RIP 4Runner

I do just that with stock gearing as is. To me, that is what S mode is for.

 

I challenge you to do it at less than
5,000 RPM on Snoqualmie Pass. My local 4x4 shop blew up his first gen motor here lol

 

I'm sure that my truck won't be able to do that. I have read about Snoqualmie Pass in other threads on this forum.
I do go over the Sierras out of California on the way Boise every year. Unless it is icy or snowing, it doesn't slow me down much with a loaded truck.

 

With 4.88, you can gain speed from 60 to 79 while staying in gear and gaining 200 more rpms climbing on Snoqualmie Pass. Impossible for stock 4Runner

 

If one is planning to keep a 5th gen forever, it’s almost a shame if they retain too much resale. Then you have to fight the urge to baby the thing its whole life lol. Sometimes it’s good to just treat a vehicle for what it is, and not feel like you’re some sort of caretaker for a huge asset.

That said, selling it for huge profit isn’t really a thing either, if every other option around you has gotten so much more expensive. It’s liken the Carvana craziness with prices of all used cars going through the roof. Didn’t do a seller much good if they still needed to buy another car.

 

Thankfully the cow-catcher/street sweeper look appears to be dead. I say “appears”, only because the style is still a little bit there on the new one. That means it may end up growing back over the years and history is repeated all over again.

 

I cant think of any hybrids that have the motor at the wheels. Thats more common in all electric vehicles like the Rivian that puts a motor at each wheel to eliminate tranmissions and shafts; or Teslas that have a motor at each axle.

Most hybrids have the motor either sandwiched between the engine and transmission (called a series hybrid - the original Honda insight design was like this) or next to the engine and separately linked to the transmission (parallel hybrid). There are some other parallel hybrid variations where for example the gas engine drives the front and the leectric motor drives the rear to give pseudo AWD (is this how the hybrid highlander is i think??)

Series hybrid is easier to do and very easy to make the hybrid motor act as the engine starter but typically cant run electric only. Parallel hybrid is more complicated but more flexible and potentially more efficient as you can run it electric only (slow speed stop and go), gas only (high speed highway cruising), or both (hard acceleration).

Luckily the battery gets used every single time you drive in a typical hybrid so thats not a problem unless you like to put your car in storage for years at a time.

 

New ones are better, they realized their error.

 

I am sure we will see the the 5th Gen rise in price like a home-sick angel brother. Because the 4 in 4Runner is now 4 cylinders. It is really lipstick on a pig now. Fancy shocks and fancy buttons cannot fool most people these days. It's a golf cart now. Time will tell but I have two new 5th Gens because I love them - but for the right price I would sell one for profit. If not I will probably keep one and give one to my daughter as her jeep is on it's last leg.

Long live the 6Runner...

 

I guess it could be viewed as profit if it’s a secondary “optional” car. In that case, high values could make downsizing more attractive.

In my case, my 5th gen is a primary daily, that does everything from commuting, back road bombing Sunday drives, forest trails camping, and landfill runs. Since I like it, and nothing else can do this combo of things like a 4runner can, it’s just not worth it for me to sell, even if actually starts appreciating.
That’s because I’d be giving up something I really want, that I couldn’t replace for less than what I sold it for. It would be a completely lateral move.

However, if it actually appreciates from now on, it’s very nice to know that it’s an actual financial asset that could be used as collateral on a rainy day or as a source for emergency funds.

 

As soon as they are out of production, you have the advantage. Trust me I never tell a lie.

 

I highly doubt that a mass produced vehicle that was sold at a rate of about 100K per year for 15 years is going to appreciate much in value.

 

It's not just any vehicle and it definitely is not the modern day golf carts with bad ass fender flares for 65K. It's a true icon and a symbol of greatness that has now faded into history forever. You can be sure that Toyota has stored a few thousand in a time capsule for later...

 

Oh c'mon. People said the same thing when the 1980s oil crisis killed big block v8s.
And I am sure there where folks that thought EFI could never properly replace carburetors.
And timing timing belts where a poor mans substitute for chains.
And overhead cams where way too complex - save the Pushrods.
Pushrods and overhead valves? Oh my so many parts, save the flat head.
Factory made bearing inserts? Must be too lazy to learn how to pour babbitt.
Electic starters are for wimps. A real man can turn a crank.




At least some folks still are not polluted by all this new fangled technology..

 

That's just disingenuous to say people not embracing 4cyl turbo hybrid vehicles simply because they are different. Seriously, that's really weak. We all have technology in our lives and it's often a very good thing. And there are times it's not and leads to over complexity creating numerous additional failure points/conditions.

I and many others see it all the time in their careers. Often the simpler solutions afford far greater reliability than the overly complex systems. Your not so subtle implication is all technology and complexity is good, and that is not true at all. It never has been and never will be the case. Technology will continue to move forward and sometimes it's better. Sometimes it's not. Your over simplified assertion is very much lacking.

 

That’s very true. When engineering something for a purpose, a simple design is preferable, and often harder to achieve than a more complex one.

I think the complaints about overly complex drivetrains comes from the fact that it’s being designed to meet goals other than the ones we are interested in (we, bekng the typical internet 4runner owner/fan).

The new drivetrain is not solely focused on meeting the goals of power, durability, mpg, and reliability for our sake. Instead, it also has be designed to take into account current laws, toyota’s desire to standardize drivetrains, and meet a whole boatload of other targets we might not necessarily care about. They are designing it to meet targets that the current V6 4runner didn’t even need to worry about 20 some years ago. So it’s almost inevitable that drivetrain complexity will bloat over time. It always has. It’s ok to let people grieve the loss of simpler things.

 

wait until the tin foil hat people catch wind of how much data these new 3rd gen head units collect in the 6th gen 4runner and send back. you should see the uproar on the tundra forums on the 3rd gen tundra 2.5 gen headunits collect.

usually you can tell the headunit gen by what TSS comes with the vehicle.

tundra has the 2.5 TSS and the new tacoma has the 3.0 TSS

 

I bet I would’t be far off if I guess they include face tracking and software to deduce your alertness and emotional state, and which would then make musical selections for you if you seem tired or down.

 

there is an option to opt out, but then again you lose a lot of functionality of the new head units and the app. remote start and toyota nav.

if you go the AA or CP route its a mute point though but you are trading toyota spying for google/apple spying

and yes apple will sell your metrics to a third party just like google.

 

Sorry you may think you know me but you missed the mark.

What I was challenging was the implication that 4 cylinder absolutely must be worse than 6. If you look at the evolution of cars going back the last 100 years you will see a constant trend toward more and more power from less and less engine. If bigger is always better we should just put Al Capones Caddilac V16 in this truck.

I in no way shape or form said that complexity is better. In fact I tend to like simple myself and don’t currently have any turbo or hybrid cars. And I listen to music on a very simple, old fashion 1960s stereo.

What I did say is we don’t need to fear something it just because it’s new and different.

 

there will always be people that stick to the old ways and people that embrace the new. each has pro's and con's

i personally embrace the new after being in my 2014 going on 11 years. ready for something new and refreshing. but then again kinda got spoiled by the wife's 23 tundra platinum

and as i get closer to retirement, i prefer the creature comforts a lot more now and less modding.

 

what’s really aggravating is that they have stopped providing off-line navigation on a lot of trims of toyotas that had them before. So now those huge ipad screens on the dash are much less useful without having a backup navigation tool when you’re beyond cell phone range.

 

there is an option to download google maps for android auto for offline use

 

For the entire US all at once, or just smaller regions?

 

not sure, havent tried it. but you can google instructions for the procedure.

personally i just use my 7in garmin since i have it loaded with the route i want to use already programmed using basecamp.

i usually go from ND to ATL to see my mom and i have a set route i use every time for gas stations and motels i stop at during the 1750 mile trip (one way)

 

Yeah, it just kinda sucks that they stick this huge wart of a head unit on the dash and defeature the thing from the one damn thing they were supposed to do in the first place. (why would I want a big bright-ass just to view what radio station I’m on?). This forces people to stick another thing on the dashboard, or clog up phones with GB of map data. The current highlander xle trim doesn’t even include a stupid compass! Toyota is fine using the integrated GPS to track the owners vehicle and collect whatever data they want to sell on us, but don’t bother including a map data base to let the customer use the GPS??? It’s absurdity at its finest if you ask me!

Oh great, now you got me started on a rant!

Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, that might make it more convenient to rip out the gps modules out all together out of the new toyotas.

 

even if they didnt do that, the biggest issue on the nav (and this applies to my 2014 4runner), i cant modify or adjust the trip in the nav while in motion outside of minute adjustments. thats why i use a garmin, full use while in motion.