Equipment Problems of Toyota 4Runner - part 1

While my mechanic was servicing a small exhaust leak on my vehicle he noticed that the chassis/frame of the vehicle was heavily corroded. He told me that he believe it was no longer safe to drive and that I contact Toyota. I had a local Toyota service center also look at it and they confirmed that the chassis/frame was heavily corroded and unsafe to drive.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Excessive frame corrosion.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

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

I was driving on the highway with no one around me. Temperature was around 60 degrees at 7:15am. My sunroof glass shattered as if it was a gunshot and the glass was pointed outward. It terrified my special needs child and myself and took a while for her to calm down. I drove it home later and opened up the sunroof to shattered glass everywhere. I have looked online and it is a known defect. I have a dash cam as well.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Started driving on the freeway when we heard something on the roof of the car and when I opened the moonroof cover from inside the car I could see that the entire moonroof had shattered. All the glass was flying off the car and onto the freeway.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

The body frame on this vehicle is almost completely rushed out. I don’t know what to do. If I should have the frame replaced I know there’s been a couple recalls on similar Toyota models.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Vehicle purchased new on 8/10/2025. Within days, developed severe vibration at highway speeds (70+ mph) and rattling driver-side window. Vehicle was at dealership (autonation Toyota winter park) from 8/20–8/31/2025; during this time, odometer readings increased significantly without explanation and no mileage log was provided. Vehicle was returned unrepaired, with “take-off” tires installed without disclosure. Issues persisted and vehicle was later taken to a second dealership (seminole Toyota) from 9/2–9/13/2025. Dealer staff confirmed vibration linked to tire condition, but contradictory invoices and lack of transparency left safety issues unresolved. Concerns: vehicle stability and vibration at highway speeds. Window rattle impacting safety on uneven roads. Odometer irregularities during dealer custody (mileage logged inconsistent with actual travel). Dealer substitution of tires without proper disclosure. Reason: unknown – possible tires, suspension, or related system. Manufacturer and dealerships have not resolved after multiple service attempts. Claim filed with ncds and Toyota, scheduled for arbitration hearing on 10/3/2025 at autonation winter park, FL.

Rusting frame, no specific incident date. Used today’s date.

Entire body frame has excessive rust, holes, and cracks. It is available for inspection. Toyota dealership says it is safe to drive for now but it is failing. I feel any cracks, rust, holes, separation of frame components places all occupants and anyone near the vehicle at risk for when anything fails - this could be when the vehicle is on the expressway in motion (such as when the gm ignition switch failures happened), causing catastrophic loss of life, injuries, and damage to all. It's not a matter of "if" it happens, it's "when" it will happen. There are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem. The exterior, interior, braking, engine of the vehicle are in remarkable shape so it's very misleading. There are also 4runners on dealership lots that have significant rust, holes, and cracks in the frames that the dealership does not warn about, rather, they still have high for-sale values because the vehicle looks good otherwise.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

The car just accelerated while during into parking lot. I used brake but did work and hit on to the pole. It accelerated pretty fast. The parking lot store has a video of me coming in slow and the the car accelerated.

Camera system, rear, from, 360 degree all are distorted and makes hard to see yellow and white painted lines, pedestrians, and other obstacles while parking. System is defective and do not work as it should.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

On 5/11/2025, my husband and I were returning home from the grocery store. I was operating the vehicle at the time of the incident. Upon arriving at our residence, I pulled into our driveway, which has a slight downward incline. As in our usual practice, I attempted to stop in front of the garage to unload groceries before entering, as the hatch of our vehicle can come in contact with the garage door when opened inside. While aligning the vehicle with the garage door, I began breaking and turning slightly to the left. However, as I attempted to come to a complete stop in front of the closed garage door, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated forward. Despite applying the brakes, the vehicle continued moving and crashed through the closed garage door. Due to the steering wheel being slightly turned, the vehicle veered left upon entering the garage, striking the left interior wall and a 32 foot ladder that was leaning against it. The impact with the wall and ladder brought the vehicle to a stop although the engine continued to rev and the vehicle attempted to move forward. My husband instructed me to shut off the engine, which I did immediately. My husband was not injured in the incident. I sustained pain in my left shoulder and upper left back. A medical evaluation indicated that the pain is expected to subside within a few weeks; imaging will be conducted if symptoms persist. I have filed both auto and homeowner's insurance claims regarding the incident. Additionally, I contacted the dealership, which advised me to report the issue to the manufacturers corporate office. They noted that the vehicle is equipped with a fail-safe system designed to prevent simultaneous engagement of the brake and accelerator. This was a very scary incident that I don't want to have happen to someone else.

See all problems of the 2016 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 🔎.

Excessive frame and suspension corrosion that could lead to serious accidents if not repaired at a very high cost for myself.

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.

I took my 2019 Toyota 4 runner limited edition for maintenance/repair and it was identified the entire under carriage and frame is rusting out creating safety issues. This vehicle has never has never been flooded or exposed to northern salted roads. The garage repair shop was afraid to repair the vehicle as they identified this is a huge safety issue. They could not understand that a 5 year old car with under 65k miles on it would have extensive rust damage and deemed it unsafe. They referred me to take it to the Toyota dealership and to call Toyota brand engagement center headquarters to report the issue. That phone number is 1-800-331-4331. Apparently this is a known issue for Toyota 4runners and other models under their brand as I found many complaints from owners on the web. I reached out to Toyota and they denied any awareness of an issue and responsibility. The case number is #[xxx]. They also told me I need to pay out of pocket to fix whatever the recommendation of the dealership provided to repair and fix. I was appalled at the quick and dismissiveness attitude without any additional further investigation and assistance to help out knowing this is not a normal case of rust for a car. I believe there is a defect and safety manufacturing issue on the vehicle even if is not a current recall and why I am reporting such a huge safety issue. So I took it to the Toyota dealership where they also agreed this is not normal wear and tear for a car of "length of time" and mileage on it and is a safety issue. They also spoke to the case manager at Toyota brand engagement center and also denied them any assistance for repairing of the vehicle. The VIN# is [xxx] . I can provide photos of the damage. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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!.

Frame is severely rusted and has holes started at 40k miles.

We purchased our vehicle new September 2023 from a Toyota dealership. Engine oil dipstick Toyota part 15301-50140 was installed in vehicle and was verified by 50140 stamped on dipstick. I wanted an extra oil dipstick so ordered a replacement through Toyota. The original dipstick part 15301-50140 is no longer available and has been superseded by Toyota part 15301-0p060. I ordered the new dipstick part number and received it from Toyota. It is verified by 0p060 stamped on the dipstick. The safety concern is the two dipsticks are not the same length and each one requires a different quantity of engine oil to reach the full mark. The new dipstick -0p060 is 1/2 inch shorter than the old, no longer available dipstick -50140. Most importantly the low and full marks are also both 1/2 inch higher up or closer to dipstick handle on the new dipstick than the old one. It takes approximately 0. 9 quart more of engine oil to reach full on the new dipstick than on the old one. One of these dipsticks is correct for my vehicle and one is not. The original dipstick is no longer available and the new dipstick is not the same as the original. The difference of 0. 9 quart more or less of oil in the engine is significant and important. Too much or too little oil can damage an engine or contribute to a shorter engine life. Both of these dipsticks cannot be correct for our vehicle. I have talked to the service managers at two Toyota dealerships and they do not have an answer for why these dipsticks are different. I have spoken to parts department people at two additional Toyota dealerships, called Toyota motor north America and no one has any idea why these dipsticks are different or which one I should be using. I also wrote a letter to Toyota motor na headquarters over two months ago and have received no response to date. I have both dipsticks available for inspection. Toyota needs to let owners know if they should replace their old dipsticks or not on these vehicles.

I was driving down the highway when suddenly I heard a loud noise that resembled a gunshot, and shattered glass started flying all around the front of my vehicle. It turned out my sunroof had unexpectedly exploded. It was like the car was under pressure and it was relieved through the sunroof. I had my air conditioner on and my windows up. My sunroof cover was open and broke glass managed to be scattered everywhere. This resulted in glass fragments coming into contact with my face and arms, leading to a painful burning feeling on my skin. Luckily, a Toyota dealership was 2 miles away. I immediately drove to the dealership so my vehicle could be repaired. The replacement part was not available for my vehicle so I had to stay in a hotel until my vehicle could be repaired. This incident caused me a great deal of anxiety and I don’t know if I can trust this will not happened again.

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.

A new 4runner over a year old has an oem windshield safety concern. The dealership has been polite with my concerns. With normal use, the windshield has been compromised by what appears to have been the slightest road debris. I’m up to 7 repairs. All repairs at dealership except 1. I love this vehicle out of my many vehicles since 1988, even the Toyotas (I. E. Tundra, camry, chr, and fj cruiser [12 years, 2 chips with 150k miles]) yet this 2023 4runner’s windshield is defective by any logical reasoning. I’m concerned with the potential of it shattering.

Unknown, found excessive rust on undercarriage.

I do not know what component or system failed. I was at an appointment with my son when the receptionist informed me that my car alarm was going off and there was smoke coming out of it. I went out to investigate and it sounded like the engine was attempting to start continuously. My key fob would not unlock the car. The engine continued to attempt to start and I was certain the car was going to start fire. We called 911 and went back inside to avoid anyone being hurt. The car then caught fire and burned until the fire department put it out. It was towed to an impound lot where it caught fire again and was destroyed. See pictures for more information.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

On [xxx] while driving approximately 60 mph on a straight smooth highway only about 4 miles from my home my 4 runner started violently shaking. The whole vehicle was shaking like the wheels were going to fall off. The steering wheel was shaking and I was shaking due to the amount of vibration. I did not depress the brakes for fear it would flip and crash. I let off the accelerator to slow down carefully and find a spot to pull off the highway. As I got slower I checked the onboard tire pressure which indicated all tires were holding correct amounts of air. About 3/4 to a mile from the time the shaking started it stopped shaking and about a quarter mile later it did it one more time for a few seconds. After that it did not occur again. After making a couple stops along my day I was driving at about 40mph when the big red box that reads break came on while the vehicle made a loud beeping noise over and over until the light went off. There were no vehicles in front of me to cause the anti collision alert to deploy. As of [xxx] Toyota of fayetteville, arkansas has my vehicle to check this issue. They are also replacing my front facing camera that has finally arrived after months of waiting for it to be delivered. It was found to be defective shortly after purchase August or September 2023. I only had the vehicle for a few weeks when the camera stopped working. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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.

While driving the 4runner on a clear road with no vehicles in close proximity, I heard a loud explosion like noise. I looked around and didn’t see any damage, I didn’t strike anything , nothing hit me. As I continued driving I could hear glass noise above and realized it could have been the sunroof. I pulled over and pulled back the sunroof cover and confirmed that the glass was broken. Luckily my 6 month old baby was not in the vehicle and the sunroof was closed and covered so no glass made its way into the car but I would consider this a high risk near miss. Once I got home I inspected the damage further and noticed that the glass broke upwards. I made an appointment with the dealership that I purchased 4runner from (victory Toyota in canton, mi) and explained to them what happened. The dealership was initially adamant that something must have struck the sunroof but I explained that this scenario is improbably given the height of the vehicle and the amount of force needed to cause such a large hole, additionally the glass broke upward and you can see that in the photos attached. Once at the dealership they confirmed that the glass was raised up. Vehicle is now being repaired. I’ll add that I found a NHTSA investigation report for kia but there was no resolution noted. As an engineer I believe this is a design and/or assembly issue associated with the clearances in the glass sunroof assembly. Too tight tolerances would create additional stress on the glass, thermal cycling of the glass further aggrevates until glass ultimately fails. Very scary situation and I hope NHTSA starts taking these complaints seriously.

I own a 2004 Toyota 4runner sport edition that suffers from frame rust issues. Mine isn't as bad as I've seen in person while working at a Toyota dealership as a tech or on the forums but from my experience in assisting in replacing frames at the dealership I know that my frame won't last very long. When I bought it from the original owner it had around 86,xxx miles on it and the typical spot in the from was rusted out. I choose to purchase it because it was the best example I could find, others having worse rust. I quickly discovered a weak spot which became a hole when trying to jack it up to do work along with chunks of rust that came off the rear end of the frame and all over. The weak spot that ended up being a hole seems to be caused by the ac drain location and how it drips right onto the frame which has an opening right by where it drips. I believe the drips went into the frame through the factory hole and lead to the weak spot and hole in my frame. I am not the only one who has experienced this issue. In fact on a Toyota 4runner forum there is threads on people extending the drain to prevent the same thing from happening to theirs or from getting worse. As a former Toyota tech who has seen how bad the frames that came in under recall and 4runner frames were first hand I cant believe that a the 4runner frames weren't included in the recalls. I've seen countless threads/reviews/complaints of severe rust causing accidents from suspension components. Toyota should be held accountable for the rust issues ont he 4runners just like the other vehicles. My 4runner now has 113,xxx on it and it will rust out long before the drivetrain gives out no matter what I try to do. My only option is to fix it using safe t caps when the time comes who makes frame fixes for tacomas, tundras, fj crusier and of course the 4runner. They produce them for these vehicles because the frames rust out pre maturely. The rusty 4runner frames are a safety issue and should be addressed.

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.

I was driving down the road with no other cars in front or behind me and no impact was made on my sunroof when it just spontaneously exploded. The noise was so loud I jerked my wheel and almost crashed into a ditch. Large chunks of glass and tiny glass slivers were all over myself and my car and my ears were ringing.

The door lock actuators have failed on both the driver side and passenger side front doors. Unfortunately this is a know issue across this model along with others and can be found in several forums. The problem is that the actuator gets stuck and at one point I was locked inside my car and once I was locked outside my car. If there was an emergency it could put mine and others safety at risk if the lock fails. The vehicle was inspected by Toyota who stated the actuators need to be replaced at $805 a piece and will not fix it themselves even though it is a known problem. This happened within the last month.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Regarding jack components included with the vehicle. An unknown person, let the air out of one of my tires as an act of vandalism, harassment, or, possibly as a set up for a crime, as is common in California. I attempted to lower my spare tire so that I could put it on and address the tire that has been deflated at another location. The equipment supplied to access the pulley that drops the tire was unusable. The pieces look to be powder coated in a brown color and have combination screw or socket heads on them. There are two of these screws needed to put three pieces together, in order to access , the chain driven pulley to access my spare tire. These screws were apparently powder coated together making it impossible to loosen so that these pieces could be put together to do its function, I have sent come home and, trying to use both the socket set, which does not work, because the powder coating changes the overall size of the screw head. I also tried a screwdriver. These lock screws are unmovable with reasonable and even slightly excessive force. I do need to access my spare tire, even though somebody did come along with an air pump to assist me on that one incident, I need assistance quickly. I do not trust Toyota to resolve my problem in an efficient and non-financially punishing way. This is a dangerous situation. Imagine somebody having a flat tire in the remote area or a dangerous area and needing to leave an area quickly. Toyota should replace all of these parts. I attempted to upload a file, but the form was not permitting me using google chrome on an apple iphone.

While doing approximately 65 on clear, sunny, and dry conditions heading north bound on I-65 with no traffic my sunroof spontaneously exploded outwards with enough force to shake the whole cabin. Luckily my sunshade was closed so no shards entered the vehicle at that time. The remaining glass was convex, sticking outwards. The dealer’s service advisor told me he had 8 customers with this same issue in the last 2 weeks. Toyota needs to consider the frequency of these events and declare a manufacturing defect and / or issue a safety recall.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota 4Runner 🔎.

Entire frame of the vehicle is rotten with rust and holes. This vehicle has been inspected by mcdaniel Toyota, marion, OH 43302 and the damage was confirmed. I have been and must continue to drive this vehicle even though the dealership did not recommend it. No evidence of the extent of the rust and damage was not noticed until October 2023 when a strap on the gas tank came loose. Upon further inspection, he noticed the holes and rust all over the frame. Reported to Toyota because other 2004 models were recalled for this issue. They were of no assistance.

Frame of this vehicle completely rusted through. Holes on passenger side right where the front door ends. Hole is approx 12" long. Frame also has a hole in the left front core support. Advised that the vehicle is no longer safe to drive by my Toyota dealer and personal mechanic. . There were no indications of this until a few weeks ago when the gas tank strap had come off and the gas tank was leaning. When inspected, it was found the frame was in disrepair.