I think "etc" stands for "Electronic Transmission Control", and I believe it changes the shift points for more power. But I could be completely wrong.

I myself don't know too much about the 4Runners....but I am eager to learn.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in and correct me if I am wrong.

 

Oops, my bad. "Father's" truck, meaning the 87, got the bashed bumper.So maybe they have fixed the problem in more modern versions, but I wouldn't know.