Love it with one reservation (updated)

Basic Info: SR5, 4 Wheel Drive, V-6 Engine (236 hp), VSC (Vehicle Stability Ctl), DAC (Downhill Assist Ctl), HAC (Hill Assist Ctl), 4 wheel disc brakes, 4 wheel ABS, sun/moon roof, tow pkg, capable of towing 5,000 lbs, and 23 gallon gas tank.

I purchased this 4Runner SR5 three months ago and have just returned from a 1,000+ mile road trip. I love it except for one thing that I'm still trying to nail down.

First, some background. I had been driving a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup for 6 years. While it performed acceptably, it had terrible gas mileage (13 mpg), some reliability issues, and it was noisy (road noise and exhaust). You know it's loud when your radio volume starts off low and is blasting by the time you get to work just a half hour later. It was my constant complaints about the noise to my poor wife that finally drove her to TELL me to buy another vehicle. Couldn't pass that up, right?

Major selection criteria was that I wanted a quiet, comfortable vehicle with 4WD, 4 wheel Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS), side air bags, and rear seat head-rests. Of course I would also be checking it's reliability rating with Consumer Reports.

Having ridden in a friends' 4Runner, I was very impressed at how quiet the cabin was, even at freeway speeds. Sure, you still get some slight road rumble and wind noise, but we never had to raise our voices to be heard.

One day, the wife and I were out at lunch and decided to stop at the Toyota dealership near Tacoma Mall. I was admiring the new 4Runners when a salesman approached. After some talk, I made him an offer on the new SR5 in front of us and he accepted immediately (darn it! That means I could have gone lower!). For what it's worth, the salesman did say that it was the end of his month and he needed one more vehicle to make his quota so he was willing to deal fast. Within 45 minutes of arrival, I was cleaning out my Dodge truck as they did the final prep on 4Runner (wash and filled the tank).

So after three months of driving it, here are my observations:

Appearance is a subjective thing. I do like the way it looks and I've gotten many compliments on it. Typical SUV look, nothing outstanding or goofy.

Seated in the drivers seat, I have excellent visibility around me. The Dodge truck had massive forward pillars that gave you terrible blindspots. The blindspots in the 4Runner are neglible and comparable to any other SUV. I have a good view over the hood, the sides, and the rear window is large with an unobstructed view.

In the rear of the cabin, there are curved mirrors on the rear pillars. The salesman told me that they allowed the driver to see if there was anything directly behind him (like a small child or fire hydrant) and also allowed you to visibility of approaching vehicles when you're backing out of a parking space. I looked at those tiny, curved mirror and said, "Yeah, right". But after getting used to them, I think all SUVs should have them. I CAN see into the blindspot below the rear window. As I'm backing out of a parking stall, I can't tell you what kind of vehicle is approaching but I can tell that something is moving towards me. A friend told me that she was getting confused looking at them. If you see something approaching in the right mirror, she kept looking for it on the right. Well, the right mirror is looking to your left so the vehicle is actually approaching from your left. Hard to explain but I got used to it quickly.

The drivers seat is manually adjustable 8 ways; fwd/bck, up/dwn, lumbar, thigh, seat angle, and back angle. I have to believe that coupled with the tilt steering wheel, just about everyone can find a comfortable fit. Let me add one caveat, I have the sunroof. The sunroof takes away about 2 inches of head space. I'm 5'7" and with the seat fully cranked up, I have about an inch between my head and the roof. So the exceptionally tall may have an issue.

Inside the front cabin, lets take a look at the center console. There are two lighted, adjustable cup holders in the front. Having lighted cup holders seems quite a luxury but it does make replacing your coffee cup at night much easier.

Next is the stick shift. Standard with the SR5 is 5 speed automatic. The "D" gear is the overdrive and the gear to be used most of the time. The shifter has a series of gates to it's not likely to mis-shift and has a solid, positive feel.

To the left is an auxillary box. It looks like an ashtray with a single power source. Now this is the first disappointment. I wish there were more power outlets. On road trips, I usually have my Garmin GPS unit running and my cell phone (or something) charging. I had to go out and buy a splitter cable. You can also buy the ashtray which replaces the auxillary box. It looks the same except it comes with an auxillary power outlet and a cigarette lighter. The splitter cable was cheaper.

Towards the rear is an arm rest/storage. Just in front of the arm rest is a small holder. I usually have my iPod and a couple of other small items there.

The storage area is about 5X7X9 (approx)and I usually store my GPS unit and mount there when I'm not using it. I also carry my CD holder and some other junk. Now keep in mind that inside that storage area, towards the front, is a jack that allows you to connect your MP3 player or iPod to the stereo. You do have to buy the cable to connect them. I got mine at Radio Shack for $5. There is also a coin holder too. In the cover of the console, there is a kleenex box holder and a small, fold-out section. This creates a flat surface to use like a small table to write on. Pretty handy!

On the very rear of the console are two air vents for the use of the rear seat passengers. It gives them fresh and temperature controlled air so they don't have to roll down a window or b*tch about how stuffy it is back there. The rear seat passengers appreciate it on long drives.

Jumping back to the dash, I just got the basic SR5 so I don't have all of the accessories. It does have a tilt steering wheel and radio controls (volume, station, mode) on the steering wheel. The cruise control is a separate arm on the lower right that looks like a small turn signal.

Just above the cup holders is a small, tilt out storage. But it's quite small and I haven't figured out a use for it yet.

The easy-to-read gauges are basic, speedometer, tachymeter, fuel, and temp. The rest are dummy lights. I have a good view of the gauges and at night, the reddish orange needles stand out yet doesn't hurt the eyes. I would have liked an oil pressure gauge but I can live without it.

The control to change from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive is a knob to the lower left of the center dash. It has three positions (2WD, 4WD-H, and 4WD-L) and switches easily. But I find the view obstructed by the steering wheel. When I use it, I either tilt my head to the right to look at it or do it all by feel. While you can shift on the fly, good thing it's not something you have to do at freeway speeds.

The CD/AM/FM radio is basic with 6 preset station buttons. Below the radio is the information panel. Some of the information given is: estimated MPG, fan speed, inside temp, outside temp, and time. Nice info but I wish this panel was located higher. It does require you to take your eyes quite a ways away from the road.

The air conditioning controls might take some people a little getting use to. Instead of a round knob, there are buttons in a circle, like spokes on a wheel. People who have ridden with me have tried to rotate the knob. Nope, just push the button. The usual reaction is that people say, "Oh, weird", and then they get used to it. I have no issues with it.

The rear seat is firm and capable of seating three across. But if you have three passengers, then you can't use the cup holders. They're concealed in the middle seat cushion. You pull the upright section down and there are your cup holders.

The rear cargo area works. You can fold down the rear, split seats for additional cargo space. There is a folding cargo shelf so you can stack things like groceries. Hard to explain but you gotta see it. The shelf folds down flat when not in use. There is also a cargo net for the top shelf. Very useful when grocery shopping.

The rear cargo door opens upward. Anyone over 6' had better be careful. There is a small strap to help you in pulling it down. One neat thing about the rear cargo door is that it has Electronic Latching. Instead of slamming the rear door down, you just ease it down. The rear latch will actually pull in the door and lock it. If you do slam the door shut, the rear license plate will rattle against the door. With all the money spent on this thing, why couldn't they have put 4 screws instead of just two?

The rear window does open, sliding down into the door. On the key remote, there is a button to open it. It only opens it and all the way down. On a hot summer day, as I'm approaching the 4Runner, I like to lower the rear window to let the heat escape. By the time everyone is seated and belted in, the inside temperature is noticeably cooler.

I did get the optional rear spoiler. It's located at the top of the rear cargo door and while moving, it directs a flow of air over the rear window. At first, I also questioned whether it was worth the extra $46. It also makes it much more difficult to place things on the roof racks from behind. But I have noticed that at speeds above 35 mph, it will blow water or most loose dust off of the rear window. Nice when you're just coming off of the dusty forest roads.

A side note about the windows. All of the windows on the 4Runner come factory treated with a water repellent. The water beads and runs off quickly. It's like your windows have been waxed. If you've ever used Rain-X, it looks the same. When you're moving, water just flows off which makes for better visibility. The owners manual recommends no other treatments and using just water to clean the windows. Oops. Let us just say, I don't think I've permanently damaged the coating yet as it's still beading.

The antenna for the radio is in the left rear window. I haven't noticed any reception blindspots but if I did, I'd probably just switch to the CD or my iPod. I do prefer the antennas in the window. On my Dodge truck, the antenna mount was damaged and the antenna bent after a few trips through car washes. No worries now.

Driving the 4Runner has been a pleasure with the one reservation. The ride is smooth, quiet, and comfortable. You won't believe it's a truck chassis. After driving hundreds of miles on the highway, never had to crank up the radio nor were we yelling at other. Again, very little road or wind noise. Opening the sunroof does increase the noise level but it's not bad until you get up to 50 mph. Around town, I've been averaging about 20 mpg; freeway about 25.

I've not had an opportunity to tow, use the downhill/hill assist so I can't talk about it just yet.

I debated whether to get the standard 4.0L V-6 engine or to go for the 4.7L V-8. Since I'm not towing anything now, I decided to stick with the V-6 for the better gas mileage. So far, no reason to regret it. This vehicle will scoot when you want it to and I have had no problems getting on the freeway, even with 5 adults seated.

So the one reservation is that at 65 mph or faster, it feels a little "jittery" to me. It feels like the front tires are bouncing and the vehicle wants to jerk to one side or the other. Now that sounds worse than it is because I never felt like I was in danger or the vehicle out of control. It just didn't have that solid "tracking" feeling that it does at lower speeds. More of an annoyance. I've checked the tire pressure and they were fine. The tires are Dunlop Grandtek AT-20's and another 4Runner owner suggested that they were culprits. He said he had the same complaint until he replaced his tires with Toyo Open Country A/T's. I have not driven his vehicle. I did call the dealership and have an appointment tomorrow for them to inspect the tires. My suspicion are the tires at this time. I know most manufacturers don't put the best tires on their vehicles as OEM. So we'll see what the dealership says and then we'll go from there.

Otherwise, can't recommend the vehicle enough. Definite longterm keeper.

UPDATE: (Vara, I did ask the service manager if the tires needed balancing and he dismissed it as "unlikely".) I took my 4Runner in to the service department this morning. The first oil change is free. While there, I mentioned my concerns and asked to have the tires examined. The service manager said he would rotate the tires and that should solve the problem. My next question was, "So the next time I have to rotate the tires, will we be having the same problems?" He didn't think so but assured me that if there were a problem, to just bring it back in. Yep, nothing I like more than hanging out at the dealership. At least there was free coffee.

When they brought my vehicle back, I did notice that three of the four tires had additional lead weights on them. So that tells me that they were rebalanced. I was only able to take it on a short test drive on the highway. It does feel much better but I plan to take it on a longer drive this weekend. Will update as needed.

Update #2: The solution was something rather silly; boy, do I feel dumb. My $2 tire gauge was reading low. I bought a better gauge and it read 37 lbs. Once I lowered the tire pressure to 32 lbs, the ride and handling is now what I think it should be. I did lose 1 mpg but it's worth it for the additional comfort and safety.

UPDATE #3 (Dec 08):  We got hit by a winter storm here with snow.  While not serious by east coast standards, 8 inches of snow is a major disaster here in Washington state. 

As the snow accumulated, I finally got to give the 4WD a good test.  I read in the owners manual that it was okay to drive the vehicle in 4WD high on a variety of surfaces (snow, rain, and dry pavement) as long as the center differential is not locked (requiring a push of a button on the dash, to the left of the steering wheel).  While the Toyota rep does not recommend driving on dry pavement (non-slip surface), he emphasized that it would not harm the vehicle but it would seriously impact the gas mileage.  The manual recommends locking the differential only when the tires are slipping on snow/ice and unlocking before driving again on a non-slip surface.  When you lock the center differential, it also turns off the VSC (Vehicle Stability Control).

First of all, after 8 months of use, I've been averaging about 22 mpg with my vehicle around town.  Not great but better than I expected.  Once I began using my 4WD, that average dropped to about 16 mpg.

Shifting to 4WD is seamless because you just rotate a knob one click.  A green light in the shape of 4 wheels begins to blink on the dash for a few seconds until the drive is engaged.  It then stays on until you go back to 2WD.

If you encounter slippage, the VSC light on the dash will begin to blink and you will hear an audible beeping sound. 

When you lock the differential, the VSC light and a yellow 4 wheel light will blink for a few seconds.

So what's the difference?  I asked the Toyota rep and the key points he mentioned were:

- the vehicle in 2WD is supplying drive to just the rear wheels

- in 4WD without locking the differential, you are now supplying some drive to the front tires but the majority (70%) is still being supplied to the rear tires.  The VSC still functions which allows the computer to divert additional power to the tire that need it to compensate.

- in 4WD with lock, the drive power is equally distributed to all the tires which gives you maximum traction on a slippery surface.  It also turns off the VSC.  What is also noticeable is that the vehicle is harder to turn in this mode.  Since all the wheels want to turn at equal speeds, when you turn, the inner wheel will want to keep turning at the same speed as the outer wheel.  That is why you will often feel bumps as you're turning.  The inner wheel is forcing a slip so that it can keep up with the outer wheel.  If you were on a non-slip surface, the inner wheel would not be able to compensate and you will damage your transmission.

So when the snow began to fall and the ice began to form, the 4Runner was able to handle it with minimal issue.  I never had to chain up once during this period of time.

But I must remind everyone that having 4WD does not make you bulletproof.  It allows you to accelerate faster but it doesn't stop you any faster. Ice is the great equalizer.  While you see a lot of 2WD drives stranded, all the vehices upside down along the road are 4WDs that their owners neglected common sense and the laws of physics.

I easily cruised up hills that stopped other vehicles.  You don't need 4WD often here but when you do, you need it bad.  I will say that I avoided steep hills (>40 deg slope) and anyplace that looked like a battlefield with abandoned vehicles.

I did replace the factory floor mats with the Cabela's Gear2 mats.  If you have an outdoor oriented vehicle, I strongly recommend you do too.  These mats fit like they were hand made.  They are high sided on three sides with a drop off towards the door and waterproof.  So when you climb into your vehicle with snow covered boots, all that muddy water will be contained by the floor mat.  If it does start to run, it will run to the door.  Easy to brush out snow, ice, or dirt.   Some day if I ever part with this vehicle, I will pull the mats out and replace the factory mats.  The floor carpet will look like you just rolled off the showroom. 

I reiterate; I love this vehicle!

Maintenance update:  I'm one of those guys that enjoys changing his own oil.  The first oil change was free.  The second one came due while it was cold and had snow on the ground - too miserable.  When the third was due, I stuck my head under the vehicle and looked at the skid plate protecting the oil pan.  Thinking that I would have to remove it to access the oil drain plug, I said "forget it" and took it back to the dealer.  I mentioned to the maintenance rep there that I didn't feel like messing with removing the skid pan.  He nodded his head sympathetically and told me that a lot of customers don't change their own oil in 4Runners for that reason.  Well, I was a sucker!

I was later mentioning how difficult changing oil appeared to be to another 4Runner owner.  He looked puzzled for a moment before asking, "Why don't you use the access plate?"  Well, folks, in the bottom/center of the skid plate is a black plastic cover.  It's easily popped off with a screwdriver and then you can reach the oil drain plug.  Once I found it, it took me less than 3 minutes to remove the drain plug.  Dang!  It's too easy!  Someone thought this through.

The oil filter is on top of the engine and tilts off at a 45 degree angle.  My first thought was that it could make for a real mess since you'll be lifting the old filter up and oil will pour out.  It turned out to be a non-issue too.  When you lift up the old filter, some oil does flow back but there is a lip that holds it in.  Underneath the lip is a drain tube with a rubber cap on it.  I placed an empty oil bottle underneath it, removed the rubber cap and the old oil flowed right into the bottle.  No muss, no fuss.

So now I'm changing my own oil again.  I'm saving some money and getting the satisfaction of knowing that I really know what's going into my engine.  If you like to change your own oil too, just look for that access plate.  If you have any dirt on your skid plate, it blends in but it's there.