Going to buy 4Runner Trail, convince me otherwise!!!

[AZ LR3]

*** is a Pentastar?

...oh, the engine. What sort of issues, in a nutshell?

Ticking / valve train clatter seems to be the common thread, sometimes showing up with just a few thousand miles. New or rebuilt head is the solution so it's sometimes major work. Another common issue seems to be cylinder number 2 failing, which would seem to point to a heat / cooling system issue, or maybe oil flow. With all the hoopla Pentastar is not off to a good start. There's lots of signs that all is not well at Chrysler these days.

 

[jwest]

The GX does fine offroad, but for a few quirks. I never liked the rear suspension, as it was always bottoming out into the bumpstops, my '03 had a nondefeatable traction control whereby if no wheels had traction (i.e., spinning) then the vehicle would "shut down", and I hated the gated shifter (i.e., non-intuitive - have to look). I actually did experiments between my '05 Outback XT and GX on slippery wet grass hills. The GX would shutdown - back down and get a running start, but the OBXT would spin its wheels a bit and proceed up the hill. Not confiedence inspiring, which is why I got the LR3.

This is an ironic post regarding turning off traction control specifically in how these new vehicles use braking of a spinning wheel to apply power to the non-spinning wheels. While this is an awesome way to deal with cross axle situations that would get us sitting stuck in an older Discovery 1 or 2, it does not help when we need to maintain momentum in sand, mud or snow if you could keep an axle locked.

The problem here is that we don't get to user lock the lr3/4, nor do we get to turn anything off. The above note about the GX, well, in the Land Cruiser you can user lock the center (when in low range) and you can also turn off the traction control stuff to allow powering through things. (The roll over air bag sensors also turn off when in low range or something like that - I do wonder what the LR3/4 does in this roll over sensor regard)

So, the Land Cruiser having user lockable center is nice but also on the LC you can add front and rear lockers of several types, with ARB air being one type for only $1050 per locker, $200-$300 compressor, + install labor if hired out.

While we're on lockers, the Mercedes G wagen apparently allows locking the center while in high range. Nice for loose gravel or snowy roads and it's cool "just because" I haven't locked my Disco 2 in a while but I recall you can lock the center in high or low.

I think a lot of us like the mod-factor and going back to an older Discovery 1 or 2, older G (older just for price reasons), or Toyota models. All of these are easy to modify whereas our modern LR3/4 is such a PITA to change, yet we try our best

 

[Alex 2008 SS]

Well..it is a hard one, I traded in my 2002 Toyota 4Runner Ld for my Supercharged RRover Sport and even though I still have the... "that's a nice truck" when I see one on the road, I wouldn't go back. The bottom line is that you will never go wrong with either of them.

Good luck..

 

[Houm_WA]

I don't think locking a center diff in high is all that unique. Classic "4wd " is exactly that, be it high or low range. I agree on the traction control bit for sand...but at least on the LR3 you can inhibit the DSC, which I think is tied to the TC computation as well. Plus I have to think that if the user has selected Sand then the terrain response would be less aggressive with the braking.

Yeah...the LR3 has no manual lock on the center it read diff, but learn to "tune" the vehicle and you won't feel like you don have a say in what it's doing. For example if I wanted to be "wide open" I'd leave it in General. If I wanted it locked I'd put it in Rock Crawl. Most of the time I'm in Mud ' Ruts with the DSC off because I find that to be the best and most versatile settin for Pacific NW terrain.

 

[jwest]

Does the LR3 lock when in high range?

There is no such thing as learning to "tune" the LR3. It is what it is and you cannot really change any of the traction software. All the traction control stuff stays functional on something like a gravel road where you could try to get sideways but are not really allowed much control of that simply due to it braking the slipping wheels.

There is essentially no such thing on the LR3 as "wide open". It is nothing like playing in a Audi, Touareg or Cayenne which you can actually use the throttle to control direction.

 

[Houm_WA]

Jwest...you are one argumentative son of a gun. You "tune" the LR3 by knowing what each TR Mode does and selecting accordingly, also choosing to inhibit DSC or HDC as you wish. That is all I meant, and I feel that it gives the driver plenty of latitude.

Yes, the LR3 can lock the center diff in high range. So could my old Montero and my Bronco II before that....and my brother's old Ford pickups and his CJ, and my uncle's Nissan...etc.

Agree you cannot fully disable Traction Control, but inhibiting DSC will let you get sideways, I've done this. ...and while General Mode isn't "Wide Open" I'd have to at least call it "Pretty Damn Open."