1995 Toyota 4Runner review from North America

At around 85,000 miles, I started leaking coolant out the aluminum bypass tube. Then, all sorts of corrosion began to appear. I had it flushed several times ($125 a pop), and then ultimately got a new radiator and had everything flushed again. But the damage had been done.

Coolant electrolysis and possible engine material design defects was corroding everything in the engine. The head gasket was blown. I find out that Toyota had a very quiet head gasket "campaign" (not a recall... they didn't have to contact you I guess). I went to the dealer. It seems I missed the VIN serial # date by about a month, which is ridiculous. Toyota knew full well my car should have been part of the campaign, but it was not honored. Anyway, by using coolant additives, my car limped along for another 20,000 miles but now is dead.

I replaced engine oil frequently, but I did not use the same care for the coolant. But yet, should this have happened? I don't think so.

The Toyota 4Runner was a great vehicle for me until this event. Only other problem... a torn half-axle boot.

Yet I think Toyota should honor the head gasket campaign. My mechanic says that the local Toyota shop handled dozens of headgasket replacements -- and even swapped out complete engines to repair the extensive damage.

I do not know if I will buy another Toyota. At this point, my car could be a total write-off. It depends if Toyota is willing to do a trade-in, but my mechanic has advised me that the dealer will not deal with trade-ins for 1995 4Runners. I'll have to check that out personally.