What do you wish you knew when first getting your 4 Runner?

Just came home with a brand spanking new 2019 SR5 Premium. Test drove with about 1 mile on the odometer. Finding all the little things, and think I've pretty much found all the "secrets".

I have a '03 Tacoma TRD, and I remember when I brought that home, I didn't really take the time to find all the little secrets/functions. I kind of found things through trial and error (like how/when to actually use my e-locker, how to get into 4L without sounding like I was just learning how to drive stick and all the different modifications that can be done for more comfort/utility)

Our plan is to keep things tame for a little bit, eventually planning a Icon stage 2 or 3 kit, wheels and tires (move up to 285s most likely)

Right now, I'd like to take care of the little things, storage, possibly light upgrades, fix any nuisances that might come up after a couple of months . A lot of stuff that my Tacoma doesn't have/would take way too much money to put in, the 4 Runner has right out of the box! We do moderate off-roading/car camping, so really looking for all those little things that make all of that just that much better.

Thanks in advance for the advice/suggestions!

 

Welcome! Prolly wouldn’t be much help since I have a 4th gen but enjoy!

 

Thing i wish i knew.... was to get one sooner.

You have a wicked nice rig there. Id highly suggest swappin the interior lights to led. Its cheap and easy, and makes a world of difference. The oem low beams are junk also. Dont know if yours has a keyless auto start, but, was a much need for me, and i love it. Then, its all up to you. Blacking out anything chrome or shiney. The badges, front and rear valances are all a popular dark out deal. Tint, some floor mats, that sorta shit. All up to you.

Got any pics of said rig?? I wanna see. Cheers, good luck with everything ya wanna do, get out there and have a ball man.

 

Ha, yeah getting it sooner for sure. But honestly we've been toying with the idea for the better part of 2 years, and I had absolutely no intention of buying new, but the dealer made me an offer that I could not walk away from. Traded in our aging mini for well over it's trade in value, plus got a lot of extra little perks... they got me!

Interior LEDs are already ordered from superbrightleds.com, was thinking of replacing head lights/fog lights as well, just wasn't sure yet how they'd perform with projectors.

Anyone have suggestions on cell phone mounts? I have a Mob Armor mount (best cellphone mount I've ever used, super solid off-road) in my Tacoma and wanted to get another for the 4 runner, but cant really find a good spot to mount it.

Couple of pics.

 

Nice! and Welcome!

I switched out my headlights with the Xenondepot.com Phillips 43K kit. There is a thread on headlights here somewhere but here is a link.

https://www.xenondepot.com/H11-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-h11.htm

And I have these for the fogs..

https://www.xenondepot.com/h16-h8-h11-philips-Ultinon-LED-12793UNIX2-2700K-p/12793unix2.htm

Both of these were good upgrades

 

Things I wish I knew prior: to stay off the forums. I'd have a lot more money in the bank right now.

 

Ha! True, but I've been on tacomaworld for a few years now, I'm mostly resistant to letting other people spend my money....mostl m

 

I wish I'd known how much I'd enjoy it. I'd have bought it a lot sooner.

 

Welcome! On my 2016 I used a Scosche Magic Mount stuck to the side of the trim around the vents/radio on the driver's side for my phone. Worked really well for me.


Edit: I miss my 5th gen.

 

That's where my scosche mount is too and where my scan gauge is also. Hey!

 

Welcome. Another nice cell phone mount is ProClip.

 

Dude that's a beautiful ride

 

Thanks! I hope to make it even more beautiful over the next couple of years with new suspension and a little bit of functional armor. I'd like to get this built out enough that my wife and I feel comfortable taking it on most trails in Nor Cal/Nevada area.

 

Did you do that brake upgrade like I been reading about? Reason I'm asking is that I just bought a 2000 4runner limited last night for $1k w/230,000 milers but I was looking at the old man's (previous owner), maintenance records and it seems that he replaced his rotors n pads once a year.

 

Got the same color, what do I wish? Maybe that I held out longer brought it in Saturday for 6 month service and was drooling over a Tundra in the showroom. I originally went looking for a truck last year. The Tundra was 5,000 more than the Runner and not loaded but it was fine for me. It was also black which isn't my first choice but I was just drawn to the thing.

 

Welcome from FL

 

There's a few videos on the youtube about mounting there. Removing the trim drilling a hole and such. Looked pretty straight forward. I just don't want to drill a hole in the new trim just yet.

 

I wish I would of known how my patience switch was going to go from on to off after I bought it.

By that I mean. I took about 10 months to research what I wanted before choosing my 4R. Now my intention was to pace myself with upgrades and eye candy mods. I am finding I no longer have the patience I once did as I want to make my vision reality now! Not sure what the hell happened to me. I'm a certified tire kicker. Now I'm out of money.

 

We contemplated a Tundra, but already have a Tacoma, so having two trucks wasn't really what we wanted. Plus the 3rd row was a big item on my wife's list, we've needed an extra seat or two enough times to make it worth buying the runner.

 

I feel you on that - after buying my Tacoma, I spent about a year or so figuring out what I was going to do, and then all the sudden I've spent $4k in suspension parts and and other parts.... Its a monetary black hole being a Toyota owner that likes to do anything more than drive down a fire road.

 

Not aware of a brake upgrade, but once a year for pads and rotors seems excessive, but maybe he just road with the brake on all the time lol.

$1k for a '00 with only 230k miles is a pretty good deal, especially if its one owner and he maintained it well.

 

1k for a '00 with 230k miles i just bought my '91 with 252k on the odometer for 1k; however, the guy just spent 2.2k for a transmission rebuild and brand new clutch then the engine threw a rod. so i got a 93-95 engine (not sure as the guy had no info on it and the only way i can tell is its a hyudraulic tensioner and not a spring which was somewhere in 93-95) so all in all i am in for about 2k and its running just a little more replacements and tuning and she should be ready to take out for some fun and driving on a regular. cant wait to see what you do with yours...