The only opinion that matters

I like this review instead of listening to some of the yahoo's who can't stand the thought of the 6th Gen.

 

I was going to say jokingly Doug Demuro is the only opinion that matters, but really... he kind of is. Most auto journalists accept gifts from manufacturers. Doug never has and now he's rich enough that he'll never have to.

 

Fair..I like this one, he gives an honest review from a practical standpoint. Mentions what DIY guys might encounter and discusses a lot of differences between the 5th and 6th gen. Often some of the topics he mentions are debated on this forum.

 

I trust him to give an opinion of reliability or cost to repair because he's seen so many Toyotas in the shop, but I could care less what he thinks of some new vehicle whose core components have only seen a couple years on the market. If I want a features video, Demuro is way deeper into the weirdness instead of just the paper features.

 

If you are looking at a 4runner solely for it's comfort features, disregard this post. They are still selling minivans. Or so I've heard.

 

Slobbing on the knob up in here

Who's your favorite youtube personality

 

I prefer the ones that shoot from the hip.

 

Interesting, that one of the first things said in that video is to change oil more often.

 

Agreed. Also stating that this engine is not necessarily new but is making it's way into to many Toyota's has to hold some weight to it's reliability. Treat the engine right and it'll return the favor for the price increase. In my opinion.

 

No idea what you're getting at here.

 

First thing I saw at the beginning how Toyota cheap out on the 6th gen having that flimsy rod to hold the hood. Also not having the engine cover especially having loud direct injectors.

In addition to the concerns of engine reliability (which he clearly said 5th gen was far superior), the transmission was big news from this video. Looks like it's from the Highlander that is reconfigured. My buddy's 22 Highlander was bought back by Toyota under lemon law due to transmission issues. With that I will stay away from the 6th gen 4runner with this transmission.

I wonder smaller diff is a reason Tacoma breaking front diff? Weaker than old gen?

Wow this video is the 2nd time he gave a bad word about kdss. "Nothing but problems.". In Lexus video he said KDSS was the worst decision.

Eww, no skid plates in that 6gen 4runner. Half fuel tank cover like the GX460. Vs 5th gen have full fuel tank skid from SR5 to Limited.

 

Highlanders are made in America…… 4Runners are made in Japan

 

I think he was talking about XREAS since this is a limited and for 6tg gen AVS replaced XREAS?


He made a point though twice to point out the jarring ride of the 25 limited. That surprising to hear since it’s the quintessential 4WD SUV of choice for rugged soccer moms.

 

So what? My Camry was built in Georgetown and its automatic gearbox is butter smooth at 25 years old and over 200k miles. Toyota built its state side reputation on being able to crank out high quality products from their American plants.

 

And in Lexus GX video about kdss-
He was saying even after the fix he has KDSS lean and Jose's GX also has lean. Also warns about leaks and main control valve problems.

 

Maybe the transmission from Japan regardless assembled in USA.


The NHTSA data sheet I have the columns are not perfect but have a feeling that Highlander engine is US and transmission is Japan.

 

He did a video years ago, I think it’s called “Never Do This to Your Toyota” or similar where he explains why 10K OCI is a bad idea and shows the engine damage it can cause.

 

Take that with a pinch of salt.
He is in the business of repairing cars.
He is definitely more technically inclined and has more Toyota knowledge in specific and car knowledge in general than most Toyota owners but his 10k oil pitch has no merit.

A Toyota engine has never failed prematurely simply because the owner did 10k oil changes IF other maintenance items are timely looked into.

Time and ownership will tell us how the new 4runner fares.

 

My grandpa always told me to buy gold, and never, ever accept car advice from anyone who drives a 2022 or newer Toyota Tundra, no matter how qualified they appear.

I like CCN, but here he leans on “the plastics feel high-quality”, and “it’s good because it’s made in Japan” a little too much. We’ll just have to see when more people start getting them out on the roads and putting serious miles on them.

 

This is one of the MAJOR killers of all the turbos in modern vehicles. Look at any of the Ford turbos with 125,000 miles on them and the turbo is burnt up. When its pulled apart the oil drain line is caked up like a clogged artery and the exhaust housing is slam full of burnt sludge. People running the piss out of their vehicles and then running to the house or the store and cutting them off causes the SUPER HOT turbo to literally burn the oil in the turbo after the engine is shut off and oil pump stops. The drain line slowly gets clogged up, the lack of lubricity eventually eats the bearings up, which causes shaft end play and makes the turbo start puking oil into the exhaust housing. The oil routed thru the turbo is meant to lube the bearings and also cool the turbo but the heat from the turbo breaks your oil down much faster. The turbo is stupid hot, the oil doesnt like running that hot and it will cook it over time. This is why you cant run max oil change intervals like some people think they can get away with. Seen a bunch of the newer honda accord 4cyl turbos burnt up. People trying to run 15,000 miles on synthetic oil and it loses its viscosity due to heat and sludges the turbo up.

 

His actual quote before you cut it off was "nothing but problems when problems start"

Millions of KDSS equipped Prado variants are running around with no issues, unless the owner neglects it and don't clean out the mud and salt caked on the actuator and lines. Sounds like what he said about the new motors, they are probably fine as long as owners keep up the maintenance promptly but neglect will not be tolerated by the turbo 4.

 

yeah I too noticed he is leaning a lot into the "feel" and J-vin supremacy more than he used to. He used to praise the LC and Prado based vehicles for being overbuilt and bullet proof. By comparison his appraisal of new designs seem more diplomatic and try to not piss off the owners.

 

Lexus video he detailed about KDSS issues. I think he is mainly annoyed with leak issues on the GX even after warranty work is done. I think Jose's GX is out of warranty to get lean issues to be fixed. If he take his GX he would be more annoyed with the jarring ride KDSS have on forest/rough gravel roads.

Atleast in Australia and Asia normally people don't buy Prado Kakadu with kdss and air suspension. Same story for LC200 what ever the model it is with optional kdss.

Recently I found from the KDSS FB group they discuss about swapping to non KDSS swaybars. So when they start problems can swap to non kdss.

 

When it come to Toyotas, what buyers don't buy is not really the reflection of if they want a feature on Toyota or not. You yourself just explained why people don't normally buy in those regions: Because Toyota price walls it. That's how the LC200 died in the US, when Toyota priced them to start at over 80k toward the end of the run. Then they act surprised that not a whole lot of people are out there buying 90-100k LCs before the inflation wave of 2021-2022.

Toyota does not allow customers to order what they want, instead a build is determined at the factory with no input for any one retail buyer, so how each market gets their allocations is a black box, and does not necessarily reflect what customers want. if Toyota restricts a feature to the top end trim then of course people won't buy it as often due to the overall cost of the vehicle. That's like saying 4Runner buyers hate Fox Shocks because Toyota only put it on the TRD PRo which Toyota then restricted output to limit supply of it. Or that all west coast US ORP buyers love sunroofs because toyota ships mostly ORPs with sunroofs to the west coast of the US. Neither is what customers really want but they have no choice if they want to get into a 4Runner. Does that mean US 4runner buyers hate Fox or universally love sunroofs? Nope. And that's why people still bite the bullet and buy Broncos and Wranglers which have their issues but allow far more customization.

 

All truth

 

I thought it was a video about the 6th gen 4runner. KDSS isn't even an option on them.

 

You guys must have missed the post in one of the recent oil threads which stated that, even under 25+ PSI of boost, 10K oil changes are totally fine for boosted vehicles. And, the member posting was a former mechanic, so his opinion is definitely correct.

 

The car care nut was saying it was the good thing KDSS not available. Per him dis connectable sway bar actuator is a good thing. Hopefully it won't be bad like Wrangler Rubicon actuator failing. I have personally faced actuator not reconnecting. In wrangler world when the actuator fails it was not too hard to convert to manual. If same happens to 6gen 4runner/ Tacoma / LC250 it would be difficult to have a manual option as the actuator is not easy accessible.

 

One thing I think (hope) will happen once there are a few millions of real-world miles on these - Toyota will closely scrutinize failures on this vehicle, claimed by some to be the most reliable vehicle you can buy (4R in general, not Gen6 yet). I think, and hope, that they jealously guard that 'title' by fixing bugs that undoubtedly will arise. Yeah, I know, needle bearing, etc. Even with the known problems on the Gen5, nothing else compares.

 

Hopefully they don't chase the industry standard of 3 year refresh and 5/6 year redesign. What made the 5th gen such a special case was its long product cycle. The most bullet proof Toyotas are usually the ones that keep in production for a long time before a major update. The industry standard cycle time doesn't allow for a lot of conclusive durability data to be collected before the whole production line gets torn down to make way for the next best and greatest thing.