Things you hate to see on a 4Runner

A fella can get thirsty on the trail.

 

Just reminded me of a recent experience in snootyville where a buncha Karens in their Rovers and Escalades standing in line at the Moonbucks complaining about the price of fuel with their fresh manicures and bob-cuts and jeweled phone cases. Priorities are certainly subjective, aren't they?

 

True! That's why I rarely buy coffee there or at gas stations, unless I'm traveling.

 

On that note, $88.50 to fill up today. 15 cups of fancy Joe in my tank.

 

I put in $88 on Thursday, probably about the same on Saturday, and $92 yesterday. Expensive weekend.

 

It’s eye watering. But now that it’s summer, it’s easier to have fun with the 4runner working on it outside with nice weather, while driving less.

Make no mistake though, the money spent to go “up nort” is almost never a bad idea.

 

I like to tell myself it’s “only” spending an extra 80 bucks compared to last year.

 

Don’t hold it in…it’s not good for you. And you’ll just deny us a perfectly good opportunity to be outraged.

 

Paid $65 to fill 2 jerrys and to top off the truck, the price we pay for adventure.

 

BTW: Just did 3 weeks throughout the SW. The monsoons hit early this year. We went from Gallup to Chaco Canyon the "south way". Needed 4WD to get through 4-5 mud "puddles". Came across one stuck jeep (Compass or something similar)==I had taken our snatch strap out because we didn't think we'd need it during summer in the desert, mostly on pavement (I grew up in SoCal and should really have known better). Had to leave him and tell the rangers.

 

To be clear, I'm not referring to carrying your gear on trips. I'm talking about the scores of people driving around Los Angeles in the middle of the week with what amounts to vehicle cosplay.

It's fine that people are having fun and I'm not here to gatekeep. It just looks silly because it is silly.

 

I'm on the same page.

Most of my recovery gear lives in or on the 4Runner full time. When I have the roof basket on, my traction boards usually never come off except when I wash it, or need to use them.

I don't see any reason to remove it between trips, unless I was concerned about theft. I could see it being silly if I were talking about someone who never actually goes off-road.

But, I skip town as often as possible, sometimes on a whim. It's nice to be able to just grab some clothes and a cooler and go.

 

My roof basket stays on=it has my Hi-Lift, traction boards and a shovel. All are locked on with heavy-duty bicycle cables. First Aid kit, CB radio, and tool kit stay inside in the back, unless the seats are down, then they go on the floor.

 

saw my first lowered 4Runner. otherwise beautiful 4th gen on what looked like 12" tires, about 16" wide. yeah, yeah I know people can do what they want to their own truck, but I was still disgusted

 

Good perspective. Look at golf greens fees or ski area lift tickets to see how out of whack things are.

 

Something I WOULD hate to see on a 4Runner. A direction I hope Toyota never goes:

(NEWSER) – In some countries where BMW sells cars, buying a model with, say, heated seats has become more complicated—if not more expensive. Heated front seats are a subscription service now, for which the consumer pays a Netflix-like $18 per month, the Verge reports. Other options are offered the same way, including automated traffic camera alerts and map updates, in a system that keeps the vehicle generating revenue for the automaker long after it's driven off the lot. Subscriptions launched in South Korea and are offered in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa, but not the US yet.


Automakers have always charged more for optional features, but this—a system of microtransactions—is different. The abundance of software in cars now makes it all possible. All the vehicles already have the hardware to heat the front seats, but BMW has the system blocked by software. When consumers pay up, BMW unblocks the software governing front-seat heating. The fact that they've already paid for a vehicle with all the equipment has increased buyers' irritation, per the Verge, though the company tells buyers the installation was at "no extra cost." BMW does offer deals on the options: The heated seats can also be turned on for $180 a year, $300 for three years, or $415 for perpetuity. If payments are missed, CNN points out, BMW will turn the heat off.

 

I read something about this awhile back. Ridiculous. I sure hope Toyota doesn't go this way.

 

Actually, I hope no other automakers do this. Hope it's a failed experiment for BMW.

 

Agreed! Hopefully they lose sales, and other manufacturers take note.

 

Well said

 

Software providers started doing this years ago. No more buying it and installing. Yearly subscriptions only. Microsoft, Adobe, and the like. It seems only a matter of time before auto mfgs jump on the software bandwagon.

 

I hope hackers figure out how to bypass the manufacturers on this, and they get screwed.

I get it when it comes to a continuous service, like XM radio or OnStar. But, continuing to charge people to use things they paid for is basically criminal, IMO.

 

I agree.

 

People are reluctantly willing to pay subscription fees for software because you regularly get new features and updates. With cars there’s no value added, it would be like paying a ransom. I bet US customers wouldn’t accept this and they’d lose sales.

 

Let's hope so, or I have already bought my last vehicles. (I'm an old codger...)

 

Yes, but.. "the company tells buyers the installation was at "no extra cost." BMW does offer deals on the options: The heated seats can also be turned on for $180 a year, $300 for three years, or $415for perpetuity."

I'd just pay the $415 for heated seats. Although I'd expect something like that to be standard on a car like a BMW.

 

Back to the topic of the thread, the thing I hate to see lately is someone buying a TRD Sport, which is built mostly for on-road driving, and then immediately doing off-road mods to it. They could have bought an SR5 for less and be closer to where they want to be.

I used to feel the same about the Limited, but the full time 4WD makes that make sense.

 

I like my Pro roof rack. I strap shit to it all the time on trips. My dogs big portable kennel fits up there perfectly, right between the rails.

 

I'm ok with a one time fee for a feature. My concern would be situations where you pay for something up front and then they make you continue to pay to use it. I thought I had read about something like that, but maybe I misinterpreted it.

 

Trying to think of a feature on a 4R that I'd be willing to pay for monthly, annually, etc. Certainly not heated/cooled seats. I guess it matters what is classified as a 'feature'. I suppose heated mirrors, self-folding mirrors, auto-dimming headlights, remote start, convenience things like those. I wouldn't pay regularly for any of them. Again, I wouldn't pay subscriptions for any features.