[Update: First Delivery Reported!] 6th gen 4Runners arriving at dealerships now (photos)

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Same thing has happened over the years with engines. Clearly they are being designed in CAD by people who have never had to work on the engine. Working on engines these days is such a nightmare, pulling a cab off for a simple parts swap on an engine is absolutely insane. Not being able to get your hands in places and having to spend 6 hours removing parts to change something simple. Putting the fuel filter inside the intake runner loop where its practically impossible to reach unless you cut parts out of the way to get to it. There are so many things auto manufacturers have done over the years and the engines are becoming harder and harder to work on. I remember when a starter went bad, you could fetch a ride to a local parts house, buy a starter, and swap the starter on the side of the road in 30 minutes or less with standard tools.
Try changing a starter on a 2UZ on the side of the road. Try changing a fuel filter on the 22RE on the side of the road after getting bad fuel at a gas station.

 

I think all the designers that actually had some mechanical ability have retired and the new recruits are clueless. Probably have never even changed a tire.

 

I may have missed it but does the 6G have auto start-stop?

 

F yeah it does!!! Celebrate!

 

they are AI-driven designs with cost reduction being the number one priority

 

Ew no

 

You know, the truth may be closer to what you said than we might think. It is apparent a lot of automotive "designers" after the 2010s are not car people and don't give a damn about ergonomics, ease of use, and intuitive interface that minimizes taking eyes off the road.

 

Ease of service is antiquated and outdated. the "cool" thing is just take it to the dealer when anything comes up. That's what marketing teams have been working hard to convince us for a long time now.

 

Me too. Maybe it can be disabled.

 

every time you start up... every time, rinse and repeat

 

Imagine buying a 4Runner and then spend so much time sitting in stopped traffic that this feature actually makes an impact on one's fuel economy.

LOL.

 

It’s a twofer, fuel savings when stopped and reduction in local particulate emissions when it would otherwise be idling in a city.

On an individual level, likely negligible, but on the scale of a country, small differences add up. It’s not just for the trees, but for humans and strategic purposes as well.

If it was as well designed and configurable as the rental Corolla Cross I drove, I won’t mind. If it was like the rental Kia Soul, I would mind.

 

LOL. Imagine the mental gymnastics skills needed for people to unironically advocate for start-stop in the context of driving 4500-5500lb off road SUVs to commute enough miles for start-stop to have a measurable effect.

Talk about missing the forest for the trees. Yikes. But hey, at least you sound "strategic" while pontificating about it, so I suppose that counts for something.

 

When you stop for short periods of time, its a net negative. Almost all vehicles require more fuel to restart them than they consume simply letting them idle a few more seconds. I have had a motto since i was about 20
"A gallon of gas costs less than a starter"

 

Meanwhile the billionaires are sending rockets into space for fun. How much pollution does that make and how much fuel is used?

 

Why, you don't enjoy hearing about climate change from celebrities who travel by private jets for daily shopping trips and live in 20k sqft compounds, or government officials who travel by jets and motorcades exempt from EPA regs to their vacations at the Hamptons? What's wrong with you? Don't you see the strategic value in having stop-start in light of all that?

 

Yea I'd love to curb those too but in this society, if you're rich enough, anything goes like the Sacklers. Alas only Mario's-Brother-types seem to have any sort of surefire solution to that. Wish society could handle such crimes like they did stealing bread but alas.

Whataboutism doesn't mean there isn't any merit to the original idea! Same reason we have 10% ethanol, post-embargo stretching of fuel supply.

 

I would imagine that the amount of energy needed to manufacture a new starter when it dies is more than will ever be saved by the start stop feature.

 

Im pretty sure we have ethanol in the fuel to subsidize the farmers.

 

I'm happy for everyone who is happy buying one of these. As for me, I'm happy with my 5th gen.

 

Oh absolutely, I’m sure it’s both.

This is mentioned a lot, but have we even seen an uptick in starter replacements? They’re designed with it in mind to begin with and I personally haven’t heard of any epidemic of starter failures since the tech’s been around a while.

 

This is mentioned a lot, but have we even seen an uptick in starter replacements? They’re designed with it in mind to begin with and I personally haven’t heard of any epidemic of starter failures since the tech’s been around a while.[/QUOTE]

My wife's new truck has it and it can't be coded out. She said it took her about 3 weeks to develop the muscle memory to hit the button and turn it off after starting the truck. Now that she's internalized it, it's automatic and just part of her routine. I'd guess that the vast majority of new 4R owners will follow suit. I'd be curious what the MPG impact is on the published manufacturer numbers.

 

My wife's new truck has it and it can't be coded out. She said it took her about 3 weeks to develop the muscle memory to hit the button and turn it off after starting the truck. Now that she's internalized it, it's automatic and just part of her routine. I'd guess that the vast majority of new 4R owners will follow suit. I'd be curious what the MPG impact is on the published manufacturer numbers.[/QUOTE]
I would think it has virtually zero impact on mpg. You’re probably saving a thimble full of gas in a typical drive.

 

Imagine the level of ego it takes to lecture the general public about climate change, etc while doing way more harm to the environment than the average individual.

 

Plenty of people, some in this very thread, seem to get their daily dose of strategic righteousness via licking the metaphorical boot.