to put up and down, get into, and sit in. And you only get two - its not a bench where you could cram three in. And they don't really support car seats so the population of people that you'd put back there is limited to kids with short legs that are large enough to not use a car seat and really short exes.

You can get the 4wd with the third row without getting the Limited, but its not full-time like the GX/Limited has.

Additionally the third row raises the cargo floor and puts it at a bit of a back slope so your groceries tend to roll out when you open the hatch. We've moved to almost always unloading through the window for that reason...

Mmetag10 said:

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Her last car was a complete lemon and is now gone. But if i have her car for some reason etc.

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nm

Nah this is the third car. My trucks my daily.

I think rear cargo and leg room in the T4R are very limited. Maybe there should be just a spare car around like an older
Minivan. Keep the Jeep?

We have a 22 TRD Offroad 4runner 4wd and I love it. It is nominally my wife's car, but I love driving it. One thing to consider is the KDSS suspension option. It is an active suspension damping system that minimizes body roll and nose dive at higher speeds, and softens to soak up larger bumps at slow speeds. It makes the ride like a dream IMO. You will hear various takes on it and some warnings about what it costs to replace or fix when it eventually wears out, but to me it is worth it. We had one of Aggiepaintrain's guys looking for one for us and he could not find a single allocated 4runner at any dealership in the Gulf States Toyota footprint (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma) with the KDSS option on it. We ended up working out a reasonable deal with a dealership in Denver and flew up to pick it up and drive it home.

One thing to keep in mind about the "Build" option on Toyota's website is that it is only going to show you options that are in-stock or coming soon in the allocation of dealers within the region near you. That is why it asks for your zip code when you start. Within the GST footprint, you are only going to see vehicle configurations that match something available or about to come into the inventory of a GST dealership. So don't assume that you can't get feature x unless you get a vehicle with option y jst because the build tool tells you. GST can be pretty limited in the options and packages they allocate, so if there is something specific you are looking for and not finding, put in a zip code outside of the GST footprint and you may find a dealer out of state that has it.

I wanted KDSS when I first started looking at 4Runners, but didn't feel like going to a none GST dealer and driving back.

Instead, I did this plus JBA upper control arms and have been really happy.

https://eibach.com/product/E80-82-071-01-22?epsid=2000

Gx 460. Awd. Third row that lays flat when stored. Better seats than the 4 runner.

4runner wishes it was a sequoia

Get a real 4Runner now, since Toyota is ruining them like the Tacoma and Tundra with the turbo/hybrid crap.

Toyota has made a shockingly bad decision as a low tech but rock solid long living truck/SUV brand and sold out.

We have a 16 4Runner Limited and a 20 Tacoma TRD Off Road and love them. Would have repeated purchases next time without question. Will not repeat b/c no good naturally aspirated option with them now. Makes me sick.

I had a 16 TRD Pro, and I loved everything about it except for driving it. Make sure you take it on a good long test drive and can handle how underpowered and slow it is. I'd cross shop a Lexus GX

JSKolache said:

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4runner wishes it was a sequoia

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Same rear cargo area now, so its on the way.

2019 TRD off road premium has been great. Not crazy power, but it is just as good as everything else. Would like to get a Lexus GX with the V8, but the grill is tough to look at.

Toyota would have kept the same engines if the Environmental laws had not forced them to downsize. Need to mee the USA fleet standards.

Old Sarge said:

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Get a real 4Runner now, since Toyota is ruining them like the Tacoma and Tundra with the turbo/hybrid crap.

Toyota has made a shockingly bad decision as a low tech but rock solid long living truck/SUV brand and sold out.

We have a 16 4Runner Limited and a 20 Tacoma TRD Off Road and love them. Would have repeated purchases next time without question. Will not repeat b/c no good naturally aspirated option with them now. Makes me sick.

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I could have written this myself.

Old Sarge said:

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Get a real 4Runner now, since Toyota is ruining them like the Tacoma and Tundra with the turbo/hybrid crap.

Toyota has made a shockingly bad decision as a low tech but rock solid long living truck/SUV brand and sold out.

We have a 16 4Runner Limited and a 20 Tacoma TRD Off Road and love them. Would have repeated purchases next time without question. Will not repeat b/c no good naturally aspirated option with them now. Makes me sick.

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This is why we just bought a 2023 GX to get the last of the NA V8s

ktownag08 said:

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Have a 2017 TRD Off-road 4Runner. I still like it, but am planning an upgrade to a new GX or LC in a couple years. Maybe even a new 4Runner as full redesign is coming soon

A few thoughts:

1) As others have said, 3rd row is a joke.
2) Pretty good off-road chops if not planning to have it be a pavement queen. I appreciate it still has the manual 4WD stick and some other goodies.
3) I do suggest a relatively simple and inexpensive suspension upgrade though to level and fix the nose dive. Even the wife noticed how much better it handles/drives after that. Note: This doesn't apply to top trim level.
4) The naturally aspirated V6 and 5 speed combo leaves a good bit to be desired. It's bulletproof, but it's lacking.
5) The front seats aren't super comfortable. My wife has remarked on this a number of times. I manage as mostly do short drives, but longer drives of 2-3 hours get a bit rough.
6) The Toyota fake leather is incredible. My kids have spilled stuff in it repeatedly, I've gotten mud/grease/etc on it, and it still looks new.
7) If you get a newer version, get one with the LED headlights. The older ones like mine I did a conversation as stock headlights are lacking.

Great car overrall though. Only have ever done basic maintenance to it, and I appreciate the simplicity of knobs to control most things.

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funny you mention this. my wife has a 16' limited and I remember when we first got it I thought the headlights were awesome. Now every time I drive it I think they suck after coming from my truck which has LED's.

cryption said:

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I had a 16 TRD Pro, and I loved everything about it except for driving it. Make sure you take it on a good long test drive and can handle how underpowered and slow it is. I'd cross shop a Lexus GX

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I really don't understand the whole "underpowered" claim about the 4runners. If you want a hotrod rocketship, go buy a Tesla. I have never been in a situation in our 2022 where I was thinking "I wish I had more horsepower right now". Could it be faster? Sure. But why? If you want an SUV to go street racing in, the 4runner isn't it. If you drive like a normal person with a slight lead foot, it is fine.

Agreed. My 4500# Nissan has a blistering 167 HP. It doesn't drive like a sports car. It drives like a 4x4 suv, but it gets the job done. I'm absolutely sure a newer 4-runner is far more lively than that. I don't see how it could be unpleasant to drive if you drive it like what it is.

MouthBQ98 said:

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Agreed. My 4500# Nissan has a blistering 167 HP. It doesn't drive like a sports car. It drives like a 4x4 suv, but it gets the job done. I'm absolutely sure a newer 4-runner is far more lively than that. I don't see how it could be unpleasant to drive if you drive it like what it is.

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The 4runner is 4750# and has 270 HP. Never hear anybody complaining about the Nissans being underpowered.

Us too.

cryption said:

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I had a 16 TRD Pro, and I loved everything about it except for driving it. Make sure you take it on a good long test drive and can handle how underpowered and slow it is. I'd cross shop a Lexus GX

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lol. I love everything about it except for its sole purpose.

A 4Runner is the only rental car I've turned in early and exchanged it for something else. They are absolute turds below the curve.

The 270 HP figure is measured from the butthole