general problems of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner

2004 Toyota 4runner sr5 - frame rust: currently not drivable due to complete breakage from the rust. Driving 2 hours home on the highway I almost lost control, pressing/releasing the brake and/or gas pulls the steering side to side and sways the truck (fish tail) due to damage from the frame rust/breaking. There is no control of the rear end. Truck was in great condition prior to the frame snapping. Vehicle has been inspected by multiple mechanics (including firestone, welding/fabricating auto repair shops and small owned mechanic shops), possibly won’t be able to weld due to the amount of rust. Firestone won’t perform any service if the vehicle needs to go in the air (tires, oil. . Etc) due to frame rust. This has been a huge problem with Toyota, they addressed other models around the same year but excluded the 4runner for unknown reasons. The dealership will not address the issue unless instructed by corporate. This problem jeopardized my safety and the safety of others around while I was driving at highway speeds, there was no warning when it occurred. Vehicle is available for inspection any time, as it currently is not going anywhere without a tow.

Excessive frame rust. Replaced complete rear end in 2013. Told by hyannis Toyota that it was unsafe to drive because of excessive rust. The rear end is now rusted out again in 2019 and needs replacing. In April 2019 could not have suspension replaced until frame welding was completed. Additional work of cutting out rear upper trailing arm brackets and weld in place and fabricate fuel tank strap mount and weld in place. Complete frame and underside of this vehicle is completely rusted out. We had this work down because the gas tank was falling out and we could not drive this vehicle.

Rumble when over 20 mph and turning slightly right on any surface.

Parts of the vehicles exterior and including frame and subframe components are excessively rusted. Parts are of the suspension and other hard parts are having to be replaced due to corrosion.

Takata recall frame is completely rusted. Causing all the undercarriage to rust out and make the vehicle very dangerous to drive. Even the body is starting to rust away. Only has 116,000 miles on it which is crazy.

Rust eat my frame into.

I have an ongoing problem with our 2004 Toyota 4runner. It started about 4 years ago when the maryland state emmission test facility plugged into my odbi2 port. All the dash lights were on and I went in to the office and complained. I filed a form with emissions. I work out of town, my wife is a teacher and we have two small kids. Going to the dealer was not an option until school was our. In the mean time the truck drove fine other than no four wheel drive and the tires spinning if you hit the peddle to hard (no traction control or stability control. Took the truck to the dealer over the summer and they had to reset the values for $110. 00 the four wheel drive would no longer engage. Toyota dealer said all the values being erased was a common problem with that year and mva cheep scanners. Maryland said they called Toyota and no one had ever had that problem. Have had this happen again last emission test. Biggest problem is that the 4 wheel drive no longer functions. The actuator doesn't engage the 4 wheel drive. This was apparent when my wife lost control and nearly flipped the trick over after picking up the kids in a snow storm. I climbed under the truck in the snow and pulled the cover off the actuator, pulled out the plastic gears and manually shifted it into 4 wheel drive to get it home. The four wheel drive system was always used at least every month until the emission test problems just to keep it lubericated. The 4 wheel drive or lack there of, could have caused death or serious injury to my wife and kids. This actuator is a serious problem, if they can't design a actuator that operates when you need four wheel drive, especially in an emergency than go back to the old stick and linkage. 55 people died in the blizzard of 2016 and there could have been 3 more just because of a design flaw! p. S. My wife and I bought it new, never off road!.

There is excessive rust/corrosion on the frame of the truck. The skid plates completely rusted off the truck in 2010. The transmission lines have corroded to the point they have to be replaced. The engine oil cooler and radiator supports have rusted through. The exhaust rusted off the truck in 2010 as well. Currently there is extensive corrosion on the frame of the truck and the suspension components. These issues appeared in 2010 and I have been fighting them ever since. Mechanically the truck runs great, never a problem, however the vehicle's frame is disintegrating due to corrosion.

I was going 5 mph and hit my brakes. The control arm was ripped from the frame due to rot/rust. Toyota is aware of this problem for 4runners, but has only offered assistance on the tacoma and tundras. The body of my vehicle has no rust anywhere, and the mileage is extremely low. I cannot even find a mechanic to fix it, because the frame is so bad. I was told, if it gets fixed, another part of the frame may fail when I'm cruising on the highway and people could get hurt or killed. No mechanic wants this liability in doing a repair.

Four months ago I purchased a 2004 Toyota 4runner limited with approx. 82,000 miles. A month or so later, I approached a stop sign and as I braked, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. I stepped as hard as I could on the brake and fortunately, the vehicle stopped. At the time, I was scared but thought that maybe by mistake, my foot was spanning both pedals (I didn't think so but couldn't be 100% positive). Yesterday, I approached another intersection with my foot clearly on the brake pedal as I was coming to a controlled stop when, suddenly, the vehicle accelerated aggressively. Again, I was able to slow the vehicle down by almost standing on the brake pedal, though not enough to stop me from going through the intersection without stopping. This time there was no doubt - the vehicle accelerated on its own. The pedal did not stick as my foot was on the brake as I was coasting to a stop. This vehicle definitely has a defect and it was very scary. My wife will not drive this car and I only will now if I absolutely have to.

Purchased a 2004 Toyota 4 runner. Noticed "wobble" or "vibrations" in steering wheel when accelerating and at speeds around 70-75 mph. Took in for maintenance, technician balanced tires. Still had problem so took it back in resulting in a road force balance and new set of tires. Still have mild vibration.

Annoying engine or drive train vibration between 1400 and 2000 rpm. More noticeable on upgrades. Releasing accelerator pedal results in eliminating the vibration as the engine speed decreases. The vehicle is a 2004 Toyota 4 runner v8 limited. This issue was initially noticed at about 700 miles on the odometer.