Is the 2025 Toyota 4Runner’s Badass-Looking Snorkel Option Really Just a Gimmick?

Contrary to what you might assume, not all vehicle snorkels allow you to wade in deep with your car or truck.

2025 Toyota 4Runner snorkel going up a-pillar of car

Published April 11, 2024

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Updated April 11, 2024

My first exposure and genuine appreciation for vehicle snorkels came from 1997’s Dante’s Peak. Early throughout the movie, the world’s most handsome volcanologist – Pierce Brosnan – bops around the soon-to-be doomed mountain town (spoiler!) in a glorious 1987 GMC Suburban outfitted with beefy tires, a grill guard, roof lights, and a elephant trunk-like snorkel running up the A-pillar.

This ride, which apparently some teenager wound up buying off Craigslist back in 2017, eventually plays a key role in Brosnan and his hastily adopted mountain family’s survival.

Image from 1997 movie Dante's Peak showing a red suburban driving through a river. — Was Brosnan’s line “the engine’s got a snorkel” *in Dante’s Peak in 1997 equivalent to 1985’s “where we’re going, we don’t need roads” ?* Also, don’t try this at home, kids.

During a daring rescue mission to save grandma (who ultimately still winds up dying, Roger Rabbit-style), Brosnan is forced to “cross”, a.k.a. drive right through a decent-sized river. Water immediately starts pouring into the car through gaps in the body. Linda Hamilton, playing the role of Rachel Wando remarks in mild alarm, “There’s a lot of water coming,” to which Brosnan tensely replies, “This rig can take it. The engine’s got a snorkel.”

The idea that an after-market accessory could turn an SUV I typically saw shuttling kids to soccer into an apocalypse-thwarting survival tank seemed so badass to me at the time.

It’s partly why my eyes perked up when I saw a press image of the all-new 2025 Toyota 4Runner Trailhunter Edition sporting what looked like a snorkel.

Walking away from Dante’s Peak, my naive understanding was that vehicle snorkels unlocked the same capabilities for cars that plastic snorkels did for humans. By raising the point of a vehicle’s air intake higher, a vehicle snorkel provided a car engine with steady access to oxygen, even in deeper water, allowing engine combustion to continue and keep the car running. The raised intake position also helped prevent water from entering the engine, which can cause catastrophic damage.

Image of Land Drover defender with factory installed raised air intake — Land Rover also sells factory raised air intakes. The official parts page clearly states “the raised air intake does not extend the vehicle’s wading capability.” So consider yourself warned.

The difference between true snorkels vs. raised air intakes

As I learned later, not all vehicle snorkels work like true snorkels, at least not how I assumed they worked. While an actual snorkel will increase a vehicle’s wading depth if paired with a sealed engine airbox, most snorkels you spot on SUVS and Trucks may be simpler raised air intakes.

According to Motortrend, just like the snorkel sold with the Tacoma Trailhunter edition, the 2025 4Runner Trailhunter edition’s snorkel isn’t “a proper snorkel, meaning it isn’t sealed to allow for super deep water wading.” Instead, a higher air inlet helps the SUV’s engine access cleaner, dust-free air.

That may be a bummer for those who love the idea of owning a car that can keep driving through extreme conditions, as well as overlanders who frequently roam near rivers.

However, a raised air intake can provide tangible benefits even if not sealed. Preventing and reducing the dust particles entering your vehicle’s engine can help an engine’s air filter stay cleaner, which will help maintain peak engine performance.

Plus, they look really cool. To be fair to Toyota, they weren’t the first major manufacturer to add offroading mystique to their vehicles via a cool-looking OEM raised air intake. And they definitely won’t be the last, either.