Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 03/06/2012 | 100000 | ||
| The driver side inner and outer tie rods completely stripped out the adjustment threads on the driver side, resulting in the outer tie rod decoupling and the driver wheel assy swinging out of phase with the passenger tire, thus immobilizing the vehicle. this incident occured in a parking lot, thank god, as a freeway speed failure would have resulted in potential catastrophe. i scanned the internet for similar failures and got multiple hits. the dealer does not show this failure in any safety recalls. this vehicle is the limited edition with a v8. this seems like a safety issue the govt should look at if my case turns out not to be isolated. car was aligned by a toyota dealer approx 1 yr ago. | |||
| 07/18/2011 | 125000 | ||
| The steering felt like it had been briefly catching or grabbing on something, so we took it in for service since this is a safety issue when the car does not turn as expected. the mechanic said the steering coupler was rusted, causing it to bind up with the joint when turning. he said the part is completely exposed on the underside of the car, and it rots with the road water salt, etc. the part was unavailable and the parts place said they have sold so many of them recently that it was on backorder. the part has now come in and we will be repairing it tomorrow. we replaced the same part for the same reason on our 2004 toyota sienna six months ago. i would like to know why this has not been a recall issue for toyota. i have had the same thing happen on both of my toyota vehicles, and has cost me money to fix something that appears to be improperly designed to last. there is a recall on the spare tire cable that is rotting from exposure, and i don't understand how there can be no recall related to something that impacts the ability to steer the vehicle as expected. thank you. | |||
| 01/04/2010 | 90000 | ||
| Binding or sticking power steering on 2003 toyota 4runner. occurred continuously beginning at about 90,000 miles. dealer replaced steering joint at cost of $500. tended to lock in straight-ahead position unless extreme force was applied. | |||
| 01/30/2008 | 66000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 4 runner and also my daughter. i have reported the following issue to toyota and also have taken the vehicle to a dealer. on snowy or icy roads, the rear end of the 4 runner will flip around when accelerating around a corner at very low speeds. it has happened to me three times and to my daughter 3 or 4 times. both vehicle have new tires and the situation still occurs. i live in nc and we do not get a lot of snow. it happen a week ago when we got some snow. it can just happen so fast. my daughter is scared to drive it. our 2000 4 runner would not come close of acting this way. bottomline, it is unsafe. you must be extremely cautious or you will spin the car around. *tr | |||
| 06/23/2009 | 71100 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. while driving 30 mph, the steering wheel shook very badly. the contact pulled the vehicle over because he thought he had a flat tire, but that was not the case. the vehicle was taken to have the tire pressure checked and then to the dealer for inspection. the shaking only occurs while driving over 30 mph. the contact stated that there was a recall for this vehicle. the dealer checked the recall database, but found no recalls. the vehicle is currently at the dealer for inspection. there is a recall for the 2001-2002 toyota 4runner regarding the suspension and the contact believes that the same failure is occurring on his vehicle. the failure mileage was 71,100 and the current mileage was unknown. | |||
| 02/10/2004 | 6000 | 25 | 06/28/2003 |
| Steering wheel has resonate vibration at certain engine rpm. it is not tire vibration but more like a buzz at these speeds. we filed for arbitration and lost because arbitrator would not drive the vehicle to feel the problem. toyota has refused to fix though they know of the problem fleet wide. i feel that a total recall of this model is necessary. *tr | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 12/29/2007 | 39950 | 3 | 04/01/2007 |
| While driving at approximately 72 mph, my pre-owned 4 runner drifted suddenly to the left 3 consecutive times as if a tire was blown. the drift was similar to a lateral shift and was not gradual. i thought it could be due to some foreign object on the road, so i proceeded with caution. slowed down to near 55 mph, it occurred again. slowed down to 45 mph, and it occurred again. prior to any of these, i was not able to accelerate the vehicle beyond a certain speed! we checked the suspension, tires, front end, etc., all was good. again, this is a very serious incident that could have resulted in the death of all 4 passengers. *tr | |||