1993 Toyota 4Runner SR-5 3.0

Summary:

Reliable and complete package

Faults:

Antenna motor.

Small oil leak not bad enough to fix.

Costs too much add 1 quart per month.

Bad muffler- my fault back into snow drift.

General Comments:

Never had a chance to off road, but pulled out many vehicles in 2 feet of snow.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th July, 2005

1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.0

Summary:

Men what a ride

Faults:

Back window motor.

One rusted out gas line.

Front driver seat is starting to show wear.

General Comments:

I love to drive this 4 Runner.

The stereo sounds great.

At high speeds it's like driving an expensive car.

My wife and I are still looking to buy another 4 Runner.

The four wheel drive shifts on the fly, with no problems or noise.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st February, 2004

25th Aug 2004, 22:51

My 93' 4runner has had it's share of mechanical problems, but I am sure these were because of the person who drove it before me. I call him Dad, and he is one of those people who just seemed to go through cars because he is so hard on them they just fall apart around him. At least, that was the case until he started driving Toyota's. In my experience with cars, (but also based on what I have heard from other people) Toyota's are near indestructible. I also believe this because I am almost as hard on cars and my 4runner with 196K is still running strong. They are also extreamly good off road.

1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.0 V6 (4WD)

Summary:

The best looking SUV for 1993 with pretty good performance and great reliability

Faults:

When I bought the vehicle from the dealer, it had a few problems that they didn't tell me about (it was a small "no-name" dealership that carried all makes of cars).

The power steering system had a leak that slowly got bigger. The power steering system is now completely non-functional. It will cost over $500 to fix.

The alternator was not charging the battery fully. The battery slowly died, causing the truck to continuously stall. It cost $300 to fix.

The vehicle came with a rear-wheel antilock brake system which wasn't working all of the time. Now it doesn't work at all. Not sure of the cost to fix it.

The automatic transmission will only switch up to 3rd gear until it warms up (usually takes about 5 minutes before it will switch into 4th and 5th gear). Not sure of the cost to fix it.

The speakers are starting to go, but guess what? I'm a sales rep at Best Buy! That will be a cheap and fun fix up.

General Comments:

I am not happy with the dealership at all, and will never buy a vehicle from that dealership again.

The truck plows through snow (4x4). I have never had any problems being stuck in the two winters that I have had the vehicle.

The truck is smaller than most American SUVs. There is not much leg room in any of the seats (the seats are low to the floor because the floor is higher off the ground creating higher ground clearance).

Lot's of room in the cargo area.

The 3.0 V6 engine does not have the greatest acceleration, especially at higher speeds. I think it should have a 4.0 V6.

THE TRUCK IS AMAZINGLY HOLDING ITS VALUE!!! I bought it for $10,000 (it was a pretty good deal). It is now 2 years later, and I will probably be able to sell it for around $9,000 or maybe even as much as $10,000 according to the current going prices.

I am selling the vehicle because the insurance is very expensive. I am going to buy a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee because it has much cheaper insurance, a more powerful engine, and more features for a lot cheaper price.

TOYOTAS LAST FOREVER!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th January, 2001

23rd Feb 2001, 04:56

I bought my 1992 4Runner about 6 months ago with 91k miles on it. I love the solid feel of the ride, the doors and generally everything. It's a great little car!!!

However... I too have the same problem with shifting. Sometimes it doesn't want to go into 4th and will hover at 3000rpm at 40 miles an hour. I have watched the tach closely and it should be cruising easily at about 2300rpm at that speed. I have noticed that if I click the 'override' button on the shift lever it won't work. Is this because, like you mentioned, the engine is cold? Or is this feature going bad?

Also, I have the same problem with the power steering. A slow leak has gotten progressively worse lately.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Just some guy.

2nd Aug 2001, 17:34

I noticed the power loss at high speeds as well, it was hard to pass people on the highway and merging was sometimes difficult, but when testing all the buttons in my truck I found hitting the ECT button greatly helped, it allows the rpms to go higher than 3500 and when passing on the highway it's almost like nitro.

13th Oct 2002, 11:55

I bought my 4runner in March of 2002. It's a 1993 with 108,000 miles plus it's loaded. It was such a steal they were asking 9,550 but I talked them down to 8,50. the car is in mint condition inside and out. Great acceleration, plenty of power and sharp looking too.

16th Oct 2002, 22:01

The shifting after warm up is proper operation. Even the 84 Celica's had this. It's part of the emission control system.

I found this out because my temp sensor went bad.

I just lost my transmission on my 92 4runner pumps oil out as fast as I can put in in, waiting for the tow truck to show up.

Any Ideas of whats wrong with it?

1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 75k miles, apparently defective from factory.

Main bearings replaced at 50k, apparently bearings in some 92 models were 1/1000ths off.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th January, 1999

2nd Jul 2001, 17:37

Why do you give it a neg review when your ratings are so high 8/10 10/10... These are not ratings you give to a bad car.

13th Sep 2003, 09:03

I purchased a 1993 4WD Toyota 4 Runner new in 93'. This vehicle has performed flawlessly in all its ten years. Perhaps I'm just lucky? It was taken into the dealer for the head gasket recall & replacement 30K miles ago. I've not had a problem with the heads yet. The 3.0 V6 is underpowered though. Years ago I installed 50 state legal headers, ignition upgrades, air intake filter-charger, and a performance chip resulting in a substantial performance improvement. While apparently other owners have experienced issues with this vehicle, I give it a thumbs up.