Alright, let's be honest; who here is considering a 6th gen?

I would have to budget, to change out that Lexus front grille. Makes me half think, someone at Toyota thought the grille would slow down sales so Lexuses would not outnumber half the brands out there.

Maybe the idea is to buy a wrecked Lexus, and have a custom fabricator put something cool on in the place of the smashed front parts.

 

I think, that if the Gen 6 is perfect for someone, they were probably driving the wrong vehicle all along when they drove their Gen 5.

My suggestion is to have some other vehicles and only drive the Gen 5 when you really need to. Save it, just in case Toyota doesn't come to their senses and re-introduce it at some point.

 

At that rate, one could probably argue that the majority of 4runner owners are driving the wrong vehicle.

 

I drive the 5th gen,200k on it. Will gladly buy the 6th gen if I was in the market for one. None of them are wrong for me!
Also, this is not some exotic Koenigsegg. It's a body on frame truck that Toyota made and sold hundreds of thousands of. Drive it to the ground and buy a used one again. They are dime a dozen.

 

I agree that these products are about the most durable thing that's out there. But I have watched my friends' and neighbor's 4 Runners, Tundras and Tacomas change as the miles get piled on and I'd suggest this vehicle is not the same as it was when I got it 40,000 miles ago. If I don't watch myself, this thing will have 350,000 miles on it and then I won't feel subjectively as confident about it.

I urge you to look at the asking prices on these trucks. Pretty decent money, compared for example to similarly priced cars. There's very strong demand here. Now that production of the Gen 5 is over, they will get harder and harder to find in nice condition - just as the small 4x4 Tacomas have gotten.

If they were a dime a dozen I would have two dozen! :^)

 

So True. Use it and abuse it then get another. It’s not a rare collector car like some make it out to be.

 

Good points. Any high mileage vehicle tends to start nickle-and-diming you, and eventually it starts to really get annoying when it always needs something regardless of how much you just spent on it last week.

When you have a well-made car like a 4runner, it makes it easier to justify the cost of keeping it in tip-top shape. But eventually, time will get everything.

I don’t think the getting a used 5th gen to replace mine when it gets “worn out” will ever make sense for me, or anyone with a later model-year 4runner. It would likely be an expensive lateral move. You’d
just end up with a similarly worn out 4runner, except without really knowing its history. For those that own newer 4runners now, the best bet is to keep your 4runner well-maintained, as you use it.

 

My other addiction is these Saab 9-5s, the ones made through model year 2009. The approach was to accumulate a few of them and when this one and then that one develop terminal issues, you part out or park some of them and keep driving the ones that are still sorted out. But many folks can't get away with 10 cars on the property. To be honest, a very big reason why I won't drive the 4 Runner when another car here could do the job, is I can't just let these other vehicles sit. But if I had nothing but the S-2000 and this 2019 4 Runner, I'd find another used Gen 5 that's low miles with the right options and buy it - and I might do it anyway. I think I may not be in competition with most of the folks here as they want and need TRD Pros. Perhaps the prices in the future for TRD Offroad Premiums will be less inflated. The current prices for Pros - eye popping!

 

The last of the Saabs were nice looking cars. Can you buy new parts at all or only used stuff? I haven’t seen a Saab on the road around here in a long time.

 

When Mueller tried to keep Saab Cars alive as a separate entity, GM made a bunch of promises and then later reneged on them. GM feared all their know how would end up in the hands of their competition in Asia. So, they screwed the new proprietors over and watched as the new Saab company collapsed. Later, they decided to mitigate some of the damage they inflicted, and saw to it there was a massive cache of replacement parts manufactured. So, for the last 15 years there's been way more parts available than you would see in a normal orphanage. But some parts are in very short supply and some things, you've got to scavenge or improvise. It could be in few years, we'll be effectively stranded. But in these 15 years, parts have been downright cheap - a small fraction of what a similar part for a Volvo, BMW or Audi would cost.

Personally I like the 94-03 "second Gen 900/first Gen 9-3" and the first Gen 9-5 (99-09). The ones newer than that are not Saab DNA enough for me and are also IMO hard to maintain without a dealer network. The ones I mention are tough cars, can handle a lot of abuse, are fast enough when you need it and seem well suited to driving straight across the country without messing around. The other thing I love is, I can park these Saab at remote trailheads and nobody messes with it because nobody knows what it is. Having a porcupine eat your radiator hoses might be your biggest concern. Suppose a bear wants a chocolate bar that's in the car, and smashes the car to bits. You got maybe $ 6,000 at stake. Not the end of the world, just get home somehow and use the next Saab 9-5 in your cache.

 

Just saw my first one out in the wild. An all black one coming towards me in the other lane. Not a lot of time, but at a glance it looked pretty good. I really want to see one in a parking lot so I can walk around it.

I think the all black may have helped with the fender flare issue.

 

My wife likes them but I’d probably get one of these over a new 6g 4Runner


https://www.bluecompassrv.com/product/used-2019-thor-motor-coach-ace-30-dot-3-ace-2581537-9

 

Yes the black makes them look much nicer! any other color I find ugly just due to the fenders. The black one did look pretty good though. I wish I could take the improvements to the interior and the sway bar disconnect and the improved 4WD traction aids into my 5th gen

 

I would recommend that anyone looking at one of these newer vehicles to call your insurance company before even stepping foot at a dealer. My transportation needs changed and I thought about getting into a sedan. The new Camry and the last of the new ES 350 would have both increased my premium over the 5G by about 40%. All the bells, whistles and screens are expensive to repair. Their words, not mine. I'm staying put. The 5G will serve me well in retirement.

 

Gaudy seems to be Toyota's new design language.

 

Yep, if (hopefully not) I have to go car hunting again, I'll be shotgunning quotes but probably go for a sizable downgrade in value ultimately instead of moving up.

 

The wife works at a Toyota dealership and someone ran into her Crown Signia and it is being repaired. She got a 6th gen ORP and I drove it on Sunday. I must say that if they put our engine in this package they would have something, but the 4 cylinder just sounds...well like a 4 cylinder. It gets the same crappy gas mileage and it has all the new doo-dads and features, so I see no point in an upgrade. Also it has a button for 4x4 instead of the lever. The display is huge and the overall feel with the 4 cylinder noise is that of a cheaper vehicle.

 

Haha! I know it's probably hard to believe, but some folks care more about performance than the way the engine sounds.

Based on Fuelly, it's getting around 2.5 MPG better than the 5th gen so far, on average.

 

I wonder how much Toyota would have to pay for CAFE penalties if they put the GX550 V35A-FTS engine as an option in the 6th gen.

 

I did strongly consider one, but came to the conclusion that 5th gens are just better.

 

I'm sure some of the members here would like that!

But, knowing Toyota, they'd only offer it on top trims, and it would end up costing almost just as much as the GX.

 

My Fuelly app says I'm averaging 21.3 mpg so far at 1654 miles recorded with it. I typically have the music up load so the 4cyl engine sound is a non-issue for me. Its a really impressive 4 banger, light years better than the V6 I had in my Honda Ridgeline. I have never driven a previous gen 4R so I cant compare performance or sound.

 

Count me in on that group.

It's not like the 4.0 sounds good, so you're going to one lousy sound to another. BFD.

 

I don’t want anything to do with that engine. Even the 2025s are seizing up. This is ridiculous.
https://youtu.be/KvGRkxSXwhA?si=YBHeLj_jwZmXYK3o

 

It is! I was seriously considering the new Tundra. But the fact that even in 2025 Toyota has only partially solved the issue and there are still random owners complaining of engine failures is completely ridiculous and shows Toyotas high headiness while banking on its past laurels.
Honestly, if you take out realibility from the equation, Toyota is a very boring manufacturer to buy a car from.

 

Thank you for sharing this. Pretty much proves that metal debris from machining was a bogus reason. No way in 2025 they would still have such issue.

Tear-downs of failed engines showed spun crank bearings, indicating oil starvation under load. They will probably have to do what GM did, and step up oil viscosity.

 

I know this has been beaten to death, but that's why I use 5W-30 in my 4R. I don't trust low viscosity oils especially in forced induced engines.

 

23 Pro 57,000 Paid for!!
25 Pro 70,000 or more!! No thank you!!
I have seen so many posted for resale Why!
I will keep what I have.

 

I purchased my 23 Pro after driving a 24 Tacoma and seeing the price increase, I figured they would do the same with the 25 4runner, which they did. The dealer made me an offer last week, $14k and my truck for a new Pro. I can't justify that for a turbo 4cyl and smaller rear seat.

 

At this point they need to just give up on this engine and either go back to the old one or design something new before they completely destroy their reputation. Four years of engine failures is unacceptable.