I don’t think it will be a problem. It hasn’t been an issue with the other Toyota’s that have had 4 links for a long time - 4runner, land cruiser, etc.  No worries.

Definitely a control arm.

Nope. 100% a control arm. I’d recognize a Toyota rear lower control arm frame mounting bracket anywhere. Thats a control arm.

Stupid raised hood. I hate these new raised truck hoods. Also that silhouette clearly is showing off rear control arms, so it’s going to be coil sprung.

If everyone just walked away from their jobs, in fact not everyone, just Truckers, train operators, and oil just stopped. How long would it be before a complete collapse in society? shoot we’ll throw in ship captains to. This is basically like adding another story to your house using the materials from your…

shoulda just called it dave

Stupid acronym apart, what the heck is a Reckon?

Return of the MR2

They actually have drills twice a year about this sort of thing. I remember my bus driver pulling up in front of our school and telling everyone about where the fire extinguishers are, the emergency brakes (bc air brakes) and the emergency exits in the back and the sides. And we’d have to get out from the back exit…

I HATE when I get boxed in by the usual monster trucks in my BMW convertible. Too old to have a camera, and with the top up there is basically zero rear-3/4 vision. All you can really do is back out VERY slowly.

I totally agree — a $1000-2000 safety tech package pays for itself the first time it is used. Last time a guy backed into my car in a grocery store parking lot at 2-3mph, it cost $1000 just to replace / repaint a bumper cover. If his minivan had ultrasound sensors or a backup camera, he wouldn’t have been blinded by…

Exhaust leak is likely the very expensive doughnut from the manifold to the exhaust pipe. Two front mounts are easy. Back one is a bitch to get to and get it off. We had to run an extension out the right front wheel well to get one of the nuts off, other one came off with a long extension out the back. I had 195K…

Rear cross traffic sensors with pedestrian notification, radar parking sensors that cost $1000 bucks to replace. Toyota Dynamic Cruise Control that cost $500 to recalibrate after a windshield replacement. “Safety systems” that require “qualified” individuals to perform repairs.

I mean, did you read through it? Pretty much all of those are wear items that any car will need over 200k miles of ownership. The only things that really aren’t are transmission and windshield and I guess you could argue window regulators and door actuators. 

OP bought the car in 2004.

It’s now Q2 2023. That’s about 19 years.

OP has put roughly $2,800 into it, based on listed prices in the post.

So they’ve spent, on average, $150 per year.  

I still don’t understand the purpose behind plastic cladding around the wheel arches. I think most cars would look fine with the metal arches with a little cladding like the brake vents:

Go to a Toyota dealer and try and find a RAV4 prime. They are 6 months out. Its not that people don’t want them, its that they aren’t building enough of them.

Road plate and traffic cones exist for a reason.

If it was bad enough to apparently be damaging vehicles, sounds like there should have been some temporary cover used when not actively being worked on? I’ve seen that done before.

I’ve had myQ for over a decade now (and to be fair, they haven’t been without their share of problems) and I recommend it. Here are some places where I find it handy: