Did We Make a Big Mistake? TRD Pro

[Scrappopatamus]

I've owned several 4Runners both 5th and 6th Gen Vehicles. Of those, two have been TRD PROs. I reside in a very rural setting and commute daily to work 30 plus minutes in ideal conditions. We also have a lot of fields and pastures which sometimes create drifts across the roads. I also have 2 differing 1 ton diesel 4wd trucks. Seldom have I found the need to shift into 4wd during my commute. I also have a farm several counties away in a rural setting, and have never found myself stranded or freaked driving during a snow event. I worry more when we have sleet or black ice. Throttle input and momentum are your friend when traversing in sketchy conditions. Unless you reside in the higher elevations or the extreme northern regions of the US, I think you are overthinking this. I've spent a fair amount of time in and around the Columbus area. You reside in an extremely populated area where the roads are probably better maintained during a winter event. Some of the roads around me are seldom plowed or salted and luckily my neighbor at the farm is a distillery, thus it's kept plowed from there to the interstate heading west towards Louisville. Lastly, my girlfriend runs to the feed mill several times weekly in her '25 ORP and doubt she knows how to engage 4wd now that I think about it. The 4Runners do very well in bad weather. Enjoy your new Pro

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[Dorrito]

We live in Columbus, Ohio. The 4Runner would obviously serve for daily duty as well as getting lost in the wilderness. I’ve never owned a part time 4wd vehicle and always had some sort of AWD in my driveway. My concern is driving in the winter. I thought we would be fine but there was another 4Runner forum I was randomly browsing the other day and everyone was making it sound like driving in the winter with RWD in the city is asking for trouble (it wasn’t me asking, but I so happened to land on someone else’s thread).

The wavemaker is a stunning headturner! TRD pro is fantastic, yes, you'll need to make sure you know how to change 2H to 4H to 4L without ruining anything, and if you don't want to worry about it, limited or platinum are your options. (but no wavemaker RIP)

Someone said don't buy a car based off it's looks, I say that's the main reason you buy a car

Remember though, your tires likely will matter more than your capability. If you want safety in the snow, get 3 peak rated tires at minimum, or just switch out to snow when needed.

 

[Gumpus]

I do not have auto 4WD in my 10 year old 5th Gen and we live in a lake-effect snow area. I may have to switch it in and out of 4WD several times just leaving the neighborhood. I don't mind a bit and it is second nature to me, but an automatic system would be better for my wife.

One quick lesson is to put it in 4WD in a marginal situation like a wet road...you'll feel additional steering effort which tells you to switch to 2WD. Some folks worry that they won't know exactly when to use 2WD vs 4WD. The system is robust and you'd have to work at it to damage it and you'll basically never see a thread indicating a problem from normal use.

==> it's more about the drivers than the vehicle

 

[127.0.0.1]

system is robust enough that if you goof 2wd/4wd, nothing will bust*

(*as long as you aren't speeding and misbehaving like cornering while
changing modes...and doing this a lot)

some scuffing and scrubbing is expected. it happens all the time on dirt
while in 4wd....the problem is only if you constantly continue to choose to drive on
dry pavement in pt4wd and ignore the scuffing and scrubbing... that will lead to severe strain on the transfer case and ujoints shortening the lifetime or busting things

but now and again, when changing modes to match terrain... not an issue if it
isn't instant, or you end up in a turn and forget 4wd is engaged. just try to be going
in a straight line when engaging or disengaging.

 

[odins_beer'd]

Sure, but it’s still just a more effective RWD car only. I’m curious, those here with anything but a Limited or Platinum, how has your winter driving been?

I live in Baltimore, my gf is a cardiac ICU nurse at Hopkins. We had a pretty solid storm here, ended up being ~13 inches over a day.

I drove my gf and two of her collegues to and from work so they didn't have to sleep at the hospital. I was one of the only cars on the road in the whole city and was more than fine in 2WD.

I actually went out driving around the county looking for people stuck to pull out because it's fun imo.

The hardest part was after the plows came through and the snow froze to ice, building barriers for street parking. Even then I was still able to drive over them in 2WD

 

[4Everest]

I’ve never owned a part time 4wd vehicle and always had some sort of AWD in my driveway. My concern is driving in the winter. I thought we would be fine but there was another 4Runner forum I was randomly browsing the other day and everyone was making it sound like driving in the winter with RWD in the city is asking for trouble (it wasn’t me asking, but I so happened to land on someone else’s thread).

Even if you do think that driving around in winter conditions in RWD is asking for trouble, you can always just... turn the knob and not be in RWD.

The last time my wife had to drive my 4Runner, it was snowing pretty heavily. She was concerned about having to shovel the driveway or park outside. I told her not to worry about that, and just drive right over the snow into the garage. She did (in 2WD), and everything was fine.

Also, your Pro will come stock with some pretty good tires (Toyo Open Country). I can't think of a better stock vehicle to handle winter roads.

 

[Silver Bullet]

I’ve had 2 AWD vehicles, a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (2015) and a Acura RDX Advance (2019) had both for just over 7 years. Then went to a 5th Gen TRD ORP 4Runner, to now a 2026 TRD ORP 4Runner (bought 3 days ago). The 5th Gen handles like trash (let’s be honest) and my 20216 handles fairly well for what it is. I haven’t drove a 4Runner Limited or Platinum, but the the handling characteristics alone are so much different in the way a AWD vehicle feels planted and so on (as you already know). I personally don’t feels it’s going to be detrimental, just a small learning curve in the way it handles under certain circumstances. IMO…

With that being said, enjoy your new TRD PRO! Already in the process of looking into suspension, wheels and tires….

 

[Bernie]

I’m no expert on cars, but I can tell you that if your wife likes it, you should buy it. That said, I can tell you that my 2025 TRD Pro is the most capable vehicle I’ve ever owned. I’ve driven it in the mud of Virginia rivers, to canyons in the Texas Panhandle, and the red dust of Moab. Drive modes are easier to change on the fly than iTunes. Not sure how tall the Ms. is, but think about how much you will be off road. I have rock rails for just what I’ve described. Steps might be option to consider. Your color replaced Mudbath, it’s gotta be good!

 

[FoRunna]

Why will it be much less to maintain long-term?

Generally speaking, wheels/tires/etc cause accelerated wear of the drivetrain. It's not really such an extreme, but it's still worth noting. It's also be more expensive on tires that on the road, will perform worse what you would put on the limited.

Also worth knowing the Fox shocks (along with many, many other aftermarket shocks) typically start to fall into the service range around 40,000-50,000 miles, meaning that they'll need seals and fluid several times in their life. This is far sooner than traditional shocks. This period is dependent on how the truck is driven and the suspension is cycled.

For those of us who off-road, it's something we just have to accept. People who are only driving their vehicles on-road won't love this, as it puts your vehicle out of service while shocks are removed, shipped to the rebuilder, and returned.

 

[Nodak]

well if its any consolation ...

comparing my 2014 4R limited to my 25 4R platinum, the suspension in the 14 with x-reas had better body control and my entry/on ramp speed (i have 2 i go thru) was higher in my 14 vs my 25.

having the same tires (defender ltx ms2) on both vehicles, i was getting about 5-10 mph better speed before tire squeal and less understeer on my 14 vs my 25

but the 25 makes up once i straighten out and can utilize the turbo to make up the speed differential quicker than in sluggish v6 to 75 and up to 55 from entry speed of around 30 mph back up to speed limit.

but thats just my observation

going from 30 mph to 70 mph (but they changed it to 55 mph)

entry is around 30 mph back up to 55 mph

 

[PeteyJ]

The wavemaker is a stunning headturner! TRD pro is fantastic, yes, you'll need to make sure you know how to change 2H to 4H to 4L without ruining anything, and if you don't want to worry about it, limited or platinum are your options. (but no wavemaker RIP)

Someone said don't buy a car based off it's looks, I say that's the main reason you buy a car

Remember though, your tires likely will matter more than your capability. If you want safety in the snow, get 3 peak rated tires at minimum, or just switch out to snow when needed.

I have to agree with all of this. Thank you.

Generally speaking, wheels/tires/etc cause accelerated wear of the drivetrain. It's not really such an extreme, but it's still worth noting. It's also be more expensive on tires that on the road, will perform worse what you would put on the limited.

Also worth knowing the Fox shocks (along with many, many other aftermarket shocks) typically start to fall into the service range around 40,000-50,000 miles, meaning that they'll need seals and fluid several times in their life. This is far sooner than traditional shocks. This period is dependent on how the truck is driven and the suspension is cycled.

For those of us who off-road, it's something we just have to accept. People who are only driving their vehicles on-road won't love this, as it puts your vehicle out of service while shocks are removed, shipped to the rebuilder, and returned.

Coming from the Germans, spending a few K every 4-5 years for maintenance is totally fine by me. I’m more concerned about being able to spend my time outside the dealership and outside of loaner cars. That stuff gets old fast.

“Can’t put your dogs in the loaner or else we will hit you with a 500 dollar cleaning fee. By the way, it’ll be 3 weeks before you get your car back. Deal with it”

 

[PeteyJ]

I’m no expert on cars, but I can tell you that if your wife likes it, you should buy it. That said, I can tell you that my 2025 TRD Pro is the most capable vehicle I’ve ever owned. I’ve driven it in the mud of Virginia rivers, to canyons in the Texas Panhandle, and the red dust of Moab. Drive modes are easier to change on the fly than iTunes. Not sure how tall the Ms. is, but think about how much you will be off road. I have rock rails for just what I’ve described. Steps might be option to consider. Your color replaced Mudbath, it’s gotta be good!

I initially thought everything would be fine until I stumbled on a random thread in another 4Runner forum and people were making it sound like buying anything other than a Limited/Platinum in winter conditions would result in horror and death. I wasn’t entirely convinced but figured I should ask actual owners here. Looking back, it sounds more like people didn’t actually know any better but had otherwise strong opinions

 

[bakutheleo]

Lots of great info so far. Currently I live in Southern CA, so no snow to deal with (unless I really look for it for short periods in the winter). However, I grew up in CT. I did not drive much there myself, but obviously my parents and everyone I knew. Nobody had AWD or 4WD. Most cars then were RWD, not even FWD. Is 4/all better? Sure. But today's smart systems are probably evening that out some. Plus, just konwing how to drive safely (and doing it!) in snow is your best safety net, not having 4WD or not. My 4Runner is an ORP, so PT 4WD, for some off-roading. I do plan to move out of this area at some point, so may be dealing with different weather systems. I am not at all concerned with my vehicle though.

For the one that asked how hard it is to turn a dial--no, not hard. However, it is also easy to forget, and leave it in 4WD when it should not be. Certainly very doable, but AWD takes that out of the equation.

 

[BillyG4Runner6G]

Don’t forget—the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco are also part-time 4WD vehicles, and along with the 6th-generation Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro, they represent three of the most capable off-road SUVs ever produced.


The reality is that you’ll probably spend more than 99% of your normal driving time in 2WD, just like Wrangler and Bronco owners do. When conditions deteriorate—snow-covered roads, ice, loose surfaces, mud, or situations where additional traction is needed—the 4Runner makes engaging four-wheel drive simple.


Spend a few minutes with your wife showing her how the 4WD selector works and when to use the different settings. Watch a couple of videos together demonstrating 2H, 4H and 4L, and it will quickly become second nature. When the roads are snowy, slippery or conditions start feeling sketchy, she’ll know it’s time to slow down and select the appropriate four-wheel-drive mode for additional traction and control.


Full-time AWD or 4WD is certainly a nice convenience because the vehicle automatically manages power to all four wheels without the driver having to think about it. But it isn’t a substitute for good judgment. In fact, AWD can sometimes give drivers a false sense of security. It may help you accelerate on slippery roads, but it doesn’t magically improve braking or eliminate the possibility of sliding.


That’s part of what makes the 4Runner TRD Pro appealing. It gives you a simple, proven part-time 4WD system for everyday driving, while still providing serious four-wheel-drive capability when conditions—or the trail—actually demand it. You’re not giving up capability; you’re simply choosing when you want to use it.

My daughter drives a Bronco and switches her GOAT mode dial to rain mode when it is pouring rain because it makes it feel safe.

 

[shine]

PT4WD is better for getting unstuck, FT4WD is better for not losing traction in the first place.

Think about it, when you turn the wheel with PT4WD, at least one wheel has to break traction for the axles to keep spinning at the same speed, and that's the last thing you want to have happen when driving on a slippery street. This is why AWD/FT4WD is better for every day driving.

PT4WD (or FT4WD with a locked center diff) will help distribute power after you've lost traction, making it easier to gert moving again. This is why it's typically better when off roading.

If I wasn't prioritizing off road performance I would have picked up a Limited or a Platinum instead of the Trailhunter.

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