4x4 prerunner

have a 2002 ext cab prerunner sr5. Can shift to hi/lo 4x4. Was reading on here that couldn’t have 4x4 prerunner so I wanted to clarify. I also heard from Toyota that different regions had different prerunner packages. Ex. California prerunners May not offer but ones sold in ny could. Anyone know the real deal?

 

Prerunner means 2 wheel drive with all things 4x4, minus the front differential. Spindles/axles are different too.

That's why you can't shift to 4x4/LO, because your truck is a 2 wheel drive really.

 

Prerunners are 2 wheel drive. Either you don’t have a prerunner or someone did a 4x4 conversion to it.

 

Hold on, are you saying you CAN shift into 4-hi/lo?

 

Pictures of all emblems and your dash would help. Or crawl under the truck and post a picture on the transmission area

 

Disregard, I read wrong.

4x4 converted Prerunner, or someone just put the Prerunner badging on a 4x4.

 

Honestly, we get these questions everyday.

 

Every section is getting trolled

 

April fools remember?

 

Wow, this is exactly why I don’t use the internet. Trolling is as about as cool as smoking cigarettes...Having said that here are some pictures from vehicle. a reputable toyota dealer advertised the truck as 4x4. Has shifter for hi/lo 4wd.even has a 4x4 indicator light on dash that lights up when I lock hubs into 4x4. Also instructions how to switch into 4x4. Just read so many different things online and I’m not a Motörhead so it gets tough Sorry for stirring up controversy in Tacoma land. Just looking for a little help. Thanks

 

jesus you guys are freaking paranoid about this april fools crap, I don't see anything about the OP's question that could make you think she's being a troll.

Don't listen to 'em, everyone wants to be the one to point out an April Fools joke so they're trying to be the first to make a scene about it. Prerunners are the name that Toyota gave the 6lug Tacomas that didn't have a 4wd drivetrain, so they're basically 2wd trucks built on the 4wd frame/platform. A lot of people mix up the term Prerunner with the 4x4 Tacomas so it's not uncommon, but what you have isn't a Prerunner, you have a true 4x4 Tacoma.

 

As Eon pointed out, don't listen to the folks trying to be the first to point out an april fools joke. We've all been pulled in by one before, or replied to a 10 year old post without realizing it, and like to make fun of others who do it, too. For the most part, it's all in good fun.

As for the option packages, it used to be that some areas had fairly specific options that were popular. Like some places didn't really sell cars with A/C (places that don't get hotter than like 70 degrees), but in places like central CA or AZ, it was near impossible to find one withOUT a/c.

As far as I can tell, there weren't a lot of region specific option packages that the Tacoma was offered in. The main ones are the base, SR5, Limited, and TRD. There are more than that now (Sport, Pro...), but for 1st gens, there wasn't a lot to choose from.

That's not to say all TRD's are identical for example. They all had options like color matching bumpers and fender flairs, etc... As far as I can tell, those are available pretty much anywhere, though. A lot of other stuff like tow hitches, roof racks, or wheels were dealer installed type stuff and have no real rhyme or reason to them.

 

hardly the first time someone didn't post pictures correctly, or someone had a misunderstanding about what it means to be a "pre-runner" seeing as how to a novice it looks exactly like a 4wd.

Subsequent posts by the OP show she is either the world's worst April fools troll, or maybe it's just a legitimate question.

You can also have an SR5 prerunner. It's a thing.

 

I look at it this way, yes it's April 1st and we tend to see some jokesters signing up and making troll posts...hell I fell for one earlier this morning. But I'd rather fall for one than accuse a genuine new member of being a troll and risk turning them off from the site...to me that's a bigger setback than the small hit my pride might take if I'm wrong.

 

Ya point taken. But pictures would be a great help.

 

No. Prerunners are always 2wd. Always have been. But being a TRD doesn't mean it's not also an SR5. Mine is a TRD 4x4 (rear locker) but has the SR5 package as well, which is essentially the power windows/door locks, upgraded seats type stuff.

"prerunner" isn't a "package" per se, It's like the now-dead S-runner, it's an entirely different vehicle description, it just happens to be identical to the 4x4, but without the 4x4 drivetrain. You can't order a 4x4 with the "prerunner package". You order the Prerunner, and that comes in base, SR5, and TRD packages (just like the 4x4's do).


It's more likely that if someone has a "prerunner" badge set on their truck, but also has a transfercase, they swapped in a transfercase and drivetrain from a 4x4. It's relatively common since the 4x4's in good condition are hard to find, but pre-runners are much more common. You can do the swap for under $2000 if you take your time to source all the parts and do the work yourself. It is more or less a bolt-in affair (since the 4wds and prerunners are otherwise identical). A 4x4 typically would fetch more than $2k higher than a comparable pre-runner, so if it's done right, you come out on top by doing the conversion.

I mean sure, someone could throw some Prerunner badges on a 4x4, but not sure why... People will put the TRD stickers on their non-TRD, but that's to make their truck look like a higher-end model.

The other tell-tale sign is the "4x4" on the rear mudflaps. Prerunners have plain blank mudflaps.

 

I don't think you picked up what I was putting down...

A prerunner is a down-graded option over the 4x4. It doesn't make any sense to throw a pre-runner badge on a 4x4 if you're trying to lie and squeeze more money out of it.

And if you are basing the options a vehicle has off of stickers, that's kind of a dishonest and lazy way to tell what options a vehicle has. Run the VIN at toyota.com, it takes 12 seconds.

So if I put a total chaos sticker on my truck, does that mean a used car lot will assume I have a $5000 long travel system?

 

So.....wheres the pics?