1990 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD from North America - Comments

After 325,000 miles, I needed an engine overhaul. Only once has the car not started and that was because of a dead battery. I needed to replace the motor that provides power to the rear window. The cassette died after 300K. The CD is erratic now. The power antenna sticks sometimes when it retracts. Except for the CD problem, this car was problem free until 300k miles.

Before the engine overhaul, I never had any problems with the power train. The transmission may need to be replaced in the next 25,000 miles. After 320,000, the SUV passed the California smog test easily. I will keep this truck until it literally dies. This is the best and most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I am 50 years old.

Lucky You, I have a 1990 4rnr with 116,000 miles. So far; Radiator installed wrong, replaced. Blown head gasket - replaced. Blown engine- replaced, 2 repair jobs on front differential, ABS system replaced, Power steering pump replaced, heater switch/resister bad- replaced, power sun roof broken (est 1379.00 repair), waiting. Constant alignment problems - on-going, rust in rear wheel wells - fixing, lights stopped working - short due to dealer installed alarm, 9 years of problems with not starting when hot - dealer alarm caused problem. Bummer!

My 1990 Toyota 4Runner is the most reliable car I've ever owned. I bought it new in March 1990 and have, since then, put 212,000 miles on it and that figure is only climbing. It's not been absolutely trouble free after 12 years. I have had to replace the water pump (once, about 7 years ago) and the radiator (last year, when it was clogged). The finish has kept it's integrity as well after all these years. No body rust problems at all (I live in the DC area where our winters are mild, but we still get snow). While I did have some minor rust on my painted steel wheels, it was easy to address with a simple paint job. The 4WD has never required servicing and, after 12 years and 212,000 miles, the engine's a bit loose sounding, but that's not unexpected.

I have had my 1990 4runner for only 14 months now and it has been a great vehicle. I have always been a believer in Toyota's and my 4runner has not hurt that feeling. I have needed to do some work on the truck, but mostly minor repairs like a/c and I also have a rear window motor out now. Other than that it's great.

Bought 1990 Forest Green 4runner new in southern Arizona. Never had any problems with it. Head Gasket blew, but was covered by a recall. Oil Changes and Gas are about the only expenses I have with it. Tranny and engine are both very sound. Back window motor stopped working after I moved to Ohio, probably from trying to get it unfrozen, and antenna doesn't go up or down anymore because I cut a wrong wire trying to hook up a new louder horn. Very very reliable though. 150,000miles.

1990 4-runner Very happy with truck. 170000 miles at 104000 replaced timing belt water pump...now replacing it again. kind of a big job 6-7 hours. back window motor very erratic. I think it should be replaced. stock steel wheels chipped badly and need resprayed. all in all one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned...

Awesome SUV!!! Very, Very reliable. My 1992 Toyota 4-runner is currently just over 120,000 miles. I never fear a breakdown. No warranty can outlast the life expectancy of a 4-Runnneeerrr!!!

I'm the original owner of 1990 6 cylinder Toyota 4-Runner. with 150,000 miles. Great car except one thing--about 15,000 miles ago car started dying on occasion. Often it happens on a hill and during backing up, but can occur just going around corner. Had it to dealer 5 times--no repair fixed it. It started after I had it serviced and has never recovered. I've never read of this problem with anyone else.

I had my 1990 toyota 4-runner sr5 v6 for almost a year now. I bought it from the original owner. it now as 260 000km and it run very good. a small cliking noise from the engine, but the last owner told me its been doing that noise for 8 years... I never had any major problem until now. I replaced 4 brakes because they had to be replaced, normal use of part and now its the clutch that will soon be needing a change. but its only normal wear. I love driving my truck, it bring me anywhere at anytime. We have pretty bad weather in montreal, quebec, canada. and it's a blast to drive in winter. it as plenty of power to haul my 10' trailer. its reliable, and almost problem free. The fuel tank is small for the size of the truck, but its the only thing I see and that the cup holder block the way of the vent control! big deal! the truck still has the original paint on it except for small repair spots. I'll drive it till it dies. for the weird problem of the truck stopping once in a while, it happend to me and no one could find the problem, till I realized that it was an electrical problem, the wire on the battery wasnt tight enough and there was some kind of rust on it so I took it off, sanded everything clean, made the wire longer so it wasnt tight no more and wouldn't disconnect itself in corners or whenever the truck would move and that's it problem solved.

I have a 91 4runner with a 90 engine. I ran it without knowing the water pump being bad and it died. I was working on it, but it won't start. It tries to, bu backfires. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Owned my 90 V6 Automatic for 20 months. Bought it off a lot without any info from a previous owner, had 316,000KM so it really was an "AS IS" buy.

Laying on a bed of snow, I checked the frame for rust. UNDERCOATED! Sweet. Hmmm, not a drop of oil or fluid anywhere. Good sign. Pop the hood. New rad, and the engine looked like it had some work to it. On closer examination, I could see new head gaskets, which meant there were all the new parts that go along with doing that.

Later on, was told that the previous owner got rid of it after doing all the engine work, because the tranny started shifting hard into OD. This problem was easily solved by me, adjusting the kick down cable on the throttle body. No more hard shifts. In fact, this auto tranny has those sweet half gears that really get you up and going and sounds pretty good with a K+N filter.. For a 3000lb+ vehicle running 150 ponies, it isn't that bad at all for acceleration considering. But the fuel tank is a bit small for it.

All I've done to this is brakes all around, ball joints and a rear axle seal. It is my DD, and my weekend warrior.

This truck has been nothing but faithful, trusty and an all around excellent addition to our family. A true all season vehicle.

I have a 1990 Toyota 4-runner with 240,000 miles. Until last week it has run great. It now will usually not start. I traced spark and replaced the power module, the coil, the distributor and the battery. I'm at a loss.