Northern 4R Adventures

[max225]

Great truck. Love everything about this.

You gotta update the #squad my dude

[Desertbreh]

Great truck. Love everything about this.

You gotta update the #squad my dude

Yep. Just got back.

[D Griff]

You do you, boo.

It was a question. I dunno the rulez

As long as you keep sharing your placventures, we will all be happy. The method is yours to choose.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

First car was an ‘02 4Runner handed down from parents. Rolled it two months into having my drivers license by being a dumb teenager. That’s a story for another day lol. Thing was a tank. Parents never maintained it, I did spark plugs on it for the first time ever when it became mine at 225k miles or so. Motor was swapped at 100k-ish when my mom cracked the block by hitting a tree with it. When I rolled it, it kept running for a while and I had to tell someone to climb in and shut it off since nobody would let me get up after getting out and sitting down.

Bet that motor is in some other 4R or taco giving it more life now.

I love these things. One day might pick up another.

I had a buddy in high school who’s dad had the 3rd gen in RWD (we called it the 2Runner). I think it was a 2000.

He rolled the thing as well, evidently it got really tail happy in the wet and he went a bit too full send.

Any older 4x4 was kind of a death trap, even up to the 00's

My dad had a CJ5 right before I was born that he put some big ass engine in and modified. I was coming, he decided to sell it because he wouldn't have time for it. He sold it to a guy who bought it for his kid who had just turned 18. A week later, the kid rolled it and died, my dad found out reading his obituary in the newspaper as I was a wee lad in his lap.

My dad always took particular care and concern for 4x4 safety after that. We still built and drove sketchy shit, but he made it a point that I knew how to drive it safely.

[D Griff]

I had a buddy in high school who’s dad had the 3rd gen in RWD (we called it the 2Runner). I think it was a 2000.

He rolled the thing as well, evidently it got really tail happy in the wet and he went a bit too full send.

Any older 4x4 was kind of a death trap, even up to the 00's

My dad had a CJ5 right before I was born that he put some big ass engine in and modified. I was coming, he decided to sell it because he wouldn't have time for it. He sold it to a guy who bought it for his kid who had just turned 18. A week later, the kid rolled it and died, my dad found out reading his obituary in the newspaper as I was a wee lad in his lap.

My dad always took particular care and concern for 4x4 safety after that. We still built and drove sketchy shit, but he made it a point that I knew how to drive it safely.

Man that is sad, really sucks for the kid and his dad. Sucks a bit for your dad as well, hopefully he doesn't carry guilt. Obviously not DPlac Senior's fault at all, but I imagine that would still haunt me a little bit if I were in those shoes.

[SAWCE]

Any older 4x4 was kind of a death trap, even up to the 00's

My dad had a CJ5 right before I was born that he put some big ass engine in and modified. I was coming, he decided to sell it because he wouldn't have time for it. He sold it to a guy who bought it for his kid who had just turned 18. A week later, the kid rolled it and died, my dad found out reading his obituary in the newspaper as I was a wee lad in his lap.

My dad always took particular care and concern for 4x4 safety after that. We still built and drove sketchy shit, but he made it a point that I knew how to drive it safely.

Man that is sad, really sucks for the kid and his dad. Sucks a bit for your dad as well, hopefully he doesn't carry guilt. Obviously not DPlac Senior's fault at all, but I imagine that would still haunt me a little bit if I were in those shoes.

Yeah that's rough. I'd bet money that if that happened in the last 10 years the family of the child would have tried to sue Sr. DPlac

[max225]

Any older 4x4 was kind of a death trap, even up to the 00's

My dad had a CJ5 right before I was born that he put some big ass engine in and modified. I was coming, he decided to sell it because he wouldn't have time for it. He sold it to a guy who bought it for his kid who had just turned 18. A week later, the kid rolled it and died, my dad found out reading his obituary in the newspaper as I was a wee lad in his lap.

My dad always took particular care and concern for 4x4 safety after that. We still built and drove sketchy shit, but he made it a point that I knew how to drive it safely.

Man that is sad, really sucks for the kid and his dad. Sucks a bit for your dad as well, hopefully he doesn't carry guilt. Obviously not DPlac Senior's fault at all, but I imagine that would still haunt me a little bit if I were in those shoes.

Wouldn’t haunt me one bit. I’d be sad for the car really. If someone decides to be a and pays the ultimate price that’s on them.

Now if I knowingly sold a car with a fked up suspension that caused someone to flip over then I should rot in hell

[D Griff]

Man that is sad, really sucks for the kid and his dad. Sucks a bit for your dad as well, hopefully he doesn't carry guilt. Obviously not DPlac Senior's fault at all, but I imagine that would still haunt me a little bit if I were in those shoes.

Wouldn’t haunt me one bit. I’d be sad for the car really. If someone decides to be a and pays the ultimate price that’s on them.

Now if I knowingly sold a car with a fked up suspension that caused someone to flip over then I should rot in hell

I mean I do agree that he isn't the least bit at fault and shouldn't carry guilt, but I think it would still be hard not to.

[Desertbreh]

The Jeep CJ5 is really pretty much a deathtrap in every phase straight from the factory. Oxcart suspension, Center of gravity practically in space, teeny tiny wheelbase, no safety devices, a lifted version of a military vehicle that topped out at 45 mph. So now we're cramming a small block Chevy or whatever in it? You're basically selling somebody a bomb. Which I agree the purchaser should know and giving a bomb to a 16 year old is criminally negligent.

The whole thing is fucked up Jeep CJs should be offroad only.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Man that is sad, really sucks for the kid and his dad. Sucks a bit for your dad as well, hopefully he doesn't carry guilt. Obviously not DPlac Senior's fault at all, but I imagine that would still haunt me a little bit if I were in those shoes.

Wouldn’t haunt me one bit. I’d be sad for the car really. If someone decides to be a and pays the ultimate price that’s on them.

Now if I knowingly sold a car with a fked up suspension that caused someone to flip over then I should rot in hell

This was his sentiment, he had the Jeep for 10 years and spent a lot of blood and sweat improving it and keeping it nice (not driving in the winter in Michigan, for example). He said Jeep rollover deaths were somewhat common at the time, for the loss of life, but it was rare to find a rust free CJ5 that had been cared for back then.

But also why he wouldn't let me drive the CJ7 we swapped an LT1 in until I was 20 so I had some experience. Even then that thing was sketchy AF.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

The Jeep CJ5 is really pretty much a deathtrap in every phase straight from the factory. Oxcart suspension, Center of gravity practically in space, teeny tiny wheelbase, no safety devices, a lifted version of a military vehicle that topped out at 45 mph. So now we're cramming a small block Chevy or whatever in it? You're basically selling somebody a bomb. Which I agree the purchaser should know and giving a bomb to a 16 year old is criminally negligent.

The whole thing is fucked up Jeep CJs should be offroad only.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Owned it for a week and I've got 250 miles on it now, drove a decent amount this weekend, so some thoughts:

Good:

It's really not that slow!
It's certainly not fast, but it's not as slow and pokey as I was concerned it would be. The 5 speed auto is also reasonably decent for a 5 speed. I find that for most of my driving, the engine has enough torque to move out without a ton of throttle, downshifting, etc. I don't drive it like a racecar, and it's fine.

It's quiet
I took it on a 40 mile drive to go hike the Lake Michigan sand dunes in the snow on Saturday, and it's amazing how quiet it is for what it is. Minimal wind noise, can barely hear the tires, which I know can be loud from my previous experience with them.

Decent turning radius and maneuverability
Parallel parked it on Sunday and parked in a few different parking scenarios, and it's really quite maneuverable for the size.

Headlights are
The LEDs are incredibly bright, and while the headlights don't turn on automatically ( in a $46k truck) the auto high beams are fantastic. I really value this tech where I live. Moreso than turning the headlights on. Which, the headlights turn off on their own, so you can pretty much just leave them on.

It gets attention
For something that's 15 years old, it sure does garner attention and comments. This surprised me the most because it's nothing special, but I think the color makes it unique? I still haven't seen another one. But thrice now in less than a week I've parked it and had people comment "cool truck" or "nice Runner" etc. I had no idea.

Not Great:

No Remote Start or Remote Functions Period
This is a weird one. There is no way to remote start the truck. I knew it wasn't on the remote, but figured it would be in the app. Almost all cars have app functionality to lock/unlock the doors, start the car, etc. Not the 4R TuRD Off Road Premium. The Bro and Limited do, apparently, but not the TuRD ORP. Odd choice because the hardware is probably there because the app displays fuel level and mileage, but that's it. Worthless. The Subaru had app functionality in a $30k car, but the $46k 4R doesn't while other Toyotas (including other 4Rs) do! Oh well.

The audio system isn't great
"Premium" audio kinda sucks in this thing. The bass/mid is really muddy and boomy, and no matter how I adjust it, I just can't make it sound all that great. I feel like it has potential, but it's just really tough with the bass response. The base audio in the Cucktrek sounded more neutral, though pretty weak. I'll have to look into tweaking it more or something.

Bluetooth is worthless
Tried calling my mom on New Years day to say hi while I was driving to my hike. She couldn't hear me much at all (said I sounded really distant). I called and she couldn't really hear me either. I checked all the settings and there's nothing to change. Google searching indicates that Toyota just sucks at Bluetooth. I'll have to look into this one, not having functioning bluetooth in this day and age is pretty I know the truck is simple, but this is a basic function of vehicles built in the last 10 years.

Overall still on the thing. on how long it lasts.

[Tar]

Like the headlights, worried about the bluetooth...oh man

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Like the headlights, worried about the bluetooth...oh man

Yea, it was surpring. It's one of those things that you just assume works well. Not in the 4R...

But the 4R is ancient, so it could be tied to that.

[razr390]

Chris, does the phone call audio sound at all better if you connect to android auto?

[Tar]

Like the headlights, worried about the bluetooth...oh man

Yea, it was surpring. It's one of those things that you just assume works well. Not in the 4R...

But the 4R is ancient, so it could be tied to that.

I need that to work, imagine buying a quiet car to drive and take calls and then finding out the mic is quieter too?

[max225]

Yea, it was surpring. It's one of those things that you just assume works well. Not in the 4R...

But the 4R is ancient, so it could be tied to that.

I need that to work, imagine buying a quiet car to drive and take calls and then finding out the mic is quieter too?

I just assume Bluetooth doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked in any one of my last 5 cars…
370z plain unusable
Tdi shit
335i shit
M3 shit
Taco shit
Tessie may be ok doe. I just use a wired headset I hate blasting someone’s voice through 8-23 speakers like what’s the point

[fledonfoot]

Next time you get into the car, hit menu, then in the bottom right of the screen you should see “display”.

Turn the display off.

Next, swipe the screen from left to right 5 times in less than 5 seconds. Then, right to left 5 times.
The radio should go into diagnostic mode.

If it does, snap a pic of it and send it to jcockcroft@potml.com tomorrow and I’ll walk you through a couple of things to try for the BT quality. I’m doing it from memory but let me know if it pulls up a white screen with green borders.

The Toyota radios have a BT “Gain” setting to tweak audio quality.

It goes from “awful” to circa 2009 quality level with some trial and error.

The audio quality in my Corolla is horrendous and the wife complains all the time.

[D Griff]

Like the headlights, worried about the bluetooth...oh man

Yea, it was surpring. It's one of those things that you just assume works well. Not in the 4R...

But the 4R is ancient, so it could be tied to that.

I recall just assuming a BMW from 2014 would have this feature

Do you know where the mic is? Perhaps your pink face covering is blocking it or something?

[CaleDeRoo]

To me this sounds like a good reason to tell whoever that you can't talk right now.

[wap]

The BT in my Mk6 and Mk7 were both . Clear, loud enough phone calls, and decent streaming of audio from my phone.
Same for the H.
Obviously

[wap]

To me this sounds like a good reason to tell whoever that you can't talk right now.

[Tar]

The BT in my Mk6 and Mk7 were both . Clear, loud enough phone calls, and decent streaming of audio from my phone.
Same for the H.
Obviously

Yeah, I had okay BT in both cars, sometimes I caught myself speaking loudly to people that had background noise on their end and I think it kind of looked like I was leaning forward to talk to my stereo from an adjacent lane, but usually quiet calls were spoken at normal levels and clear on both ends. I really thought this technology is easy to work out at this stage in the game. ?

[wap]

The BT in my Mk6 and Mk7 were both . Clear, loud enough phone calls, and decent streaming of audio from my phone.
Same for the H.
Obviously

Yeah, I had okay BT in both cars, sometimes I caught myself speaking loudly to people that had background noise on their end and I think it kind of looked like I was leaning forward to talk to my stereo from an adjacent lane, but usually quiet calls were spoken at normal levels and clear on both ends. I really thought this technology is easy to work out at this stage in the game. ?

Yeah, you'd think so, right?

FWIW, I think the mic is up in the overhead console.

[Tar]

Yeah, I had okay BT in both cars, sometimes I caught myself speaking loudly to people that had background noise on their end and I think it kind of looked like I was leaning forward to talk to my stereo from an adjacent lane, but usually quiet calls were spoken at normal levels and clear on both ends. I really thought this technology is easy to work out at this stage in the game. ?

Yeah, you'd think so, right?

FWIW, I think the mic is up in the overhead console.

Here I am yelling at the radio... DO YOU HEAR ME??!