2025 Gen6 Toyota 4Runner CAN bus module

Hello All,

I'm Robert & I am new to 4Runners.com - I take delivery of my 2025 Gen6 Toyota 4Runner Limited this Friday.

I have an urgent question, is the CAN bus module on the 2025 Gen6 Toyota 4Runner Limited in an area that makes it easy to steal? Has anyone had any issues with the theft of the CAN bus module(brain)?

Thank you in advance!

Robert

 

welcome

 

I want to say Toyota put in the extra effort to patch over that type of vulnerability before the '25 4Runner showed up, but whether it's across the board or just playing whack-a-mole with certain models is hazy.

 

Hi Robert,

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new Limited!

To answer your question, there is no single CAN bus "brain". The Controller Access Network or "CAN" for short is a communication bus between most if not all modules in modern vehicles. It is a twisted wire pair that allows modules to communicate with each other over a single network and exchange information quickly. Everything from your engine control module, hybrid controller, instrument cluster, HVAC system is hooked up to this network.

In the past, there have been issues with other Toyota models (Not 4Runners) where thieves gained access to the CAN bus network via headlight wiring (RAV4 and some Lexus models) to falsify and send an unlock message on the bus as well as fool the vehicle into starting. This isn't an issue with the outgoing 5th generation and is definitely not an issue with the incoming 6th gen.

Toyota has been implementing secOC or secure onboard communications on it's newer models (as have other automotive manufacturers) as a way to essentially encrypt the bus and prevent communication to or from any unrecognized device on the network. While no system is truly fool proof, this new iteration of CAN protocol is much more robust and difficult to fool.

So, in my opinion, I wouldn't worry about this being an issue.