Toyota 4RUNNERYears to avoid, problems & recalls

Based on 5,894 NHTSA owner complaints across 39 model years, the Toyota 4RUNNER years to avoid are 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the strongest years are 1991, 2013, 2017 and 2020. The 4RUNNER has 45 safety recalls on record.

Years to avoid'97 '99 '00 '03 '04 '05 '06Use caution: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2011 Best years'91 '13 '17 '20Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints5,894Top: Structure Safety recalls451988–2026 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years. Photo: TaurusEmerald, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Best & worst years

Toyota 4RUNNER years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 4RUNNER median. Tap a year for its full report.

9 6 78 43 53 51 64 17216126125033048318522569667842538115496 22 14716396 36 77 87 81 36 60 66 33 36 39 33 10 62 9

'88'89'90'91'92'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

Complaints by system

Most common Toyota 4RUNNER problems

All model years combined: 5,894 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

1,809Structure47 crash/fire/injury

911Suspension57 crash/fire/injury

525Air bags155 crash/fire/injury

491Engine and engine cooling27 crash/fire/injury

438Power train28 crash/fire/injury

335Steering

290Service brakes

276Service brakes, hydraulic

261Electrical system

1,51433 other systems203 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Structure	1809	47
Suspension	911	57
Air bags	525	155
Engine and engine cooling	491	27
Power train	438	28
Steering	335	45
Service brakes	290	25
Service brakes, hydraulic	276	38
Electrical system	261	33
33 other systems	1514	203

45 recalls

Toyota 4RUNNER recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Other: labels26V-571 · 2026 · Sep 2, 2026 · 135 vehicles Other: labels26V-282 · 2026 · May 4, 2026 · 94 vehicles Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel25V-595 · 2025 · Sep 11, 2025 · 591,377 vehicles Other: labels24V-548 · 2024 · Jul 23, 2024 · 33,848 vehicles Other: labels23V-680 · 2023 · Oct 12, 2023 · 13 vehicles Other: labels22V-480 · 2020–2022 · Jul 6, 2022 · 280 vehicles Other: labels22V-310 · 2022 · May 6, 2022 · 661 vehicles Exterior lighting: headlights21V-963 · 2022 · Dec 13, 2021 · 78 vehicles Delivery: fuel pump20V-682 · 2018–2019 · Nov 4, 2020 · 1,525,742 vehicles Delivery: fuel pump20V-012 · 2014–2015 · Jan 13, 2020 · 1,830,752 vehicles Driver side: inflator module19V-741 · 2010–2016 · Oct 17, 2019 · 928,220 vehicles Steering19V-670 · 2018–2019 · Sep 20, 2019 · 34 vehicles

Showing the 12 newest of 45 recalls. Each model-year page lists all recalls for that year.

7 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the 4RUNNER

Sep 17, 2021
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA21002 · 2010–2017 · still open
Open
Aug 17, 2018
Frame corrosionDP18002 · 2002–2006 · closed Mar 18, 2022
No recall
Feb 16, 2010
Unintended and Uncontrolled AccelerationRQ10003 · 2003–2009 · closed Mar 1, 2011
Led to recall 11V-112
Mar 26, 2002
REAR SEAT BELT ROUTINGDP02002 · 1990–1994 · closed Aug 26, 2002
No recall
Jan 27, 1999
CORRODED BRAKE LINESSQ99003 · 1989–1995 · closed Apr 22, 1999
No recall
Mar 24, 1992
LOSS OF BRK EFFECTIVENESSEA92011 · 1990–1991 · closed Jan 21, 1993
No recall
Nov 6, 1991
LOSS OF BRAKE EFFECTIVENESPE91147 · 1990–1991 · closed Mar 24, 1992
No recall