Ownership experience so far - 2023 SR5P

I picked up my 2023 SR5P from the dealer on March 7th. I absolutely love it so far. I had a 2020 2-door Wrangler previously, and I was looking for more room to carry people and things. The 4Runner is much more comfortable, and it is a much nicer space to spend time in all around compared to the Wrangler.

I have added a few things so far:

• I added the all black "Trail" running boards. I am really happy with how they look.
  
• I added some Weathertech HP floor liners to the front and back seats, I looked around at some other options, but I had the HP's previously, and I really liked them. They are easy to clean with just a microfiber cloth since they don't have such deep ridges like some other options have.
  
• I updated the interior incandescent bulbs to LEDs, this was a huge improvement on visibility in the dark and was well worth the expense. It was easy to change out all 11 bulbs, took probably 1/2 hour.
• I added a tray to go in the top of the cavernous center console to hold smaller items, I got it off of Amazon and it was really worth it to have a spot for items that I use often, and there is still lots of room underneath for all kinds of other things.

I am old school, and although it is likely irrational, I can't let engine oil or rear differential fluid stay in a new vehicle past 1000 miles. Probably something that was ingrained in to my psyche at a young age, but it makes me sleep better after changing them early. I hit 750 miles, and I knew I was going to be really busy in the coming weeks and probably wouldn't have a chance to get to it for awhile, so I changed both the oil and rear dif fluid.

I ordered some oil, oil filters, oil drain plug gaskets, and the differential crush washers along with the running boards from a dealer that is pretty close that was linked from the Toyota parts site, there was free shipping since it was over $75 and they came just a few days after ordering. The price was really nice compared to MSRP on all those parts.

For the oil change the worst part was getting the front skid plate back on, it actually came off easily, I probably just got lucky. Putting it back on took a lot of cuss words and attempts, but finally got it. For the filter, I didn't worry about trying to drain the oil out of it first, I just spun it off, cleaned it up and replaced the filter and o-ring, and put it back on. Was way easier than I thought it would be. I think trying to deal with draining it first would have made it much more difficult. For this first oil change I used the Toyota GTMO 0w20, it was really nice to get it shipped for free, and it was just over $6 a quart. Lately in the Walmart's near my house, it has been difficult to find any 0w20, they have basically every other weight of oil, but the 0w20 seems to be in high demand. I will now keep my eyes open and try to get a stash built up when I find it. I will be one that does my oil changes every 5k going forward.

The rear dif was pretty easy to service. The only issue I had, that I haven't really seen mentioned in the various threads, was that the crush washer on the drain bolt was painted to the bolt and difficult to get loose. At first I spent a long time trying to find it in the pan thinking it must have fallen it because with my old eyes, I didn't notice it was painted to the plug. I used a little razor blade to get it loose easily. I have seen this in the past on few vehicles, but figured I would mention here, it would be easy to not notice and make the mistake of adding a new washer on top and getting in to trouble. I didn't think to take a picture of it before I got it loose, but here is what it looked like after:


Thanks to everyone for all the great content that has been contributed here, has helped me a lot.

 

welcome

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome

 

Welcome!
Going through the fluids is a good idea. Some will say unnecessary at such an early life cycle, but there are a few reported instances of low levels in a brand new vehicle. I'm OCD about the engine oil and change at every 3k miles, regardless of what the manual says. For some reason this triggers a little ridicule on the forums, but I am also tough on my vehicles, so what can it hurt? Except my wallet...

You probably know this already, but keep all receipts for oil and filters, as well as record mileage and dates for warranty purposes.

Is your Premium a 4x2 or 4x4?

 

Thanks for all the welcomes, mine is 4x4, I plan to do the front differential and transfer case a little further down the road, and the transmission a little further beyond that.

 

I don’t understand how levels can be low if the dealer does the proper PDI, but we all know how dealers are these days. Oil changes I do 3,000 miles if conventional or synthetic blend, 5,000 if full synthetic. First oil change at 1,000 miles for the engine.

 

Good luck and enjoy the new vehicle! Hopefully you don’t have any of the dreaded issues you will probably see floating around this forum.

 

You may have already read this, but If you have the dial 4x4 switch in the console, that is the electronic actuated transfer case and it will need to be engaged several times a year to keep it from having issues. They have had problems in the past properly engaging if left dormant too long.
Same with the front diff ADD (automatic diff disconnect) and the electronic locking rear diff actuators as well.

 

And to keep the front differential properly lubed drive in a straight line if dry conditions for 10 miles a month per manual

 

I have a Limited, so I didn't realize the manual calls for engagement that frequent.
I swapped my 4th gen V8 out to a manual t-case to eliminate any future problems.

 

Very nice. What LED interior lights did you go with?

 

Not sure how that goes in the limited then!

 

LE's are full time AWD, so the diff doesn't have the ADD. The t-case/center diff lock needs to have the same exercise though.

 

Welcome from Arizona! Nice intro.

 

Welcome

 

I second this question. What LED lights did you go with?

 

The Wrangler is great OffRoad. Pretty uncomfortable and loud as a a daily driver. Rented one a few times. There was no way I could get one as a daily driver.

Bronco is a little better and probably falls in between wranglers and 4Runner in terms of comfort and daily driver use

 

I third it!

 

I highly recommend getting this front engine skid: https://rcimetalworks.com/product/10-19-4runner-front-skid-plate/

You never have to remove it for oil changes and it's thicker than the stock version.

 

Looked it up myself. Amazon has several sets. Can't vouch for quality. Maybe the OP will answer. Here's just one:

$18 Tallew 42 Pieces Interior Car Lights LED Dome Light 28 mm 31 mm 36 mm 41 mm BA9S T5 T10 LED Bulb Kit LED Dome Light for Car Interiors Map Dome Trunk Cargo Door Courtesy License Plate Light (White)

ABEN 42 Pieces Interior Car Lights LED Dome Light 28 mm 31 mm 36 mm 41 mm BA9S T5 T10 LED Bulb Kit LED Dome Light for Car Interiors Map Dome Trunk Cargo Door Courtesy License Plate Light (White) (amazon.com)

 

Welcome and great introduction. I picked up an SR5 Premium 4x4 on December 30th and love it too. Already have a list of things I want to do.

 

Purchased Jan 15 2023 this is what i did so far, Never smell the dirt yet until some modified KDSS.

 

One of my friends convinced me that the cheap LED sets from Amazon would burn out quick, and that I should go with VLEDs, so I did. It was pricey, hopefully it will be worth it and they will last. As easy as it was, I probably should have just went with the cheap ones even if I have to replace them from time to time. I got the white 5.5K variant, I am really happy with the results, so I am not going to worry about the price.

 

LEDs that fail don’t just burn out, they can short. Which is a problem because interior lights arent fused. A short in any of those LED can burn out the body control module/computer. Dont cheap out on these. Or better yet, be selective in the ones you change to led to minimize the risk.

When regular incandescent lights fail, they fail open circuit. That’s probably why fusing these circuits wasnt an anticipated need.

 

Looks great! Curious - did you put clear film between the wind fairing and the roof? I see it has some edging guard on it, but appears to be touching the roof.

 

Great looking T4R, why the spare on the back?

 

Good eye,,
It vary touching the roof panel