Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 02/12/2013 | 126547 | ||
| I discovered this morning that the rear differential housing cover is leaking oil the vehicle has had some major rust issues which have affected the structural and mechanical well being of this vehicle. | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 130000 | 1 | |
| Severe frame rot on otherwise very well cared for vehicle. will certainly result in catastrophic failure. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2010 | 130000 | ||
| Severe frame rot on otherwise very well cared for vehicle. will certainly result in catastrophic failure. | |||
| 11/12/2012 | 173916 | ||
| Frame rust-through - vehicle's frame has prematurely rusted through from the inside-out along passenger side in area of muffler assembly | |||
| 09/01/2005 | 75000 | ||
| Rear differential housing completely rusted through such that differential fluid is leaching directly through the metal and dripping onto the roadway. this could result in the differential seizing up and causing loss of control of the vehicle, or other vehicles to lose traction on road due to gear oil leaking onto roadway. toyota does not sell differential housing and insists entire differential must be replaced at a cost of over three thousand dollars. rust problem first observed in 2005 and steadily becoming worse each month. no repairs yet made because of excessive cost. owner is expecting and waiting for a safety recall for this issue. | |||
| 05/31/2010 | 113715 | ||
| No injury or crash . . . reporting what i believe may be a design defect which could potentially be a safety danger. --- the rear differential housing in the 2000 toyota 4runner i own seems to be rusting unusually quickly. this is a 10-year old vehicle, but it only has 113,715 miles on the odometer when it sustained a leak due to corrosion. apparently this is a known issue as both the local toyota dealer and my local mechanic said they are seeing this issue with toyotas. the local mechanic stated that it seems to be due to toyota having thinner metal in the housing. | |||
| 11/16/2009 | 200000 | 1 | |
| 2000 toyota 4runner died and broke down completely on us 68, a very busy six lane highway. vehicle was towed to a transmission service in morgantown wv. differential was fixed on 18 nov. by afternoon a pinhole leak was discovered in the differential cover. most oil had leaked out in approximately 2 hrs. mechanic says pinion was cracked in half - new parts were oem from toyota,. but a new differential cover is not available. apparently only as a new axle. mechanic will mig weld the cover. approximate cost for everything $2000. seems weird that toyota will not support its customers by making new covers available. especially since many customers in canada and upper us have reported this problem. *tr | |||
| 08/21/2009 | 120912 | 1 | |
| My 2000 toyota 4runner has a rear differential rust through issue releasing gear oil onto the highway and potentially causing my rear end to seize possibly causing a crash. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 08/31/2010 | 138000 | ||
| Rear differential casing is completely rusted through. it is beyond repair and requires replacment of entire unit. | |||
| 05/04/2008 | 142000 | 1 | |
| A control valve within the radiator burst, causing engine coolant to get into the transmission and seize it. mechanic diagnosed the problem. indicated that transmission was to be removed, system flushed, new radiator installed, transmission either rebuilt or replaced and for the whole system to be road tested. approximate costs vary from $1700.00 to over $3000.00. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 160000 | ||
| Rear differential housing has rusted through, leaks fluid, and is irreparable. | |||
| 09/01/2005 | 75000 | ||
| Rear differential housing completely rusted through such that differential fluid is leaching directly through the metal and dripping onto the roadway. this could result in the differential seizing up and causing loss of control of the vehicle, or other vehicles to lose traction on road due to gear oil leaking onto roadway. toyota does not sell differential housing and insists entire differential must be replaced at a cost of over three thousand dollars. rust problem first observed in 2005 and steadily becoming worse each month. no repairs yet made because of excessive cost. owner is expecting and waiting for a safety recall for this issue. | |||
| 10/20/2009 | 120000 | ||
| 2000 sport edition 4 runner, all working components and frame are badly rusted. nothing can be worked on without breakage of parts and bolts. there has been a recall on tacomas and tundras from the east coast where salt is used on the roads. customers have been given replacement frames or their vehicles have been purchased back from toyota. our car is from vermont and new york where i am sure they used road salt and this is why the untreated frames of these vehicles corroded so badly like our 4 runner. i believe toyota should give the same offer for the 2000 4 runner. my son worked for two years and at 18 years old purchased this vehicle for $9000.00. we were crushed when we realised the extent of rust damage on the underside of this vehicle. nothing can be repaired without huge expense, and every thing on the underside of this car needs replaced. where is toyota's customer care and satisfaction now? | |||
| 03/10/2010 | 120000 | ||
| Rusted & leaking rear differential housing on 2000 toyota 4runner | |||
| 06/01/2008 | 147031 | 1 | |
| Rear differential fluid leak due to excessive rusting of housing in gear carrier area. *tr | |||
| 08/21/2009 | 120912 | 1 | |
| My 2000 toyota 4runner has a rear differential rust through issue releasing gear oil onto the highway and potentially causing my rear end to seize possibly causing a crash. *tr | |||
| 04/01/2009 | 139000 | 1 | |
| 2000 toyota 4runner - sr5 4wd - manual transmission: rear differential housing rust-out with pinhole leaks causing gear oil to leak. *tr | |||
| 09/01/2004 | 98000 | 1 | |
| My 2000 toyota 4runner shakes at speeds above 60mph. it also does this while braking. it is visibly noticeable in the steering wheel, but all passengers in the car can feel the shaking and vibration. it becomes almost violent and alarming around 70mph. i have taken it to several repair shops and no one can find a solution. i have read hundreds of posts about this problem that ranges from 96-08 models. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 06/01/2008 | 147031 | 1 | |
| Rear differential fluid leak due to excessive rusting of housing in gear carrier area. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2006 | 80000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2000 toyota 4runner. the rear differential cover had corrosion, and the differential fluid was leaking. as a consequence the differential could freeze and cause the vehicle to crash. the manufacturer does not sell a cover for the differential, but the whole differential needed to be replaced. no repairs were made. the current mileage was 92,000. the failure mileage was 80,000. | |||
| 08/21/2009 | 120912 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2000 toyota 4 runner. while driving approximately 25 mph, the contact noticed that there was oil leaking from the rear differential. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 120912. updated 03/10/10 *bf the rear differential had rusted in multiple locations, which allowed gear oil to be released onto the road. updated 05/17/10 | |||