Hey from Cali

I purchased a 2006 4Runner back in 2016 from CarMax(CM). It had roughly 96k miles on it at that time and with a sticker price of $19,995 I think.
And yes I'm sure you guys are saying man you got ripped off, but to be honest I wanted to purchase something from a dealership with a warranty2 and not just off the street as is warranty.
I bought the top extended warranty from CM which was roughly I think $2400 upfront.
Long story short over the past 4 years I have had some major work done that totaled out to about $5k. But because of my extended warranty I so far have only paid about $4k out of my pocket for the repairs. I think it was a good idea to get the extended warranty. Saved me about 1k.
Only modifications I’ve done so far is change the stereo unit and tint the windows. Nothing major.
Here are some specs of the vehicle:
2006 4Runner
Sport edition Full-time 4WD V8
Exterior color: Shadow mica
Interior: Black
Currently has 184k miles on it.
I want to ditch the xreas system and go with the bilsten 5100s. I think the ride is comfortable right now, a little bumpy at times but not bad. That’s pretty much it. I really like stock look of it so I don’t want to lift or anything.
I changed the headlights one time, there’s one pic of it. It kept getting condensation and water in it. I tried many things and it kept happening, so I just put the originals back on.

First 3 pics are when I brought the vehicle home.
4th pic is when I took it off roading the first time, with those aftermarket headlight, they looked great but was a pain.
5th pic is just a random pic in the snow.

 

Welcome from SoCal!!

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Good day mate from the hot zone in phx

 

welcome

 

Welcome! Lots of information here, enjoy your truck!

 

Congrats ! What were some of the major problems you had fixed ? Also noticed you put almost as many miles in 4yrs as it took the first owner(s) to do in 10 years

 

Welcome from FL.

 

I purchased the vehicle in 06/2016, first problem was 01/2017. So for 6 months i was issue free.
The first problem was the rear defroster. It shattered my rear glass because there was too much power going to it at one time and with it being so cold and then the rapid heating it caused the glass to shatter. Good thing I had it tinted, otherwise the glass would have went all over the place. The tint film held it together. When the glass company came and changed the it he showed me the plug and harness and it was burnt. I called CarMax and they replaced the whole wiring harness for free, that was like $300, but they changed it for free.
And then 2 months later my alternator went out, I had changed at the Local Toyota dealership, I only paid $50. Extended warranty(EW) picked up the rest.
Then about 6months later the blower motor actuator (also called servo, i think) was giving me issues. The thing that controls which vent mode to be used. It was a hit and miss, sometimes it would work and sometimes not. I herd this strange scraping noise for a about a month, took it the local dealership and kind of gave me a run a round. I didn’t like that very much. They kept saying well it works and blows air, so we can’t do anything until it doesn’t blow any air. I was confused and said you don’t hear that scraping noise? They said well I herd it once and now it’s gone so there’s no problem. I was upset, later I found out the reason why is because CarMax is across the street and that the local Toyota dealership would rather have you take back the vehicle to CM because the Toyota dealership doesn’t get paid that much for vehicles not bought from them.
And around the same time my rear tailgate hatch and window had some issue to where I would have to unlock the vehicle manually from inside in order for it to work. I took it to the Local dealership, and because I had a back up camera installed the local dealership refused to touch it, because it’s now an aftermarket vehicle and not stock anymore. (dumb response, they just didn't want to work on it because they won't get paid as much). And you know I decided that since the rear tailgate works just after those things i have to do to get to work so i just decided to deal with it and i did for about 6months unlocking my tail gate that way, and still hearing that scraping noise every so often coming from the dash area because of the servo.

I found another Toyota dealership about 45mins away:
They checked out the tailgate and said that the rear door lock actuator was faulty, they changed that, they checked the servo, found the noise once, found the problem and changed that too I only paid $50, EW picked up the rest.
Never went back to Local Toyota dealership, i will drive 45mins to avoid a headache. Not one problem they gave me.
About a year later after an oil change done at SpeedyOil informed me that the radiator has a crack in it and should be replaced.
I took it back to the dealership and they found other problems, Radiator was one, water pump was seaping, timing belt was due, thermostat and radiator changed and the two front shocks were leaking.I had all that done, i declined to replace the 4 shocks with B5100s because the warranty will not cover that, so i just had them do what my warranty will cover for now. This was a hefty bill, almost 3k for all that work but with the EW I paid $1500 out of my pocket. Total cost of major repairs $5,800, Ive paid $1,600 out of my pocket. Originally I said $8k for repairs, I'm not sure why, but i was wrong. Sorry.
Almost a year later getting another oil change
I was told that my rear shocks are leaking. No other issues. My EW has ended at 150K miles, It was for 3years/150K. Oh and Im currently at 184K miles, not 188K.
I called my Toyota dealership and asked how much for parts for the B5100s and labor and they said roughly $1,200, and the old
X-Reas will be removed. Now once i get the money Im gonna do it.

And about the High Milage on my vehicle that i have put on, I use my vehicle as my daily driver and for my work I travel for work, approximately 50-60 miles daily. And since I enjoy driving and driving my 4Runner I always offer to take my vehicle, which we do.

So with all the repairs and all would you guys say its still a good vehicle? Those are just common things that will need to be changed out eventually? When i purchased it, only one owner. And it was in mint condition , and i mean mint as like a brand new vehicle, inside and out. It was garage kept and i don't even think there person took it off road, not even once. But looking at all the service records i found on the vehicle the 4WD was serviced and oils changed on a regular basis. And its in Full-time 4WD so I don't worry about the whole "if you dont use it you loose it"

 

I'd say it's a GREAT vehicle ! Certain electrical issues are bound to happen, good thing you found a much better dealer/service dept, that makes a huge difference.