2010 TOYOTA 4RUNNER Complaints

THIS 2000 TOYOTA 4RUNNER WAS BEING DRIVEN LESS THAN 30MPH WHEN A KNOCK WAS HEARD COINCIDING WITH SLOPPY HANDLING. TAIL PIPE WAS RIPPED FROM MUFFLER. 4W DRIVE HAD BEEN IN USE FOR A FEW DAYS DUE TO SNOW, THIS HAPPENED WHEN THE TRUCK WAS PUT BACK INTO 2WD. BROUGHT THE TRUCK INTO MY MECHANIC THINKING STEERING/SUSPENSION PROBLEM, WRONG! WAS INFORMED THAT THE FRAME WAS RUSTED OUT AND COULDN'T BE FIXED. MY MECHANIC REMEMBERED HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A FEW TACOMA PICKUPS AND SUGGESTED LOOKING FOR RECALLS OR SERVICE BULLETINS RELATING TO THIS PROBLEM. THERE AREN'T ANY. HOWEVER, IF YOU DO AN INTERNET SEARCH ENTERING "TOYOTA 4RUNNER FRAME ROT" YOU'LL BE AMAZED AT WHAT SHOWS UP. OWNERS WHO HAVE WELL MAINTAINED THEIR 4RUNNERS AND TACOMAS FROM THIS ERA ARE BRINGING THEIR TRUCKS IN FOR ROUTINE SERVICE AND ARE FINDING OUT THAT THEY'RE LUCKY THAT THEY WEREN'T KILLED OR INJURED BECAUSE OF FRAME FAILURE. OTHER OWNERS HAVEN'T BEEN AS LUCKY. JUST GO TO ABOUTAUTOMOBILE.COM AND LOOK UP "2000 4RUNNER FRAME COMPLAINTS" AND THERE ARE 36 HITS. THAT'S JUST ONE MODEL YEAR AND ONE WEB SITE.THIS IS DANGEROUS. IT'S NOT OBVIOUS UNTIL THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM. THE FRAME ROTS FROM THE INSIDE. MOST INTERESTING WAS THE MECHANIC WHO HAD HIS FINGERS GO THROUGH THE FRAME WHILE TRYING PULL HIMSELF UNDER TO LOOK AT SOMETHING. IT SEEMS, AFTER READING COMMENTS ON THE INTERNET CONCERNING THIS ISSUE, THAT TOYOTA FEELS THIS IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. IT SHOULD CONCERN THEM THAT THEY MADE 4RUNNERS THAT, WHILE STILL LOOKING GREAT AFTER MANY YEARS ON THE ROAD, ARE SUBJECT TO UNEXPECTED CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. MY SON AND MY 2 YOUNG GRANDDAUGHTERS WERE IN THIS VEHICLE WHEN THE FRAME BROKE. *TR

FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED ALONG BASE ABOVE THE WINDSHIELD DE-ICING HEATER ELEMENT OVERNIGHT. CRACK WAS APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET LONG. CAR WAS DRIVEN LIGHTLY ~10 MILES AT 30 MPH ON FRIDAY, NOV 9, 2103 AND PARKED OUTSIDE AT 10 PM. HIGH DAYTIME TEMP WAS 53 F. LOW TEMPERATURE WAS 35 OVERNIGHT ACCORDING TO HTTP://WWW.WUNDERGROUND.COM/HISTORY/AIRPORT/KPWT/2013/11/12/MONTHLYHISTORY.HTML#CALENDAR. CRACK WAS NOTICED AT 8:30 AM ON SATURDAY, NOV 10TH, 2013. THERE WAS NO FROST OR CONDENSATION ON THE WINDSHIELD AT THAT TIME. THERE WERE NO NOTICED CRACKS, DINGS OR DEFECTS AT THE FAILURE LOCATION.

I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR THE 5,000 MILE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. WHILE I WAS THERE TWO OF THE STUDS ON THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE BROKE. BECAUSE I HAD RECENTLY HAD NEW TIRES ON MY VEHICLE THE DEALERSHIP BLAMED THE PLACE WHO PUT THE TIRES ON. I HAVE GONE TO THE SAME TIRE PLACE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. WHEN HE PUT THE NEW TIRES ON, HE BROKE ONE STUD BUT REPLACED IT AT HIS COST. HE DID WARN ME THAT THERE WERE OTHER STUDS THAT DID NOT LOOK RIGHT AND THAT HE COULD SEE OTHERS BREAKING IN THE FUTURE. THIS PLACE HAS CHANGED THE TIRES AT LEAST 4 TIMES ON THIS VEHICLE AND ARE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THEIR WORK. IT IS NOT A CHAIN WERE EMPLOYEES ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING AND THEIR EXPERIENCE MAY BE LIMITED. ALL OF THE BROKEN STUDS WERE ON THE SAME WHEEL. I RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE WITH TOYOTA STUDS ONLINE AND FOUND NUMEROUS POSTINGS BY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. I REALIZE YOU CAN FIND BOTH SIDES OF ANY ISSUE ONLINE BUT IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THERE IS A DEFECT WITH THIS TOYOTA PART AND THEY DO NOT WANT TO OWN UP TO IT. I HAVE HAD CHEVY BLAZERS AND A NISSAN PATHFINDER PRIOR TO THIS AND HAVE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM. MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN, POSSIBLY CAUSING THE WHEEL TO COME OFF WHEN I AM DRIVING ON THE ROAD. I HAVE TALKED WITH THE DEALERSHIP AS WELL AS TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS AND THEY REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS MATTER. I REALIZED WHEN I PURSUED THIS MATTER THAT THEY MOST LIKELY WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING FOR ME BUT I FEEL THERE IS A SAFETY ISSUE HERE AND THAT MAYBE IF ENOUGH PEOPLE TAKE THE EFFORT TO FILE A COMPLAINT SOMETHING WILL EVENTUALLY GET DONE BEFORE SOMETHING TRAGIC OCCURS. *TR

22DEC12 49F ENTERED CORNER AT 50MPH, ROADS SLIGHTLY WET. 4RUNNER DECIDED THE CAR WAS SLIPPING AND THE PANIC BEEPS WENT OFF AND THE CAR APPLIED BRAKES. UNFORTUNATELY THE COMPUTER STRAIGHTENED THE CAR OUT AND POINTED IT OFF THE ROAD. IT TOOK ALL MY STRENGTH TO TURN THE CAR BACK INTO THE CORNER AND FINALLY THE COMPUTER STOPPED THE PANIC. AFTER THIS I WAS UNABLE TO TURN OFF THE TRACTION CONTROL VIA THE ENABLE/DISABLE BUTTON UNTIL I HAD TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. I WAS FOLLOWING A CAR INTO THE CORNER AND THAT CAR NAVIGATED THE CORNER FINE. ALSO, SINCE OWNING THIS VEHICLE, 10 TIMES IT HAS ASSUMED I WAS PANIC BRAKING. LITERALLY, THE 4RUNNER SLAMS ON THE BRAKES AND BRINGS THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. LUCKILY THERE HAS BEEN NO ONE BEHIND ME DURING THESE EVENTS. IN THE WINTER OF 2011, THE 4RUNNER LOST CONTROL ON AN ICY ROAD AT FAIRLY LOW SPEED. I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE COMPUTER WAS TRYING TO GET CONTROL BACK. I SUSPECT THE COMPUTER GOT CONFUSED BECAUSE I COULD HAVE TOTALLY GOTTEN CONTROL BACK. THE TRACTION CONTROL IS NEVER REALLY OFF. YOU CAN TURN IT OFF, BUT IT WILL KICK BACK ON WHEN IT THINKS YOU ARE NO LONGER IN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

I HAVE BRAKES HYDRAULIC PROBLEM ON MY 2010 4RUNNER, I BROUGHT TO DEALER 3 TIMES IN THE PAST BUT THEY INSISTED THERE WAS NO ISSUES WITH THE BRAKE SYSTEM. THE BRAKE PADDLE WHEN DEPRESSED HAD HISSING SOUND, SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS AIR LEAKS SOMEWHERE..WHEN PRESSED DOWN THE BRAKE PADDLE, THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE A BIT THEN THE BRAKES HYDRAULIC APPLIED. IT IS VERY SCARY WHEN I WAS ON FREEWAY WITH 70-80 MPH. IF YOU HAVE RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.. WITH THE ENGINE TURNS OFF, I STILL HEAR THE HISSING SOUND EVERY SINGLE TIME I STEP ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. AND THE SERVICE ADVISER IN DEALER SAID ITS NORMAL??? AND THE BRAKES TOOK COUPLE MILLISECONDS TO RESPONSE WHEN BRAKE PEDAL COMPRESS??? *TR

I WAS DRIVING INTO TOWN (APPROX. 12 MILES) AND SLOWED TO ABOUT 40 MPH AS I WAS APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT. I HAD TO APPLY ALL MY WEIGHT TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE DID NOT RETURN TO IDLE SPEED WHEN I WAS STOPPED. I SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL AND THE RPM INDICATED 1500 REVS. I KICKED THE GAS PEDAL AND THE ENGINE RETURNED TO NORMAL IDLE SPEED, 700 REVS. THE FLOOR MAT WAS NOWHERE NEAR THE PEDAL. I CAN NOT FIND ANY RECALLS FOR THIS VEHICLE. IS THERE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM? *TR

I WILL PREFACE THIS NOTATION WITH A STATEMENT THAT I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE FUNCTIONALITY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE. AS MONTHS WENT ON AFTER I FIRST PURCHASED THE SAID VEHICLE I BEGAN TO NOTICE THAT I WOULD HAVE TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL MORE AND MORE TO ENGAGE THE BRAKING SYSTEM. ONCE DEPLOYED THE BRAKES DID BRING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP, ALBEIT WITH A 'SOFT' PEDAL. I BROUGHT IT TO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND REQUESTED THAT THEY CHECK THE ERROR CODES AS WELL AS THE BRAKES INC. LINES, PADS ROTORS ETC.. THEY STATED THAT EVERYTHING WAS WITHIN FACTORY SPECIFICATIONS. THEY MEASURED THE DISTANCE THE PEDAL TRAVELED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IDLE. I COMMENTED THAT WHEN I FIRST START THE VEHICLE THE INITIAL ACTIVATION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL ENGAGES THE BRAKES FAIRLY WELL. IT IS AFTER A FEW STOPS THAT ONE HAS TO DEPRESS THE PEDAL FURTHER TO HAVE THE SAME FEEL THAT WAS NOTED UPON THE INITIAL STOP AFTER THE CAR WAS FIRST STARTED. I SAID HE FELT LIKE THE BRAKES NEEDED TO BE BLED. THEY COMPLIED WITH MY REQUEST. THEY WERE OK FOR ~ 2 WEEKS. I ONCE AGAIN BROUGHT THE TRUCK BACK TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP AND THEY STATED THAT IT WAS UP TO FACTORY SPECIFICATIONS. I AM RIGHT BACK TO WHERE I WAS A YEAR AGO. I WILL NOTE THAT IT DOES FEEL BETTER AFTER A CAR WASH AND OR IT RAINS. I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER IF IT'S BRAKE DUST THAT'S INTERFERING WITH THE CONTACT WITH THE ROTOR. THERE IS NOT AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF DUST ON MY RIMS THOUGH. *TR

PASSENGERS ARE FALLING WHILE USING THE FOOT STEP INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE WHEN LOADING AND UNLOADING DUE TO THE IMPROPER DESIGN AND INSUFFICIENT SURFACE PROVIDED BY THE FOOT STEP TO SECURE PROPER FOOTING. SEVERAL INCIDENTS INVOLVING FRONT AND BACK PASSENGERS, WORSE UNDER WET CONDITIONS. FOOT STEP TOO NARROW AND I AM NOT SURE THAT MEETS FEDERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. THE CONTACT STATED THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT LOOSE AND RATTLED WHENEVER HE APPLIED THE BRAKES. DURING THE FAILURE, THE CONTACT WOULD ALSO HEAR AN ABNORMAL HISSING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WHERE THE CONTACT WAS TOLD THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS INTENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 9,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THE LIFT GATE WAS OPEN AND CLOSED ON ITS OWN WITH FORCE WHILE THE CONTACT WAS STANDING UNDERNEATH IT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIFT GATE WAS NO LONGER FUNCTIONING AUTOMATICALLY AND THAT SHE HAD TO MANUALLY OPEN IT. THE VEHICLE WILL BE TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND A COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,500.