As far as reliability the unibody Toyota hybrids are superb and even the original first year Prius typically went well over 200,000 miles. My boss had one and it was less than $3k to get a new (or maybe it was reconditioned battery). The engines can run Atkinson cycle and never lug...the...
Go to the forums for vehicles that use the engine (4Runner. Tacoma, Highlander, Lexus) and see if you can find anything to worry about. There are hundreds of thousands on the road and they've been out for 2-3 years. My guess is that you won't find any common problems.
I'll just comment that the 5th Gen also gets plenty of complaints around ride quality and at least one source (Edmunds or Consumer Reports) gives it a very low rating. It sounds like the ride quality concerns are different (5th Gen is harsh front and rear but does "round off" the initial impact...
This comes up on every vehicle forum. I always run the factory recommended weight because that's what the manufacturer uses to prove out the design (durability testing). The parts that rely on hydrodynamic lubrication like your main bearings don't give a **** about the weight since the...
That makes sense and makes me smile since my almost-every-day offroad destination is my neighbor's farm 1/4 mile away, so I never get over 15 mph and then it melts in the garage...proving once again that you really don't have to clean a silver 4Runner ever. I have an obligation to create walking...
Yep, it's quite a rush to drive through deep virgin snow. My 5th Gen can handle about 16" of fresh snow max as long as it's not wet snow. The front end lifts and it feels like a boat...but you lose steering so you need to get the speed (maybe 15 mph) just right and stopping might not always be...
To replace 100000 engines and protect customers against a POTENTIAL quality issue probably cost Toyota well over $1 billion (100000 engines at $10k each) based on what engine replacements cost at the OEM I worked for. That should give you a warm feeling.
Toyota is the teacher for process...
Yes the 2 fuels have equal energy content. But if an engine is tuned for the higher octane fuel it will absolutely produce more power...because the engine can advance spark timing further, resulting in higher combustion pressures.
In the case of engines tuned for 87 it depends on the details of...
We may never know. We do not know the details of the ECU calibration for either vehicle. It's possible that the LC has a more aggressive calibration for part throttle. Or everything may be identical and the LC customer can stab their throttle harder before the knock sensor tells the ECU to...
Dyno results are at wide open throttle. If you spend a lot of time at WOT 20 hp is a nice benefit. I doubt my 5th Gen has spent 10 minutes total at WOT in 9 years.
It's usually the front bar that makes noise since it gets hit with full airflow. You can try sliding the front bar back maybe 6-12 inches; my 5th Gen has a sticker showing quietest position. Thule or Yakima may sell a wind dam for 6th Gen, IDK. You can also spiral wrap the front bar with rope to...
I think it's a very personal decision...whether your misgivings will nag at you or just melt away. I decided to keep my 5th Gen for a while specifically because I was worried that ANY disappointment with 6th Gen would bug me given that there is NOTHING I don't like about my 5th Gen. that nags at...
Sorry for your ordeal I used to work in noise and vibration. Dealers don't have much diagnostic capability but some are better than others. Your dealer sounds flat out incompetent (or lazy).
They say they checked components like axles? That is BS. They have no way of doing that. Ask them how...
On my 5th Gen there's a sticker showing the quietest position for the front bar; it's about a foot back from full forward. It's almost certainly the front bar and moving it back should help. If you don't mind a funky look you can also try spiral-wrapping the front bar with rope.
It could be a tire uniformity issue. If you have the tires and wheels "road force balanced" (which has nothing to do with balance) they measure the stiffness variation around the whole circumference of the tire. You want the stiffness to vary by less than 10 pounds and if any tires are around 20...