Carrier/rack problems of the 2000 Toyota 4Runner

2000 Toyota 4runner was having sway bar link replaced and mechanic noticed extensive rust in rear section of frameon both sides,particularly around suspension,inside of rear frame rails,massive sections of frame rail affected,and holes/cracks in frame. After contacting Toyota about this problem,my local dealership,love Lexus of st albans,west virginia,they scheduled me an apptmnt to examine the vehicle. When I arrived,they did not even bother to rack the vehicle,I was told they would be happy to fix it for $7000. 00,and giggled at by the service manager. I will never deal with a dealership again. He told me if it was a tacoma they would repair it or buy it back,but since it was a 4runner, iwas out of luck. With a decent amount of money tied up in this vehicle,and no options to replace it, I now have taken it from my son and I am driving this death trap myself,andcannot believe that the most trusted brand I ever knew,one I have been shamelessly promoting and driving for over 20 years is turning their back on loyal customers. I have a friend whose 1999 tacoma,older than my 4runner,was bought back by them the year before last(they gave him $14,000 for his truck,which wasrusted in half). If you(NHTSA) are going to do nothing, I hope that a class action lawsuit is filed soon so I can join. There is no reason for such brazen disregard for safety. I have seen so many cases of this problem it is outrageous. After the reciept of my taxes I will park the vehicle,and replace it for safety concerns. But I will not get rid of it,not yet I want Toyota to know how I feel,and if that means I park it in the middle of their showroom in the middle of the night and walk away,so be it. But I will wait a while,and hope they do the right thing. I own a 1993 4runner,and its frame is perfect. Why are they allowed to get away with this?I have lost over $5000 and now own a heap of junk.

The check engine light came on and we noticed that the vehicle was leaking fluid onto the garage floor. Took it to the Toyota dealership, where they informed us that the frame of the vehicle was extremely rusty with a possible hole in the frame and unsafe to drive. The leak was from the transmission fluid. The component that houses the fluid was also rusting. The check engine light had no codes at this time. We took it to an auto repair shop in our town and looked at it up on the lift. The frame on the passenger side is so rusted it is cracked and there is a hole in the frame clear as day (dealership stated possible). They also replaced the oxygen sensor, due to the check engine light being on. We now have an unsafe vehicle on our hands that we can not drive, sell or even trade in!.

Upon inspection of my vehicle while on lift, I found an area of rust perforation above the right rear control arm bracket on the frame. The area is approx . 5"x 3" in length.

On 08/13/2014 my 16year old son was driving his 2000 Toyota 4runner on the interstate at highway speeds when right side lower control arm bracket build into the frame fell off the frame and cracked. Upon further inspection the frame had rusted from inside out causing the welded bracket to break at the factory weld. It is our understanding that this was a common problem and Toyota was doing a voluntary buy back that expired in 2011. We purchased the vehicle in 2013 and was never made aware of any such issues. It appears to us since there has been no service centers willing to re weld the bracket back in place that we are going to have to junk a great running great body condition car due to this problem that appears to be common. According to multiple service garages that have inspected for repair none of them will due to liability and that there is no good metal left to weld to as the frame is simply rusting into holes. Any advice on fix's or recall's etc would be much help. Toyota dealers advised nothing we could do.

The vehicle frame is deteriorating from rust on the passenger side of the vehicle. This severe rust is prevalent at suspension attachment points; significantly where the right-side rear "track bar" is attached. If this were to fail, the rear axle of the vehicle would become disconnnected from the vehicle undoubtedly causing a crash. Found out tonight the frame rail forward of the track bar has also deteriorated on the bottomside and is exhibiting numerous holes. This condition makes the vehicle unservicable from a safety aspect. It cannot be safety inspected in nys any longer. This vehicle was puchased new in ithaca, n. Y. The framework deterioration is indicative of other Toyota vehicles with frames rusting and causing major structural integrity issues. Toyota has done due diligence in supporting their customers on their tacoma and tundra vehicles. They performed frame replacements and a buyback program on these. I believe they ought to do the same for the 4runners seeing they are a virtual duplicate of the tacoma trucks' frame. The fact that the tundra and tacoma frames were produced in USA and the 4runner's frames were produced in japan does not have a bearing on this rust problem. . It does show an engineering deficiency on tundra, tacoma and 4runner's frame design. This issue is causing my family an undue financial burden. I most emphatically believe Toyota should address this issue. There should be a recall !!.

Frame cracked and broke.

2000 Toyota 4runner was in for scheduled routine maintenance. At this time, it was reported that the vehicle's frame is cracked and not safe to drive. The vehicle was then looked at by a local welder who confirmed the cracked frame and reported excessive frame corrosion.

While having my 2000 4runner serviced recently, my mechanic advised me that my carriage frame was cracked and rotting. I took it to Toyota dealer in bristol CT, who put vehicle on hoist and confirmed the problem. I was advised there was no recall or TSB on my SUV, and probably nothing they could do. They said they would send info & pictures to district office for review and advise when they heard back. I asked them about fixing it in the meantime, but they said they couldn't accept the liability? I can email pictures if you want to review these as well. I am having it welded in the meantime, as the crack was rather severe. My mechanic and Toyota both advised that if the crack broke thru while driving, the rear axle would come loose from the frame. The estimate to fix my SUV is apx. $1,500, which includes replacing the gas tank under-shield, which looks like a chunk of swiss cheese as well. Please advise of any recourse I may have.

Frame rot. Right side along rear wheel. Crack in the frame. Otherwise frame fine and no rust/rot on left hand side.

The sport seat with leather in the 2000 4runner sr5; the left side of the driver seat folds over during the exit from the vehicle. When the seat side folds over it folds over on to the height adjustment knob and causes the leather to crack. I have had the seat cover replaced under warranty but am concerned when my warranty expires. I have the same problem again 10 months later, and am now told it is fair wear and tear. I do not believe I should have to pay to replace the seat cover if I am doing nothing wrong. There is now way to enter or exit the vehicle and not have the side of the seat fold over onto the height adjustment knob, thus creating the abnormal wear and cracks. Dt.

Toyota 4runner - luggage rack's paint peeled off in less than 2 years. The dashboard started for form bubbles.