Alice - 2021 4Runner Venture Edition

[Advtres]

Sharing Alice, my 2021 4Runner. I purchased her new at the start of Covid. I wanted something I could do more camping and adventuring in and my old 650i was not up to the task - heck I did not even let the dog in it.

I purchased the venture with limited knowledge on what I was going to do with it, or even what direction I was heading. I guess I just jump in and then sort things out later based on what I enjoy doing. The 4Runner has turned out to be a great base with a ton of aftermarket options.

So far I have done almost all the mods myself excluding the lift which was done by 4x4 Warehouse for shop rates and they did a great job.

Mods to date :
Toytec 3 inch lift with heavy duty rear springs, duro bump stops
SSO slim line front bumper with 20 inch light bar and Warn EVO 10s winch and a factor55 flat link shackle mount
Prinsu ¾ roof rack with high lift jack, shovel, track boards, pelican v800 case and Front Runner Gas can holder.
Expedition Essential Dash accessory mount for iPhone, iPad, Go Pro and Midland GMRS 275
LED swap out interior and backup lights
Rago Molle panels (interior rear windows)
Nitto Trail Grapplers - stock 265s
Puddle light swap out to red LEDs
SDHQ Battery Terminal Swap out
RAD Rubber for the fender wells
Window Rain Guards and a bug deflector
RSG Rock Sliders - worth every penny
Victory 4x4 Rear Ladder
Overland Custom Design Sway Bar Link upgrade - Front and Rear
Fumoto Oil Valve and Metal Filter cap replacement
A Bunch stickers…

Future :
285s
Victory 4x4 rear bumper
Cat-back exhaust
More under carriage steel

Let me know if you have a 4runner, what you like, don’t like, or would do differently, or what you would recommend or what you think I did that was a waste of $$.

She is mostly a camping, off-roading adventure wagon.

 

[smritte]

Does your truck have the collision avoidance? if so, did it set a code and or did you have to have it recalibrated once you lifted it?
Other than that, nice rig.

 

[Advtres]

Does your truck have the collision avoidance? if so, did it set a code and or did you have to have it recalibrated once you lifted it?
Other than that, nice rig.

It does and have not had it re-calibrated. So far she beeps Iike mad to slow down and the cruise control still works.

Only issue I have been having even pre-lift is drive start control malfunction. Pretty much every trip it triggers on randomly and then resets usually when it has sat overnight, though that is random as well… Dealer has been pretty unhelpful.

 

[smritte]

I have a 19 Tacoma and my son has a 20 4runner. None of the dealers here will recalibrate a lifted truck, even if I lift it to the standard TRD height which is how much I'm lifting both.

 

[Advtres]

I have a 19 Tacoma and my son has a 20 4runner. None of the dealers here will recalibrate a lifted truck, even if I lift it to the standard TRD height which is how much I'm lifting both.

I think the 2020 does not have the TPS sensors right, so no need to do any changes, right?

 

[Advtres]

So the Drive/Start/Control malfunction saga continues. I took Alice to Los Padres this weekend and lo-and-behold the same error, overnight it did not reset so I took it directly to the dealer with as firm as I could be, this must be fixed. Last time I took it there the service advisor informed me there was not much they could do. Let’s see what they find.

So far it only shows up when I venture > 100 miles and there is no thing I can say occurs everytime it comes on.
It has occurred pretty much every trip I have taken with Alice, which to me is no longer just a once in a while occurrence.
When it happens the transmission does not seem to be engaging right in the lower gears and it disables all my multi terrain functions and cruise control..

 

[dstock]

Nice build! I like what you've done so far, it looks clean but capable.

We have a 2018 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium that I am just starting to build out. I'm planning on a 2.5" lift with some added capacity in the rear springs to handle some additional weight and we have an off road trailer we tow at times.

Is this Drive/Start/Control related to the collision avoidance system? I'm not familiar with this error, and our 2018 does not have collision avoidance.

 

[Dorobuta]

Sharing Alice, my 2021 4Runner. I purchased her new at the start of Covid. I wanted something I could do more camping and adventuring in and my old 650i was not up to the task - heck I did not even let the dog in it.

I purchased the venture with limited knowledge on what I was going to do with it, or even what direction I was heading. I guess I just jump in and then sort things out later based on what I enjoy doing. The 4Runner has turned out to be a great base with a ton of aftermarket options.

So far I have done almost all the mods myself excluding the lift which was done by 4x4 Warehouse for shop rates and they did a great job.

Mods to date :
Toytec 3 inch lift with heavy duty rear springs, duro bump stops
SSO slim line front bumper with 20 inch light bar and Warn EVO 10s winch and a factor55 flat link shackle mount
Prinsu ¾ roof rack with high lift jack, shovel, track boards, pelican v800 case and Front Runner Gas can holder.
Expedition Essential Dash accessory mount for iPhone, iPad, Go Pro and Midland GMRS 275
LED swap out interior and backup lights
Rago Molle panels (interior rear windows)
Nitto Trail Grapplers - stock 265s
Puddle light swap out to red LEDs
SDHQ Battery Terminal Swap out
RAD Rubber for the fender wells
Window Rain Guards and a bug deflector
RSG Rock Sliders - worth every penny
Victory 4x4 Rear Ladder
Overland Custom Design Sway Bar Link upgrade - Front and Rear
Fumoto Oil Valve and Metal Filter cap replacement
A Bunch stickers…

Future :
285s
Victory 4x4 rear bumper
Cat-back exhaust
More under carriage steel

Let me know if you have a 4runner, what you like, don’t like, or would do differently, or what you would recommend or what you think I did that was a waste of $$.

She is mostly a camping, off-roading adventure wagon.

View attachment 219270

I have a 2016 TEP same color as yours - love the Barcelona Red Metallic!

I went with the following:

Icon stage 2 suspension - will add reservoirs next rebuild of the shocks and coil overs.
Demello Hybrid Sliders
Prinsu full length rack - I was not afraid to drill holes in the roof, having done so with my prior FJ
highlift jack and axe and shovel mounts - my design.
285 KO2s (did the body mount chop)
Moto Metal wheels (905B)
Westscott ladder - they're local to me (sorta) so I like to feed local economy where possible
Diode Dynamic SS3 pro fog lights (Amber) - very easy install, tough to lock them down after aiming them. (big hands, I guess - hard to get the hex key in to tighten)
ICS console mount for RAM Mounts. phone and tablet currently, other comms will be added. It's nice in that it has two USB power ports

future:

Ditch lights - some sort of wiring pod at the same time.
Light bar
low profile front bumper , similar to yours.
GMRS radio
Weboost or similar cell booster
Molle panels for the rear.
rear bumper with tire carrier
full underbody skid plating...

 

[samba]

Sharing Alice, my 2021 4Runner. I purchased her new at the start of Covid. I wanted something I could do more camping and adventuring in and my old 650i was not up to the task - heck I did not even let the dog in it.

I purchased the venture with limited knowledge on what I was going to do with it, or even what direction I was heading. I guess I just jump in and then sort things out later based on what I enjoy doing. The 4Runner has turned out to be a great base with a ton of aftermarket options.

So far I have done almost all the mods myself excluding the lift which was done by 4x4 Warehouse for shop rates and they did a great job.

Mods to date :
Toytec 3 inch lift with heavy duty rear springs, duro bump stops
SSO slim line front bumper with 20 inch light bar and Warn EVO 10s winch and a factor55 flat link shackle mount
Prinsu ¾ roof rack with high lift jack, shovel, track boards, pelican v800 case and Front Runner Gas can holder.
Expedition Essential Dash accessory mount for iPhone, iPad, Go Pro and Midland GMRS 275
LED swap out interior and backup lights
Rago Molle panels (interior rear windows)
Nitto Trail Grapplers - stock 265s
Puddle light swap out to red LEDs
SDHQ Battery Terminal Swap out
RAD Rubber for the fender wells
Window Rain Guards and a bug deflector
RSG Rock Sliders - worth every penny
Victory 4x4 Rear Ladder
Overland Custom Design Sway Bar Link upgrade - Front and Rear
Fumoto Oil Valve and Metal Filter cap replacement
A Bunch stickers…

Future :
285s
Victory 4x4 rear bumper
Cat-back exhaust
More under carriage steel

Let me know if you have a 4runner, what you like, don’t like, or would do differently, or what you would recommend or what you think I did that was a waste of $$.

She is mostly a camping, off-roading adventure wagon.

View attachment 219270

Very nice rig.. great job. ... Do you daily drive it as well, or is it just a dedicated offroader.

 

[Advtres]

I have a 2016 TEP same color as yours - love the Barcelona Red Metallic!

I went with the following:

Icon stage 2 suspension - will add reservoirs next rebuild of the shocks and coil overs.
Demello Hybrid Sliders
Prinsu full length rack - I was not afraid to drill holes in the roof, having done so with my prior FJ
highlift jack and axe and shovel mounts - my design.
285 KO2s (did the body mount chop)
Moto Metal wheels (905B)
Westscott ladder - they're local to me (sorta) so I like to feed local economy where possible
Diode Dynamic SS3 pro fog lights (Amber) - very easy install, tough to lock them down after aiming them. (big hands, I guess - hard to get the hex key in to tighten)
ICS console mount for RAM Mounts. phone and tablet currently, other comms will be added. It's nice in that it has two USB power ports

future:

Ditch lights - some sort of wiring pod at the same time.
Light bar
low profile front bumper , similar to yours.
GMRS radio
Weboost or similar cell booster
Molle panels for the rear.
rear bumper with tire carrier
full underbody skid plating...

Red rovers us!

I was thinking about adding the Diode lights are you pretty happy with them? Any reason why you picked them over the Baja?
What rear bumper were you thinking about? I have kinda been bouncing the idea of Victory 4x4

Love my rear Molle panels, not only from a looks perspective but also utility, I always know where my tire pressure gauge, flashlight and utility knife are plus my gold pan is always within reach!

Do you have a link to a pic or can you post one?

See ya down the trail!

 

[Advtres]

Very nice rig.. great job. ... Do you daily drive it as well, or is it just a dedicated offroader.

Funny you ask..

I had a panic epiphany after I put new tires on Alice ($$) and we received the dreaded "You must come back to the office " notification that I would be commuting in it about 120 miles round trip for work. Alice as I learned with the tires only gets about 16 mpg and gas prices were/are up to 5$ per gallon in my area of California.

I did quick mental calculations (including wear and tear on a rig that I had just dumped a ton of $$ into for mods and was like heck no!) and figured in the long run it would be cheaper to just get a used car for work - I didn't want to use up the tires and rig just driving back and forth on the freeway.

So I did an emergency U turn and purchased a used 2012 Mini Cooper coupe which only had about 10k miles on it and it gets 32 mpg for commuting. Its like a go-cart with a heater, cup holder and stereo... what more do you need..

Alice is not a dedicated off-roader and is used for trips, day hikes, shopping, moving anything large, when I want to take the dog with me or just out for a wander.
I mean I it...

Sorry for the long answer to a really short question!

 

[samba]

Funny you ask..

I had a panic epiphany after I put new tires on Alice ($$) and we received the dreaded "You must come back to the office " notification that I would be commuting in it about 120 miles round trip for work. Alice as I learned with the tires only gets about 16 mpg and gas prices were/are up to 5$ per gallon in my area of California.

I did quick mental calculations (including wear and tear on a rig that I had just dumped a ton of $$ into for mods and was like heck no!) and figured in the long run it would be cheaper to just get a used car for work - I didn't want to use up the tires and rig just driving back and forth on the freeway.

So I did an emergency U turn and purchased a used 2012 Mini Cooper coupe which only had about 10k miles on it and it gets 32 mpg for commuting. Its like a go-cart with a heater, cup holder and stereo... what more do you need..

Alice is not a dedicated off-roader and is used for trips, day hikes, shopping, moving anything large, when I want to take the dog with me or just out for a wander.
I mean I it...

Sorry for the long answer to a really short question!

Hahaha, i have same idea when it comes to the rigs displayed around here. I would assume that an EV for daily driving would be a great option, bar the high cost of entry i suppose.

The 32mpg MIni Cooper sounds like a great deal. I feel your pain in terms of gas prices. I live in LA, so even the cheapest gas here is in $4.5/gallon.
I will keep following Alice around for build ideas.
Cheers..

 

[Dorobuta]

Red rovers us!

I was thinking about adding the Diode lights are you pretty happy with them? Any reason why you picked them over the Baja?
What rear bumper were you thinking about? I have kinda been bouncing the idea of Victory 4x4

Love my rear Molle panels, not only from a looks perspective but also utility, I always know where my tire pressure gauge, flashlight and utility knife are plus my gold pan is always within reach!

Do you have a link to a pic or can you post one?

See ya down the trail!

i love the fog lights, for me it was some of the comparisons and vids that pushed the Diode Dynamics across the finish line for me.

I’ll get some pictures posted… don’t have any recent ones…

 

[Advtres]

So the Drive/Start/Control malfunction saga continues. I took Alice to Los Padres this weekend and lo-and-behold the same error, overnight it did not reset so I took it directly to the dealer with as firm as I could be, this must be fixed. Last time I took it there the service advisor informed me there was not much they could do. Let’s see what they find.

So far it only shows up when I venture > 100 miles and there is no thing I can say occurs everytime it comes on.
It has occurred pretty much every trip I have taken with Alice, which to me is no longer just a once in a while occurrence.
When it happens the transmission does not seem to be engaging right in the lower gears and it disables all my multi terrain functions and cruise control..

View attachment 220583View attachment 220584View attachment 220585View attachment 220586

So Alice came back from the Toyota service and it turns out there was no smoking gun... but a potential short in the shift solenoid and transmission valve body harness...which they replaced. Of course they documented in my service record that Alice is heavily modified ( not really from my side but ok ) and that there was mud on the floorboards and that they thought the truck had been submerged past the transmission in mud... ( which it had, but mud is good for you right?) - this meant they had to damage check everything which came up nil....

So will check the rig out this weekend to see if the error returns.

who knew I would miss seeing my rig in the driveway but I did, was almost 2 weeks at the dealer..

 

[samba]

So Alice came back from the Toyota service and it turns out there was no smoking gun... but a potential short in the shift solenoid and transmission valve body harness...which they replaced. Of course they documented in my service record that Alice is heavily modified ( not really from my side but ok ) and that there was mud on the floorboards and that they thought the truck had been submerged past the transmission in mud... ( which it had, but mud is good for you right?) - this meant they had to damage check everything which came up nil....

So will check the rig out this weekend to see if the error returns.

who knew I would miss seeing my rig in the driveway but I did, was almost 2 weeks at the dealer..

Hopefully everything was covered under the standard warranty. Why does the dealer care if the car is modified as long as it is within specs.

 

[Advtres]

Hopefully everything was covered under the standard warranty. Why does the dealer care if the car is modified as long as it is within specs.

My hunch is they are looking for reasons as to why things were not working which were due to driving off-road/driver, other then that I just found it kinda nit-picky which I deal with daily at work and annoyed me slightly… Saying that they replaced mentioned parts under warranty and lets see tomorrow what happens. Hopefully the jinx error is gone.

 

[Advtres]

Welp, took the recently serviced Alice up to Lone Sequoia Campground for a explore around and promptly got the SAME ERROR!!! What the —-grrrrdarnnnsonof - sigh.
Back to the dealer tomorrow..

 

[Advtres]

Alice is back from the dealer and now they are saying that :
Removed mud from the condenser and radiator and found that the temp from the transmission intercooler had dropped.
Eg. that the error was caused by the transmission fluid being too warm due to a mucked up intercooler housing.

They also mentioned they thought my aftermarket SSO slimline bumper was restricting air flow as well, not sure if that is enough to fall into the "not covered due to outside influence" clause or not...

180$ out of pocket and Alice is back in the driveway.

So while being optimistic I am pessimistic because the error happened long before the truck had sufficient mud to coat anything.
Lets see. maybe there is a little gremlin somewhere and the service tech cleaned it away...



Errors received :
Check Engine
Multi-terrian select disabled
traction control disabled
drive-start-control malufunction

 

[Advtres]

Quick Update -
Alice is BACK at the dealer with the same issue (Drive/Start/Control Malfunction proceeded by Multi-terrain and engine errors... ) it is now a curse.

AND I had to replace the High Pressure AC line due to it contacting my SSO slimline bumper winch and I am guessing dirt/grim/sand on the winch contacted at different times the pressure line and polished a nice little pin hole leak into it... , the service specialist was kind enough to pre-bend the new line so that will no longer be a concern... though the out of pocket repair bill has not pushed out the timeline of my new bumper... by a lot... I went into the wrong field to be sure...

 

[Advtres]

Drive/Start/Control Error (curse) Update
So the service tech has bypassed the engine harness for the transmission and told me to drive it.

If I get the error with the bypass then they think it is the ECU
If I do not get the error, then it is the engine harness…

Lets see which way this goes.

He did mention he made sure I could off road with it…which I thought was pretty cool..

I think they are just as tired of seeing it come back as I am taking it in…

Happy Days