Two problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 2004 Toyota 4Runner. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner based on all problems reported for the 2004 4Runner.
I experienced a terrifying "acceleration problem" this past week as I was parking my car at a local store. I'd already slowed down to almost a halt, but as I put my foot on the brake to come to a complete stop, it suddenly lurched forward with shocking speed. I instinctively threw the gear into park; it stopped as it crashed into the steps leading to the store entrance. The cause had nothing to do with a floor mat (I don't have any) nor "sticking" gas pedal (the car had already come almost to a halt before it suddenly accelerated). The brakes were useless and felt like they were disengaged; acceleration may have occurred after depressing the brake pedal (this is still cloudy in my mind). I bought the car new, in 2004. This is the first time I've had any problem. I wondered what I might have done to cause the problem after so many years without any. I realized I'd never used the cruise control feature, until recently, only in the past few months. I was not using the cruise control feature when the incident occurred, but the sudden forward surge felt exactly like what happens when the car is on cruise control and drops beneath the speed at which it's set; it surges forward, on "its own. " I believe there's a causal relationship. My concern is two-fold: fixing a potentially deadly problem in my own Toyota, and helping identify the cause of the problem so it can be fixed by Toyota before another tragedy.
I have a 2004 Toyota 4-runner. About 2 years ago as I was driving down a local highway at about 45 mph, my 4-runner suddenly took off as if the cruise control engaged. However, the cruise control was not on. This is the one & only time this happened. I feel like this incident should be noted since Toyota has not recalled any 4-runners. Maybe there have been other similar complaints on the same vehicle as mine.