The rear seat and side cargo windows of a 4Runner have decent tint from the factory, as most SUVs or crossovers do. However, I found that on especially bright and sunny days, they weren’t quite dark enough to prevent my son from covering his eyes when sitting in the backseat. The easy solution is to either get the windows tinted or buy those awful suction cup-mounted shades for the windows.
I didn’t want to spend the money on high-quality tint and let’s be real, the 4Runner isn’t a minivan! So, I definitely wasn’t getting the universal window shades. My options were limited, but I eventually came across the Snap Shades window covers that are custom-made for the 5th Gen 4Runner.
Find It Online:
- Snap Shades Window Covers (5th Gen 4Runner): Check Price
Table Of Contents
How They’re Different
Window coverings in general provide two main benefits:
- They shade your interior in a non-permanent way.
- If you opt for the kind that wraps around the door, can provide protection from bugs if you’re car camping.
The cons to both of those types are that they’re kind of ugly. One doesn’t cover the window completely and the other looks like you wrapped your window with a sheet.
Snap Shades is based out of Australia and as you can imagine, they get their fair share of sun. Their shades are custom-made for each vehicle make and model and fit into the window frames perfectly. With a combination of magnets and snug-fitting metal frames, they stay in place even with the windows rolled down.
I found this most useful when car camping because I could keep the windows open at night and keep the bugs out. Another benefit of having these secured into the frame is that you can roll down the windows and retain sun shade.
Snap Shades states that these block 84% of UVA & UVB rays. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but it’s probably at least as good as the factory-tinted glass. Plus, when you roll down the windows, you retain that protection. With normal tinted windows, once you roll them down, your protection also goes away.
Installation
There’s really nothing to it in terms of installing the Snap Shades. All you need to do is push them into the window frames and you’re done! They do advise that it can take a few days for the metal wireframes to fully mold to your window frame. They arrive folded in a box, so that’s understandable.
The main reason for getting the rear cargo window covers was that I have MOLLE panels installed. Not only that, but a connecting shelf to boot. That means if I want to tint the rear cargo windows to keep valuables hidden, I would need to completely uninstall that MOLLE system. I don’t have time for all of that, so the Snap Shades windows covers were a no-brainer!
All I had to do was slide these behind the panels and use a stick to push them into place. In less than 5 minutes, I had darker side cargo windows. Yes, I could’ve gotten the windows tinted before the MOLLE panels, but hindsight is 20/20. Plus, these were probably cheaper than getting them tinted by a reputable shop.
Pictured above: Factory tint (left), Snap Shades installed (right)
In the photo above, you can see that the rear cargo windows are now considerably darker and it’s much more difficult to see what’s mounted on the MOLLE panels.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’ve found the Snap Shades window shades to be amazing. They’re discrete enough to leave installed full-time. From the outside, it just looks like I have a dark tint. I’d say they’re equivalent to around a 10%-15% tint when combined with the existing factory tint. For reference, my front windows have a 20% tint.
If I ever need to remove them for whatever reason, all I have to do is pull them off. There are no sticky residue or suction cup marks on the glass to wipe off. While they’re a bit pricier than universal window shades, they are the best looking in my opinion. This really is a “you get what you pay for” type of situation in that you get complete coverage that is completely factory-looking from the outside.
Initially, I bought the rear window covers which shipped directly from overseas. As you can imagine, they took forever to arrive. After ordering the cargo window covers recently, however, it seems like all U.S. orders now ship from NY. So, they arrived in a few days.
These darken the interior just enough, and my kid no longer has to hold his hands over his eyes on sunny days. If you have kids or keep valuable items in your 4Runner, I would highly recommend taking a look at these!
I sleep in the back of my 4runner a lot and wanted a decent mesh/screen window option to keep out bugs, as well as to keep temps down and to block a**holes looking in to steal stuff. Looked at options to fit the bill and found Snap shades online, as well as Strawfoot handmade, both which would fit the bill, function wise, but Strawfoot seemed like a lot on my wallet, lol. May go that route eventually.
I searched locally on Facebook marketplace and found a near-new set of these snap shades that I figured would be cheaper to try than Strawfoot. These seem to keep the 4runner a bit cooler when I had all 4 installed. For sure noticeable. Install took a few seconds each, literally push in and ensure seated. Super easy. As for temps. No I didn’t measure, but on hot days here in California, 90F – 100F+ when I would get in without them, vehicle was super uncomfortable, but as soon as I installed these, the first few days getting in the vehicle it seemed significantly cooler. Way more comfortable… but that said, I do not like the loss in visibility out of the rear windows when driving. I always keep a cargo box on my roof because I get anxiety when I can’t see out of my blind spots. These make it hard to see out of the far back window and even rear passenger window, when checking blindspots, and even driver-side rear passenger window. So I took out both of the rear passenger window covers while driving and install when sleeping.
Also, when kids are in rear seats, or their friends, and they want to roll the windows down I am afraid they will blow out. I have had the kids test them with windows partially down and it was ok, but definitely would not try to drive at 75 with windows all the way down, duh. Good product! Recommend if you want some visibility and cooler temps in vehicle and privacy. Will say when installed there were a few small gaps, but not an issue for me. Good purchase. Seem like well built product.
Did you need clips or magnets for the Rear port windows?
I did not, they stay in place once wedged into the window frame.
are there gaps? I’m only interested in using this for camping to keep bugs out. Not much info on that. It looks like there may be a big gap to corner in the one picture which would keep this useless for me.
That white gap is actually the door frame, not an open space. However, if your primary use is to keep bugs out, then there may be better options for you.
How are the rear window kit while driving with rear windows down?
I regularly drive around town (around 45mph) with the windows rolled half down and have no issues. I don’t belive they’re designed to be used with windows rolled fully down.
FYI, 15% off during Memorial Day weekend. (Code: MEM15)
Yup, hope you were able to take advantage of the sale! Dangerous weekend for our wallets lol
Any potential damage of window tinting etc? And how fine is the mesh? Any even marginal gaps between the edge of the shades and the window? Wanting to use these for camping in a VERY buggy environment where I need ventilation.
There may be a couple of hairline gaps here or there, but I camped overnight in a pretty buggy site and didn’t have anything come through the windows. The mesh is definitely fine enough to keep even tiny gnats out.
I have a set of these for all 4 windows (excluding rear quarter panel windows) and they are a perfect ventilation solution if you sleep in the back. Easy magnet snap to the window edge and all 4 fold down flat into a small stuff sack.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the front panels? The SnapShades website only lists the back and cargo windows due to DOT regulations.
do they not make these for the front windows? That would be a good car camping option
Omar,
They actually do! I use these for camping since I sleep in the back and they are perfect. Easy magnetic snap on.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the front panels? The SnapShades website only lists the back and cargo windows due to DOT regulations.