Tripitz

Hey all. I'm completely new to this forum as well as to the brand. I'm picking up a Grey 03 4Runner Sport Monday and I'm curious if anyone has any comments on things I should look at before I complete delivery.

I''m very psyched about this purchase. I'm coming off of driving sports cars so this will be quite a change (need practicality).

I'm curious as to what the TRUE cruising gas mileage is on the car for pure highway driving. (v8 4wd models)

Thanks in advance for any input.

JGage

I picked mine up on the 23rd (grey Limited w/ the X-Reas option.) I to moved from a '95 300ZX to this (same reason as you.)

You will like it just fine... Depending on what sort of sports car you were driving before. The V8 has a very good amount of pick up, I read someplace that it was something like 0-60 in 7.8sec, I dunno.
I did 110mph back home during X-mas and it was comfortable, not scary, smooth.
Very nice ride in general, I have no complaints...

Gas milage is crap... The computer lies on both MPG and Range. Don't listen to it.
I am getting roughly 15.5mpg... The computer says 16.7... The range feature is a total joke. It said I only had like 15-20 miles worth of fuel. The gas light wasn't even on and when it did come on and I pulled over to fill up.... It only took 19 gal, on a 23 gal tank.

To look for when you pick it up ? I would drive the ˟˟˟˟˟ out of it, then I would closely inspect the truck (bring friends) before I would sign or pay for anything.
Once it's yours, it's yours.

I found ZERO flaws with mine... There has been mention of a squeeky drivers seat and dashs that vibrate. OH ! Make sure the trailer hitch fits, some obviously do not.

And then take that dealer logo off, filthy bastards.

BTW: The hood flex at 110mph, it's normal. <BG>

*I should mention that I have 720m on it, so the MPG should improve.. I'm seen people reply they are getting 17-22. Maybe I just have a lead foot :-)

Tripitz

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty psyched to be picking it up. Unfortunately, I'm a bit distressed by the horrendous comments from people on this board about the cladding. I do have to say the cladding looks silly on a silver car, but it looks okay on the darker grey.

Good to hear the car can drive at a stable high speed clip.
I was expecting 16mpg roughly on the V8, so it seems in line. I never trust the computers anyway.

Diablo3305

well the cladding on the sport and SR-5 does look alittle crappy...i think the limited looks like a different car with the side colored molding. If i was going to get a sport I'd probably get blue or black, because the cladding doesn't look so odd on those colors...

BT17R

From owning numerous Toyota/Lexus vehicles over the past 20 years, the single most important thing you can do is read and adhere to the owner's manual instructions. Almost all questions you'll have are covered within, including proper break-in procedure. During break-in, the most critical item is to use the brakes lightly during the first 200 miles. Otherwise, you'll wind up with warped rotors and an annoying pedal pulsation. There's a warranty fix, but then you'll lose some rotor life and have to start brake pad bedding all over again.

At delivery, I've noticed that tire pressures are usually dangerously high. Dealers are paid by Toyota to pre-delivery inspect and service all vehicles before delivery, including checking tire pressures. Most don't, so the unsuspecting customer drives away with ~50 psi in all the tires and wonders why it rides so roughly and darts around. Toyota ships all vehicles with ~50 psi to minimize tire flat spotting when lashed down to the deck of a ship, rail car, and/or transporter truck. Take your best gauge and bleed them down to the factory pressure listed on the label inside the driver's door pillar or inside the glove box.

Lastly, take advantage of the free warranty wheel alignment. Although you'll have 12 months/20,000 miles to get it, sooner is better.

About the fuel economy, I don't think it's so bad. I've a Lexus that weighs less and has a smaller engine that only gets about 1 more mpg, and my last Land Cruiser V-8 only got around 11-12. True about the trip computer, though. It was equally optimistic about average mpg on my Sequoia.

And welcome aboard! Cory does a fine job running the show, and there are more knowledgeable folks here than most any other off-road oriented site I've seen.

butnut

Doing 110 on a 2 day old truck? I tried so hard to keep it at 60 during the break in period while other drivers flew by me.
butnut

Tripitz

How bad are the breakin procedures? I'm used to BMW's and they have 1200 mile breakin periods, but are pretty liberal. Max revs for them was 4500 which is PLENTY fast for pretty much anyone during that time period.

I'm going to be putting 500 miles on my 4Runner in the first 3 days of ownership (mostly highway) and I hope it will at least let me cruise at a reasonable speed (70-75). I'm guessing I will have to vary engine speeds, keep revs down, and not floor it.

Thanks again for the responses!

About the cladding.... I think it looks silly on the silver colored trucks. I don't think it looks bad on Galactic Grey or black.

JGage

I waited until it had 500m on it before I did it. The break-in is bs plain a simple. I remember 9 years ago the break in was 500m, now it's 1000m. WTF has changed ?!?
The last car I bought, I never broke in... I left the dealer, got on the interstate and did 120mph. The only problem I ever has was a blown H2O pump at 100k miles and a shot alt at 130k miles.

The "break in" period is so that people can get used to their car. Plain and simple. When you get 500 or so miles on your car, change the oil. When your get 1500m on your car change the oil and replace it with Mobile-1.

Maybe don't get aggressive for the first few hundred miles... But, I'm not driving around doing 35 and stopping 500yds before I need to. Sorry. It's a car, not a woman.

BT17R

Bottom line is: It's your car, do what you want. OTOH, I choose to benefit from the combined experience of dozens of accredited designers and engineers who actually know something about what they created. I've broken-in cars fast (my last car was broken-in racing in competition in SCCA events) and slowly. The race car, a 2002 Lexus IS300 M/T with an iron block 2JZ, didn't sound too good at cold start when I sold it. Oil consumption was about a quart every 500 miles. I think if you did a poll about how to break in a new car, fast or slow, it would be about evenly split. Your owner's manual makes it simple, usually just four limits to observe on almost any Toyota/Lexus vehicle. Do you really want to second guess the manufacturer on how to break-in your new vehicle for best long term durability?

JGage

But, you need to remember that the owners manual is written and then gone over by lawyers. They are going to play CYA.

I am in no way saying to get aggressive with a car in the first 500m.... But, this "don't accel hard or break hard" stuff is crap.

Hell, I left the dealer and there was a wreck in front of me... I applied the breaks, HARD.. Did I ruin my break in period ?

I see a real difference between racing and driving on roads. Not a fair example.
Now, you get two IS300's (or any veich) and do one a certain way and the other another way, I'll buy the results.

BT17R

I'm in! If you buy the cars!

Funny, the same thing happened to me on the first day of Sequoia ownership. I came around a corner a little hot and there was a wreck that required full ABS to stop in time. The pedal pulsed badly after that and the truck wound up getting rotors turned at <1K miles.

I agree that racing miles are a whole different world than street miles. At least they SHOULD be. I just threw that out as an extreme example and is something I'd never done before. The car arrived late and I had no time for break-in. Fast car, though. Loosened up pretty quickly!

Tripitz

My understanding of the breakin period is that the tolerances are MUCH tighter now than they ever used to be. I was told that the reason BMW at least tells its owners to drive at varying speeds is that the slight push on acceleration and the pull of deceleration causes the seals (gasket rings?) to seat better. If the engine is pushed very hard early on it could cause leakage or not as tight a fit on the seals, causing oil to leak, etc. I'm sure with the high tech engine toyota is putting into the cars now, the tolerances are much more strict than they used to be.

JGage

You kidding me... I got a new 4Runner to pay off. Maybe we could get a grant from the whatever gov't office applies to auto's.

Tripitz: I can buy that.

martin

. Good point, but there is a school of thought that most manufacturers have always had "tight" tolerances on critical features and with new manufacturing technology, SPC and 6-sigma they are finally able to achieve these "tight" tolerances. Thus, producing a better quality product.

Martin

kctopher

Well?? Its Monday, where is the report, the pics?

Tripitz

Here is the pic of my car. I've put 60 miles on it only so far, but I am definitely very pleased. As you can see from my sig, this is quite a difference vehicle than what I normally drive!! But I do like it quite a bit. The cladding looks fine with this color combo imho.

I'm goign to put about 500 miles on it in the next 2 days, so I'll have more to report when I get back.

SLC Punk

Looks good, the dark color with the gray cladding doesn't look bad at all!

JGage

I got the Grey too and have gotten nothing but compliments. Toyota did well on selecting that color. I have 850m on mine now (1wk old !) and the Grey stays pretty clean. You have good taste.

Congrat's !

Tripitz

Thanks guys! I was cringing when I saw all the 'I hate the cladding' comments on this board. I'm very happy with the end results however.

jalaber

Gladding looks fine with that color combo. I think you will find that it is easier to wax the vehicle with all that cladding, and also you will get a lot less scratches than someone with a limited.