6 Maintenance Tips To Keep Your 5th Gen 4Runner Running Longer

You Could Be Killing Your 5th Gen 4Runner Without Even Realizing It – These Are The Maintenance Tips I’ve Learned To Keep It Running For Years To Come

We love our trucks; they’re like members of the family. The 5th Gen 4Runner is known to be pretty much bulletproof. At the end of the day, however, it’s still a vehicle. In this post, I’ll detail my top maintenance tips to keep your 5th Gen 4Runner running longer. A lot of the advice also applies to the Tacoma and most other vehicles.

Whether you do the work yourself or pay someone, know the “right” and “wrong” way to treat your babies. Let’s get started!

Fuel

Filling up is simple; insert the nozzle and pump until the tank is full, right? Wrong. Toyotas – and all other modern vehicles – employ an evaporative emission system (EVAP). It’s designed to reduce vapor emissions, help conserve a little fuel (nothing that really makes a difference to mileage), and reduce impacts on the environment.

If it doesn’t help my mileage and I don’t care about the environment, why worry about it? Overfilling causes liquid fuel to enter the EVAP canister which will eventually become saturated and fail to perform properly. You won’t know it’s happening until the Check Engine light comes on and you’re replacing the system to the tune of about $500 or several hours of your weekend.

The rule for fuel is to pump until the auto stop kicks in and is done.

Battery

Find it online: 

• Odyssey Group 34: Check Price

Modern gadgets are amazing. GMRS, iPads, GPS – how did we ever get through a trip in the ’80s?

All those toys need power and it’s tempting to wire them directly to the battery. Don’t do it. Most modern electronics draw standby power to maintain memory and speed startup times. One or two power hogs are no big deal but the more you add, the more draw you put on your battery. Eventually, you’ll be drawing too much.

Avoid the dreaded click-click-click of a dead battery and install switches for any 12-volt accessories that don’t require constant power in addition to inline circuit breakers that you can disconnect at any time.

Oil Change Intervals

Find it online: 

• 6.6 Quarts of 0W-20 oil (Mobil 1)
• OEM Oil Filter or the TRD Oil Filter
• Funnel
• OEM Oil drain plug gaskets

Full synthetic oil is good for 10,000 miles, which is why that is the 4Runner’s “recommended” oil change interval. I’m here to tell you to change the oil every 5,000 miles.

The first time you do a 5,000-mile service, you’ll wonder why because the oil will still look pretty clean. That’s what you want. Your engine is the heart of your truck and the oil is the blood. Keeping the oil clear is critical to rolling the odometer past 300,000 miles. Plan to sell your truck long before then? Regular 5,000-mile maintenance adds to your resale/trade value.

If you’re thinking about “upgrading” from the plastic oil filter housing to the metal one because the internet said so, don’t. Knock-off canisters frequently offer bad fitment and the build quality can be comically inferior. Check out this video by the Car Care Nut if you don’t believe me. You could end up with a seized canister which is a huge pain to remove. As long as you don’t over-tighten the plastic oil filter housing, you shouldn’t have any issues.

Change your oil every 5,000 miles and use genuine Toyota oil filters and housings. OEM is always the win.

Rotate Tires

Oil changes and tire rotations just happen to be on the same maintenance schedule. This might be slightly less important if you’re running highway tires. For those of you with more aggressive A/T or M/T tires, don’t skip rotations.

The unfortunate reality is that every mile we drive tears a little more tread off our tires and it doesn’t happen evenly. The longer we drive, the more uneven the tires become, until it starts to affect handling and fuel economy. Rotating your tires every 5,000 miles will help them last longer and save a little gas. God knows, 4Runner owners need to save gas in any way they can.

Rotate your tires at every oil change. It’s so much easier to remember that way.

Valve Stem Caps

Find it online: 

• TRD Valve Stem Caps: Check Price

For most people, valve stem caps are like their appendix. We all have ’em but most of us never understood why. Start going off-road more and the answer might come in the form of an unwelcome surprise.

Valve stem caps keep debris out of the valve stem. City drivers rarely notice a difference with or without them. Take your 4Runner off-road – or just have bad luck – and you could quickly learn that the tiniest grain of sand can cause the stem to hold open and you’re hoping the next guy down the trail has on-board air.

Make sure you have caps on all your tires, especially if you frequently air up and down for the trails.

Engine Air Filter

Find it online: 

• BMC Air Filter: Check Price
• OEM 4Runner filter: Check Price

If the engine is the heart and the oil is the blood, then your air intake and filter are the lungs of your truck.

This picture is a pretty good example of a filter that is overdue to be changed. It doesn’t take much to affect the air/fuel mix, leading to inefficient burning and deposits. Sure, you could continue to use this filter but the result could be shorter engine life.

Check your engine air filter at every oil change and replace it if moderate to severe dirt is visible.

Cabin Air Filter

Find it online: 

• K&N VF2000: Check Price
• OEM 4Runner filter: Check Price

I’m willing to admit that I’m not the neatest person in the world but I consider myself clean. I think that describes a lot of us, especially where cars are concerned. If you’ve ever dealt with mystery smells, you’re not alone. You empty everything out, vacuum the carpet, clean the upholstery, and two weeks later it’s back. Does that warrant a $300 detail?

Before you go that route, check your cabin air filter. It’s tucked behind the glove box and thankfully, Toyota made it really easy to replace yourself. You can find a step-by-step guide here. You might be surprised how much junk is in the old filter – including mold and mildew. Changing it out could be the solution to your stink.

Check/change your cabin air filter at least once a year. It won’t make your truck last longer but it’ll be a lot less funky.

Final Thoughts

I know, a lot of people will tell you that this stuff is unnecessary.

I’ve personally dealt with the aftermath of NOT doing them – a blown engine, premature tire wear, flat tires, old car smell, you name it. You don’t have to take my word for any of this but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Of course, there is more to maintaining a 4Runner. For instance, if you have a 4WD model, you need to exercise it by driving in 4WD at least once a month. The same is true for your emergency brake. Learn everything you can, treat your baby right, and it’ll be a part of your family for a long time.