1995 Toyota 4Runner Limited from North America - Comments

Original owner of a 94 Toyota 4-Runner SR5 V6 4X4 standard transmission. I had the head gasket replaced as part of a warranty recall back in 98 (about 50K to 60K miles on it).

It now has 177K on the car and I noticed a weird sound (like water running through pipes) when I would accelerate in first gear up to 10MPH. The it would stop. No other symptons (no overheating, no loss of coolant, no rough riding, etc.). In fact it just passed it's emissions test here in WA state.

I brought it in and the service guy immediately said, you have air in the coolant line. Most likely caused by a leaky head gasket. They did a pressure test and noticed water coming out the front of the block (as opposed to the rear where they would expect it). This confirmed I have a leaky gasket. I don't have the final estimate yet, but I had no other symptons so I'm hoping it won't run more than 2K.

I've gone through 2 clutches with the car and normal stuff like a starter, shocks, brakes, etc. Other than this problem, the car has been great for 15 years (got it in November 93).

We will see what they say.

I came onto the page looking for advice on a check engine light, and found a lot of sad 4Runner owners. Scares me some that my days might be limited with my car. I've got the 3.0 V6 95 2WD, and just recently turned 250,500 miles. Had the head gaskets replaced back around 90,000 but been good since. The seals on the gaskets and the oil pan do leak (about 1 quart every other week) but aside from that I'm happy with its performance to-date. Still getting >20mpg highway. I guess I am lucky (and not paid by Toyota) so I'm not set on what kind of car I will get next.

Original owner of a well cared for 1995 Tacoma 4x4 3.0 V6. This truck has been great for the past 13 years with the exception of the head gasket.

At 12,000 miles, the engine overheated and steam was everywhere under the hood. Problem was a blown head gasket. That was replaced under warranty.

At 70,000 miles, a recall notice from Toyota was received by me. Promptly took my truck to Toyota and had the head gasket replaced.

At 197,000 miles, truck began loosing coolant. No visible leaks anywhere. 2 months later, foamy, milky substance became visible in the oil. Coolant is now mixing with the oil! A sure sign of a blown head gasket. Dealership wants $2,500 to fix it. Ouch! Found independent mechanic. Will cost me a thousand less than the dealer's quote to fix (OEM head gasket kit alone costs $400 from dealer). While in the process of replacing head gasket, mechanic discovers one of the cylinder heads is cracked. Ouch!!! Will try to locate a replacement head tomorrow.

I have a 95 4Runner. I bought this vehicle about 8 months ago. When I first bought it, it wouldn't shift into overdrive. After researching I found that Toyota has a sensor or something that prevents it from shifting until reaching a certain temperature.

I then checked the thermostat, the previous owner cut it in half and replaced it. I am guessing that's why he did it so to not restrict water flow and prevent the coolant from ever getting hot. Now I replaced the thermostat (because I can't drive it like that in 3rd gear) and now it is overheating. Also my oil pressure gauge falls to 0 when I come to a stop. Can anyone help me with this?

I too have fallen victim to Toyota's so called Great Reputation. I bought the 95 4Runner back in May of 08. 2 weeks after purchase my check engine light came on. Took it to the dealership and they said "we can't find a problem". On my way home from the dealership it overheated. When I parked the car coolant was pouring out of the overflow. I took the car back to the dealership told them what happened and again they said they didn't know. So I decided to replace the thermostat, radiator and the water pump. Needless to say 3 days later it all started happening again. No one seemed to be able to tell me what was wrong. About 3 weeks ago I started noticing an oil leak and low and behold a few days later I noticed coolant was leaking also in the same place. Started the truck and white smoke and coolant came flooding out the tail pipe. Now they decided to tell me I have a blown head and it will cost me about 2200 to fix it. I still owe on this truck and it is very frustrating. I will never by another Toyota. Wish I would have found these reviews before I purchased the truck.

My 1995 4runner just blew the head gasket today 170K. Aren't Toyota's supposed to be reliable. I am only 24, and will never own a toyota again. I am looking at a minimum charge of 1500.00 to fix the problem. Ironically I was tipped off three weeks ago about the recall but my VIN didn't qualify. Now I am out a vehicle and cannot afford the repair. If I wanted a new engine I am looking at 4200! This is ridiculous! The truck is in mint condition and I love the 2nd generation style...

I own a 1995 4Runner. I bought it with 95k miles on it 2 years ago...

The check engine light came on about 6 months ago. I put a code reader on it and doesn't bring up any codes.

The truck runs great, but I don't want any trouble down the road. Is the on board code reader reliable? Or is there a better way to find out for sure if there is a problem?

Love the truck and want it to last forever.. thanks.

My 1995 4runner just blew the head gasket today 141K. Aren't Toyota's supposed to be reliable. I am looking at a minimum charge of 1500.00 to fix the problem. My VIN didn't qualify for the recall. Now I am out a vehicle and cannot afford the repair right now. The truck is in mint condition and I love my 4runner.

I have also had problems with my 95 4Runner SR5. At about 115k miles we had a blown head gasket. We spent over $4000 in repairs and machining of the head. The 4Runner ran really good for about 3k miles, after which it was really sluggish on acceleration and the check engine light is on again, going to take it to the local Toyota dealer to get diagnostics ran on it soon.

I purchased a 95 4runner a couple weeks ago and it's running a little rough and idles extremely low. After reading all these horror stories I'm thinking about calling Toyota to see if it's covered (doubtful), doing a tune up, selling it before she dies and buy a newer model 4runner or a Nissan.

This sucks because I've wanted a 2nd Gen 4runner for a long time; now I get one and find out this crappy news.

I have a 92 4Runner and my head gasket just blew. It had the recall done at 85k and now has 225k and blew the second one. Have yet to hear back from the head shop to see if they are warped but National Cylinder Head Exchange is only charging $275 to rebuild the heads. Look for one in your area if this happens to you. Total cost is going to be about $500 if I do the work myself.

1995 4Runner. Bought January of 2007. Has run fine since purchasing, but had what sounded like an exhaust leak. No oil consumption, but it would get hot every once in a while. Now it finally over headed and the notorious head gasket issue has hit. Luckily, I have found a mechanic very familiar with this vehicle and the head gasket issue. One thing he mentioned is to replace the head bolts when ever you do this repair, as they stretch when over headed and if you use them again you will have the same problem in a short time. He has not taken the motor down yet, but if everything is good it should cost me around $800 for part and labor. Toyota quoted me $2600 and a repair shot $1200 in labor + parts. I was ready to scrap the truck until I found this guy. These 3.0's bite and there are not many options once they go. Re-built motors cost $2600 without the labor and usable used motors are hard to find due to the demand. One salvage yard told me that for very 6 he gets, 4 are junk.

Add mine to the list. 95 4runner SR5/V6. 179,000, blown head gaskets, second time after recall. POS 4runner, why should I repair it? Mechanic said it's not worth it, unless I love the car, which I don't. It's not even that comfortable.

It just happen to me too, 2nd time blown head gasket. Very frustrating, it is not worth fixing.

I loved the car, it protected me from a major accident, little damage. I called Toyota, and after years of people calling and complaining, they have not found something wrong. No recalls :-(

Add mine to the list of blown head gaskets on my 95 4Runner, for the 2nd time. My mechanic quoted me around $6,000 (includes labor) for a rebuilt engine w/a 3yr or 100,000 warranty! Ouch! Not sure I want to take a chance on another blown head gasket.