After 10 hours on the bus and 4 hours waiting for the dealership to open I picked up my XR. The bus ride was interesting. The bus would overheat and the driver would pull over, stop, and turn off the engine. After a minute it would get fired up and we would continue. Nothing quite like sitting in a blacked out bus with the emergency flashers on in the middle of nowhere in the dark wondering "Is a semi going to come up on us and see us too late?" After the 5th of 6th stop you started to get a little used to it.

Interior was in far better shape than I expected - it is in brand new condition. Exterior isn't perfect, but about as good as it gets on a 7 year old vehicle. It has a bug shield mounted on the hood. I'll be getting rid of that.

Seats are much more supportive than my 5lug. The emergency brake in the XR is hairy butt crack ugly. It feels like I'm in a early 50s pickup when I pull that handle.
Handling is similar to my 5lug. Harder, but as it is 2.5" higher not as planted as a lowered taco can be.

Power is a big improvement.
Shifter - I've driven a clutch almost continually my entire life. I'd put the XR's shifter in the bottom 20%. The throttle problem I am having could be part of the issue.

When the XR hadn't fully warmed up yet it the throttle seemed to be ok. After a while on the road the throttle started to have a mind of its own. I'd be @ 3K and go to upshift. Foot off gas as the clutch is going in but the throttle didn't back off and I'd end up shifting at 3K. Slowing to a stop put in the clutch and the rpms would surge to 2K, then drop to 1K, then back up to 1.5K, sometimes 2.5K. It made driving in bumper to bumper through San Francisco memorable.

I drove it home and parked it. Don't really want to be replacing the clutch so it's a parker until the throttle is fixed. Today I'm taking it in to the dealership for a inspection and have them fix the throttle.

throttle might just be learning. sometimes when u unplug battery throttle has to relearn and takes a while. congrats on the buy!!

Also sounds like our friend "drive by wire" Throttle hang is a huge downside to electronic throttle.

Congrats on your purchase!

I agree, it sounds like the normal "drive-by-wire" we all love so much. : (
Hate it, but you get used to it after a while...

The drive by wire is the worst from 1st to 2nd. Hangs way to long

Mines slightly different. Hang from 2nd to third is a couple seconds and longer than the 1st to 2nd (which is too long also). The dealer tech compared my XR to another Tacoma (non XR, but V6+6spd) and they claim they're the same. I guess part of this is my expectations. I expected the shifting to be somewhat like a performance car, not like a farm truck. This is going to take away a lot of the fun of a manual transmission.

If anyone autocrosses one of these they must go through clutches like popcorn. I'm going to have to drive this a while before I commit to mods.

Congrats on the buy!
I also bought a 2010 Xrunner a few months back. Mine came equipped with every TRD option, including the supercharger and currently sits at 62k miles.

I know exactly what you mean about the whole shift "throttle bump" and the surge to 2k, then 1.5, then finally to idle. This is a typical drive by wire feature and cannot be fixed. It takes a little to get used to, but agreed. it's different.

The e-brake is hideous. I have an 88 4Runner as well and I'm just like come on... a hand brake would've been way more fashionable.

I have several ideas on what I want to do. Alas any changes require money and I have to sell something for the $$$.

Bizarroterl said:

I have several ideas on what I want to do. Alas any changes require money and I have to sell something for the $$$.

Click to expand...

What do you have planned for it? What options does it have? Bbk? blower? short shifter?

It has a different grille (which I plan on replacing). Other than that, bone stock. Planned mods are a HU/Nav, better speakers, 2013 side mirrors w/aspheric glass, sound deadening. Planning on a BBK out front. Everything else is just a jumble of ideas, most of which depend on if I can adjust to the clutch/throttle idiosyncrasies.

pictures????

Bizarroterl said:

It has a different grille (which I plan on replacing). Other than that, bone stock. Planned mods are a HU/Nav, better speakers, 2013 side mirrors w/aspheric glass, sound deadening. Planning on a BBK out front. Everything else is just a jumble of ideas, most of which depend on if I can adjust to the clutch/throttle idiosyncrasies.

Click to expand...

The BBK is a must! Did you happen to pass through Oakley on your maiden drive home? I saw. SWB X around that time on highway 4 and gave the driver a thumbs up.

Nah. I was in a rush so I drive 101 all the way. I'll try to post pics when I get a chance.

I just couldn't get used to the shifting. I did a massive mod - I changed it into a C7.