Leased mods

The 4Runner is a body-on-frame SUV with nearly indestructible drivetrain components that make it especially capable off-road. Those same components also make it ride much worse, get horrible gas mileage, and be inferior to almost every other SUV as a daily commuter.

People that buy 4Runners do so knowing that they are trading off gas mileage, comfort, and road manners for increasing ability and durability off-road.

Making/buying a 2wd 4Runner takes away the only advantage it has over other SUVs in it's class.

It's like the soccer moms driving $60k F-150 supercrew pickups to take their two kids to soccer practice and get groceries when a small SUV or minivan would work better and be cheaper. City folks are strange.

 

I've leased a lot of Toyotas over the years. Now I own it.

For a leased vehicle, I'd say anything you can easily removed, and returned to stock, nothing being drilled. Examples: Performance Air Filter, Interior LED Lights, Exterior LED Bulb Upgrades, Console Tray, Screw On Front Badging, etc. I also kept all the original light bulbs and air filter, that I removed, because I had them ask for the original fog light bulbs once. If in doubt, keep whatever you took off so that it can be put back on.

Tires upgrades are OK, as long as they are the stock size. The leasing contract says must have 4 tires in good condition (check actual wording). I used to keep the original stock tires under the house and put them back on when the lease was over. That way they got their original brand new tires back and everyone was happy.

I once got dinged by the Toyota Leasing Inspection person for having a vinyl window sticker ($50 fine), which was my employer parking pass. It took 2 seconds pull off, but over a week to resolve, including having to send Toyota Leasing photos of the window with the parking sticker missing. Totally stupid!!!

 

Toyota did actually do that lol. The Toyota 1-ton was a 1-ton dually version of the toyota pickup. I believe it came optioned with the 2.4L 22re or the 3.slow 3vz-fe

 

My first mod would be to get rid/out of the lease.

 

Toyota also made a 2WD model of the FJ Cruiser. They didn't sell too many.

 

Get your head out from under the rock not everyone buys a SUV to go off road. Why do they buy it? because they can.

 

Wow! Great story and information about saving all the original bulbs and such. I’m looking to upgrade the wheels in January and I’ll add the lighting in the grill and possibly the fogs, depending on how much trouble it’ll be to install them. I’ll need to be able to take everything off and back to original fairly quick so that I don’t have something that has to go to a shop. Thank you again for that tid bit of info

 

I lived in the south ages ago, apparently that’s a thing down there.

I think Southeast Toyota and Gulf States Toyota sell like 99% of them.

 

Living in the southeast, but where it snows in North Carolina, it's often difficult to find 4x4 vehicles through Southeast Toyota. Our small Toyota town dealer snaps up everything they can get in 4x4, but often can't get enough of them, due to their dealer allocation limits. My last two 4x4 purchases were over the mountain in Eastern Tennessee, where they have no problems finding anything in 4X4 because they are in the Kentucky/Michigan Toyota dealer network.

 

Leasing my 4Runner (which I will trade for another 4Runner or buy at lease end) and the only mod I plan on doing is tires. If you know you'll be buying it out then it makes no difference, you are basically renting to own so it doesn't matter,

However if you plan on returning it or trading it in (which is much wiser) be careful what you mod. Buyers don't want modded to hell 4Runners. Keep it clean and classy. OEM upgrades and tires are fine.