Three problems related to seats have been reported for the 1999 Toyota 4Runner. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Driving eastbound into portland (or) on hwy. 26 (sunset hwy. ), three lanes inbound. Three lanes inbound, I was in the right lane. As we neared the tunnels, traffic stopped bumper-to-bumper, as it often does. I stopped, leaving a small buffer between my vehicle and the one ahead of me, and watched the red Mazda cx-5 approaching behind, not slowing, and braced for the bump. Bam! it was a serious jolt. We pulled off onto the shoulder. Traffic was busy, so it took a while to get out to inspect damage. I was expecting more than I found, and actually noticed no damage at the time. The Mazda that had rear-ended me sustained some serious cosmetic damage, but was still driveable. We traded info, and I headed on to mt. Hood to ski. A couple of days later, I noticed that my drivers seat was a bit wobbly. When I got a chance to check the cause,I found that the front left bolt holding the seat was loose. I tightened it back down. ,but it came loose again after the embedded nut came loose from the frame. A google search revealed a pleathora of 4runner and tacoma owners encountering similar failures. To fix, I drilled a 1/2" hole through the bolt hole and through the bottom of the frame chamber, ran a 4"x1/2" steel bolt through the hole, fastened with a large washer, lock washer, and nut, some thread-lock, and slathered on the black silicone rtv. All done. Seems just fine, now. Cbs news did a story on their morning show last Thursday, regarding dangers of similar seat failures in hondas, I believe. I'm surprised that these companies have not done recalls on these design failures,already.
Tl the contact owns a 1999 Toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the driver's side front seat adjuster lever was fractured. Neither the local dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted or informed of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Driver's seat totally reclined back when no one was in the car. This has happened 5 times, and I am afraid it may happen sometime when I am driving. I would be injured if suddenly the seat reclined.