Table 1 shows one common electrical system related problems of the 2021 Toyota 4Runner.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Electrical System problems |
The power door lock actuators on both front doors of my 2021 Toyota 4runner have failed. The problem developed progressively. The front door locks initially began working intermittently and became less reliable over time. Eventually, both front door lock actuators stopped operating. They have now been inoperative for more than six months. The front doors will not reliably lock or unlock using the vehicle's power locking system or key fob, while the rear power door locks continue to operate normally. I discussed the problem with a Toyota dealership and was told by dealership personnel that they have seen this door lock actuator failure happen countless times. Despite the apparent frequency of the problem, I am not aware of a recall covering my vehicle. I am concerned about the safety implications of multiple door lock actuators failing prematurely. The failure prevents the vehicle's power locking system from reliably securing or unlocking the front doors and could cause difficulty quickly unlocking a front door for a passenger or occupant in an emergency. There were no warning lights or dashboard messages before the failures. The primary warning was the progressively intermittent operation of each front door lock before it stopped functioning entirely. Both front doors experienced the same progressive malfunction. I am reporting this because the failure has affected multiple actuators on the same vehicle, has persisted for more than six months, and a Toyota dealership indicated that it has encountered this problem many times.
Saturday morning July 12th after starting my vehicle, a warning was presented “srs airbag system malfunction”. I immediately took it to the dealership where they ran diagnostics. The service advisor admitted he nor his mechanic had ever seen anything like that before. They were unable to detect the issue that day. We planned to return the vehicle Thursday July 17. I dropped it off at 10am and never heard from the dealership again that day. Friday, July 18th I contacted the service advisor around 10 am to get an update in which he said they were looking into it. Friday afternoon, I received a call from the service advisor letting me know that the front passenger occupant ecu had malfunctioned, costing approximately $1000. After researching this, I learned that Toyota has issued many recalls on this issue with other models. I called Toyota headquarters to see how they would rectify this but ended the conversation with no solution other than it is the consumer’s liability. This is a safety issue that should fall back on the manufacturer, especially given the history of recalls issued on this specific defect.
Several door lock actuators have prematurely failed. The first to do so was front passenger door in summer 2024; front driver door lock failed a few months after. Most recently, approximately 4 months ago, the lock actuator for liftgate failed. This poses safety hazard in easily exiting vehicle and/or entering it if in dangerous situation. I have been communicating with local Toyota dealership for months about repairing these defective items, they have acknowledged awareness of an issue with the actuators, but have offered no help. I have read there is a class action lawsuit pending about this issue. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
On 3/30/21 it was discovered that my 2021 4runner with 5500 miles caught fire while parked in my enclosed garage. This event happened while my family and I were sleeping. The fire was discovered @5am at which time the fire department was contacted. The fire was contained to the garage. The vehicle was a total loss and was determined to be the source of the fire that destroyed all of the contents in my garage and significantly damaged the garage structure resulting in a rebuild. The fire department performed an initial investigation, a 3rd party fire investigator performed an investigation, and state farm along with a representative from Toyota conducted an investigation. Per my claims adjuster, the investigation determined that the fire originated in the vehicle but the exact cause could not be determined due to the damage to the wiring harness and the proximity to the condenser. This incident could have easily lead to significant injury or death to my family. The vehicle had not experienced any issues, no warning lights had indicated an issue, and the only maintenance that had been performed to the vehicle was a tire rotation at 5000 miles at the Toyota dealership.