Should you get a Toyota 4Runner Now? Or Wait for the New One?

so should you buy a fifth generation 4Runner this Forerunner basically has been the same generation since 2010 few tweaks visually some option changes some color changes but mechanically has been exactly the same with some minor tweaks here and there this particular one is a 2023 model TRD Pro and rumor has it that this might just be the last year of the fifth generation and making way for the sixth generation so in this video we're gonna share what makes this truck so popular and why it is so good to the eyes of some and why is it not good in the eyes of others we're going to talk about some mechanical specifications some things that change throughout the years of the Forerunner arriving at the latest and the greatest the TRD Pro in 2023 right after this let's start by looking at the engine and there is something to be said about this engine this is the 1gr Fe this is the second iteration of the 1grfe and when this engine came out in 2010 in this and in the FJ Cruiser equally it was already old school back in 2010. folks this engine does not have direct injection does not have turbos does not have really complicated engine controls complicated Electronics it has dual vvti that was groundbreaking for this engine back in 2005 though not really 2010 let alone 2023 and this is where the Beating Heart of the Forerunner starts see in the automotive business it seems like there is a race to keep up with emission standards and all the car companies are going smaller engines to lower their emissions than tail popping not really just for gas mileage for emissions the Forerunner team just completely did not get that memo or they got it and just decided ah we don't need it we'll just keep going with the old school stuff what makes this engine great is that this is a gr series engine this engine in the 3.5 variation debuted in the 2005 Toyota Avalon and then it basically spread like wildfire to the entire lineup of Toyota with V6 and then slowly started going away until now it's almost gone the Highlander losses V6 the RX lost this V6 and now we still have this for like a better word dinosaur here because this is not even the latest version of the V6 this is the old school version of the V6 see car buyers look at this engine and they say a few things usually oh it's Toyota it's reliable but within the Toyota family there are engines that are on the better side and there are engines that are on the lower on the reliability front most of them are decent some of them not so much but the majority of them are good this one however in my opinion sits at the top I don't think in my entire long career working on Toyotas as a Toyota Master diagnostic technician and now owning my own shop working exclusively on Toyota Lexus I don't think I have ever been inside one of these that is a statement to be said and it's a factual one I have been inside every single Toyota engine all the way back to the early 2000s until now to the newest engine the a25a for example I have been inside of that already tore one apart multiple actually this engine however I have never tore a 4Runner engine apart and that is a statement this is a very good engine and it's not perfect nothing is perfect this engine does have its downfalls one of them is not exactly on the powerful side and that is intentional this engine is conservative on every level the maintenance is simple repairs are simple it is very small it's Compact and you look at this it looks super compressed and tight but it's actually not once you start removing covers you notice there's a lot of space and the other thing is this engine is on the border of Simply being illegal to be put in cars and in an attempt to keep this engine going Toyota did One update and one update only to this engine not two not three one only in a mid-year refresh of the fifth generation right around 2014 they added secondary air injection and usually when people hear secondary air injection that equals all kinds of problems basically every single model in the world that has had secondary injection or at least 99 of them have had some sort of issues at some point except the Forerunner the biggest issue you're going to have with this system is if you live in the Rust Belt and this car is 10 years old you're potentially going to break a bolt or two if you have to remove them which you do have to remove majority of the secondary air injection system to do spark plugs that's really the only thing but if you do not disturb it it'll be here longer than you and I will be on this planet this is a testimony to this truck if you're looking for a fast truck this engine will disappoint you if you're looking for the quietest smoothest truck this engine will disappoint you because one of its other downsides is it is loud it's clattery many people complain about it loudness when it's cold but that is by nature let's take a listen to how this engine sounds like [Music] folks this sound is normal and many people will think this engine will is ready to blow up or it's poorly made and whatnot this is how this engine sounds like and it's great this is truly a good engine I don't think any of its minor common problems remain in 2023 and this is the beauty of it potentially in the lifetime of 300 000 miles you might put a water pump Maybe and that's about it I don't I don't remember anything going wrong with these engines the very older ones they might have a front time in cover league but the newer ones right around 2014 nothing absolutely nothing nothing caught on is a common problem with this engine perhaps a water pump that's about it but there's something else there is also a testimony to this powertrain the a750 five-speed automatic transmission I mean this transmission when it came out it was on the old school side this transmission is for lack of better word bulletproof there is very very little problems with these transmissions and usually they're caused by lack of Maintenance not really the transmission itself and many people will say well five speeds it's too low we need more speeds and more do we really because this transmission is probably the smoothest shifting transmission you will ever find in any car simply because it's well just designed and it isn't a car suited for it very simple transmission inside there is not really a lot of Technology yes it is electronically activated or whatnot but it's very very simple and the fluid and many people complain about that even though that is an old school debate this does not have a dipstick this has a very simple even this is simple dipstick less or sealed transmission surface you have two plugs not one two plugs this is a drain plug and this is to check the transmission fluid level very very simple setup this transmission is so simple construction wise that it truly matches the kind of the whole old schoolness of this truck and then made it to that transmission in the four-wheel drive models is the transfer case and this transfer case you notice is missing the actuator because this model is a TRD Pro it has a manual shifting transfer case but in the models that has the switch you will find an actuator here that basically does what the shifter does it just turns it and it shifts it into four-wheel drive for low and whatnot and from this transfer case we have two output shafts one of them goes to the rear differential we're going to talk about that in a minute and then the other one the front one goes to the front differential you can get a slight shot of the front differential here this is not a solid axle you notice the differential is here and then you have CV axles coming out of it this design we're going to talk about a little bit in the video but this is not the most robust design in the planet but even here the Forerunner has a few things this is cast iron the differential material it is cast iron not aluminum because you need something strong here and here it is a giant cast iron deferential folks I've removed a few of these differentials in my lifetime they're extremely extremely heavy now this fall runner has the fox shocks you can see them right here because it is a TRD Pro Model that's really the only difference with the TRD Pro Model the shocks are different they have these Fox shocks that we're going to talk about the trims in a little bit in the video not my favorite Trim in the world but the standard one we'll just have regular shocks but there is a model that is the TRD sport that model absolutely makes no sense by the way and then the limited has x3s suspension basically links this wheel the left front wheel to the right rear wheel and the right front wheel to the left rear wheel basically making an X that's what the x3s is that system is also not good kind of problematic in the early years leaks and you got a very expensive you have to replace everything because it has a center shocks in between the two shocks so it has a third shock not the best design in the world really not something you want to look forward to the standard shocks are great the fox shocks are okay but we'll talk about the trims in a little bit going back and this is where the giant solid axle lays I mean this thing I've had I don't want to know if I don't call it pleasure or displeasure of replacing one of these housings it was bent in an accident this thing is so heavy so bulky and it's huge and uh really well made I it has the truth has to be said cast iron deferential again no aluminum stuff here this is a locking rear differential so you got the actuator on it the rear suspension is super basic yes it is coil spring not leaf spring but it has these arms that locate the rear differential in place very simple suspension and the last time I remember having to do anything with this rear suspension is accident damage the car was hit so hard it actually bent the whole beam but otherwise you're not going to do anything here 's that fox shock again in the back with the reservoir on the side it is a pretty cool looking shock but in my opinion it is not all that worth it and of course the Forerunner has the spare tire underneath it with a little chain that if you drive close to a drive-through like next to a wall and you break hard you will hear this rattling I don't know what they were thinking with this perhaps you're gonna lock it here so people won't steal your spare tire except they can always cut this chain and take it that was a thing of the past now we turned over to catalytic converters but there was a time where uh spare tire theft was a thing and one thing about the TRD Pro model which I actually do not like the exhaust is actually upgraded that is one of the other upgrades other than the shocks and the truck's slightly lifted so it has different Springs the exhaust is a TRD exhaust it is a humming exhaust it's loud not my favorite exhaust in the world but in case you guys were wondering this is the TRD Pro Exhaust you notice this Muffler is different everything else is different but otherwise from here on forward everything is exactly the same in all the trims and this is an accessory that you can buy for the other ones so um hardly exclusive for the TRD Pro so throughout the life of the Forerunner there has been very few changes not only on the mechanical side but even on the cosmetics I mean if you look at this this is basically been the same since 2014 nothing have changed exception of maybe one little thing and that is 360 camera that was an option that come much much later and even that is the camera from the 80s it is not a very good camera and and I feel like something has to be said about the changes to the Forerunner everything that got tacked onto the Forerunner was not tacked out very well because they were so afraid to change the original design that was so good that all the changes were almost like bolt-ons they did not really significantly change things to make other additions work casing point with a TRD Pro Model came out came with this front end I mean this is such a nice front end I wish this is actually an option available in all of them because there is nothing that screams old school Toyota then big Toyota name lettering not the logo in the front but even this when it was done it was actually not a complete re do-over of the whole front end they were actually bolt-ons because if you look closely it is exactly the same Grill just one piece or two that are different this is a level of Toyota's commitment to the forearm they just do not want to change it this is possibly one of the only visual changes on the outside since the facelift which was a full-on facelift 2014. and this was the other one they added the 360 camera because of the 360 camera they had to move the radar sensor down and because of this as well that's about it nothing else have changed we still have the fake Hooch coop which some people dislike but it does give it a little bit of character and that's it nothing is have changed from 2014 to 2023 everything around this truck is exactly the same so if you're wondering which one to buy they're all exactly the same other than these little things and even the bad things did not change for example 2023 folks we have no locking fuel door so many people seriously dislike this I mean it would have been so much easier if Toyota would just say oh people don't like this non-locking then anybody can pour whatever they want in your fuel tank we could develop a locking cap it's been used in the past beautiful possibly matches the old school character of this truck but even this nope we give you the best even with this flaws and we will not change a single thing the only other change perhaps which is more on the accessory side but still is this depends who you ask if you ask me this hideous prac that now is became an option on some and with the four TRD Pro became a thing but that's about it really nothing else have changed in the Forerunner since basically the mid mid-year refresh in 2014 till 2023 nothing have changed on the outside otherwise and then we look inside the Forerunner the place where you will live the place where you will be at all the time when you're driving your Forerunner since 2010 there has been not much updates I guess we have said that enough in this video the only changes that happen in the Forerunner is the radio and the gauges everything else is exactly the same folks I'm not talking about the visuals things you touch and see behind the scenes the wiring is exactly the same the seat construction is exactly the same the materials used is exactly the same the way this thing is built is exactly the same you see where this is going this is why the Forerunner is what it is because they only changed very little things and the rest they only improved it and this is why we arrive at this I mean if you look at the interior I mean let's look at this interior shot here it is not exactly what you call luxurious but it is extremely functional I mean we start from the material of the dash this is hard plastic nothing really no leather no but that's intentional because this type of plastic is a really good one doesn't crack very easy it is easy to clean doesn't really stain or crack or do all this stuff that typical Interiors do when they age that's why they used it then we look at the center stack I mean apart from the radio changes which they have been actually minor if you really think about it they just try to keep it slightly updated and in some generations it almost looks like an aftermarket radio because they just made it fit in the later models like this one the radio fits a little bit better otherwise they have changed not a thing one story I will tell you about the HVAC it is such an old school system that communication with it vs can tool is very minimal there is not much you look at the Modern HVAC systems they have so much data and so much information so much Diagnostics that you can do with a scan tool or whatnot this one is extremely basic that's why diagnosing the one or two very rare problems with the HVAC system are very difficult because technicians have to take themselves back to 2010 or even older than that to really remember how the system works because it's nothing like anything modern and again that is a good thing because these do not have many problems with HVAC then we look past the obvious effectively there has been only one real change to the Forerunner since its Inception the fifth generation 2010 to 2023 only one major change to the electronic system that has to do with the interior the key did you know that in 2022 the Forerunner has such an old-school Key System the smart key part not the non-spart key the Toyota actually had to change it and I can imagine that they were not happy about it when you see this style key this is the new key this is a key you're going to find in the newer cars and the 2021 Forerunner was the last one to have the old style smart key a style that they no longer make nobody no longer uses they're done so they had to change the Forerunner over they had to bring the dinosaur to the Modern Age in order to keep going because otherwise they wouldn't be able to make a smart key for it because that system was obsolete that's how things are with the Forerunner they will only change things when they become absolutely obsolete where nobody makes them and the key is one of those otherwise nothing and people that buy the Forerunner they know that they know that I don't care about the latest gizmos and the latest and the Great and the giant screen on the gauges they don't care about that they want the truck that lasts 15 years and drive exactly the same as it drove on day one at year 15 at 300 000 miles and this is what this is as simple as that they made it so well that it lasts this long and this interior even though the materials are not flashy in your face they're actually durable materials for example the headliner the headliner material is not the same as any other Toyota from today from 2023 this material easy to clean durable does not really fade or come apart like some of the newer ones it almost feels like when the car is new it's going to fall apart but there are also bad things about the interior that despite people's calls and questions why did you do this this way they still wouldn't change for example on this side we have a grab handle you know the Forerunner is a higher truck not like say a Highlander when you get in it this is very helpful to grab a hold of it and get in while on the driver's side you don't have that only on the passenger people have voice concerned about this and the previous generation did have that people are voice concerned about this Toyota's response we're not changing a thing they did not change it nothing and the best part is when you go behind the scenes this is such an over complicated pillar to accommodate this handle because remember there is an airbag here see cars with handles did not have airbags here now we have a curtain side curtain airbag this is such an over complicated part that they really have to go over the top to design this with the handle and this is potentially the last car ever exists that has a bolt holding the pillar covers because most cars went to a clip that pops so the airbag would come out but here you have a super over engineered part just so you can bolt this on Behind these little covers there's actually a bolt that holds that pillar on and on this side the bolts are behind the handle behind two little covers and then little convenience features see there are potentially three real configurations of the Forerunner there is part-time four-wheel drive and all-time four-wheel drive all-time four-wheel drive is going to be your limited trims the nicer ones the mall Crawlers for people that don't want an off-road ready truck they just want the 4Runner drive around town and that's it but still very capable but that's what it's designed for then there is the soft Forerunner which is part-time four-wheel drive but has an electronic transfer case you just flip a switch it's a four-wheel drive flip it again it's in low range then there is the serious Forerunner my favorite the one the manual transfer case it is a sight to be behold because there are very few trucks out there with a manual transfer case left in this world and the Forerunner in 2023 is one of them let's talk about some things that are actually not good about the Forerunner and some common problems that remain and this has to do with this old schoolness the first thing is this is an off-roading truck and many people love to modify these but I got to tell you one thing about these what if it's Achilles heels see the Forerunner is typically identified as a Jeep Jeep Wrangler specifically that doesn't break down and that would be very accurate it is an off-roading truck that doesn't break down but there is one Achilles heel that is the front differential see the front differential on the Forerunner is not a solid axle it is differential with two axles as you've seen when we talked about them this front axle is very sensitive to lifting it almost like when they designed this truck they did not think too much about modifications when you lift this truck you change the angle of the axles and that puts severe wear on the needle bearings and many folks that off-road forearms and lift them they know about that and you might have heard about failures in the front to frontal when you lift it see this is one of their Achilles heels before you go modifying this Forerunner that is otherwise super reliable know that you're going to have problems the front differential that remain nothing changed it'll still fail you're still going to have problems with it that is just the way it is so before you go lifting your Forerunner I'll make one small recommendation just by two cents here majority of forerunners with the exception of a TRD Pro comes with regular passenger tires before you go lifting your truck and ruining the ride and potentially damaging the front to front so change the tires to more aggressive tires and go try it off-road that might all be all you need before you go lifting and destroying this otherwise super reliable truck the other thing is and this is something Beyond me why they wouldn't change that and do something about it the park neutral safety switch many people have this problem and they don't know about it until it becomes a real problem see you put your truck in neutral on or Park the indicator does not show it that's the first sign that you're going to have a bad Park neutral safety switch eventually it becomes a check engine light and a park neutral safety switch this is such an old problem with the Forerunner and it remains a problem it's just they just don't want to update it I don't know why if you live in the Rust Belt it becomes an issue because it gets seized that is something very common otherwise it's actually a very simple repair and inexpensive the other thing is the front wheel bearings remain an issue with these and it's not really an issue that's going to happen at 50 000 miles not even a hundred 150 and plus perhaps but the way it happens you're driving there's no noise you go do an inspection in your truck the wheel is loose that is why I warn about the front wheel bearings on these you got to check them regularly especially when you start getting in the higher miles it is normal for 4Runners to have well over 200 000 miles and run perfectly fine just like the day they were new so check the front wheel bearings because this is still a common problem and possibly the biggest problem and it has to do with this truck's old schoolness the frame rust folks these if you don't live in the Rust Belt things are great you'll never have issues but as salt hits these frames and as time passes you're gonna have a lot of issues with rust to a point where they become almost detrimental to the safety of the truck the recommendation is if you live in the Rust Belt and where I am from like Chicago area you want to undercoat these still even if you buy a 2023 bottle you still need to undercoat it to protect it that's the only thing you need to do and this truck will last a very very long time without issues and one more thing and In fairness it is not the forerunner's fault it is you the owners don't forget to activate your four-wheel drive every month or so something about the forerunner's old schoolness is the four wheel drive system yes it is computer controlled but it is a lot more like this computer controlling it not this one very ancient I mean this is such an ancient four-wheel drive system that's why it's so rugged and reliable because there's not much going on here when these are not used let's say three years passed you never used four-wheel drive and all sudden you use it it gets stuck in a state that it's not in four-wheel drives half in four-wheel drive and just things go into a limbo and we don't know what's going on very difficult to diagnose when they do get in that state because again this is a computer that is super old school and just not the kind of computer you just communicate with and life is good it is difficult to diagnose so make sure every month switch it to four wheel drive drive a mile or so switch it back switch it back and forth between low you don't need to drive it on low just switch it into low gear and then back it out that's good enough to move the actuators get everything moving and you wouldn't have issues with it when you do need it let's talk about what is actually the best trim of the Forerunner to consider today we have the TRD Pro here in the shop and this is uh the Halo model but I'll share something with you before we get into the trims I don't like this this might come to a surprise to some I think the better trim is a TRD off-road premium this God honest truth folks if you want to know the trigger for the Forerunner before we get into them look here they will always have a badge here what trim do you have except the premium like if you go TRD off-road TRD off-road premium they're not going to say premium but they'll say TRD off-road let's start with the trims the SR5 is probably the best trim to start with a forearm unless you want options because with the SR5 you're going to get the lowest price least options no smart key no fancy leather well it's not really fancy At All by the way but smaller screen what not but you can get everything else it almost makes it like a deal of the century because between the top of the line model like TRD Pro except the suspension and the wheels and the tires everything else is exactly the same so usually when you go on the lower trims you have a smaller engine you're missing a lot but in the Forerunner that's not the case the only thing you're missing is the manual transfer case that's about it and by the way for those who wonder I am yet to see issues with the button transfer case they don't really have issues either folks so don't be afraid of them then we go from that to the TRD off-road which in my opinion the best one because then you do get the manual transfer case which not just for reliability's sake for character's sake it is just Epic honestly if you're gonna if you're debating between a TRD Pro and a TRD off-road premium go the TRD afro premium it'll ride nicer it'll be better yes the wheels and the tires you can always buy those and the suspension if you're not going to really off-road with this it makes absolutely no sense and if you're thinking of modifying this putting different suspension raising it even higher why buy the TRD Pro you're just gonna spend more and possibly deal with the dealership markup because these are very rare to find and then take that off and put your stuff makes absolutely no sense I don't see that then we go into the limited if you are the kind of person that are buying the Forerunner only for its reliability and ruggedness and just old school no-nonsense transportation get the limited perhaps if you want a nicer place to be it'll have slightly nicer interior the look will be less utilitarian and rugged it'll be more city-like that's really the only thing and you don't have to deal with wait we're in the snow do we switch the two-wheel drive four-wheel drive it's always in four-wheel drive because it's full-time four-wheel drive that's what it's designed for all the other little trims here and there make absolutely no sense to me folks that's the god honest truth if you want the cheapest Forerunner that is very good go the SR5 if you want the city Cruiser 4Runner go with the limited if you want the absolute epic Forerunner experience trdf road if you want to go the TRD Pro there's nothing wrong with it but just know you can overpay and not really get much difference than the TRD off-road in the real world so the most important question and the question you potentially click this video to find the answer for should you buy a 2023 Toyota 4Runner or for that matter a fifth generation Forerunner or should you wait for the sixth generation see I say the sixth generation is very close not because some rumors has it I don't deal with that stuff I'm just a mechanic I work on cars I look at logic more than tabloids and newspapers and whatever the tundra got changed the Sequoia got changed these are the two Dinosaurs the Toyota had and then on the Lexus side the Land Cruiser or the LX got changed the GX remains so is the Forerunner folks it is very important that you know the relation between the GX which is a Prado internationally and the Forerunner they're built on the same platform they are very similar there is a lot of parts sharing between the Forerunner and the GX and The Prado because they're built in the same Factory on the same line here is my theory of who should get this Forerunner and who should wait for the new one this Forerunner is not meant for those that will want the latest gizmos and the last technology and all the coolest things this is not a truck for those that keep a car for three to five years and then get bored of it move on to something else this is not a car for those that want to hold their family and just use it in that regard this is a truck for someone that wants to keep this thing for 10 to 15 years plus doesn't mind the old schoolness actually appreciates it appreciates the fact that here is an old school engine gets horrible gas mileage but it is so rugged and well made that'll Outlast anything sold today and you look at the drivetrain the way it's built the way it behaves this transmission as we said it's like a no transmission you don't need eight and nine and ten and 17 million gears you just need five it works great why change it you don't need all these electric power steering and all these complications and Safety Systems you know you don't need all that I just need four wheels and an engine to move them this is exactly what this is and it's so well made and has such huge character initially when you drive the Forerunner you'll be like what's so special about this give it a week of driving and you will answer that question yourself if you want an off-roading truck but you also want the latest gizmos and the features and the high-tech stuff perhaps wait for the sixth generation because this will disappoint you but if you want the old schoolness because that's what makes this very cool one last thing I will say about the Forerunner before we wrap up this video did you know this is something perhaps you've never thought about did you know that the Forerunner the fifth generation initially when it came out was a failure and Toyota almost canceled this model all together but then people noticed what is so special about this truck and they started buying it left and right and then it remained initially it was not selling well people looked at this it's like why would I buy this and not buy a Highlander this much nicer smoother has newer technology why would I do that but then people later realized because this is a keeper this is a truck you keep for a very long time no nonsense no compromise old school that's what this is not for everybody but if you are that somebody that this appeals to look no further you will not be disappointed folks I hope this video was helpful informative I hope you learned something new if you like it consider giving it a thumbs up if you're not a subscriber consider subscribing to the channel check out some of my other videos and until the next video folks may the Lord bless you and keep you and you have yourself a wonderful day

Channel: The Car Care Nut

Views: 1,291,697

Keywords: toyota 4runner, should you buy a toyota 4runner, 2024 toyota 4runner, 5th generation 4runner, 6th generation 4runner, 4runner 4 cylinder turbo, 2023 toyota 4runner, 4runner trd pro, toyota 4runner 2024, toyota 4runner review, toyota 4runner off road, toyota 4runner 2022, toyota 4runner trd off road, toyota 4runner reveiw, the car care nut, car care nut, tccn automotive, scotty kilmer, car wizard

Id: ZDGAe8DOmck

Length: 39min 14sec (2354 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 24 2022