Too much technology in current 4Runners???

We were up in Denver back in April and our thirty-six year old daughter was expressing an interest in getting a new car to replace her 2002 Honda CRV which was a nice car when we bought it fifteen years ago with 64,000 miles on it. But now it has 165,000 miles on it, it's kind of beat up, and leaking oil on the garage floor We tried to talk her into Highlander Hybrid but she had her heart set on a 4Runner because she really likes our 2015 classic silver metallic Trail Premium with KDSS and a moonroof

So after sleeping on it overnight, and with the stock market hanging in there, I told her and our son-in-law that to help save them some money maybe we should buy a new 4Runner and sell them ours as it is in really good condition - I bought it new in 2015 and it's always been garaged and only has 60,000 miles on it. Now I'm seventy years old and could easily have kept our 4Runner another ten years but as a parent you have to help the kids out right?

So I started a quest in mid-April to find a 2023 Off-Road Premium with KDSS and a moonroof in lunar rock color. I was wait listed at three dealers in Denver as well as the local dealer here in Durango where I bought the 4Runner that we have now. Finally on July 21st I was able to put a deposit down at a dealer in Denver. After sitting at the port of Long Beach for almost a month our vehicle finally arrived on the train in Denver on 8/30 and we are headed up to pick it up in Denver next week and deliver our old 4Runner to our daughter Besidescosting about half the price of a new 4Runner, just the sales tax and registration is saving them over $3000 not to mention the savings in lower insurance premiums for an eight year old car vs. a new one.

So this week I started reading the quick start guide online and holy cow there's a lot of new stuff that I'm not so sure that I'm really going to like. Stuff like the smart key and push button start, automatic high beams, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, Apple Car Play and all the other smart and connected stuff. I'm good with technology but do you really need all this extra stuff? I was perfectly happy with a plain old key and clicker, backup camera, hands-free phone, auto-dimming rear view mirror, Entune so I can play Pandora via Bluetooth from my iPhone, etc.

Anyway, just venting - I'm sure I'll get used to it but I have a feeling that I'm going to kinda miss the simplicity of the old 2015 4Runner

 

If you think a 4Runner has too much technology in it don't look at other new brands and models. You might fall on the floor and it isn't going to go away.

 

Thats the most silver looking lunar rock! JK, looks good.

 

Don't be fooled by the fancy nomenclature.
It is still a 13 year old truck. You going to fit in just like a glove.

 

I just have to remind the technophobes what a pain life was before electronic fuel injection. Disassembling and cleaning the carburetor every six months, messing with the distributor, attaching the strobe and adjusting the timing, changing oil every 2000 miles. The good old days weren't all that great.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your new vehicle as much as I've enjoyed mine. The Multi Terrain Monitor on the ORP is pretty nice off-road.

 

Ha, ha, that's the 2015 TP that we are selling to our daughter (when it was new)

 

I hear ya, new vehicles are remarkably reliable nowadays, as our 2015 4Runner has been. I had a 1973 BMW 2002tii that was mechanically fuel injected back in the day and that system was bombproof compared to a carburetor. And electronic ignition too - I still remember installing points and setting the dwell and timing on cars and motorcycles. And on the BMW I had to replace the spark plugs every 10,000 miles

 

The push button start with smart key is really nice. Key stays in your pocket from the time you leave the house until you get back home. I promise you'll be glad you have it.

Everything else you listed, you can simply just not use it. Those features can be turned off, and you won't even know you have Apple Car Play if you don't choose to use it.

 

I hate the lane departure thingy, it is annoying just because you choose to change lanes without using the turn signal. Half the suspension settings I'll probably never use. But the back up camera is quite convenient. It's all just like everything else, you'll get used to it.

 

Too much crap. I’m 39 but would kill for a “low tech” option with like… hand crank windows.

 

Upshot, when you disable it it stays disabled. I keep mine off and it doesn't bother me. At least the 4R is one of the few new vehicle in 2023 that doesn't have auto stop-start that you have to keep turning off every time you start the car, that would drive me nuts

 

Doesn't use the turn signals when changing lanes. Name doesn't check out.

 

You bought a premium, and you're complaining about too much technology. A premium.

 

Just in comparison to the tech in my 2015 4Runner TP which I really like I bought both because I really like the KDSS suspension, heated seats, and moonroof. And I think that all of this new technology is in all the models, not just the ORP.

 

KDSS, heated seats, and moonroof are definitely not in all of the models. They may be options, but they're not in all of the models.

 

Yes I know that, KDSS, heated seats and moonroof are not what I am referring to as technology in the newer 4Runners I'm just thinking that all this new technology like the smart key and push button start, automatic high beams, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, Apple Car Play and all the other smart and connected stuff are in all the new models from SR5 and up but I could be wrong.

 

No offense, but you're exactly the person who I want to be annoyed by that. It's super easy to signal your lane changes. And it should be such a habit that you don't even think about it.

 

Smart key is one of the biggest liability of the newer models. I hate how reviewers keep saying all vehicles should have it. Five 4Runners stolen from driveways in my area this year, all push starts. The only true benefit for the push start is to avoid risk from all those idiots that stuck 20 keys and let pull on the ignition key causing faults. While I miss the tinkering of carburetors, I don’t miss the finicky working in below zero. The current 4Runner is the last hold up of vehicles from the past, that’s probably why I enjoy driving it, and don’t mind driving it slow. It’s my last new vehicle (2022) that I ever plan to own, unless I leave the country (Canada).

 

Hold lock and press unlock twice you will see the red light flash a few times. That disables the fob so no thief can pickup the signal and also conserves battery life very well.

 

I guess some people just like to complain for the sake of complaining

 

I totally agree. Do you have the model which features engine sounds piped through your speakers?

 

I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm very happy I bought a 2019 since they introduced new tech in 2020. I mean, I bought the 4runner because all of the reviews crapped on them for being dinosaurs that lacked the technology of other new vehicles

 

The dynamic cruise control is kind of cool in my opinion. You don't have to tap the brake pedal when you come up on slower traffic, especially interstate driving. I was positive I wouldn't like that feature, but have grown to like it.

 

I had a Nissan Murano platinum AWD before my 4Runner. It had every electronic doo dad and safety feature. It was great until it cost me over 4 grand just out of warranty. Now it didn’t all happen at once but over about a year one thing after another kept requiring replacement or service. I got tired of that and can really appreciate the fact my 2018 Limited I purchased pre owned last year has none of that technology. I was thinking about this last week that if anything ever happens to my 2018 and I needed a new one I would first search for something before 2020.

 

Except for the TSS Toyota Safety Sense which might drive you insane. Mine kept going off with the red BRAKE light on the dash from sunlight reflecting off of manhole covers, guardrails, puddles etc. I keep adjusting the sensiitivity down until I can deal with it not going off .....but now I am concerned that in an actual pedestrian/bicycle were to cross in front of me, will it still work? Really wish I bought a 2019 without all the technology.

 

I tried to find a new 2019 and there were none left , so I settled for a 2020 base SR5 hoping that it would be simpler. It has the old school keys.....but the TSS...man wish I dint have it. I turn off the auto highbeams, lane departure alert, but the pedestrain detection alerts you can adjust them but they will not turn off.

 

Hello from Rockwood 81301
Got a 2023 Limited 6 months ago, thought I’d never get used to these tech features
Now I love every one of them
Careful at Red Mountain in winter, seems bad news there every year
Congrats!

 

I enjoy technology/gadgets, but only if they are well refined and purposeful. Toyota and other manufactures have a ways to go before I embrace there tech stuff. I am not a fan of Nanny systems like dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, even auto lights, I am fully capable of doing those things my self. I had a Mazda with some of these new features and it was nice, but I rarely used them.

I was lucky enough to buy a 2019 just before they added all this stuff and I am super happy I did.


I do have to say its easer getting ahead of these vehicles with dynamic cruise control since they leave so much space between them and the car ahead of them.

 

Hey! What happened to the balls?!

 

Exactly!!
I bought my '19 in September of 2018 after I learned the TSS crap was going to be on the 2020 MY.

I drive the old fashioned way... I pay attention to driving and nothing else while doing so.