Toyota here we cometh...

[Martinjmpr]

Different drivetrain, but my both my 1st gen 4runners had close to 200,000 and 240,000, respectively. Sold them both to happy owners, and I'm pretty sure both are still on the road.

Doesn't seem like they strayed far from the original intent of a solid, low maintenence vehicle with these 3rd gen's.

Got to love a truck that fetches $8k, and garners comments like, "drives/looks new" from most reviewers on sites like carpoint.com, 5-10 years after rolling off the factory line.

Just curious but did you ever consider a Highlander or are they out of your price range? IIRC many if not most Highlanders have the 3rd row seat and a FWD Highlander with a 4 cyl engine will probably be a great commuter car.

Seems to me the Highlander gives you about 85% of Minivan capabilities without the minvan stigma.

 

[java]

love my 03, the 4.0 V6 is a great little engine so far, but if your gonna go fourth gen the 05's and up got a 5 sp which helps the MPG a bit. they also got a little engine revamp

 

[BIGdaddy]

love my 03, the 4.0 V6 is a great little engine so far, but if your gonna go fourth gen the 05's and up got a 5 sp which helps the MPG a bit. they also got a little engine revamp

My wife prefers an auto, so not an advantage there. Alos, 05's and up are out of our price range.

Glad to hear your 03 is going good for you, though. We like that year.

-B

 

[BIGdaddy]

Just curious but did you ever consider a Highlander or are they out of your price range? IIRC many if not most Highlanders have the 3rd row seat and a FWD Highlander with a 4 cyl engine will probably be a great commuter car.

Seems to me the Highlander gives you about 85% of Minivan capabilities without the minvan stigma.

The ones I've seen were newer, so yeah naturally a bit too much coin. They're nice though.

I wonder about long-term longevity though. I like the idea of a body on frame bacause we do have a trailer to tow, and we need this car to last us a while. We like the HLdr's 3rd row, but we only have 3 kids, so the 4runner would work fine for now. (We'd consider one of those rear facing seats that someone mentioned before, for short trips with more than 5 people in the car. Doesn't happen very often, though.)

Good suggestion, though, and we do like them, in general.

 

[java]

My wife prefers an auto, so not an advantage there. Alos, 05's and up are out of our price range.

Glad to hear your 03 is going good for you, though. We like that year.

-B

all the 4th gens are autos, its a 5sp auto. sorry want clear, the early 4th gens had a 4sp auto.

another thing to remember the V6 are selecable 2wd/4wd the V8's are full time 4. but if you want something to tow with you might look at the v8. mine is ok with my snowmobiles etc but it does have to work a bit with a bigger trailer.

 

[BIGdaddy]

all the 4th gens are autos, its a 5sp auto. sorry want clear, the early 4th gens had a 4sp auto.

another thing to remember the V6 are selecable 2wd/4wd the V8's are full time 4. but if you want something to tow with you might look at the v8. mine is ok with my snowmobiles etc but it does have to work a bit with a bigger trailer.

our trailer is small..about 4x8. and once a year we tow a rented 5x12 from uhaul up to a theatre competition.

So nothing too heavy duty at all.

 

[CA-RJ]

3rd Gen 4Runners never came with 3rd row seats. There are/were aftermarket options but it never came from the factory that way.

Try to find one with the 16" wheel option, it gets you the bigger front brakes. Get yourself a 4x4 too. You'll kick yourself later if you don't. The savings in fuel mileage is not that great.

I know mine is a stick, but if you guys want to pour over it, drive it, ect, let me know.

 

[slus]

I've had 3 3rd generation 4runners, 96 limited, 97 limited, and 2002 SR5, all have been excellent cars. The only non-routine maintenance items to replace in close to 150k combined through all 3 of them was an alternator on the 1996, and a rear axle seal on the 97. Great cars, I'm thinking about ditching my money pit subaru and getting another:sombrero:

 

[Cackalak Han]

I've had 2 3rd gens and they were good rigs. One thing I hated on the 02 I had was the TRAC system. It was way too sensitive. To the point that it was dangerous. ie, kicking on when trying to pull out onto the road and little gravel or snow causes the wheel to slip, triggering TRAC and killing the power. You're just sittin there with traffic coming at you from both directions. No good. 4th gens TRAC is much improved over this.

Regarding the "milkshake" issue -- well, there was no issue with that. Some 01-02 transmissions tended to blow (planetary gears) but the engine/HG never had much issues. Very occasionally, someone would shoot a rod through the block for no reason, but that's probably less than 1% of the case.

I think you should still get a 4x4, as resale would be a lot better and you'd have it "just in case." This could open the doors for you to make it your "new" expo rig when you get rid of your XJ in the future.

 

[mtnbike28]

My 1998...

Is now my daughter's, but it is stock. Has 190K or so, the 3.4 engine and 4x4. The only repairs I have done since 40k is a new starter, front brake pads and rear axle seals.

A great truck and will last her many more years through college. Maybe I will take it back then and build it up ; )

MPG, I got 17/18 in the city/mixed and around 20 on long trips, being easy on the gas pedal. It is not the fastest thing, but it gets there. hth