general problems of the 2000 Toyota 4Runner - part 1

The frame is rusted almost in half a mechanic said it's not safe to drive it will kill someone. The car lot that is selling me the car said he can fix it but it's being held together by welds and c foam. He wants me to still pay for it. I've complained about not being able to drive over 45 without swaying badly and they keep doing stuff to it saying it's fixed and it's not. It's to dangerous to drive. I have a video of underneath but it won't let me upload it.

The hole underneath frame is rusted into and there is a bunch of wielding done to it and it's very unsafe to drive and the car lot guy keeps saying he wants it back on the road.

We recently looked at this vehicle at Toyota of ann arbor car lot. After taking the vehicle to a private professional certified car inspector we were told that that the passenger side frame had a catastrophic crack that ran 7' from front to back and over the forward facing rear leaf spring shackle support making the vehicle unsafe for any driving. They showed us the frame damage and showed us how wire mesh and foam spray had been used in an attempt to hide it. We were scared to drive it back to the dealer (we drove very slow). We informed them of the damage and they were very rude and asked us to leave. My only goal here is to insure that this vehicle is not put on the road were it could result in death or injury.

Frame is rotted out. Mechanic lifted it on hoist and frame is rusted terribly and said not drivable.

The frame is rusted thru in many places that hold the rearend in the frame and along the side rails of this 4 runner Toyota 2000, the suspionsion arm rusted and broke free from the frame.

Section of frame broke and fell to the pavement. Vehicle bouncing and went off road causing damage to front driver side bumper, turn signal light housing, headlight. Extensive back frame rusting has made vehicle dangerous. Frame has many soft spots. Both back shocks rusted and broken. Replace shocks but frame will eventually brake. This is my only vehicle. So, I will continue to drive and pray that this vehicle stays together and doesn't result in death. Front frame and suspension are also rusted and rusting. Please help !.

Rust and holes in the frame.

Due to the dreaded � Toyota rot � frame failure the spare tire mechanism had rusted off going down us highway 25 in kentucky and put a poor man and his children in harms way. Toyota doesn't care about their customers they just want your money !!! I feel this problem could have been avoided Toyota should have recalled these vehicles knowing the frame issues have existed since the mid 90s!!!! when I look up my vehicle it has zero recalls shame on you Toyota there should be a remedy even if it's splitting the cost with your customer. Very unsatisfied.

Was traveling on highway at 65mph when all of a sudden the vehicle started weaving back and forth violently. Almost lost control of vehicle before slowing down. Pulled over because we thought we had a flat. Was not the case. Got back on the road and any time we went over 45mph it started to violently weave back and forth. Luckily we did not roll over or crash with an autistic child in the back of the 4runner or my very ill husband on oxygen. If not addressed or recalled soon, someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse. This needs to be recalled. My 4runner only has 168,000 miles on it.

My 2000 Toyota 4runner with 180,000 miles on the car, has abundant amount of rust. Being a daily driver it is near the point that it is unsafe to drive. The frame is completely rotted. Deemed unsafe to drive any further. As a solid running car, it would be a waste of money to junk the car.

"rusted frame" my 2000 4runner suffered structural damage when the frame broke away from the rear control link support brackets while driving. The rear of the vehile became unstable and hard to control. We could not drive vehicle and had to have it towed to a garage. We are trying to determine if the frame can be repaired not. I called a Toyota representative and they would not help because there was only a recall on pickup trucks of these years and not 4runners. This is a vehicle that was garage kept for a good portion of its life. I religiously wash my undercarriage throughout the winter months in PA. I have owned 11 Toyotas in my driving life, I am 55. Several of my vehicles went over 300,000 miles and I have never had a frame rusting problem up untill this one. The body on this truck does not have a speck of rust anywhere but the frame is disintegrating. I find it sad that Toyota will not acknowledge that there is a problem with these and fix them.

"rusted frame", my 2000 4runner suffered structural damage when the frame broke away from the rear control link support brackets while driving. The rear of the vehicle became unstable and hard to control. We could not drive vehicle and had to have it towed to a garage. We are trying to determine if the frame can be repaired not. I called a Toyota representative and they would not help because there was only a recall on pickup trucks of these years and not 4runners. This is a vehicle that was garage kept for a good portion of its life. I religiously wash my undercarriage throughout the winter months in PA. I have owned 11 Toyotas in my driving life, I am 55. Several of my vehicles went over 300,000 miles and I have never had a frame rusting problem up until this one. The body on this truck does not have a speck of rust anywhere but the frame is disintegrating. I find it sad that Toyota will not acknowledge that there is a problem with these and fix them.

Was driving to work one morning and my frame broke and cause my rear differential to shift cause me to have to tow my vehicle.

Frame on both my 2000 4runners is rotting out both bodies are in perfect shape cant wait to sue Toyota when they fail .

Frame rust causing suspension arm to drop while driving. It dug into road surface which lifted entire rear into the air. Kind of a pole-vault effect. Very dangerous. Checking for frame rust is not something listed in Toyotas maintenance schedule nor should it have to be by owners.

Frame rusted and tire came detached from car while driving. Felt like driving on ice.

Driving down the highway in my 2000 4runner, it started to sway back and forth violently, it went into oncoming traffic. Thank god the oncoming traffic was far enough away, I had time to get it back in my lane. If not, I would have been a casualty. I got it home and checked underneath the vehicle and found out the frame was rusted through. The whole frame was rusted, holes everywhere you looked. I just spent $2,000 on new tires and other repairs three months ago. Now the 4runner is useless, I can't believe this was not a serious safety recall. With all the 4runners on the road there is going to be a lot of people killed. You don't know when this is going to fail until it throws you into oncoming traffic and killing everyone in you car and other innocent people in the other cars that you come in contact with. This has to be a safety recall and have Toyota replace these defective frames. This 2000 4runner is in excellent shape, no rust on exterior and runs great. Does not burn or use any oil. Bad defective rusty frame which was a poor design or lack of prep in manufacturing.

Drivers side bracket holding rear wheel snapped off while stopped. Unable to drive vehicle as is.

The entire frame under the vehicle is rotting away the vehicle is unsafe to drive and will not pass the PA. State inspection.

Frame corrosion issues need to be addressed. Will cause bodily harm or death should failure occur.

Rust in all parts of the frame front/rear.

I bought a Toyota year ago, my first ever car payment, counting on Toyotas being reliable. Now I have 4runner in drive way with broken rear trailing arm & frame rott I wish dealer which should it to me or Toyota would step in. Wife & 15 month old baby traveling 35-40mph felt right rear drop like tire went side ways. . . Truck wobbled/rocked like boat in water. Likely needs new frame.

2000 Toyota 4runner frame rot. Rear suspention is seperating from the frame, middle of the frame has a 2 foot section missing, and the front of frame right by the firewall has big rot holes in it. The truck is becoming un safe to drive and hard to control at highway speeds.

Took my truck to Toyota dealership for repairs and they let me know the frame is rusting out.

I was driving and all of a sudden my car started across the center line from the rear end.

I bought the vehicle recently and was taking it to have it safety inspected. Driving down a curvy road, the vehicle became difficult to steer straight. A loud thunking noise was coming from the passenger rear quarter. Upon inspection it became apparent that the passenger side rear lower 4 link frame attachment tower (just forward of the passenger side rear wheel and tire) had detached from the frame. This condition seems to have been caused by severe metal deterioration from the inside out, hiding itself until it perforated the frame. On further inspection the frame was found to be perforated all along the lower inside wall - from the 4 link tower to the middle crossmember attach point . This area of the frame is adjacent to the muffler and is exposed to exaggerated thermal cycling on a daily basis. Some metallurgical reaction to this condition is causing extreme corrosion of the frame rails to the point of failure. This is happening to a lot of 1999 to 2003 4runners in the same exact spot and it's going to get someone seriously hurt or killed. Many people are unaware anything is amiss until they poke around the area of the inside frame rail.

My 2000 4runner only has 123k mils on it and the frame is so rusted it might be unsafe to drive. I tried to get new shocks on it and was told they can't due to the bad rust. The rest of the truck is in perfect condition!.

I reported a serious safety issue several years ago with a defective frame weld on my 2000 Toyota 4runner, which caused my rear differential support to separate from the frame while driving at 55-60 mph. This caused a severe, unexpected swaying of the vehicle back and forth and almost complete loss of control.

I own a 2000 Toyota 4runner sr5. The frame is very badly rusted and is beginning to fail. I have been notified by my mechanic that I should consider replacing the frame for safety issues. Toyota has recalled and replaced the same frame on the Toyota tacoma but has yet to issue a recall on the 4runner.

I am the original owner. . . Normal driving. Regular maintenance. Last few times I had a truck in the shop (different ones) they recommend I contact somebody, about the frame. . . It is basically rusted all the way thru. It is rusting from the inside out, seems like. . . Had many Toyota's in the past (and present). . . Had never seen anything like it.

Frame rotted out on passenger side of car, track bar for rear mount rusted off frame.

In a gradual left hand turn at highway speeds the rear idler assembly arm at the frame connection separated (broke due to excessive frame rust per certified mechanic), causing dramatic body roll and a near deadly head on collision with on coming traffic. Roll over potential was also greatly increased, as needed correction was employed to avoid head on collision - which created over steer to be applied to counter balance sudden almost uncontrollable spontaneous body roll.

Bought a 2000 Toyota 4runner 3 months ago. Inspection was up and took it to get inspected. They said the frame was trashed from rust.

Thought shocks were bad,put new ones on gotten better one payed almost a 1,000 dollars for four shocks. The most uncomfortable ride I have ever in counter, you fi'll every bump and anything else in the highways. Surely this is not the way it is supposed to ride,. I will never buy a Toyota of any style for this reason ever again. Unhappy owner.

Upon removing and replacing my exhaust and muffler on our 2000 4runner limited I spotted a hole in my frame on the rear passenger side just before my right passenger wheel and suspension. I finished installing the new exhaust an began inspecting the frame along the length of the vehicle. While the truck is not new . . . It only had what appears to be limited surface rust to most of the framework. However , the portion that was detected was clearly rusted through and now threatens the frame integrity. I expected to keep this car for a long time and am disappointed that this might shorten my expected ownership of this vehicle.