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About the shimy - SUV's have very large, heavy tires. Sometimes a very minor shimy may go with the territory. The severity is the issue. I once bought a set of brand new Firestone's for my pick up truck. They made the wheel shimy most of the time. After two attempts at fixing the problem, I was given a new set of Bridgestones, which were fine. Sometimes the set of tires is just bad. If you continue to experience the problem, and it's significant, you should ask for a new set of tires. If Toyota doesn't help, go to a Michelin dealer - the tires are under warranty too.
Both engines have knock sensors and adapt to the fuel grade. Should be no danger of damage or problems with anything in this octane range. You'll get better (presumably the full rated) horsepower on premium, but a little worse mileage. Yep, there is actually slightly less energy in each gallon of premium fuel, though it's not nearly as bad as oxygenated fuels such as gasohol or MTBE-enhanced stuff. BTW, Toyota says up to 10% ethanol is ok, but methanol is not recommended.
The tire shimmy thing has got me puzzled. Some posters rave about the Michelin cross terrains as the best of the (several) OEM tires for the 4Runner, but several here lately have reported shimmy/pull problems with them. Reviews on tirerack.com of many tires, including the cross terrains and the Bridgestone duelers include both extremes (good and bad wear, handling, noise, stability/quality) and a lot in between. It sure seems to be tough to get reliable information on the subject.
On the subject of rebates, one source reports variable (by region) incentives to dealers on the SR5s (presumably the ones with the gray cladding) of zero to $2k. The big end of that would make some sense, as there are lots of those sitting on lots around here, and it would take about an $1150 (at invoice price) incentive on those to make them cheaper than the recent ones with the now-standard appearance package, running boards, fog lights, and $150 MSRP reduction. Cheaper in terms of invoice cost to the dealers, anyway. It probably doesn't make sense to assume that the newer units without the gray cladding are discounted as much. Invoice price calculations are all well and good, but in the end it's always supply/demand that sets the price.
If one was compulsive about this (I used to be, but I'm too tired now), one could go somewhere like Edmunds TMV or carsdirect.com and plug in zip codes for different parts of the country and try to deduce something, It would be dodgy at best but might provide some insight.
I have the V6 model, Sport Edition.
Thanks
Other 2 " items I had were a 2" receiver insert, and a 2" fishing rod holder. Both fit easily in the 2" receiver on my previous vehicle, (a Honda Odyssey) but would not fit in the original hitch on the 4Runner.
I asked my dealer's parts department about it. The guy there suggested I call Toyota of America and ask them. I did. They gave me a case # and had the Toyota Rep at my dealer, call me.
I made an appointment and had them replace the receiver. It is slightly bigger and can accommodate my 2 " items. It has no spare tire protecting metal end piece. It took about 1 1/2 hours to change the receiver. The rear bumper had to be removed.
This may be the "new" hitch due out later.
They look alike, but are slightly different.
Hope this helps.
BTW it was obvious from my call to Toyota of America that they are truly interested in customer satisfaction. The hitch change was done free of charge.
I need more info about the hitch situation. My SR5 came with a short receiver. I can no longer use my bike rack (that fits into standard receivers) because of the depth of the receiver and the location of the spare tire. The pin hole no longer lines up with my rack.
What did Toyota provide to rectify your problem?
You will have to remember not to poke something into your spare. No big deal.
Mine is a stick shift, so I do not know from my own, but I have driven my friends' '96 and '98 automatics in 4-whl LO and they both did those abrupt gear changes.
From my own experience with their trucks, if you are going fast enough to need third gear in 4-whl LO, you probably don't need to be in LO any more...LO is a crawler gear.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The 2003 Lexus GX-470 suspension is: Rear Adjustable Height Control (RAHC) and Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS).
Are these the same suspension?
How does the highway ride quality of this 2003 4Runner 4WD V8 Limited with rear air suspension compare with the 2003 Lexus GX-470?
How does the highway ride quality of this 4Runner compare with the 2003 Toyota Highlander V6 Limited AWD?
I'd appreciate any experiences or opinions.
Have you thought about cutting a bit of length off of the hitch portion of your bike rack so it is short enough to fit without hitting the spare? I suspect any hitch or welding or metal shop could do the job. Removing the spare tire sure isn't the answer.
(Endquote)
Sure- cutting off parts of my bike rack is always an option, but is that really the answer either? This rack has fit fine in four other makes of cars - plus my old '96 4runner. Why shouldn't my new 4runner work with it either? What about anything else I wish to buy in the future?
I'm encouraged by an above post's statement that they received a free solution from their dealer. It appears that Toyota might be willing to admit they made a mistake and are willing to fix it.
First I tried the Yakima hitch mounts. Their insert was far too long and hit the tire. My hitch does not have a metal piece on the back, the post can hit the spare. I couldn't even begin to see the holes on the hitch insert through the hitch holes. Then they brought out an extension for small hitches. That one also rubbed up against the tire. This one was much closer but I would have have to shaved about 1/8th of an inch off the extension to get the holes to line up correctly. Even if this worked, the rack would hang out ridiculously far.
Then we tried a Thule hitch mount. Same thing as the extension. I would have to shave about 1/8th of an inch off the hitch post to get the holes to line up correctly. The two people that were helping me couldn't believe the tire was so close and the hitch was so short.
If I want a hitch mount rack it would seem my only options would be to buy the Yakima and shave off about an inch, buy the Yakima with the extension and shave off 1/8th of an inch off the extension (and have the rack out way far), or buy the Thule and shave the 1/8th of an inch off.
Any ideas? Why did Toyota mess with the tow hitch so much that NONE of the hitch mount racks on the market fit it??? Should I consider a new hitch (is that even possible)?
Chris
I still have the smell, but only when I gun it, and usually, I do not.
What model 'Runner do you have. When I last brought up this issue, there was speculation that the Limited (what I have) may have less clearence space for the post than the other models (possibly due to the bigger spare wheel).
Hopefully Thule has made a rack that fits (I don't recall trying the "Pro" a few months ago). Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks in advance.
I have a couple of hitch bar extentions from older vehicles and I tried to put them into my 4Runner hitch receiver yesterday. As expected, all of them were too long and they hit the spare tire (by about an inch or a little more). I could not match up the holes for the pin to go through. Obviously Toyota had a bit of a design mistake with this hitch or with the location of the spare. I'm going to call Toyota and see what, if anything they can do. Cutting an inch and a half off the bars is preferable to me compared to letting the dealer try to change the hitch, but that will probably cost a few bucks. Has anybody just tried to cut an inch off the bars with a hacksaw? It would seem that steel would be pretty tough for a common (cheap) hacksaw.
The reverse is the same, be sure to be stopped going from LO to HI, and clutch out going from 4-whl back to 2-whl.
In the older Runners, it is easier to get the 4-whl to engage if the truck is moving a bit - if you are entirely stopped and try to engage it, you may not actually see the engagement light on the dash until you have moved forward a little bit. (something to remember to anticipate if you are going to be in seriously muddy or low-traction situations).
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I previously have only driven and american (loud) truck, a '95 blazer.. and that roared when I accelerated. I've had the 4runner only a couple of weeks and I have been noticing how weird the engine sounded (to me at least). Is this how VVT-i engines or japanese engines sound?
For 4-LO, you will need the clutch and you can engage up to 5mph.
If at first it doesn't engage or disengage, just lightly release and repress the the accelerator. This usually does the trick to reconfirm the systems engagement.
The say there is a shim somewhere near the lifters (you'll have to excuse me, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to vehicle mechanics). These shims come in 35 different sizes. Apparently the shim in the lifter is too small. Now they have to measure what the new shim should be, order it and install it.
Having said that, I will be withoug my BRAND NEW 4 Runner for 2 days! The guy said it does no harm to the engine but they are more than happy to fix it (as they should be for a $40,000 + vehicle). I'm taking it in this week to have it done (they are providing me with a free rental car - Camry). I will report back with the results.
Sounds very plausible. If that's not the solution, the source of the problem could be ineffective motor mounts or tranny mounts due to the increase in torque(??) I had the same symptoms on a different vehicle. Had the mounts replaced and problem was solved.
Anyone who buys this vehicle will get what they deserve. Garbage!
tidester, host
If the V6 is available in other grades, then it doesn't seem likely that it's due to problems with the new engine. Maybe it's a way to differentiate the Limited, but clearly the V8 is not unique to that grade.
Your thoughts?
When you say that you've been able to order leather for your Sport, is that leather from the factory? If it is aftermarket, that would explain why you can't get the seats heated.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Perhaps this is an aberration. Our resident DX manager Steve can take a look at his TVO and perhaps Toyotaken can get a hold of his so we can see if this is a regional issue in the Central Atlantic Region or not.
Thanks!
The V6 is a higher compression ratio than the V8, I believe 10.0 to 1 for the V6 and 9.6 to 1 for the V8. No matter how you read it, regular fuel is fine in both. The V6 would probably give SLIGHTLY better performance with premium(because of the higher compression ratio!) but I doubt it would be worth it unless the engine is knocking etc. I don't quite understand how a lot of people are saying that Toyota are recommending premium fuel. In my view they are NOT saying that at all, only if you want improved performance(and how much it would improved would be questionable!!!) If premium fuel was required it would say exactly that. Bottom line SAVE YOUR MONEY.
I do intend to try premium in the V8 for a month at some point to see if the mileage improves or not BUT I doubt it would make up for the 8-10 cents a litre difference.
I have averaged 15.3 litres/100 km in 2,300 km of city/highway driving. Not fantastic by no stretch of the imagination but I hope it will improve slightly. On the highway the V8 mileage is as good as my 99 Runner with a 3.4 V6. In the City, well it is quite a bit worse.
I knew this going in. I love the 4Runner, a great vehicle so far.