CarComplaints.com Notes: Although it has a stellar record in terms of vehicle problems, initially the 4th generation (2003 - 2009) 4Runner didn't earn our top "Seal of Awesome" rating because it received poor crash test ratings for rear impacts. However it's proven to have one of the lowest driver death rates out of all vehicles (not just SUVs), so we've bumped it back up to our top award.
When I purchased the 06 4runner in april of 2015 (used) it had 100,800 miles on it. I am a licensed Aircraft Maintenance Tech with many years of experience so I do the majority of my automotive maintenance myself. Typically, when I purchase a vehicle I go through it with a fine tooth comb. All the fluids were fresh in the 4runner including the rear end. After a couple years the rear end started making noise. I decided to add some Lucas to the differential to see if that would help quiet it down but it did not. After many months of this annoying roar/whine that keeps getting louder, I decided to take it to a transmission shop to confirm my suspicion of what was going wrong with it. They concurred with me and said it was the "pinion bearings" going bad. I've looked into repairing it myself and the path of least resistance is to swap out the differential with a rebuilt one. There's a place in Raleigh NC that has them and their approx $650 with a $250 core charge. This is to do it myself, quite an expense if you ask me. I'm 55 years old and owned a lot of cars and worked on alot more. I've never ever heard of a rear end going bad with this low of miles. This is obviously a condition where the parts are inferior i.e. the bearings, and/or a engineering issue. This is what I would call a "premature failure". If this is a chronic issue with these vehicles it needs to be recalled by Toyota. More than likely I will fix the problem and pray that toyota reimburses me later because I don't know how much longer we can live with this very annoying problem much longer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
rear differential pinion bearings bad at 130k
When I purchased the 06 4runner in april of 2015 (used) it had 100,800 miles on it. I am a licensed Aircraft Maintenance Tech with many years of experience so I do the majority of my automotive maintenance myself. Typically, when I purchase a vehicle I go through it with a fine tooth comb. All the fluids were fresh in the 4runner including the rear end. After a couple years the rear end started making noise. I decided to add some Lucas to the differential to see if that would help quiet it down but it did not. After many months of this annoying roar/whine that keeps getting louder, I decided to take it to a transmission shop to confirm my suspicion of what was going wrong with it. They concurred with me and said it was the "pinion bearings" going bad. I've looked into repairing it myself and the path of least resistance is to swap out the differential with a rebuilt one. There's a place in Raleigh NC that has them and their approx $650 with a $250 core charge. This is to do it myself, quite an expense if you ask me. I'm 55 years old and owned a lot of cars and worked on alot more. I've never ever heard of a rear end going bad with this low of miles. This is obviously a condition where the parts are inferior i.e. the bearings, and/or a engineering issue. This is what I would call a "premature failure". If this is a chronic issue with these vehicles it needs to be recalled by Toyota. More than likely I will fix the problem and pray that toyota reimburses me later because I don't know how much longer we can live with this very annoying problem much longer.
- Dion L., Advance, US