2021/2022 Limited Full Time 4WD. Why is there a dial to select different 4wd options?

It is very hard to find people who take care of their vehicle as you take care of you.
I know this is out of 4Runner topic but just sharing with good care how 35 year old Corolla wagon looks like.

 

If I was a wagon guy I would try to find one of these or one of those mid 90s Camry wagons. So nice for what they are.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the replies and help with this. On the weekend my wife and I went down to the Toyota dealer, ordered a 2022 Limited and it should be here in 3 months.

In Canada, it appears that the Limited is sold "fully loaded" so there isn't an options package that I could add on or delete. Looks like the only thing I might need to get are the roof top cross bars so I can install my Thule rooftop box but I'll investigate if I should be looking at aftermarket options or just go with the Toyota ones (which I suspect are probably made for them by Thule or Yakima anyways).

Looking forward to learning about this vehicle as time goes on.

James

 

Congrats! Please keep us posted!

 

Wow, this thread got pretty silly for awhile there.

I could agree that full time 4wd was left off some models for cost, but I certainly haven't heard of reliability issues.

 

Post pictures once you get it!

 

I just saw this discussion. Coming from a line of 4WD Mercury Mountaineer; AWD Murano; AWD Honda Pilot and AWD Highlander.
Didnt have to flip a switch to power through massive snowstorms.

I now have the 4WD 2022 4Runner. Which settings to use in the scenarios below

(1) Interstate 12 hours drive in snowstorm?
(2) Local few inches of street covered/uncovered snow within the city?

 

Welcome to the forum. Interested to know your reasons for getting a 4R, since it's got a different system than you're used to and that you liked. Most of the vehicles you mention have a front-wheel-drive based AWD system. While they certainly work ok, the performance isn't as tractor-like as you get in a traditional 4WD vehicle like the the 4R because of their delay in shifting torque between the axles as needed.

But to answer your questions: Your model requires you to engage 4WD via the knob on the center console. You'd put it in 4H for the first scenario for sure.

Unfortunately, in the second scenario it will depend. If the road is always slick, you'd do 4H. If it's sometimes dry and sometimes slick, you have a dilemma.

Which brings me back to the question of why you got this 4R, and not another AWD crossover (or the 4R Limited, which has a “best of both” element to it). Your 4WD system is really designed more for severe conditions, both on road and off road, than road driving in intermittent snow. If intermittent conditions aren’t rare for you, I'd suggest getting all season tires that are known to be good in the snow, perhaps something with a 3Peak rating. That way you'd have reasonable performance while in RWD, and can switch into 4WD only when things are really gnarly.

 

Thanks for the swift analysis. The key factor was the Resale value. I like keeping my vehicles for at least 10 years with 100k of mileage.

Put 240K miles on the mountaineer. New transmission and differentials at 104k miles.

I enjoyed the bold V8 4WD Mountaineer most. But peanut in resale values. No dealership/public auction wanted it as trade-in. Most the offered ridiculous values.

All the my previous SUVs had high cost of ownership but poor resale values.

A friend sold his used 2012 4Runner this year for almost what he paid 11 years ago.

I errored on not researching true meaning of part-time 4WD.

I dont off-road but i like moding my vehicles to stand out in the crowd.

Cheers

 

I think you'll be happy for the XREAS as well. I love having it on my Limited. The brake dive and body roll on the other 4R models would have worn on me over time. I do think you can compensate quite a bit for the part time nature of your 4WD system by getting good tires. Not sure what came on yours, but if they're the Bridgestone Dueler H/T then I have to warn you they are downright dangerous in the snow. You should look up user reviews, eg on TireRack. They are really horrendously bad, should not be sold let alone spec'd on a relatively expensive vehicle like the 4R.

You might consider doing what I did and replacing the OEM rims and tires with 17" rims (I went OEM TRD). That opens up way more great tire choices. This is what mine looks like after that switch. If you want to stick with your 20" rims, the Toyo ATIII is 3Peak rated and gets good reviews. For non-3Peak tires that still get good reviews in the snow, there's the fan-favorite Michelin Defender LTX and the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3.

 

I have the Yokohama Geolander 96B. Holding up so far. Very nice too. Dealership just rebalanced the tires. After I complained. Came with very low air... 30/31.

I want to stick with my 20" rims.

Considered the TOYO T3. Bold and aggressive. Backordered. Definitely getting before winter.

How do i sell the Yokohama Geolander 96B to offset the part cost of TOYO T3 for boldness.

Your ride looks good. I have Magnetic Gray too.

So far added Chrome running boards and deflectors.

Looking for Custom fit Neoprene/Vinyl middle Sport car seat covers (for the kids)

9005/HB3 DRL proven/capable 6000k bulbs

 

Glad you got the Geolanders. I don’t think they’d be a first choice, but they seem totally decent. Waaaaay better than the Duelers. You shouldn’t have a problem selling them on something like Letgo or Craigslist. I’ve sold tires that way. Someone on the forum might be interested, but I suspect most folks here are looking to get something more of an AT flavor.

The Toyos are quite pricey. While they look cooler, if you’re not doing much off road or in the snow, I’d highly recommend the Defenders. They should also be easier to balance. Anytime you add weight and / or aggressive tread I think you’re increasing your odds of vibration or steering wheel shimmy. As you may have seen on the forum, the 4R can be finicky this way.

 

The part time 4wd aspect surprised me when I started to seriously consider 4runners. Mostly because it was a step back from what they were doing with the 4th gens, which were all full-time 4wd with locking center diff in all 4wd trims. On the current 5th gens, it’s um…limited… to only the limited trim.

Im a long termer car owner as well, but that said, the current market could really mean getting a do-over if you wanted to switch to a Limited. There is a possibility it would cost you little more that the trim level price difference if you patiently wait for a Limited to become available at MSRP. Something to consider.

 

The 4th gen had full time 4wd on V8 models. I don't think any of the V6 models had it. I assume it was because the V8 models were basically a GX, so it was cheaper to just use the same setup altogether.

30-31 isn't that low, as the recommended pressure is 32 on most models.

The AT3 is a very good all around tire. I believe they are a 3PMSF tire, so they should be decent in snow.

The Michelins @Singleminded mentioned will be a very good tire in all kinds of conditions.

Good luck with your choice.

 

Maybe I’m not remembering right (surprise). I thought all 4th gen 4wd 4runners had locking differentials on the transfer case…and the unicorns were the ones with center and rear locking diffs.

 

It was just the V8 models that were full time 4wd. (Possibly the limited also )

It looks like the others were part time 4wd, just like ours.

There was mention of multi-mode, which could mean that there was an unlocked 4wd option (meaning there was a lockable center diff). But, I thought that was a 3rd gen thing.

 

That never existed in a 4th gen. The only 4th that had a factory locking rear is the 2009 Trail Edition, but those were only available with the 4.0 & the part-time system.

From what I understand the 09 TE is extremely rare.

 

My 22 sport has 1 push windows, push button start, electrical plug in back, auto high beams, there's a button for it, but I hate that option so never use it

 

15 speakers? How do you figure?

 

Each door and hatch driver is probably a coaxial so they use it to pump the number up. 2 in the dash 12 in the doors and hatch (woofer plus tweeter = 2) and the sub is 15.

 

Still searching for a limited 4wd near me... inventory is super low for this trim.

 

I wonder if its worth buying from CO? Seems to have in stock as well. The first dealership with 5 Limited in stock is about 30min from airport.

 

This was one of a few reasons we bought a used Limited recently. Checked with every dealership within 150 miles and nobody had a 4WD Limited with 3rd row in stock or coming. Found one that the dealership was using as their test drive and showroom model that was getting replaced with a TRD so we snatched it up