Toyota Recall

I have never had any real issues with Fords. They have been very good to me and my family. I have had several that have had over 400k on them with minimal things go wrong, and none were items that are not deemed "wear items".

Gm's have been exactly the opposite for me, and my family. Motors blowing at under 100k is unacceptable, and some other things like going through 4 alternators in 60k is insane.

As someone that is a gearhead, and has a lot of German heritage, I like Porsche's, Audi's, BMW's, benzes, and VW, but some of these cars are the most unreliable vehicles out there. Parts for those cars are usually pretty $$. For example an 1800 dollar fuel gauge part on a barely out of warranty A4.
Our 4runners have been great vehicles. The current 04 v8 4wd has literally had no issues. Change oil, brakes, and tires and its good even with 90k.

One thing I do notice is that yotas are designed for smaller bodied people than the Americans are , or can be. I am a big guy (6'4" 235lbs) and I am about the maximum size the 4runner can handle as a driver. Even the pedals are very close for a guy with size 12 feet. I never have had an issue, but I could see how someone that is not attentive could hit the gas when they hit the brakes.

Still, most of these issues are people not being attentive, or intuitive enough that say a gas pedal was stuck, you simply out it in Neutral to prevent a crash.

 

I love that car, but the 370z is better =D.

I'm personally saving up for a Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS though (1999-2001 model).

 

A yota tech might be driving a z because yota does not offer a rwd sportscar.

It's easy to overlook that fact.

 

After a bit of research, it seems like a very good time to purchase a new Toyota...so my daughter did just that...0% interest is a good thing.

 

the 4runner is pretty small space wise, alot smaller then it looks on the outside. some of the cars have more head room.

yeah, the lack of RWD sports car in recent years did come into play, but its mostly just that i get sick of looking at toyotas all day.

i am kinda thinking about a 2009 wrx. need something with a back seat (new baby). but had to replace the other car (Audi A6) needed alot of work it would have cost me about 3,000 in parts to get it up to par. so i am stuck in the Z for now. toyota and subaru have developed a new RWD together that sounds kinda cool. so long as they put the STI drivetrain in it or at least the WRX. maybe the sticking pedal could be an option ;D.

 

yeah great deal, especially for 60 months. tried to talk my sister into it. she ended up getting a rouge.

 

First car was an 86 Honda Prelude... had 284,000 miles on it when I sold it and it still ran perfect. Two ford trucks good until 3 years then problems. . Loved my Jeep but it loved to fall apart, Lemon Lawed it and won. Went back to a Honda. On my third Accord and I'm trading it in on a Honda Pilot in May. Japanese cars are not junk lol. Anyway my mom has had two Toyotas and they are awesome. My Dad has had 3 Dodge Rams and two Durangos and he had not one problem. I guess we get lucky and sometimes we don't.
Anyway I'm eyballing the new 4Runner. What do you think about it compared to the Pilot, othe rthan one is a true 4WD, body on frame etc. Just drove the Pilot tonight and I'm sold. It was a sweet ride and can easily handle the trails in Allegany. I just know the 4Runner has such a great rep.

 

We have had 3 4runners, a 96, then a 98, then the 04. Great trucks all of them and nothing ever but normal maintenance costs, if anything.

The new 4runner, while on the same chassis (great), has a bit more room in it (great), but no V8 option for 2010. If you need the v8, they offer the Lexus GX460 that has a nice v8, but is near 50k. The v6 is nice though, and if you are looking at a pilot then you probably don't need anything more than a 6. The pilot is a odyssey minivan chassis made into a wanna be truck. A more direct comparison to the pilot is the toyota highlander as those are both fwd based unibody cars turned into utes.

That said, if you wan the off road capability and still the civility get the 4runner. Personally I think the pilot is a poor design, but somehow it sells.

If it were me, and I didn't need the off road ability, I would get a true cross over that is AWD, like a flex or an edge, maybe a traverse (even though its a GM), or similar vehicle.

 

If you drove the pilot and saw ow much crap you can put in it and I like the design.. interior is a little quirky. i could never go to a Ford or Chevy. The Pilot will handle offroad-wise for what i need.. consists of muddy dirt trails to get my friends and famliy to a cabin in the woods. I know it has an odysea chassis and etc. i'm looking at them because of size, same price, and reliablity. Like I said test drove the pilot.. it's like AWD Accord SUV. Which I'm happy with.. but I miss the ruggedness of my Jeep Cherokee and htat's why I'm drawn to the 4runner..

 

I have driven a pilot. Not impressed to be honest. They don't get the mpgs they promise either. One other thing about the pilot's v6. It uses a cam belt. The belt needs replacing somewhere after 50k, but well before 100k. If the belt goes, it smashes the valves on the pistons. That is big bucks. If you opt to replace the belt as specified (and you should) the belt change service is like 600 dollars. A co worker showed me his bill for his odyssey's belt change at the local dealership. With chain driven cam like the 4runner (and most non honda vehicles) you don't have anything that needs to be replaced in a normal engines lifetime. That is something else to think about.

Personally, I know several long time honda owners that say the quality of hondas has been slowly getting worse over the years, and nothing has been done about it. One guy switched right over to toyotas. He had an 04 civic last, replaced by a matrix, and his wife had a CRV, replaced now by a rav4.

I suspect that due to the changed landscape of auto buyers now, that the pilot's sales will fade extremely now that the accord crosstour, and other more fuel friendly options are available.

If you miss the ruggedness and capability of the jeep, get the 4runner. The new runner has a bit more room, including headroom than the 03-09's. I am going to the MKE auto show today.