While stopped on I-495 in Redskins traffic several weeks ago, I was rear ended pretty hard. Luckilly the person veered off at the last minute so it was not a square hit and my 13 month old in his Britax seat survived just fine though he was showered in glass. My '97 4Runner sustained major damage including racking the frame and actually bending the axle as it was pushed forward under the rear passenger seat. At just shy of 240k, it had never had any problems that I know of (I bought it at Carmax w/59k). Wear items I replaced were three sets of pads, one set of rotors, one set of shocks, four sets of tires and the timing belt once (I know, I know). The only true “repair” was the contactors on the starter (only a $22 part + 1 hour on my back thanks to great advice in this forum) and a replacement front cupholder. I was going to tune it up at 200k but never got around to it. It was still running great on original plugs, wires and fuel filter. Anyway, after a few rounds with the rear ender's insurance company I settled for $7,500 after they initially offered $5,000.

So it's time for a 4th generation. I'm working with about $22k, so I'm probably limited to an '03 or '04 V6 4X4. So a few questions: In general are there any first year gremlins now showing up on the '03s? Any advice on the Sport X-reas suspension - when do the shocks need replacement? Any issues to ask current private owners/dealers about or look for myself? Anything to avoid? Finally, I can't really find any info on the 3rd row seating. If I ever needed it, could I install the OEM jump seats to any 4th genreation, or does the vehicle need to be factory equiped with the 3rd row?

 

Wow, glad you and your son are alright. I think people check their brains at the entrance ramp to 495. Now you've got me thinking twice about driving my 4Runner up to the Skins game on the 26th. Although, the last time I was rearended it worked out pretty well (no major damage and a good chunk of money for mods . Sounds like you worked out a pretty good settlement on your truck and good luck on your hunt for a replacement!

 

Glad you and your son are OK. Good luck on the new 4runner.

 

that looks like it hurt real bad, glad your son is okay, that must have been scary until you knew he was okay!

as far as 4th gens, i dont know alot, but i know Lance (good times) has put together a 4th gen faq here... https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...ht=4th+gen+faq

and im pretty sure most of the '03s have that plastic on the side which some people like and some people dont, good luck in your new search for a 4runner

 

Glad you were all rigth but now you gotta change the "going strong" in your sig.

 

wow that sucks glad every ones ok

 

There you go, changed the signature for now. Soon to be revised again for a 4th generation rig. Still looking for some buying advice from everyone! thanks!

 

woow glad you both are ok, as Ive said many time, vehicles can be replaced, you cant.....

are you keeping it ? you could part it out, and have extra cash for the new ride.

 

I am also glad you are OK. Find a good Chiropractor for some rehab care!

<---My 3rd gen is also hurt check my avitar

D

 

Glad you and your family are ok. As far as 4th gens. The 03's came only with the V8 for the first half and then the V6 later. When the V6 first came out, many complained of a sulfer smell from the exhaust. All models came with the pontoons on the side except for the limiteds. the V8's are very reliable and proven. have not heard of any real problems with the V6. Gas milage is better with the V6 by about 2 to 4mpg. If you plan on lifting the vehicle then I have read on here to not get the XREAS. Finally I have seen 03's going for under 20k and 04's for under 22k. Good luck in your search and check out the 4Runner facts in the history page for specs.

 

Glad to hear your son is alright as well,
When I first looked at the pic thats the first thing I thought...

Best advise...
Wrecked my olds by sliding the rear end into a telephone pole...
Chiropractor is your best bet for back work...

As far as the 03' & 04' Good luck in your search...
Though I noticed when looking back when looking back and reasearching those things, the V8 in that thing gets the same gas mileage as the 3rd Gens V6...
I don't know if that means anything to you...
To me that is more power for the same gas mileage as I have now in amore updated veichle...
The V6 I thought goot about 18-19 in the city and 22-23 highway...
But I only know the V8 side since thats all the family is buying these days...
(the ones that actually listen to there good old nephew who seems to know a few things or two about what car to buy )
Again have fun and good luck

 

paul,

you sure about the mpg? i thought it was nearly identical, the difference being that the v6 takes premium while the v8 does not. hopefully a 4th gen owner will chime in about this

bob

 

My mistake,:pat: its actually 1 to 2 mpg according to the website.

 

sorry to hear about the accident, glad you and your family are ok!!! Thats what matters!!!!

None of the 4runner's "require" premium, it just states that in the manual you might see performance gains with premium. I would go for a v8 if possible, I have one in my Tundra and I love the power! I do put premium in it because it idles smoother during the winter with premium, but of course this is debatable whether it is all in my head or not, but there is no premium requirement.

 

Glad to hear you are ok

As far as bugs with the 4 gen I would avoid getting one with a sunroof I have had nothing but problems with mine. The only other things I have had go wrong where clear coat peeling off the center caps on the rims. The allternator also went out the dealer fixed that no problem. As for the xreas suspension if you plan on lifting it don't get that package I belive you have to remove it. When you get the new runner get it from the dealer and get the 5 year 100,000 mile warrenty after 36,000 only 50 bucks to get anything fixed that goes wrong with it. Other then the few problems I have had with mine I love it way better then my ford f150 I used to have. Good luck on search for a new 4runner.

2004 SR5 4.0 V.6 32,000 miles

 

The advertised difference is 1-2 mpg, but I think the v6 actually does a little better, mainly around town. We have gotten up to 25 on our 03 V6. Average is 20-22. My mom just got a 04 V8 and gets 17-19ish, but she also lives in seattle where there are way more hills.

The 4.0 V6 does not require premium, the manual says to use 87 and use 91 for increased performance. We generally use 87, and the time or two I have used 91 saw no difference.

Ours does have the sulpher smell and they did the work on it and dont smell it anymore unless we use costco gas. It does however have a weird shutter at idle sometimes, very strange. But toyota is working on fixing that.

Overall we love our 03, its a fantastic rig.

 

The early 2003 V6 had an issue with the Fuel Rail and there was a recall put out. More than likeyly a V6 you would buy would have had that issue corrected, but have it checked out just the same. Also early 2003 SR5/Sport Editions came with the grey cladding. They later switched over to the color matched body panels that you see today.

I second the thought on the sunroof. It is a weak point on the 4th gens and numerous owners (including this one) have had their sunroofs stuck open on them. This is a very costly repair if out of warranty so an extended warranty isn't a bad idea. The 4th gens have a lot of electronic doohickies and one repair will probably pay for the cost of the extended warranty. Just some food for thought.

Here is a link to my fuel mileage records: http://home.comcast.net/~acuestaj/4r...Gasmileage.xls
As you can see, running Premium gas makes no difference in gas mileage. Also, I've ran the truck on 4WD and it too didn't make a difference. My thought on it is that you are carrying the weight of the 4WD components all the time and the parasitic loss with running in 4WD versus 2WD is minimal. My daily commute is on I95 and takes me through the Springfield Mixing Bowl in Virginia so that should give you an idea of the type of traffic I drive through. Make your own assumptions I guess.

As far as the sulphur smell, there has been a TSB for the 2003, 2004, 2005 V6s and V8s. I personally havne't heard of any sulphur tsb for the 2006 models yet. They essentially replace two of the CATs and reprogram the ECU. The TSB helps, but does not 100% cure the problem. You'll get a sulphur smell every once in a while, but not nearly as strong as pre-TSB. There is an 80K mile expiration (Also an expiration in months, but I'm not sure the exact number) on the sulfur TSB so get it done before it is out of coverage.

 

running premium should have no effect on gas mileage as you stated. man....No.VA. traffic is nuts...another reason I'm not moving back up after college.

 

I assume you were running in the AWD version of 4WD, which will have no effect on mileage, but lock the center diff and it will make a difference ( I dont reccommend this on hard surfaces as you will do damage).

 

For third row seating check this company out:

http://www.littlepassengerseats.com/index.html


I've been thinking the same thing, IF I needed to get a 4runner to replace our current sienna...