Initial thoughts at 5K mile check

1st; very happy with my '21 TRD Off Road (even if I did have to wait 2 months for delivery). New to off-roading (unless forest roads and maintained gravel in my old Rav4 counts). But; I do have some complaints (none which had I known pre-purchase, would have scuttled the buy). I'm a hardcore motorcyclist (touring and adventure riding for over 40 years now); but opted for a 4Runner over a new Adventure bike (age is getting to me). My complaints:
1: I live in Phoenix; and my last vehicle and wife's had/have real leather; comfortable in the heat. But, the fake leather material in the Off Road is much too hot. Fabric would have been much better (or real leather); but I don't think it was an option.
2. The "premium" audio system is for lack of better description; not "premium". I'm not an audiophile; but the speakers (and I hope that's all it is) are terrible. Passengers have commented that the music tone and pitch are reproduced well at all. My youngest daughter's Rav4 (my old '07), has a cheap $150 head unit, lower grade Boston Acoustics speakers (no sub woofer), and a power amp; all over 10 years old; and it blows away my 4Runner. For now, it's good enough.
3. Have taken 2 rides up to Utah; at night on the two way roads, I was constantly (basically everytime) flashed while on low beam (sometimes even with a divided highway). Dealer adjusted the beam down a bit on the 5K visit; hopefully it eliminates (or greatly reduces) this annoyance.
4. Several controls are not lit up at night.
5. Radar cruise (3 bar) initially brakes too hard; nearly useless on any busy interstate. I set it to 1 bar. My visiting sister for the road trip, complained that I was slamming on the brakes, when in fact it was the auto-braking in the radar cruise control.
6. Connecting to my music on my Garmin watch is terrible; up to 10 minutes (while stopped). Has to be reconfigured each time (rather than just select and connect). No problem on other vehicles; including my BMW K1600 motorcycle (and I thought that was notorious to have multiple devices connected).
7. Shifting to 4L is tricky.
8. Even my kids Ford Fusion has a headrest that adjusts fore and aft; ya; just a nit-picky complaint.

BUT BUT BUT...
1. Rides nice!
2. On a 7 day trip to Utah (Moab, then over to Vegas with points along the way); vehicle ran flawless. 4 people; the adults in the back said the seating comfort and ride was real nice (but did say the seat material was very warm).
3. Highway mileage was right at 22; overall for the trip (highway, trails, city), 20.2 mpg for the 1900 miles.
4. A few "mild" trails; loads of fun. I'm new, and it while be a while before I do anything "moderate"...I suppose I'll need to replace the stock tires before doing anything more than mild over-landing. No plans to upgrade suspension; the KDSS should suffice for the "lower level" of off road I'll be involved with.
5. I'm a satisfied owner. Currently, zero buyer's remorse

 

1) Try getting cloth or neoprene seat covers.

3) Do the wall test and adjust the headlights yourself. It's pretty easy to do.
A good tip to avoid getting flashed is usually I wait just a little while to turn off my high beams to tell the oncoming driver I turned off my brights. I let them see the transition from high to low beam if that makes sense.

5) Maybe try and go through the screen in the dash to see if you can adjust sensitivity. I'm not sure if you can, just a thought I had. The one on mine is super smooth, I was actually impressed over the Lexus radar cruise units I use.

6) May I ask why you don't just use your phone? I don't have this issue.

7) What do you mean by tricky?

Hopefully some of this helped.

 

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

Agree about the seats I always did like cloth and wish all manufacturers would offer premium cloth choices. Can't comment about the back seat ride but the wife tells me it gets uncomfortable. I remember the days (going in with my dad) when you special ordered everything from the ground up. you needed to decide on delayed wipers, wheels, interior, color, engine options, power steering/brakes, radio, whether you wanted cruise control or not then the two month wait while they "built" your vehicle to order. I could just imagine the cluster that must of been at the assembly line following each individual car through start to finish.

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

1st off welcome to the forum!

I share the same gripe with you on the seats, way way to hot. I had the windows ceramic tinted and this has helped a lot. I wish the cloth would have been available in the ORP because I would have got that over the softtex in a heartbeat.

My only other real gripe is where the heck is our owners manual portfolio Toyota? My 2012 taco had one and my 2017 tundra, my t4r is the most expensive Toyota I have bought and they jipped us. Had to order one myself, it should have been included.

 

What

 

- I plan on seat covers. Will need to be thin covers; I have less than an inch clearance from my head to the header (moon roof installed).
- I did notice that the low beam adjustment is a simple screw turn (should have realized being an old school vehicle; the adjustment would be old school); I just didn't bother looking into it before I took it in for the 5K.
- Used all the adjustments on the sound system; it's just an average at best sound system. But; for now it will do.
- I have all my music loaded up on my Garmin Fenix 6X watch. Works great when connected. Just a personal choice, I refrain from using my phone for music. But unless I get the handshake to perform flawlessly, I may have to use the phone.
- Tricky to shift to L4.....took a few tries and grinds to figure out the precise mechanical movement of the shifter. I must have "accidentally" hit the right movement when I checked it out at the dealer before taking ownership.

 

This thread makes me glad that I have basic cloth seats. I agree cloth is more comfortable in hot climates.

The only drawback is they can get stained and harder to clean. Plus if you have a furry companion that sheds, that can be a pain.

 

This discussion reminds me of my 68 Cougar I had back in HS.

It had black vinyl seats and no AC. You didn't dare try and get in that car until the sun went down in the summer. Holy crap was it hot!

I've read good things about the Soft-Tex seats though. Maybe they're not so bad.

 

By adjust in the dash, I meant the little screen in the gauges in the middle of the tach and speedo. I went through it the other day and found that you can adjust the sensitivity of the PCS, maybe that will correlate with the radar cruise too? I have mine set to 2/3 and it's pretty darn smooth. This is separate from the bars you see when you activate radar cruise. It's buried deep inside that screen so just keep pressing things until you find that setting.

 

Whatever the black neoprene is that came with my 2013 trail it’s impossible to tear or stain. Looks like new 8 years later.

 

It sounds good. Like I said, I've heard good things about it.

Probably hold up better than cloth.

How is it during summer heat?

 

It’s just like cloth in the heat and cold.

 

Cool, thanks,

Maybe I should have bought the premium.

 

The shifter on mine has gotten much much smoother since it was when brand new. Most of the time 2w to 4w drive is smooth now. And the harder shift from hi to lo has gotten butter smooth. I do exercise the shifter and locker regularly, which helps.

 

For summer wear pants and turn up the A/C. Any naked skin on leather or softex seats will make it sweaty and stick.

 

We are all different. I love the Softex. I have a dog and they are bulletproof. Not a scratch on them. Clean easily. Don't notice them being hot because I find the ac more than adequate.

 

Heard nothing but excellent reviews from all my jeep friends that love the WET OKOLE neoprene seat covers. They are like a scuba suit for your seats,
They take snow, rain, mud, heat and last forever.

 

I find the headrests don't hold up as well, mine are kind of faded and get discolored when I try to vacuum the dog hair off of them. Kind of like when you rub velvet against the grain. I need to get some covers for the headrests, I have the "pet cover" type covers on my front and rear sets. I like them a lot, but the don't protect the headrests or the top of the rear seat.

 

I have lived in Phoenix and know the heat.
Here are a few options,
1. Carista dongle to open windows and sunroof (if equipped) to let the heat out before entrance.
2. Remote start - we used 12volt.Solutions & has had no problems besides the 1 mile advertised distance (my OCD had to check).
3. Neoprene seat covers that can handle the heat & be easily cleaned.
I was in the sun all day so forgive me if I missed another option mentioned.
Ryan.

 

I'll take a look at that. Thanks!