Body Problems of Toyota 4Runner - part 1

The frame under the car rusted so much that the gas tank literally fell through the frame to the ground. This put my son at risk and fortunately he was able to pull over in a residential area and exit the vehicle. A mechanic and welding company both assessed the vehicle and acknowledged the u unusual and excessive rusting. In researching online and speaking to car experts, this seems and is confirmed to be poor manufacturing and materials used for the frame.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

2025 4runner had loose window glass on driver and passenger side,hood wobbles and rear spoiler loose hoping for a recall.

Loose window glass on driver and passenger side,hood wobbles,rear spoiler loose.

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.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Dangerous and rusted through frame. The vehicles frame should have been recalled like the other Toyotas affected.

Retaining clips / fasteners missing from front air dam causing the large plastic structure to become dislodged and tangled in steering brakes, suspension or causing unsafe road hazard for other vehicles particularly motorcycles. Many owners are reporting this issue and I have verified on my own vehicle missing hardware from recent purchase and vehicle currently has less than 2000 miles. The dealerships are not taking my owner complaints seriously and are refusing to honor warranty claiming that this issue is caused by road hazards when it clearly is not and is easily proven to be a defect or manufacturing issue. My air dam came loose on a interstate highway with 75 mph speed zones and became entangled in the undercarriage, further investigation revealed that several of the fasteners were missing and no evidence they were ever installed. The dealership tried to accuse me of removing or tampering with the hardware which is absolutely ridiculous and potentially criminal to make these unfounded allegations. The attached pictures were taken after temporary repairs were made on side of road but show the place where one of several fasteners should have been installed from factory but are clearly missing.

Side view mirrors shake to the point you cannot see out of them. Car has 2k miles on it and has been to the dealer 5 times over the past month for resolution. Dealer and Toyota have escalated to a more advanced technical team, they took a look at it and informed me it is a normal characteristic of the vehicle with no fix. This is unacceptable and not safe to drive on the highway.

- the undercarriage and frame have had premature rusting for years. The car is otherwise in excellent condition due to my care of it over the last 20 years. 5 years ago, a service person at my local Toyota dealership said, "I'm really disappointed in Toyota, I've never seen rust like this. " I have now recently been told by a local service shop that it's time to get a new car. The lines are all corroded for the power steering, etc, and he was unable to even "touch them," and said that the rust issue is no longer safe, and we shouldn't drive far from home. - we are now unable to drive the car much, as we live in the country and have far communities. With a [xxx] , we are unwilling to drive the car over 45 mph, or more than 10 miles for fear of an accident after reading about the manufacturing defect in this model of the 4-runner. - it has not been inspected by the above stated people. - no warnings, I would not have know the vehicle had such severe premature rusting issues if it weren't for a service person telling me such. -my vehicle has under 140k miles on it, and I've taken exceptional care of it over the past 20 years. I could have sold it for 10k given its condition, and low mileage, but it is now likely worth nothing given the manufacturing defect which caused premature rusting. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Last October we purchased a new 4 runner (VIN jtesu5jr6r6305337) and to date we have a little over 200 miles on it. The primary issue surrounding the lack of usage is that the running boards “platform" does not extend far enough out from the body. My wife has an extremely hard time both entering and exiting the vehicle, as the surface area is too narrow at 2 3/4". Even placing your foot parallel with the board is a challenge. On exiting there is a safety hazard as one's heel slips off of the rounded edge. The boards are six inches wide with three inches under the rocker panels. Not certain why this was designed this way as there is zero adjustment on the brackets. This is a potential slip and fall issue. /users/johnbuonaiuto/desktop/screenshot 2025-08-09 at 1. 36. 55?pm. Png.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

My vehicle keeps leaking inside from the ac drip line and it's been cleared multiple times and it still keeps happening and it floods the whole bottom of the passenger side floorboard and becomes soaked through which can cause erosion, electrical issues, mold growth and other problems as well.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

We took the vehicle in for inspection and it failed due to the exhaust leaks, and more importantly the frame rusting out. We never received the recall notice for this issue. We have owned this vehicle for many years, so there is no reason we would not have been notified for the recall of the frame. The vehicle was just serviced last year and we spent a great deal of money to keep it running properly so we would not have any issues and it would last us for quite a long time to come. With the frame being rusted through, there is simply no way to keep this vehicle safe. Toyota did not notify customers that had the vehicles with the frame issue. This is something that is simply not acceptable. We are a family of Toyota owners and have always depended on the reliability of them. Finding this out has really shocked us and honestly diminished our trust in the Toyota reliability. Is Toyota willing to fix this issue, are we just stuck with this. Please help.

Under frame is rusted. The area between the doors in the passenger side is gone. Only the top face of the member is present.

Extensive frame rust to the point of structural failure. Cannot support weight or force.

Frame rot. The frame on the 4runner is a known problem for excessive rot. My frame is shot. There is no reason a frame on a 2005 should be rotted. I was advised by my mechanic that my frame is dangerously close to snapping in half. This needs fixed by Toyota!.

My 4runner have major frame rust issues and is a major safety hazard. This a known issue to Toyota and a recall needs to be made.

Undercarriage frame rusted to the point where structural rust was formed in various places this rust has made a whole and cracks to the frame causing my vehicle to become a safety hazard on the road.

Frame has very severe rust and has started to come part in places. Soon vehicle will no longer be road worthy.

Cars frame is rotting out to the point it is not safe to drive. I was told being in a collision could cause catastrophic failure and the car is just turning 20 years old with 125,000 miles. Can’t get my money back and the car is otherwise is excellent condition.

When I first saw the pictures on the internet, I noticed that the front underside appeared to have rust issues. (frontal shot) I contacted that sales person and he blew me off when I requested photos of the underbody. After several attempts, he finally sent a couple of pictures. The pictures obviously did not show the major rust issues as I have provided. The pictures were carefully fabricated not to show the major rust issues. It was apparent that the vehicle was taken off the internet while they hid the rusty underbody by applying some coating. A short time later, the dealership reposted the vehicle on their website. The vehicle was not properly advertised as having this major rust issue. I asked the salesman if his family was driving the vehicle, would he feel safe. He replied, "absolutely". With this said, I decided to purchase the vehicle. Also, my signature is not on the "we owe". Also, the vehicle has an exhaust leak from the manifold area. It makes a loud ticking noise. This is going to cost approximately $1,500 to fix. The air conditioner is not blowing cold and either has a leak or in need of freon. This is another repair out of my pocket. This is what kind of pre-owned vehicle they sold me. This vehicle should have never been listed for sale.

Took 2004 Toyota 4runner sr5 to Toyota dealership to be serviced. Dealership called me to explain unable to do alignment, due to rear back frame excessive rusted through. Dealership advised waste of money to align new tires just purchased, unable to even do alignment and it was dangerous. Now what is to be done? this is my daily driver for work. How did this happen that its unsafe and dangerous to drive.

Unknown: excessive frame rust. Frame is excessively rusting to the point where the brakes and suspensions is connected to the frame has been compromised. Brake lines rusted to the point of failure, thus almost causing a wreck. Vehicle is now parked due to safety concerns involving the excessive rusting that is happening to the frame and any components that is attached to the frame.

2004 4runner rear hatch glass imploded with rear defroster on while driving and glass shattered all inside the vehicle in the back behind rear passenger seat. The loud sound when it imploded sounded like we had got shot at and scared all four of us in the vehicle thinking we were shot at. We pulled the vehicle over at the nearest pull over while driving on a coastal two lane road. We searched for any possible bullets. Did not find any and had to clean up as much possible of shattered glass that had covered all of our clothing and belongings. Had no materials to cover the rear broken window and had to continue our drive to meet family members to attend an early event at 9:00 am.

The rear tailgate window shattered while vehicle was in driveway as soon as it was turned off. Before it shattered there was an odor of something like plastic burning. Fortunately no one was hurt by the exploding bits of glass. The sound the breaking glass make was loud and startled the passengers. Good thing the vehicle was not in motion on the street or highway. On the internet I saw where other people shared the same problem on their Toyota 4runner. Then I saw that Toyota had put out, TSB-0189-17, which stated exactly what happened to my 4runner. Due to this possibly dangerous incident this should be upgraded to a vehicle safety recall.

Toyota has had issues with their frames rusting out and the 4th generation 4runner is not exempt from this issue. My 2003 is requiring extensive work to keep it on the road safely due to frame rust. A recall to replace frames should be in place.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Rusted frame.

Frame of the vehicle is showing rust corrosion. The frame are the same as the tacomas that were released the same year. The tacomas were granted frame replacement by Toyota but 4runners weren’t. Noticed a lot of other 4th generation 4runners are having the same issues.

Severe frame rust, there was a recall for tacomas but 4runners have the issue just as bad.

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.

See all problems of the 2000 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

The frame of the vehicle rust just as same as the 03-09 tacoma and there is nothing I can do the fix it and if I get new parts it ruins my parts after a short period of time.

Frame rot.

See all problems of the 2002 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

My control arm ripped completely off my fram on the passenger side due to excessive rust putting me and my family and any one else on the road at risk of something catastrophic.

The frame of my Toyota 4-runner has developed holes making it dangerous to drive.

The entire exterior body clear coat is peeling off. This started about 1. 5 years ago on the tailgate. It has now spread to the hood and the top of the vehicle. I called Toyota customer care, and they indicated this a known widespread problem with this vehicle make and model. So far, only the pearl white color has been recalled as the result of numerous consumer complaints. My vehicle color is nautical blue- Toyota indicated there has not been enough consumer complaints yet for this color for it to be recalled. Toyota suggested I log a complaint here in hopes it will result in a recall.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Frame and body prematurely and aggressively rusted despite constant care and upkeep. Toyota recalled the exact frame on their tacoma of the same years and did not recall the 4runner frames. It’s criminal and dangerous to the user and other vehicles on the road.

Vehicle frame has rusted through and has holes affecting structural condition.