Whereabouts Unknown: Gen6

Did Toyota locate enough missing parts to reschedule a press test drive? MSRP’s coming? Beyond a few lousy pics, it’s so quiet that even a creative conspiracy theory related to Tacoma or Tundra would sound interesting right about now.

Fresh intel or perspectives? Bueller?

 

What fresh intel would there be?

Toyota said they are coming early 2025, so sometime Q1. And we already know all the specs for the new 4runner.

Nothing to do but wait and hope no new major issues pop up on the Tacoma.

 

should have kept that 5th line running for another few month and crank out another 10k TRD Pros, it's just a money glitch at this point.

 

Toyota hates this one trick....

 

Would love to see some first impressions on the drive, whether it can carve out its own character from all the other TNGA-F trucks.

Odd that shortly before the originally scheduled full production launch they don’t even have any preproduction trucks on hand for a bunch of journalists to drive around at 10mph through a controlled, muddy course.

But then, if Toyota is frantically sourcing new pressure control solenoids and/or torque converter clutch actuators, I suppose they could technically call that a “parts shortage”.

 

With any luck, maybe they're rethinking that 4 cylinder/turbo combination.

Reminds me of this poem by Bertrolt Brecht:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/com...ur_tank_by_bertrolt_brecht/?utm_name=web3xcss

 

I love you, man!

 

They’ve already done a full send - can’t backtrack now - only option for Toyota is to revise and update (exactly like they did with the 1GRFE).

Personally, like the majority here, I don’t want a 4 turbo, but people seem to be happy with their 4Gen Tacos in terms of engine performance when it’s working (not talking about the reliability issues or general quality control issues with 1st year models).

 

They can’t afford to just toss out unfinished trucks for sale like they just did with Tacoma. Take all the time they need.

But no reason for them to continue to withhold prices, other than delaying the shock when people configure $60k TRD ORP’s

 

The 4th Gen Tacoma is a much lighter truck than the 6th Gen 4Runner will be.

 

It’s not a parts supplier issue, they’re working out all the issues on the Tacoma platform since they’re going to be literally one hundred percent the same vehicle except for the bed. My source is an engineer from their truck project team, he said expect the 6th gen about mid year 2025

 

Nice. Ask him wtf is the story behind the dumb ass gimmicky shock seats? What exec/manager forced that upon the team?

 

I did ask him about the seats, the guy was super cool but he’s not into trucks at all just his job but he thinks it’s stupid. I met him at a function I was attending so it was random meeting him so I don’t have access to the guy

he did mention what I thought was really interesting that when their former ceo Akio Toyoda (grandson of founder) was in charge he implemented kaizen (their famous philosophy on continuous improvement of what they have) once he was no longer ceo he said the corporate culture changed where they wanted to test new ideas and technologies such as the pro seats

 

This means the quality and reliability we have been used to will slip away. The evidence is in the 4th Gen Tacoma.

 

Interesting. When I used to work in manufacturing, trying to be like Toyota and using the kaizen approach was all the rage. Personal opinion - testing new ideas and technologies belongs in R&D with prototypes or low volume, high dollar vehicles. Using some of your tried and true, most popular vehicles as testers is a disaster waiting to happen. I know TRD stands for Toyota Racing Development but leave it in the actual races until perfected (not that the seats are causing issues in any way)

 

Gotta wonder what happens when those seats blow a bladder. So they just drop down in height? ? Will they need to be sent out to TRD headquarters to get repaired lol?

 

Toyota repeating what Mercedes did in the late 80s. Mercedes used to be all about quality and over-engineering. It was designed to be as reliable as possible and they lasted. Then Daimler-Benz happened and they never recovered quality. Unfortunately, what they discovered is that they still can sell as many cars without delivering a quality product, as long as they a) maintain the image b) cars don't break down for the first owner.

Personally, I don't think Toyota can compete in this space. Why would anyone buy unreliable 4Runner when it is inferior in all other aspects to the competition? Toyota doesn't have anything else BUT quality. Ancient tech on day 1 after release, mediocre driving dynamics, expensive, odd styling (e.g. Lexus grill, plastic cladding), and under-powered. Sure, they have Prius and hybrid, but the gas mileage crowd mostly went EVs.

 

name recognition goes a long way. The majority of the people who buy cars don’t know what a 1gr is or the difference between na and turbo 4banger etc. most females and I’m sure a huge number of guys will buy a car simply because it’s “cute”

 

Probably has unobtanium gas and hydraulic fluid in it too, cause they are special...

 

What is the point of the gas shock seats anyway? Smoother ride on washboard road?

Why not put the money into a better suspension for the entire vehicle? Nobody's going to give a shit if their teeth don't chatter as much due to their comfy space seat if the rest of the truck shakes apart and leaves them stranded

 

That was 1998 when Mercedes-Benz produced the worst vehicles ever. Starting with the water based paint through the undersized transmission cooler, electrical issues, air suspension problems etc. The 1980s Mercedes-Benz was rock solid. Think about it: W123, W126 (1979-1990), W124, W201 later W140 the whale S class.

 

What I love most about Toyota’s IsoDynamic seats is that they’re marketed as cutting edge seat technology, yet are equipped w the same old-fashioned schraeder valves found on a Schwinn, and a silly hand pump to inflate it yourself. It’s like Toyota’s engineering dept had a “take your kid to work day”, and got carried away…

 

I think the seats are a good idea (in theory). I don't know how practical they actually are.

You have to understand that the Toyota's offroad heritage is in the fast, desert racing type of offroading where these seats could provide some benefit. This is what the Pro is tuned for.

If you're not into that, you should be looking at other models.

 

And those who have the money and resources to participate in a race, probably install the seat before the race anyway. I think this came from the marketing department: do you want to think that you can drive on the Dakar Rally with your 4Runner/Tacoma? Get the TRD Pro and you are ready to go.
Do you have a racing semi-truck ready plus enormous amount of cash on hand for the crew, travel and spare parts? No? Of course, because you just spent it on a TRD PRO.

 

Those seats are the "second row legroom delete" option.

 

I would worry more about the suspension design failure. Breaking shock top hats because there are no bumpstops is a complete disregard for the offroad purpose of these trucks.

 

They should have just direct injected the v6 and just add the 8 speed auto trans and that's it. Turbo 4 is not going to cut it. They can probably get 300hp and up the torque if they would have di the v6.

 

Or just adding a turbo to the 4.0 V6
That would add lower end torque and HP. I agree with the newer transmission but maybe just the 6 speed from the GX.

 

I read a post on a lawnmower forum once by a guy who wanted to buy a riding mower for his mother. He did all sorts of research on brands and models to determine which ones had the better motor, cutting deck, transmissions, etc. He took his mom out to look at them and as they parked at the first dealership that day, his mom points at a mower and says "I want that one." He asked her why, and she said "Because it's pretty."