JacksonRally 2006 V8 4Runner

[JacksonRally]

The dealer is Hardin GMC in Anaheim. I actually know one of the Hardins and did work for him almost 10 years ago on his off-road truck. So I am dealing with his brother in law who seems to run the dealership. And Toyota of Orange is doing the repairs.

I looked into the problem myself right after I found out it did not work. I printed out the whole thread from t4r on how to replace the actuator motors with t case still in. Now Im wishing I would have just done it. I build race cars, I have a lift and a crap ton of tools....but that was not the point.

I have not heard anything yet today. I live 70ish miles away from them so I cannot just drop in to bug them. My 1yr wedding anniversary is this saturday and we were planning on a little over nighter in Big Bear at a yellowpost site but now thats scrapped. We also have plans to camp the weekend before Thanksgiving, hope we get everything sorted out by then. Im going to be real pissed if I make the first payment and it is still not fixed.

 

[JacksonRally]

I may have to start a new thread when this whole ordeal is over. 3 pages of dealing with non-sense.....ugh

 

[ebg18t]

What a cluster f%^#.

Mine is acting up, but I think I will just buy a used transfer case instead of dealing with Toyota.

 

[JacksonRally]

Just got word they are tearing it down, parts are on order.

 

[JacksonRally]

WRONG. Something seemed fishy so I decided to call the Toyota dealer.....and guess what!? It is not torn down, parts are not ordered. Im just a simple man and not sure of the legalities of these things but I do know this is wrong.

 

[bknudtsen]

Not that this will make you feel any better about your predicament, but I was talking to a Toyota tech the other day, and mentioned this exact issue. He said that he get 11-14 hours billed just for this repair. He said it is a huge deal. Good luck, Brother. I hope it all works out.

 

[AKmoney]

This is the one repair I fear my 4Runner will need some day, and I fear the malfunction will happen for the first time somewhere in the middle of Death Valley. I always take a deep breath every time I turn the switch to L4 and wait for the "4LO" light to stop blinking.

Good luck with the repairs; I hope it gets sorted out for you ASAP!

 

[Martinjmpr]

OK, I have to ask: Since, in your first post, you said the 4lo was not working, did you factor that into the price you paid the dealer? I can't imagine a dealer selling a vehicle with a major defect and not discounting the price significantly based on that.

 

[JacksonRally]

OK, I have to ask: Since, in your first post, you said the 4lo was not working, did you factor that into the price you paid the dealer? I can't imagine a dealer selling a vehicle with a major defect and not discounting the price significantly based on that.

I jumped on this 4Runner so quick that it had just been listed online. The dealer had yet to clean it out from it being traded in. I was able to go to the service area and talk with the tech who was replacing items such as battery, brake pads, wiper blades...etc. The tech told me he was required to road test the vehicle to see what if anything it needed. He also in formed me that they have to test all 4wd systems and that they had a dirt lot with a mound of dirt where they test these items. He said all checked out. We waited around a bit and once it was off the lift in the service bay we took it for a test drive on side streets and a quick on/off of the freeway. I did not personally try to engage 4lo because the tech said it all checked out and I was not going to take it into their dirt lot. If I would have known about the issue I would have either passed or haggled a bit more. Now the next morning I was curious (and I live off a dirt road with rocks and trails all around) to try out the center diff lock and 4lo out behind my house and I never got out of the driveway before going back in to call the dealer. They said to bring it down when I can and they will fix it.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Ah, got it. Well, I can understand jumping on a clean 4runner, they don't last long on most dealer lots. I ended up paying about $1,000 more than my "max" just because they had a desirable color (Salsa Red Pearl.)

 

[JacksonRally]

Ah, got it. Well, I can understand jumping on a clean 4runner, they don't last long on most dealer lots. I ended up paying about $1,000 more than my "max" just because they had a desirable color (Salsa Red Pearl.)

Yeah they seemed to fly off the lots pretty quickly. We ended up paying $17,900 for ours with only 63k on the clock, everything else below 20k had waaaay more miles.

I just want to get it back to get started on a few little projects. I have the tubing for sliders already and will do the vsc off button mod. Then as soon as the Subaru sells Ill get going on some other goodies. However stock or not if our local mountains get snow soon we will head for the hills and go play!

 

[chmura]

Any updates?

Hope everything works out. Its a little sad feeling that you purchase a car and have to deal with unnecessary problems. These 4runners are pretty reliable. Maybe once every 8-10 years these actuators do get faulty and need to be replaced but its okay, as everything else is pretty solid. But I have a feeling the when you never engage 4LOW it gets sticky. All these 4runners in Southern California probably never get 4LOW turn on.

Also to engage the 4x4 into 4LOW you don't need to be on a dirt road. Just drive straight for a short distance, stop and turn 4LOW off. I live in the heart of the city and I just stop on a low traffic street and I engage the center diff, 4LOW, and turn on the rear diff lock. I drive straight for 1/4 of a mile, stop and turn everything off. I do this once a month so everything gets lubricated, etc.

 

[JacksonRally]

Yes finally got word from Toyota dealer and Hardin that parts are ordered. They will be in mid next week, hopefully I can pick up the 4Runner late next week.

Chmura, I see you are in OC. We should hit some trails sometime. We will be camping in California City the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was tossing around the idea of hitting Red Rock Canyon for a day. Also might do the Toys 4 Tots deal at Gorman SVRA in early Dec.

 

[JacksonRally]

I have a few ideas for sliders in my head. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask what folks like or dislike about their sliders. So if you were to do it over again what would you change?

 

[chmura]

Yes finally got word from Toyota dealer and Hardin that parts are ordered. They will be in mid next week, hopefully I can pick up the 4Runner late next week.

Chmura, I see you are in OC. We should hit some trails sometime. We will be camping in California City the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was tossing around the idea of hitting Red Rock Canyon for a day. Also might do the Toys 4 Tots deal at Gorman SVRA in early Dec.

I actually live less than 10 minutes from Toyota of Orange where your 4runner is getting worked on.

For sure lets get together for a day trip. I am eying a few spots in Lake Forest area. I am planning to go to Death Valley in December also.