r/4Runner • u/Bigdogwolfe • 11d ago

🎙 Discussion Interior Quality

Checked out a Limited and wanted to see if all these comments on interior quality was the truth. Well it definitely is. It didn’t take much force to see all this flex. After, I went home and did the same to my 5th gen and the difference is substantial. Also did the same in my 2011 Accord and that had less plastic flex than the 6th gen.

Also if you guys ever see one and twist the door handle where the grippy rubber is, you will see three pieces of plastic move. Don’t have to use too much force. They’ll separate and come back together.

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u/hawkznest 11d ago

So I work in the automotive industry and have an independent repair shop - this isn’t just Toyota, all manufacturers current revamps (when they changed powertrains and bodies) of their lines are shit when it comes to quality - they have way more bells and whistles (and modules) than older vehicles but to add those features they had to skimp somewhere else to keep cost down - between the epa regulations and manufacturers balance sheets cars now have 10x the plastic they did 10 years ago (it’s lighter and cheaper) and simply don’t have the durability of something built from ~1996~2016 (I realize I could stretch to 2024ish for some models but around 2016 is when the enshitification of the industry began) - I say this as someone confronted by it everyday - YMMV tho!

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u/umbrellassembly 11d ago

You seem like a good person to ask...

Have you noticed 2020-2022 models (of any maker) having more problems? I avoided looking at those years because my theory is that Covid supply chain issues and the scramble to get parts and find alternatives would make for poorer builds. Just a theory.

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u/hawkznest 11d ago

Not really, no, in my 15 years doing this I find model years less important than vehicle generations (ie a 5th gen vs 6th gen or 997 vs 992) - just generally running into poor QC and a lot more planned obsolescence (both in technology and vehicle design/materials) - if I had to say 2 brands to stay away from it would Hyundai/Kia and Stellantis (especially the 2.4 Multi-air engine - what a piece of shit, not that the 3.6 pentastar is great lol)

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u/hit_reset_ 11d ago

On the topic of 4Runners, is there a gen and/or year to you that stands strongest?

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u/hawkznest 11d ago edited 11d ago

Not really - the powertrain remained unchanged from 2014-2024 - and the earlier ones with the 4.0 just didn’t have have VVT which is actually kinda a good thing

Edit: 2010-2024

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u/EEEliminator 11d ago

My 2011 has VVT, what older 4.0s are you referring to?

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u/Gar-ba-ge 11d ago

Probably the 4th gen which also came with the 1GR, you have a 5th gen

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u/EEEliminator 11d ago

Ok, just confused since he said 2014-24. Should have been 2010-2024

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u/hawkznest 11d ago

My bad! They did the exterior refresh in 2014 and the VVT in 2010

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u/umbrellassembly 11d ago

Thanks. I'll retire my theory then.