Trading the Gladiator in for Gen-5 4Runner

[amiyank]

It is time to call it quits on the Jeep Gladiator experience. It has cost me time and money and worry. But 4th breakdown in one year, for the same (sorta) issue is too much. It was bad enough breaking down in the middle of route 1, St. Augustine, FL in traffic, but when it did the exact same thing (another new starter) in the minus temps in Vermont, it was the last straw for my wife. Luckily everyone, and the dog, are fine.

I love that truck but it has been lots of trouble. Breaking down 4 times in the past year for very similar, seemingly related issue. The dealerships in the St. Augustine and Palm Coast area of Florida have not been much help, either not wanting to respond to TSBs (aluminum steering boxes on two jeeps) or with turning the jeep away with no diagnosis... and charging 300 USD to tell me that they could not find anything; it broke down again about 2 months later on route 1.

I think the final straw is that nobody really knows how to fix these things, very complicated and they do not fit the "parts cannon" mentality that dealers used/are forced into (imo), so when you get an electrical failure, that doesn't show a code, I believe the mechanics drop it and move on. Who could blame them when they are paid for numbers.

I wish you guys the best of luck and I will miss that truck. I do have my 1997 TJ and that will stay and remind of a jeep should be. Thanks for all the good reading.

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[Duece McCracken]

It is time to call it quits on the Jeep Gladiator experience. It has cost me time and money and worry. But 4th breakdown in one year, for the same (sorta) issue is too much. It was bad enough breaking down in the middle of route 1, St. Augustine, FL in traffic, but when it did the exact same thing (another new starter) in the minus temps in Vermont, it was the last straw for my wife. Luckily everyone, and the dog, are fine.

I love that truck but it has been lots of trouble. Breaking down 4 times in the past year for very similar, seemingly related issue. The dealerships in the St. Augustine and Palm Coast area of Florida have not been much help, either not wanting to respond to TSBs (aluminum steering boxes on two jeeps) or with turning the jeep away with no diagnosis... and charging 300 USD to tell me that they could not find anything; it broke down again about 2 months later on route 1.

I think the final straw is that nobody really knows how to fix these things, very complicated and they do not fit the "parts cannon" mentality that dealers used/are forced into (imo), so when you get an electrical failure, that doesn't show a code, I believe the mechanics drop it and move on. Who could blame them when they are paid for numbers.

I wish you guys the best of luck and I will miss that truck. I do have my 1997 TJ and that will stay and remind of a jeep should be. Thanks for all the good reading.

Pics of the 4runner?

 

[SaiintNick]

5th gens are great vehicles. Loved both of mine and sometimes wish I still had them, but they are pretty boring and this Mojave is far from boring.

 

[GregtheGrey]

Hate to hear about the Gladiator. It’s hard to come back once you’ve lost confidence in a vehicle.

My wife and I bought a 2018 4Runner in 2021. We have put 75k miles on it so far. No problems at all. Plenty of trips to FL and back (we live in Indiana), multiple trips towing our camper, and many other trips. It has 115k on it right now. I would highly recommend a 5th gen. The 4.0 is a solid engine.

 

[Hootbro]

Sorry to hear. Best of luck with the new vehicle.

 

[amiyank]

Nobody likes to have to quit. Everything gets old, especially breaking down. The other choice was a newer JT or JL. I couldn't get there.

Good luck with yours.

 

[Gvsukids]

It is time to call it quits on the Jeep Gladiator experience. It has cost me time and money and worry. But 4th breakdown in one year, for the same (sorta) issue is too much. It was bad enough breaking down in the middle of route 1, St. Augustine, FL in traffic, but when it did the exact same thing (another new starter) in the minus temps in Vermont, it was the last straw for my wife. Luckily everyone, and the dog, are fine.

I love that truck but it has been lots of trouble. Breaking down 4 times in the past year for very similar, seemingly related issue. The dealerships in the St. Augustine and Palm Coast area of Florida have not been much help, either not wanting to respond to TSBs (aluminum steering boxes on two jeeps) or with turning the jeep away with no diagnosis... and charging 300 USD to tell me that they could not find anything; it broke down again about 2 months later on route 1.

I think the final straw is that nobody really knows how to fix these things, very complicated and they do not fit the "parts cannon" mentality that dealers used/are forced into (imo), so when you get an electrical failure, that doesn't show a code, I believe the mechanics drop it and move on. Who could blame them when they are paid for numbers.

Also sounds like you're dealership experience ruined your experience with your vehicle. I've always been treated well by my dealership, otherwise I might have been looking at a different vehicle or different dealership.

 

[amiyank]

That is correct and a very good point. The hope is to go boring and not have to visit them as often.

 

[RubiNewbCB]

18 months... you'll be back!

 

[Free2roam]

 

[Free2roam]

 

[Bjeepz]

At least you can get into a very proven 5th gen platform and not the new junk Toyota is dumping into the market! I liked my 2019, it was better than both my Tacoma's. It did get worse MPG's on 33's than my Mojave on 37's does, but I liked the sunroof and power rear sliding tailgate window. I had a hard time with the FAKE leather they put in those, made me sweat all the time. If I was in anything different from my Mojave it would be a last gen TRD Off-road 4Runner. And hey, for only about 30k in mods you can fit 37's hahaha damn Toyota.

 

[Koolcarguy]

It is time to call it quits on the Jeep Gladiator experience. It has cost me time and money and worry. But 4th breakdown in one year, for the same (sorta) issue is too much. It was bad enough breaking down in the middle of route 1, St. Augustine, FL in traffic, but when it did the exact same thing (another new starter) in the minus temps in Vermont, it was the last straw for my wife. Luckily everyone, and the dog, are fine.

I love that truck but it has been lots of trouble. Breaking down 4 times in the past year for very similar, seemingly related issue. The dealerships in the St. Augustine and Palm Coast area of Florida have not been much help, either not wanting to respond to TSBs (aluminum steering boxes on two jeeps) or with turning the jeep away with no diagnosis... and charging 300 USD to tell me that they could not find anything; it broke down again about 2 months later on route 1.

I think the final straw is that nobody really knows how to fix these things, very complicated and they do not fit the "parts cannon" mentality that dealers used/are forced into (imo), so when you get an electrical failure, that doesn't show a code, I believe the mechanics drop it and move on. Who could blame them when they are paid for numbers.

I wish you guys the best of luck and I will miss that truck. I do have my 1997 TJ and that will stay and remind of a jeep should be. Thanks for all the good reading.

Bummer hate to see you go I hope you have a better experience with your Toyota......my daughter is a service advisor at a Toyota store in Denver she says the new Toyotas are definitely not like the old ones....hope you get a good one

 

[Firingpin1977]

You’ll enjoy the 4Runner. I had two 5th gens (‘16 SR5, ‘22 ORP) before coming over to my ‘21 Glady and JL, and long line of Toyota trucks and 4Runners before those. Smooth ride on and offroad, still handle a lot of offroad up until rock crawling (unless you SAS that front). Plenty of long travel kits out there if you need more flex. Unlike Jeeps, stay the heck away from Bilstein unless you go 8100 series. Bilstein 5100 and 6100 series wear out after about two years. Fox, King, Icon are the typical go-to if offroad a lot as well as OME for non-adjustable, Eibach makes a good road and medium offroad use kit on their 2.0 series.

Watch for front balance issues on anything ‘23+, lot of wobble issues from factory tires around 55-60 mph, test drive in that speed range a couple times to make sure you’re good to go. Unless you want the special color, don’t waste money on a TRD Pro if you plan to change the suspension out, outside of the suspension and special color, there’s no real difference between a Pro and a ORP, unless you just want the better resale value. If you need any parts for it, shoot me a message, I had a Toyota specific shop before injuries took me out, but still have my retail side going.

 

[Greg_L]

The nice thing about the 4-runner is you can get a 1950 model or a 2025 - same thing.

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