Would you like the 6th more if the engine bay didn't look like a rats nest?

I asked the all mighty AI to improve the engine bay by uploading a picture of a 6th gen engine and said "Clean it up and put a Toyota OEM engine cover on it". This is what it gave me:


I have to admit, I like the 6th gen a lot, but that engine bay is gawd awful.

Before:




After:

 

Toyota could've done a lot better with the engine looks. But its 2026. By now your not even supposed to work on your own car, Lol. They make it so complicated so you take a look and say, "oh woah! I'll just bring this into Toyota and let them change my oil and spark plugs. This looks too complicated!" Lol

 

Do you like it enough that you'd sell your beautiful pristine 40th Anniversary 5th Gen for one?

 

Yeah, I agree. I think they're heading down the "right to repair" road that a lot of manufacturers are going down. They don't want you trying to fix your own shit. Even if that's the case, put a damn cover on the engine.

It really messes with my OCD.

 

Hell yeah! It ain't a Toyota if it don't say so when you open the hood! Maybe ChatGPT should get a job at Toyota. It does look horrible without a cover. Why Toyota??? Why!!??

 

Even my 2nd gen tells me what is under the hood when I open it. TOYOTA. 3.0L V6 - makes a whopping 150HP and propels me at the speed of a turtle. But boy is it great to drive, even being 31 years old!

 

that’s a bag of snakes




*edit: my battery survived long enough to add this irrelevant edit.

 

The first time I saw it I thought it was an AI parody. After finding out it was the real deal

I don't want any part of that, beauty cover or not.

 

Oh right!!! Now you are going over to the dark side!! "Loco I am your father! The father of the four cylinder turbo! Join me and we will rule the galaxy as father and son!"

NNNnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

 

The plastic cover, nutserts, studs, bracketry, and sound deadening on the inside of the cover probably costs them $35 per unit.
Since they produced around 98,000 4runners for 2025 model year that would add up to about $3,430,000 in savings for Toyota by not putting an engine cover on it.
Its all about the bean counting these days. The sticker prices go up, the quality and standards go down. Eventually they'll be selling us a Red Radio Flyer for $10,000 and it might not even have the stickers.

 

Engine looks don’t matter to me. Most people don’t open their hoods anyway.

 

Even the 5th gen with all the emissions control and abatement measures is a little busy under the hood for my taste. Here is a look similar to my daily's engine bay. Note the oil filter saying hi as you open the hood.

 

Um are 5th gens engines not inline with the car?

 

I don't commute with my 4runner.

 

Oh not a 4runner! You had me worried for a minute. I guess I'm not familiar enough with the 5th gens.

 

Red Radio Flyer’s are pretty nice tho lol





@scottiezilla coined the ***side note:
my wife delivered me a BLT to the 4R Garage

 

Yes, they are, and the memories made with them last forever!

 

But hey, they finally made dusk sensing headlights standard for OR/P and SR5s, so they had to make up the margin on the sensor somehow.

 

Remember when people found out that you could plug the $7 sensor in on the dash and some of the 5th gens got the auto sensing headlights that Easy.

 

No!

 

Remember when even though it was so Easy and cheap, Toyota left it off on trims up to ORPs because...reasons.

 

I have to admit the first time I looked at one at the dealership I take my 4R to for servicing, the thought of “my gawd, more mouse damage opportunities…” crossed my mind.

 

The bean counters on the 5th gen missed an opportunity to cut costs and save millions of cents.

That stupid ass dip stick that they include in the windshield washer fluid reservoir.

Has anyone in the history of 4Runners ever used that piece of shit?

 

You mean the little thing that floats and rises to let you know that you've almost got the fluid level to the top? I didnt realize it was a pull-out dipstick till you said something and i just pulled them out to see the level. Thats kinda nifty but not something i have ever used. It starts to float when the level gets up in the neck to tell you to slow down and stop pouring. I always thought it was just a float.
The 1st gen Tundra has a very see-thru plastic neck that comes up thru the inner fender. You can see the fluid level rise up that neck to the top of the cap very easily. Its a visual level check rather than a mechanical. I guess they do different things in different applications depending on space constraints. Dont forget you have a windshield washer fluid low level light on the dash too if you ever let it get too low.

 

I always felt that the plastic engine coves looked cheap, and that the branding/engine type should be machined/stamped/affixed to the valve cover.

 

I just listen for it. When the pitch gets higher and higher, I stop.

 

Like on the 2nd gen!

 

That thing just gets in the way. Besides, it's not like you can't see the wash tank level because it is a colored fluid.

 

Yes. Old school. Like so.

 

I'm still trying to figure out the thought process of Toyota for eliminating the xmission dip stick.
And then insulting us by claiming it's magically now a lifetime fluid.