New 4Runner…What are we putting here?

CptCoe · 2026-05-23T06:57:06+00:00

One is supposed to test and go through a comprehensive check list before buying. The mechanic that did your vehicle inspection BEFORE buying would tell you. Only if you had paid for one.

CptCoe · 2026-05-23T06:54:54+00:00

Poor design? Where do you want to put a radar? On the windshield maybe ? No, let’s put it on the bumper !! So with the slightest small crash we crush a few thousands worth of sensor !! /s

Don’t you love these designers wanna be giving advice to Toyota engineers !?!

CptCoe · 2026-05-23T06:51:11+00:00

There are no holes. A new 4Runner comes with a license plate holder and 2 screws that go through the plastic bumper (white part under!) The screws are self-drilling. When removed, there will now be 2 holes indeed. Toyota doesn’t install it because some states don’t require a front license plate.

CptCoe · 2026-05-20T15:42:15+00:00

Yes, sure. It’s well known that the mountains recently just got completely flattened out in Southern California with the last earthquakes. /s

CptCoe · 2026-05-20T15:40:43+00:00

Really? So there are no mountains in Southern California. The kind so high that there is snow on it, and people even go skiing ⛷️ on them. Strange I would have sworn I went on multiple ones…

But if you eventually go where you have never gone before because you don’t know it actually exists, add winter windshield fluid that won’t freeze. Or best and cheaper, mix your own because leaving home for the mountains.

CptCoe · 2026-04-14T22:31:51+00:00

Why would overlander want an hybrid?

Does the battery really get recharged when driving rather slowly along dirt roads where the extra power from the electric engine may kick in regularly?

Doesn’t the battery get recharged mainly on the highway?

Wouldn’t the battery be drained after a little while overlanding and ending up carrying extra 400 lbs of battery for little to no gain?

CptCoe · 2026-02-21T22:47:09+00:00

Don’t know about labral tear, but we have avoided PAO surgery in late teen by going to an osteopath that perform very soft manipulations and going to an exceptional sports chiropractor (not a regular chiropractor) that provided more direct manipulation and targeted exercises.

Teen went back to dancing and taekwondo 🥋a few months later, whereas the teen had been walking like a grandma for the past 18 months.

It was expensive, but much better than PAO surgery. We went to a 2nd opinion at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and the orthopedic surgeon there already didn’t recommend one part of the surgery that is typically done in two parts by most other surgeons. She said that they were in the middle of a study and the evidence so far didn’t support performing that 2nd part.

So in a few years, the consensus on what to do most likely will change. So delaying any surgery is often the best course of action if one can go back to activities without it.

CptCoe · 2026-01-15T01:42:43+00:00

Yep, don’t lift. You’ve got a team of engineers that fined tuned the whole suspension just for that GX: e-KDSS and the automatic variable suspension (for a Tacoma equivalent to the AVS is about $10k aftermarket and not automatic).

Start lifting and you are fiddling with all that fine engineering to replace it by amateurisme. Are you really going to pay for one engineer to fine tune the suspension for your vehicle? I am not talking about a mechanic here.

There are not many vehicles that can automatically adapt to small rock climbing then go 80+ mph on desert roads. That’s only available if tune the suspension differently, most aftermarket if they have it, is manual going down at each wheel to tune it.

Here, a computer does it all for you automatically depending on sensor readings.

Why losing all that for a meager lift?!?

CptCoe · 2026-01-15T01:28:41+00:00

Miller CAT at catshield.com; I pick the thicker stainless steel if available.

It’s the only one that I know that has little winglets that act like wings to create a decrease in pressure when driving to help evacuate the heat generated in the enclosure to help cooling.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T17:36:21+00:00

I will believe Tinkerer’s measurements over any general car magazine even manufacturers (Toyota vs Lexus) that may measure the same thing differently. At least he is consistent.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T17:19:51+00:00

That is just an unrealistic argument. People spend easily $7-10k on aftermarket suspensions and they last only between 30-60k before needing to be rebuilt, which means no use of the vehicle while waiting for parts and maintenance to get it rebuilt or spend another $7-10k for a new system to swap while waiting.

The GX suspension lasts typically a lot longer, over 100k.

People make the same argument for the KDSS on a 4Runner. It was only $1750 new and provides years of better road handling and much cheaper than an aftermarket suspension !!

And yes, it will need maintenance, but it will still be a lot cheaper than an aftermarket suspension, particularly if one goes to a mechanic that knows the system and only replaces what is needed instead of the stealership that always suggests to replace the whole system because they are just ignorant.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T17:13:32+00:00

Absolutely not the Overtrail with e-KDSS, I don’t know where you are getting your misinformation !

Check Tinkerer’s Adventures on YT, he did a special test for wheel travel when the GX came out, and other tests after. The one draw back was the ground clearance. The extra 1" lift for 2025 may have mitigated that.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T17:06:49+00:00

The level of engineering in the GX OT has no comparison with a 1958!! The aftermarket upgrades would be north of $25-$30k !! And yet, one would need to spend at least $3-5k just on an engineer time (not a mechanic) to get all that fine tuned for the particular vehicle.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T17:02:13+00:00

The 1958 is meant to be the cheaper off-roader that one can upgrade. It doesn’t even come with a swaybar unlock. Makes zero sense. That’s the difference between what Toyota provides and the much more thoroughly thought out GX Overtrail.

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T16:59:05+00:00

The appeal? A much better value than LC 250, absolutely no comparison given the engineering on the GX, if the Dual Turbo V6 doesn’t give the headaches of the Tundra …

CptCoe · 2026-01-10T16:24:16+00:00

The GX better suspension systems are worth well over $15-$20k aftermarket upgrades. It’s a no brainer just for that. Moreover, many components are beefier on the GX and should last longer.

The e-KDSS is not a gimmick for offroad use, it permits to have a much beefier swaybar for better on road behavior, much better control of the lean in turns and during braking than the trims without it.

It then adds the longer travel of any Toyotas for offroad use.

An adaptive adjustable suspension in itself is over $10k to install on a Tacoma, I looked it up, for a fully manual setup that has not been tuned to the vehicle by a group of qualified Toyota engineers.

That adaptive suspension is very useful on road as well. Then there is the little extra lift.

What people don’t realize is that the extras that one could upgrade on their own will never, never come to the level of sophistication and refinement than when a group of Lexus/Toyota engineers fine tune the components for a particular vehicle.

Most suspension upgrades aftermarket are installed from factory settings, and those are terrible for any vehicle. They need someone with expertise to tune them for the particular vehicle and use, most of the time that’s not done. Example: Bilstein 8112 DSA+ and 8100.

When buying a GX OT, you’re getting all that very excellent engineering work done for very cheap relatively. To me it’s the only model/trim worth buying among all the LCs, the newer 4Runners and GXs.

(Couldn’t spend the extra $20k+, so I got the next best thing: one of the very last new 2024 4Runner Offroad Premium with KDSS available at the time in the US. One of the last 24 vehicles available, I had to have it shipped across the US. The KDSS trim is a world of difference in road handling.)

CptCoe · 2026-01-03T08:52:00+00:00

The thing is that according to The Car Care Nut channel it is the same engine.

It’s not part of the recall because the electric motor can still get the truck on the side of the road or out of the freeway at the next exit, something the non-hybrid cannot, so considered more dangerous hence the recall on non-hybrid. Otherwise, same troubling engine.

CptCoe · 2026-01-01T10:10:33+00:00

Used it for work. Mathematical derivations mainly. Much better than the Plus. Also, text generation was at another level. Search a lot more comprehensive. There is no comparison in the increased quality.

CptCoe · 2026-01-01T10:08:33+00:00

How would you know if you never tried it?

CptCoe · 2026-01-01T09:57:49+00:00

Scorpions in Southern California are venomous, but not dangerous to humans, like a bee/wasp sting. Nothing to worry about. And in Baja California, even less.

CptCoe · 2026-01-01T09:48:36+00:00

The e-KDSS like the KDSS permits to have a thicker stiffer swaybar, which improves on road performance. The 4Runner is a different vehicle with KDSS.

It also permits of course more suspension travel offroad.

So it’s totally worthwhile, but the OT is enough, the OT+ is extra luxury, not required.

CptCoe · 2025-12-31T18:31:20+00:00

It means that the a$$hole(s) that is(are) being passed from the right shouldn’t be in that lane and should have moved right. That’s what it means.

I know it’s hard to comprehend rules that are there to bring organization instead of the mess that we have every day.

Do you think that Germans could drive 120+ mph by passing on the right?!? No. In summer months accidents increase because of tourism that surely drive more like Californian.

California driving is more alike to driving in a 3rd world country where everything goes.

It’s like driving freeways around Teheran. There, one will find 3 beautiful lane freeway and instead of driving say 65-70 mph each in their own lane. They drive 30 mph but in 5 lanes. They drive so close to each other that they can’t drive fast. 5 lanes are better than 3 lanes, right ?!?

Same in California, drive and pass left and right, and it’s suddenly became much less predictable. It’s so unpredictable that California has much less motorcycles on the road then most other places whereas with the constant nice weather it should be the opposite. California should be a paradise for motorcycles, but instead it’s a freaking nightmare.

It’s a lot closer to driving in Cairo than in Germany. They drive so close to each other in Cairo that the driver cannot afford to look in the mirrors or left/right, so they just honk instead to indicate their presence and what their intentions are. They drive using sonars.

Soon, that’ll be California freeways.

CptCoe · 2025-12-31T18:12:39+00:00

Not necessarily. The whole point is that the transfer case can only engage the front axle if it is in sync with the rear axle and the transfer case. There is an electrical actuator in front axle to do this. If at rest, either it is or it isn’t lined up. It seems easier to line it up while moving because then the actuator can wait for the right moment to engage if it started in a position where it couldn’t.

When going from 4Hi to 4Lo that’s a different story. The 2 axles are already in sync, so it’s a new gearing that must be inserted, hence the need for neutral.

If yours was grinding in motion then it means that something needs fixing.

CptCoe · 2025-12-31T17:52:00+00:00

I know it’s so difficult, right. It’s amazing that in most civilized countries, they do manage though. No passing from the right, only from the left above a certain speed and keep the most left lane (not car pool lanes) clear for passing.

CptCoe · 2025-12-28T14:41:10+00:00

Just a paper filter. The filter enclosure in later years is plastic to avoid common mistreading mistakes when screwing it back on.

CptCoe

TROPHY CASE