The Highest Mileage Toyota 4Runner

Any list of high-mileage cars, trucks, and SUVs is likely to have a lot of Toyotas on it. Toyota, and its luxury sub-brand, Lexus, top J.D. Power’s reliability study year after year with dependable new and used models. There’s a saying that goes, “Any car can pass a quarter million miles with the right owner, but a Toyota will get there no matter who’s driving it.”

The off-road-ready Toyota 4Runner is one of many shining examples of Toyota’s reliability track record, but finding the highest-mileage model out there may be easier said than done. Here’s what we were able to dig up.

There Are A Lot Of Candidates For Highest-Mileage 4Runner

Identifying the Toyota 4Runner with the most miles on its odometer is tricky in part because there are so many drivers who claim to have passed a quarter million on the original engine and transmission. Scouring various user forums and auto websites, we were able to find the following claims:

• On the T4R.org forums, a driver reports 314,600 miles in a 2014 model, with the biggest repair being a new set of Bilsteen 5100 shocks at 80,000 miles.
• A user on the r/4Runner subreddit claims to have sold a 1987 4Runner at 368,000 miles, with the new owner bringing the total up to 478,000 miles on the original engine and transmission.
• Another member of the r/4Runner subreddit cites a CarFax report showing a third-gen 4Runner passing its California emissions inspection at 643,299 miles in 2022 on a rebuilt transmission.
• One driver on the T4R forum provides a photo from 2015 of a 4Runner odometer reading 702,069 miles. They note that this isn’t their SUV, but one they spotted at a local shop.

The closest thing we have to a verified example of high mileage here would be the 702,069 mile 4Runner. Other claims point to 4Runners topping 800,000 miles or more, but these are third and fourth hand reports of “my cousin’s ex-roommate’s brother’s best friend is closing in on a million miles in his 4Runner.” It might be true, but we don’t have any evidence to back it up. There’s no reason to doubt the odometer photo provided in that 702k example, but since we can’t speak directly to the owner to ask what sort of engine work has been done or how many owners the SUV has had or if the transmission has been rebuilt, we’re gonna go ahead and say that our hunt isn’t quite over.

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If we’re looking for video evidence and some first-hand information from the owner, our list of potential high-mileage champions gets even smaller.

Who Has The Highest Video-Verified Mileage In A Toyota 4Runner?

The best video evidence we have of a high-mileage Toyota 4Runner at present comes to us courtesy of King’s Cool Stuff on Youtube, who posted a 400k rollover video back in 2015. This is a 1996 model, and the driver claims to be driving on the original engine, with the biggest fixes so far including two clutches and four timing belts.

This video was posted around eight years ago, with the driver claiming that it had 187,000 miles on the odometer when they first bought it. Other videos showcase 4Runners in the 350,000 range, like one from Vikings Garage which shows the odometer rolling over from 349,999 miles.

While we don’t have any video evidence of a 4Runner hitting 700,000 miles or more on the original engine and transmission, we’ve seen enough 4Runners hitting 350,000 without issue that we wouldn’t be surprised to find that the 702,069-mile model was running the original equipment.

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Unless someone knows how to get in touch with the driver of that 702k model, we’re going to name the 632,299 third-gen 4Runner listed in that CarFax report as the highest verified mileage on the original engine, and 400,000 as the highest number you can find with video evidence.

The 4Runner’s Lexus Cousin: Is It Just As Reliable?

The 2015 Toyota 4Runner shared a platform with the second-generation Lexus GX, so as long as we’re seeking out the highest mileage we can find on a 4Runner, it’s interesting to see how it compares to its Lexus equivalent. Once more, we’re seeing a lot of claims for the highest mileage honor, but there is limited photographic and video evidence, and even less certified documents to back these up. It’s tempting to want to go on word of mouth, but there’s nothing to stop someone from claiming two million miles on the original transmission with nothing to support this, and it’s easy to misremember whether your friend’s neighbor’s dad’s 4Runner recently crossed 250,000 miles, or 520,000 miles.

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As far as the highest verified number we can report, the Club Lexus forum sees a 2015 owner claiming 333,333 miles with a photo of the odometer in 2021. The driver states that the biggest repair was a new water pump at a quarter million miles. All of the most plausible high-mileage claims on this forum are around that number, ranging anywhere from 300,000 to 319,000 or thereabouts for a second-generation GX 460 (model years 2010-2023).

A video from Crutchfield Automotive shows off a GX470 with 503,430 miles on the odometer, as of 2021. The first-gen Lexus GX models (model years 2002 to 2009) will naturally boast higher miles simply because they’ve been around for that much longer.

The interesting thing about our findings here: the Toyota 4Runners skew a little higher in terms of mileage, compared to their closest Lexus counterparts. Our highest verified mileage on a Lexus GX is around half a million miles, while our highest verified mileage on a 4Runner is over 600,000. At the lower end, we’ve seen a lot of 4Runner in the 350,000 range, and a lot of GXs in the 325,000 range.

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Lexus generally shows marginally higher reliability ratings, according to J.D. Power, owing to the automaker’s status as a luxury brand. But the Toyota name seems to attract a breed of driver that is especially devoted to getting as many miles out of their vehicle as possible, partly because it’s a fun challenge, partly because you get the most out of your investment that way, and partly because it’s fun to brag about it in the Toyota owner forums.

There’s also the simple fact that the Toyota 4Runner is a more mainstream model compared to the GX, which is more niche as a luxury SUV. If you’re selling more SUVs, you’re going to see the average mileage skewing a bit higher simply because you have more times “at bat” than the other model. The 4Runner accounts for most of the highest-mileage models between these two SUVs, but it would also account for the most models that experienced major transmission or engine failure before hitting 100,000. That’s just the nature of doing business in greater volume.

Sources:
J.D. Power
,
Club Lexus,
T4R