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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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,500 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2009 Toyota 4Runner miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2009 Toyota 4Runner Owner Comments

problem #2

Apr 082022

4Runner

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

OnĀ 4/8/22, the rear window of our 2009 Toyota 4runner just shattered and fell apart for no reason. We took it to get replaced at Safelite on 4/13/22 and one of their techs asked if we knew what caused the glass to break and we told him we had no idea. We told him it just broke out of nowhere from some strange reason, and he told us that it looks like the window breaking was caused by the overheating of the rear defroster and that it was a common issue with 2009 4runners. We were in shock to find this out and are grateful that our son or dog was not in the back seat when this happened. I found out online that Toyota issued a recall for this issue (Warranty Program ZG7) and I spoke with a Toyota customer service rep to see if we could be reimbursed the $100 we paid out of pocket for this manufacturer's defect and they said the warranty program ended in 2018 so they couldn't help us. We were very disappointed to be told this because this is obviously still happening with these 4runners and it's a major safety issue as well.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #1

May 012019

4Runner

  • 79,000 miles
Less than 80K miles and frame is completely rotting apart. While driving approximately 40 mph I lost control because the control arm completely separated from the frame! completely unsafe and death traps

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

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