New (to me) 2019 Toyota 4Runner ORP!!!

Yesterday I traded in my 2019 Tacoma and bought a 5th gen 4Runner. It is a Barcelona Red 2019 T4R ORP with the dealer "blackout" package. Both trucks had about the same mileage, and the local dealer gave me a good price on both the trade-in and the new 4Runner.

Here is the old Tacoma...


...and the new 4Runner.




I've only put about 50 miles of mixed city/highway on the Runner since purchase, but I am very satisfied. The Tacoma was a decent truck, but 99% of the time, the bed was empty. I was also getting some odd whining sounds from the rear diff, some vibrations from the front diff, and some clunking from the armor.

The straw that broke the camel's back was a recent 2,000-mile road trip I took with my fiancée. The Tacoma cab was chock full to the headliner. The bed was basically empty. I was tired of shuffling luggage around looking for my gear in the back seat. The 4Runner is a much better solution for my needs.

My only complaints on the 4Runner:

• No keyless entry/push-button start
• Tacoma had a better dash display for various info
  
• No real-time tire pressure data
• Cruise control display was better on the Tacoma (it would display "set" speed and "actual" speed)

However, overall it is obvious to me that the 4Runner is a better built vehicle. It is roomier, more comfortable, quieter, "tighter" steering/feel, better ride, more utilitarian for my needs, and arguably a better off-road vehicle because of the wheel base. The TSS on the Tacoma was really annoying too. It would constantly interfere with braking and cruising when it sensed a vehicle "too close." I'm glad the 4Runner doesn't have it.

On my Tacoma, I made the mistake of immediately doing a bunch of mods to the truck before driving it much. Skid plates, sliders, tires, Decked cargo system, graphics, interior mods, etc. Some of the mods were nice. But on the majority of them, I wished I would have waited to see how I liked the truck without them.

The rear Decked system is cool in theory, but it was a PITA day-to-day. It ate up tons of bedspace and I ended up carrying more junk than I really needed. I had a mobile truck-repair station with all the tools and gear.


The armor definitely protected the truck, but killed mileage and the clunking was annoying.

Regardless, I'm trying not to make the same mistake twice. For the 4Runner I'm just going to drive it for a while before deciding what I want to do. I want to baseline the MPG and really get a feel for how the truck handles and drives.

Eventually, the areas I'm considering modifying are:

• WeatherTech Floor Mats
• Marathon Seat Covers
• Sliders
• Skid Plates (aluminum for mileage?)
• Rear Cargo Slide or Storage Solution?
• Trail Wheels
• 275/70/17 BFG All Terrains
• ARB Dual Compressor
• Dual Battery
  
• Removable fridge for long road-trips
• Roof rack delete
  
• Pro Grille and Front Valance Delete

Let me know what you guys think!

 

Welcome to the family!

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome.

 

Congrats on your 4Runner!

Looks like they address a lot of these issues with the 2020

 

When I first saw that list I thought he should have bought a '20, but then got the part about TSS... Can't say I have been impressed with the TSS features either.

 

Thanks!

Agreed. I vacillated a lot on whether I should wait for a used 2020. I decided to move forward because the Tacoma was out of warranty, making some odd noises, and was going to need some maintenance soon. I figured it would be better to put that money directly to the truck I want.

I may regret not waiting for the 2020. Surprisingly, the push button start and keyless entry are what I miss the most so far. But it may just be habit.

The TSS was maddening. I'd set the cruise on the highway and typically stay in the right-hand lane. When I would approach someone in front of me going slower, it would cut the cruising speed before I could move to the left lane to overtake. It made me jump into the left lane way too early, even on the lowest setting.

It would also randomly apply the brakes to "save" me from running into the back of vehicles in front of me. But way too early and sometimes totally wrong (there is no vehicle in front of me, the vehicle is turning, the vehicle is in a different lane, etc). It was way too intrusive.

Either way, I think we can all agree that the 4Runner is the superior vehicle!

 

Congrats and welcome. Hear ya on the TSS. Mine hasn't been a problem yet (and it's worth noting that you can activate standard cruise control simply by holding the On button down for a few seconds -- you don't have to use dynamic cruise) but I don't trust that automatic braking system.

 

I just purchased my 2020 ORP 3 weeks ago. Regarding the adaptive cruise control, When you push the button at the end of the stalk to turn it on, hold the button for 3 seconds. That will turn off the nanny. My salesman showed me that feature, as I was complaining about that feature on my wife's CR-V

 

Now you tell me!!!

 

LOL. Also, you can turn off the lane departure warning and it stays off. No need to ever use it if you don't want. (And why would you want? It be stupid).

However, you can't turn off the automated braking system. You will get warnings on the dash if the car thinks you might be in danger of hitting something. Which is uncommon and not really a big deal IMO -- buuuuut, if the car really really thinks you're about to hit something it will slam on the brakes for you. Maybe it's just me, but I trust my own sense of danger more than the computer's. Especially since the system can be fooled by so many things. You should see the Owners Manual description of all the ways it can go wrong. It's ridiculous. It's like a Saturday Night Live spoof or something. So to me, this is a very valid reason to prefer the 2019.

Also, some (or all?) the 2020s have GPS tracking and telemetrics built in, for example if you want to buy insurance that's priced based on how you drive. In 2019 only the Limited had that feature bug. You can tell the system not to collect this data, but, you know, how much do you really trust that.

There are other advantages of the 2020s, but again this stuff is a good reason to be glad you got a 2019.

 

Congrats!

There is a benefit to having a key instead of the keyless/push button... if you add a remote start, it will stay running when you open the door. With the push to starts, it's some sort of security feature thing where it will shut off to moment a door is opened.

 

Read this thread. It will make you happy you got a 19 instead of a 20

https://www.4runners.com/threads/vehicle-data-transmission.14184/#post-166488

 

The automated braking system was terrible in the Tacoma. It engaged erroneously on several occasions. Scared the crap out of me. It never engaged for a legitimate reason.

On my Tacoma, the truck would continue to run even when I would open the door and get out of the truck (with the key). It was kinda a nice feature when you forget something in the (locked) house, but want to keep the A/C running.

Reviewing now.

 

Yeah, if you start it with the key, you can exit and it will stay running; but if you started it via remote start (if applicable), the truck would shut off as soon as you open the door. Not a big deal anyways, just a very mild annoyance in the middle of winter, lol.

I had a Taco with push to start; was grateful that my 4Runner came with a key

 

Do you guys have any recommendations for skid plates and sliders? I would often take my Tacoma off road. It would consistently smack the skid plates, but the steel RCI armor killed my mileage. Any suggestions? Do you think the aluminum versions would hold up?

 

If you're smacking rocks, steel would still be ideal... if you're just gleaming off of dirt piles or branches/stumps, aluminum would likely be sufficient.

For sliders, so many great builders out there, it's hard to give a specific recommendation. I went with shrockworks, primarily as I had there sliders before on a previous jeep, and that they only had a one week lead time. Def recommend steal for sliders.

 

That's what I was thinking. I was hoping I could get away with aluminum for the weight/mpg, but steel would probably be better. I was very pleased with my RCI armor on my Tacoma.

 

Congrats!

 

Welcome from FL.

 

Great looking 4Runner, and that Tacoma was really nice too! Welcome aboard.

 

Agreed on the Lo beam suckage. H9s here also.

When you say "1 of the 1st things I notice when I went from my 2015 Tacoma to this vehicle, the LED Fog Anytime mod", what exactly do you mean?

I had done the anytime fog light mod on my Tacoma, it was just a matter of adding a jumper wire in a relay...I've heard the 4R version is a bit more complicated.

 

Great looking 4Runner!! Congratulations! I'm picking up a new T4R TRDORP next week...really excited. It's been a few years since I've owned one!

 

Red and ready! Looks good, Congrats!

Funny you mention that. I have a Truck Cap on my Nissan Frontier but every time we went on a trip the luggage got piled high in cab. The bed would be empty. Drove me nuts.

 

Thanks! The red is growing on me.

The loaded cab and empty bed was infuriating. Normally I'll throw a few thing in the bed on a road trip. But every time I turned around, the fiancée had something else that needed to go in the cab. On our first stop for the night I started rummaging around for clothes and a tooth brush and thought: "This isn't working."

I suspect I'll end up with another Toyota pickup for work eventually. But it will be a single cab pre-1995 truck with a 22RE and gear driven transfer case.

Anybody have a writeup for the the H9 conversion? Or is it just a bulb swap? Part number?

 

I live in the sticks (no street lights around me) and am happy with the performance or low & high beams on the 4Runner.

 

Small update - Put a set of 275/70R17 BFGoodrich All Terrain KO2s on the truck, including the spare. They’re E rated 10-ply, so they should be really durable for off roading. RCI skids and sliders soon.

 

I made the same move, except mine was a 2017 TRD Sport into a 2021 TRD ORP

 

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

Nice! That’s a HUGE upgrade over the Sport.