Too much technology in current 4Runners???

My truck is one of the pre facelift fifth gens. Pretty much everything is analog.
Our claim to fame is that our climate control unit looks exactly like the one in a 2023 SR5.

 

I hear you, I couldn't wait to get those crappy OEM Dunlaps off of the 2015 TP. I replaced them with Pirelli Scorpion ATR's and that was a huge improvement. Since the Pirelli's now have 35,000 miles on them I think that I will buy my daughter some Cooper Discoverer AT3's before winter because they have the severe snow service rating. Last winter I tried a set of studded Cooper CP Evolution tires on our 2006 Honda Accord Hybrid and they were some of the best winter tires I have ever had and made in the USA too!

 

Lucky daughter to grab such a nice family owned and cared for 4R. The 2023 Limiteds we bought are nice, and I don’t have to deal with turbos, auto start/stop, cylinder deactivation, etc. Fingers crossed that the electronics are solid and the FT 4WD system will be handy all winter. The X-REAS system makes a noticeable difference in cornering and highway manners when comparing the driving dynamics on the highway to our SR5 Premium.

 

The lane departure alert is the only thing I don’t like on our 22 and you can just turn it off anyway,

 

One really cool thing that I like about the technology is that a couple of months ago I upgraded my six year old iPhone and after I installed the new phone now the hands-free phone reads my text messages to me while I am driving - how cool is that?!!

 

Once you turn off the lane departure, and turn down the sensitivity of pre-collision, the tech stays out of your way. I rarely use cruise, but there is a way to set it as old school (nonradar mode).

What I find interesting is that Toyota is not offering navigation on a lot of models it used to. My dads 23 Highlander xle doesn’t have nav. You have to connect your phone and use carplay to use your own app. Does yours have nav? If not
then you basically just have a radio that looks like technology lol.

About the only think that’s unfortunate is the push button start. It introduces unnecessary failure modes, and like somebody mentioned, security risks.

 

ORP comes with navigation.

 

I’m with you!

 

Yes both the 2015 TP and 2023 ORP have navigation but I've never used it in the 2015 - I use my iPhone for navigation and I'm sure the Apple Car Play will be good for that. Otherwise I use the on-screen map as a scrolling map that I can change the scale on. Also, the Entune has a pretty cool radar weather map the you can pull up when you have HD FM radio reception

 

The main reason I hate the technology is because of fiat chrysler. I had an old '86 cherokee and then three 2nd gen grand cherokees. I considered myself a "jeep person" even though I'd never had a wrangler - had always wanted one but my offroading has always been pretty light and I liked V8s.

My last good JGC was an '04 Overland with 4.7 HO V8. Solid front/rear axles, small and nimble (great turning radius) but fast for an SUV, decent gas mileage (I could get 20 hwy), came with real rock rails and decent skids from factory, full time 4wd, just an all around great vehicle. A few reliability issues - it ate a power steering pump every 2-3 years. Replaced radiator at 180k. Traded it in with 215k and would have trusted engine/transmission to 300k.

Traded it for a '14 JGC Overland with 5.7 V8. I should have done better research. I knew it had front/rear independent suspension (fine, I don't do crazy trails where I need a lot of flex) but the skids are plastic "mud guards" and it came with 20s (I couldn't find the ones with 18s). It came with air suspension which I was excited about for clearance-on-demand but find it gimmicky now (raise it up and it has zero downtravel so like driving a two horse wagon). Wife likes it in normal mode but feels like you're driving a cloud or magic carpet (I hate that). Also came with auto high beams (they actually work well and the only thing worth having) and the front sensor for dynamic cruise control and auto braking. I hate dynamic cruise control because it leaves enough space (on the shortest setting) for people to change lanes in front of you so the car just slows down letting people in rather than holding speed. It also malfunctioned multiple times and braked several when it shouldn't have (almost got me rearended). Sensors and some other stuff had to be replaced. Everything is controlled through the head unit but the GPS went bad and the whole thing had to be replaced - they are VIN specific and had about 6 month backorder. I would have gotten rid of it but wife still drives it. When it works, that 5.7 V8 is a freaking blast to drive but it belongs on the road or shop only.

That's when I did some real soul searching, research, and ended up with my first 4runner

 

Actually, I think the '14 JGC chassis was based on Mercedes 550 (or something like that) so maybe it was more Daimler than Fiat - not sure where the tech came from.

Anyway, grumpy old man opinions over

 

The car I owned before my 4Runner had hand crank windows. Leaning across the car to wind down the passenger side glass on a hot day gets pretty old. I agree about most of the technology but electric windows and central locking are okay.

 

OP, you can disable smart key if you don't want it. I detail the procedure here https://www.4runners.com/threads/how-to-disable-smartkey-permanently.27564/#post-382700 and there is some further discussion about it also in that thread. I disabled it day 1 and never think about it. Still wish I had a physical key.

 

I think so. My 2019 SR5 Premium has all I will need and all I want.

 

We traded our '04 WJ for the 4Runner TEP mainly because the 4R was the closest thing to what the '04 WJ was at the time. We test drove a '14 WK, but it felt more like a car than a truck/SUV. Our 4R still has some upgrades over the '04 Jeep, but not many. We had the I6 in ours, so the 4R was a power upgrade as well. No regrets going with the 4R!

 

I turn all that stuff off anyway. Toyota/Lexus haven’t perfected their Lane Departure Assist - very annoying. I like controlling my own high beams (less going back and forth from high to low) but heated steering wheel, and seats are nice. I have yet to use the radar assisted cruise control because I haven’t put any highway miles yet. If it’s like Lexus then it will be so-so. You’ll like Apple CarPlay especially if you get a wireless dongle to connect with…. Good luck and enjoy!!

 

My 22 has navigation, but I never use it. If I use any kind of navigation I connect my phone and use Google Maps, it's just so much better.

 

Isn't that the truth. My 2023 TRD Off Road Premium is still about a decade behind in terms of technology.

 

If you guys haven’t seen the 1980 film “The Stunt Man”, you should.

 

and what would we get out of it

I respect your posts but don’t have time to watch thanks

 

Sorry. As inside jokes go, that one was waaay inside. There’s a lot of talk about stuntmen having balls of steel that clank when they walk.

 

There once was a man of madras. who’s balls were made of fine brass
In stormy weather they clanked together and sparks flew out of his arse!

 

It's a Toyota, not a BMW. Use your signals.

 

Nav from your phone is always going to be superior to what's loaded in a factory system. I've used the nav in mine exactly once in 4 years. I was in the middle of nowhere and was having an issue with my cell phone, so I used the factory nav. Literally every other time I have used my phone for navigation, it's so much better.

IMO vehicle based nav is completely outdated tech.

 

Echoing what others have said, but I WANTED a 2019 so I didn't have that stuff, but ended up with a 2020 that had it. (Of course I now have a 2021, but thats another story.) Leave everything on for a week or two and see what you like. I can't stand that lane departure thing, but the radar cruise control is pretty nice, and the automatic brights aren't bad either.

 

Why use my turn signal when there's no one else on the road?

 

Anybody else's nav upside down. When I'm driving my nav is pointing at me, backwards, instead of pointing ahead. Bugs the sh!t out of me.

 

From page 79 in the Nav/Multimedia manual:

The orientation of the map can be changed between 2D north-up, 2D heading-up and 3D heading-up by selecting the ori- entation symbol displayed at the top left of the screen.​

 

It's great when you don't have cell service, or your cellphone dies.

 

I like the onboard nav too. It’s good at rerouting to avoid traffic.