Is the 4Runner being discontinued in the United States?

I am brand new to this forum and literally joined to find out if anyone else has heard of the possibility that the 4Runner may be completely discontinued in the United States.

I was initially interested in the 4Runner a couple of years ago and my dealer convinced me to hold off for a year or so until some options he had heard of were coming to the lineup. I waited and although a couple of the options he noted were correct, a fuel cell model that I thought might be interesting apparently never hit - maybe in CA but not in CT where I'm located. I may have also been reading too much into the coming of age hybrids but do not have hope on this end. Given I own a Tundra and a hybrid Avalon, and my wife has a hybrid Highlander, I'm not in any rush for a new vehicle and thought I might as well wait for the next generation to be released (which I understood should be the 2018 model) before pulling the trigger. As an aside, I am also having difficulty deciding between a TRD Pro and a limited - I like the fact the limited is 4x4 all the time but which I would slightly modify to be less showy.

This past week in the dealership, I inquired about any news on the next generation and was told more or less off the record that there were some serious rumors floating around Toyota that they may completely do away with the 4Runner in the United States. The head sales rep from the store noted he had recently been in a training session where the 2018 model was brought up and the trainer essentially told them they might as well forget about it. Some of the rumors apparently have it that US regs would require Toyota to change from the current truck frame to a unibody(?) that is among other requirements that Toyota apparently does not want to undertake given the worldwide appeal to leave the truck "as-is." He also cited slowing sales is the USA but he felt that would just be Toyota looking for secondary reasons to pull out. I should note I'm positive this was not a sales gimmick, and he suggested that we could always bring one in from overseas (post 2017) if I absolutely wanted one, if in fact what he understood comes to fruition.

Aside from trying to research this on the web, and not finding anything much, just wondering if
any of you 4Runner enthusiasts might have picked up some news or gleaned anything from your interaction with anyone from Toyota.

 

Toyota is very secretive about a new model until it is actually released. All we know for now officially is that there is a 2017 model, and it is identical to the 2016 model. No word for 2018 as of yet. I would be skeptical of listening to your dealer as they are typically less informed than enthusiasts and their sole purpose is to sell you a vehicle. Toyota has been sticking with 4Runner generations longer and longer and since we saw a mid-generation refresh just two years ago, its doubtful Toyota will give us an all new 4Runner in 2018. Also, sales of the 4Runner are decent (just short of 100,000 in 2015) so I can't imagine Toyota just throwing in the towel on over three billion dollars worth of sales.

 

Thanks. I get Toyota's secrecy, and I am positive this was not a sales pitch, which is why I reached out on this forum. Without getting into details, given my history and relationship with this particular dealer, I have no reason to think they were uninformed in this instance, especially because they told me to wait until there is 'official' news. They also made it clear that if the vehicle was to be discontinued, they would get me whatever I wanted but also noted I should think about it carefully about such a purchase if the vehicle is discontinued - please keep in mind they originally held me off on my purchase when I literally went to place an order. I'm guessing the understanding is that Toyota would not want to retool the entire truck only for the American market if such regs forced them into a corner on unibody production, where they would still supply the rest of the world a truck frame based model. Also, love your trucks.

 

I doubt that the 4R would ever be required to change to a unibody. Such a law would also affect the Jeep Wrangler, both2 and 4 door models and would put far too many people out of work in the US. - Ted

 

forcing a company to go uni-body just does not make sense. What possible reason could regulators be going after? it is usually better gas mileage and lower emissions. Neither are effected by uni-body or no-unibody. FJ's were discontinued on purpose to push people to Runners and a large factor was increasing the overall gas mileage of the total toyota "fleet". It is possible they try to force an engine change for increased gas mileage, but forcing how the body is attached or not just makes little sense.

 

I think they should make a diesel

 

in the summer of 2016 the rumor started about 2017 will be the last yr you will buy a T4R in the USA. the fuel regs is what I believe is the reason . these are certainly not up to MPG as the other trucks . some trucks do get 23MPG . the engine does lack the torque to provide better performance and MPG. the transmission also needs work for better shift performance . the cost of these are a great deal compared to the other manufacturers and many that have these do off road or drive in tough conditions . the frame provides a strong platform and it can tow so they say 5K lbs.
the reliability of these are quite high another factor on why many love these vehicles and easy to work on .
looks like fuel prices are rising now so with that I would expect lower sales on these in the future.
If you do want one get the 2017 . could be hard to get though if fuel prices stay low because many out there may buy before its all over.

I have also heard that these are beginning to be a higher theft vehicle. they steal these and send to the middle east .

 

Few years ago we lost the FJ...

It would be really sad to lose this ICON

 

If that were to happen, fuel regs would definitely be the reason. 2016 sales topped north of 100k vehicles according to goodcarbadcar, making the 4runner the 20th best selling in the SUV/Crossover space and a better seller than the prius.

All SUV/Crossovers
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/01/2016-year-end-usa-suv-crossover-sales-by-model.html

All vehicles
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/01/usa-2016-vehicle-sales-by-model-manufacturer-brand.html

It's almost certain the fuel regs will be changed (lowered) with the new administration.

 

toyota USA CEO was on the TV the other day the Prius is the best sales of that market .owners love that vehicle...

the T4R did have some good sales , but its not about toyota T4R sales ,it is a MPG problem,,,.
Toyota will continue to manufacture these so they say , but not for the american market.
It is possible MR Trump will change this , but here is where I disagree with your thinking. He is for american made vehicles this is a 100% Japanese made vehicle . this maybe why Toyota dealerships got this 2018 no more T4R's.......

the trumpster may slap a tax on these foreign made vehicles coming into the country .. china does this now ..
china I think is taxing american made vehicles 30% or so on importing to china.

 

up here these are selling at a good discount. I wanted a white one . I called up the dealership got a salesman told him exactly what I wanted. he called back said its all set I will call you in about 8 weeks.. about 6 weeks later he calls me . says your vehicle is being dropped off the truck now. I said I will see you tomorrow. I then went down the next day we agreed on a price very fast 2K off the price. 2 days later it was in my driveway ...

I had them install the chip guard on the nose that took a day to do ..
weird I never met this sales guy and he orders my T4R no deposit or any sales pressures ..

 

I've heard similar things about the 4R going to a uni-body after 2017, but I was given the impression it was for sales reasons, trying to appeal to a bigger market group, not any kind of regulation change. I haven't seen anything on this from anywhere that I'd consider reliable. It doesn't really make sense to me since the already have the Rav4, Highlander, Sequoia, and Land Cruiser, and I know the dealerships around me can't keep 4R's on the lots.

 

I might've misread or misunderstood what you're saying bro but the RAV4 and highlander are the only unibody suvs that are made under the Toyota brand. The Sequoia and Landcruiser are body on frame like the 4Runner.

 

I was just saying that the 4R seems to be marketed more towards the off road/adventure crowd while the other 4 are more of your typical daily driver SUV. Making the 4R unibody would hurts its sales in the off road market and put it in competition with Toyota's other 4 SUV/Crossover vehicles.

 

Gotcha. Totally agree with you on that.

 

And Ford just announce the arrival of the Bronco... They must realize that their is a lot of money to be made in this area

 

what does the term unibody mean?

Benefits?

 

trucks have frames / steel beams that support the vehicle. unibody is sheet metal all of it ,no frame.

the frame vehicles are stronger can tow higher loads ..

if in an accident a frame vehicle can take a good hit and not be totaled most times ...
Unibody when hit it gets twisted from front to rear ... also many I have looked at to buy very hard to work on in engine bay.....

go to the dealership and check this out ... see what the differences are ..

 

With the 2017 rigs just coming in. The assumptions for 2018 next gen 4runners have started.

 

I doubt it on the rumor to increase sales ... we all have a lot of time to react to the 2018 change if it does happen .. it will soon be revealed in a few months .

what is important is , being ready to get the 2017 if , the 2018 is not gonna happen or perhaps a major body/design change.. if this is going to be a body change it will be brought to the media / sales dept soon.. this change it gonna happen in the future someday ..

 

I am hearing more about this from fellow Toyota guys. Is there any news on the 4Runner being discontinued? I think that would be possibly the dumbest thing Toyota could do.

 

So from what I found and what toyota will release shortly is the T4R will be completely changed. NO frame,3.5L engine and the 6speed transmission. same as the Tacoma .

the torque band on this engine is very small. so the engine must rev very high to get the vehicle moving. OFF roading on this platform is a no go...

If this is ALL true my 2016 will be worth more than what I paid for it. Toyota may loose current T4R owners to buy this change BUT it may attract others that never had the 5th gen models.

reason for changes MPG ,less weight .
possible the 5th gen may be available in other countries in 2018..

 

Oh man sounds like they're turning out another highlander?!?!

 

If all this is true, we all need to install "kill switches" on our runners and hide GPS's somewhere smart. It could be the most stolen vehicle in the States. Let's hope it doesn't come to this.

 

I hear you rider! Crazy that corporate Toyota would do such a thing and destroy the brand loyalty they've developed.

 

If they put that pos 3.5 drive train out of the Tacoma in the 4Runner that would be the worst mistake ever!!! I traded a brand new 2017 Tacoma Off-road in on my off-road 4Runner because that engine in the Tacoma was such a dud.

 

Welp it should work well enough with that uni-body to take the kids to the dentist appointment, picking up grocery, and all other soccer mom duties. haha

 

Yea that's about all they would be good for. I'm not even joking that new Tacoma is so bad I lost 5k on it I couldn't take it anymore. That drivetrain is so under powered and the transmission makes it even worse trying to keep it at low rpms. Toyota screwed up big time on that truck.

 

Did the same 16 Tacoma TRD Sport to 16 4Runner Premium same miles for $750 more. No brainer.

EDIT Since traded the SR5 for a 17 Limited. Cost $8500 more. Well worth it to me.

 

Yea it cost me a good bit more than that to get out of mine. It had 7500 miles on it and traded for a brand new Trd off road premium 4Runner. But no regrets so far the 4Runner is light years ahead of the gen3 Tacoma. Toyota would have had something had they put the runner drive train in the Tacoma.