This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact's wife owns a 1999 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at a slow speed, the back end of the vehicle began to wobble. The contact stated that his daughter pulled the vehicle into a parking lot and had the vehicle towed to the contact's home. The vehicle was inspected and severe corrosion was discovered on the driver's side rear lower control arm mount. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed him that there are no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was given the same information as the dealer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.
Over the years of ownership, my vehicle has been overwhelmed with rust issues. All four axles are rusted to include the brake components. I didn't realize how bad the rusting was until I heard "popping" noise when making turns The rear suspension sway bar link was rusted so bad, it broke free. I had the rack and pinion replaced in August of 2020 because rust ate through the lines. The frame appears to have separations due to rust as well.
My vehicle is very clean and well maintained and had no indication of trouble or handling issues. A repair shop was taking it back to fix an exhaust problem when he nearly lost control. I couldn't believe it when he notified me it was unsafe to drive, but found out that one section of the frame had totally rusted through where the axle link mounts to the frame. It could have torn the axle out from under the vehicle with no previous warning. I had been driving on 4 lane interstate at 70 just days before with no handling issues at all. I personally have changed the oil and greased the drive train all but once over the past five years and not noticed this small area of severe rust through. I have also spent over $3000 on exhaust, tires, and maintenance repair over the past year because I thought it was worthy of 5-10 more years and 100,000 more miles. My 2001 Camry is driven by my son now and has approximately 390,000 miles on it. I just sold my 1994 Jeep Cherokee with over 300,000 miles on it and this 4runner body is in much better condition than those and that was why I expected this would too. This is definitely a weak spot hard to detect because myself and 3 other mechanic places had not seen it when servicing it but yet it is also a very critical function that can cause complete loss of control when the left side of the axle is torn loose and out from the vehicle. Head-on collisions, rollovers, etc are very likely. Therefore, I believe that this warning must be made known to other drivers of these 4runners and a recall to replace the frame as needed just like Toyota has done for other trucks of theirs, I.e. Tundra, sequoia, Tacoma with full frame like this. Thank you for your consideration of this for protection of our public.I have plenty more photos of the vehicle that I can share to substantiate the soundness of the rest of the vehicle or bad spot rusting.
I heard rubbing noises from my left front wheel.I thought brakes but when I inspected the underside of my vehicle I noticed that the rubbing was coming from a rusted and broken off brake shield.I am older with back issues so getting under the car for a good look M is tough at best.what I could see using a rigid seesnake boroscope was extensive rust.rust all over key structural frame components from motor mounts to steering linkage the chassis in some areas has completely disappeared.looking at the body you would think the car was in really good shape but not underneath.Toyota didn't have 4runners as part of their recall but they should have as the 4runner uses the same truck chassis as the Tacoma.I need this truck and I need it to be safe.thanks for listening
THE MOUNT FOR THE REAR LOWER CONTROL ARM HAS RUSTED OFF. THIS IS CAUSING THE CAR TO VIOLENTLY ROCK BACK AND FOURTH AFTER HITTING A POT HOLE AND CONTINUE FOR A FEW SECONDS AFTER. IT IS VERY UNNERVING AND OBVIOUSLY A MATER SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE ALSO SEEN SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON WEBSITES SUCH AS T4R.ORG. PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
1999 Toyota 4runner ltd 4X4 frame is rotted /rusted out will need major repairs or new frame apparently this is all 4runners and Tacoma built from the mid 90S to mid 2000S both sides of the frame rot on the inside and bottom of the frame so much so they started selling kits to fix this on ebay what a shame I never though Toyota would be such junk sad they wont fix / recall the 3rd gen 4 runner in there current frame recall even tho they have the exact same issue.safety issues....
While driving in the right lane on a 3 lane highway at approx. 65mph, while feeling the vehicle jerk to the right, thrusting the vehicle onto the right shoulder. While trying to compensate to the left, the vehicle, immediately rolled 3-4 times across the 3 lanes of traffic, onto the left shoulder. The left rear axle and wheel was no where to be found.
Frame rot has led to abnormal tire wear, vehicle changing lanes unexpectedly, and death wobble. Tires and shocks replaced September, needed new tires after 90 days also tie rods and bushings. Vehicle is unsafe to drive.
The frame on driver side rear axle area has completed rotted from rust, the rear suspension and sway bar broke away from the vehicle. We were almost in a very serious accident as there was loss of control of the rear end and we ended up in a ditch with loss of control.we were driving in a straight line at the time. We could have had a serious roll over accident resulting in serious injury or death. Very scary incident. I did some online research and found a number of other complaints. I would be happy to send photos of this issue if you want to call E-mail me at (xxxxxx). The exterior body engine and interior of this vehicle are in good condition and it seems the frame should last the life of the vehicle. Thank you for registering my complaint. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Like everyone else the frame is just rotten through and through in the back, I have a Tundra, 2 sequoia's, a highlander and a rav4. Ranging from 2001 to 2015, and the frame on the 01 sequoia looks new, this is a bad frame and gabe at keith pierson Toyota in jacksonville said there is nothing I can do about it. Toyota needs to fess up to this one.
Frame has extensive rust inside and out. Suspension and rocker panels are affected also. I was wondering about a frame recall since they have done so with other Toyota frames
The ball joint on my 1999 Toyota 4runner broke while I was driving the vehicle. By the grace of god, I stopped at mcdonald's before my long journey onto the freeway, with my 9 month old baby in the car, and that saved us from a very bad crash that may have taken our lives had we been going 60-70 mph. How does a ball joint break in half"?"
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ellicott City, MD, USA