Faults:

Head gasket blew at 118,000 miles.

Delayed shifting to over/drive after head gasket repair.

General Comments:

Repaired blown head gasket with Therma-gasket solution that you add to the radiator fluid. Seems fixed. Has been running fine for the past 2 months. Time will tell. About $150 worth of repair and fluid change to get the car back up and running. It can easily be done in half day!

Faults:

For cosmetic and simple parts, I highly recommend just going to a local junk yard and buying the stuff there, it is also cheaper and easier than going to the dealer.

The car leaks a little bit through the sunroof and windshield edges during heavy rain.

AC compressor blew at around 130,000. Watch out for loss of power on startup or belt noises, which could mean the compressor bearings are shot. Refurbed compressor is about $230, new is around $350.

Stabilizer rods on one side were broken, they run around $35 each.

The car is a little tough for "do-it-yourself", since everything is crammed into the tight hood, and any work requires removing something.

Oil filter and spark plugs are a mission to remove and replace.

Interior is comfortable and spacious for an SUV it's size.

Also has decent handling.

General Comments:

If you have the money and time, the car can be worth it.

Faults:

Just as normal wear and tear, the vehicle has been very reliable and cost effective. The only qualm I have with the 4Runner is the 3.0 litre engine is underpowered, even with the 5 speed transmission. It came with a tow hitch, but the 4Runner is so underpowered, that I would not even think of towing anything behind it.

I received a recall notice for head gasket replacement; I had approx 68K miles on the vehicle at that time. I took it to the local dealership and they were to replace the head gasket.

One day later they had my 4Runner ready to be picked up. I thought that was a little fast for a head repair, even for the dealer. When I picked it up, it looked as if they had never touched it. I am sure that they got paid for the job though.

I now have 188K on the engine and I noticed the decrease of power in the last few months. I conducted a cylinder leak check. They were all good except for cyl #4 and #6; they did not hold the pressure and leaked down. I should also mention that I had white smoke coming from the exhaust when the engine was cold. It cleared as soon as the engine was warmed up. Also, I noticed a decrease of antifreeze in the overflow bottle.

Just last weekend I pulled the heads off the vehicle and the valves looked OK, but the head gasket was pealing (rotting) and had deteriorated. It was in very poor shape for a head gasket. I now know where my cylinder pressure was going. I put in a set of reconditioned heads with new gaskets.

I noticed that the drivers seat has started to tear and the paint has faded with time. The rear window power unit went out and it was very expensive to replace.

The rear coil springs saggged, allowing the 4Runner to sit low in the back and up higher in front. It has a blind spot to the side and rear.

General Comments:

Lack of power.

Sags in the rear.

Blind spots on sides and back.

Interior is very small from left to right, right to left. (Although front to back is very spacious.)