Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||||
| 00406 | 03/17/2006 | 10019668 | Inconsistent or unusual brake feeling. *tt | 04/17/2006 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 03/16/2013 | |||
| I opened the passenger side door to place my bag down. the car rolled out of gear down my driveway with my daughter in the front seat. then i had to jump into the rolling car to put it back into park and the keys were not in the ignition. | |||
| 01/31/2013 | 137000 | 1 | |
| On 8/22/2011, phil bachman toyota in johnson city, tn replaced a leaking left front caliper on my toyota 4runner. the leak was so bad that the front brake pads were saturated and had to be replaced. brake fluid covered my tire and wheel, and the wheel had several knicks from something that occurred related to the brakes and this issue. on 3/16/12, the very same problem occurred again with the left front caliper; the brake pads again had to be replaced but phil bachman did this work under warranty. on 1/31/13, the very same problem occurred but this time it was with the right front caliper, and it will cost me several hundred dollars to have this fixed. i did a google search and found that many 2003 and 2004 toyota 4runners have this problem. why was there not a recall by toyota for this problem? it is a safety issue--by the time i realized what the problem was each time, my life was at risk in driving this vehicle with this type of problem. *tr | |||
| 01/31/2013 | 137000 | ||
| On 8/22/2011, phil bachman toyota in johnson city, tn replaced a leaking left front caliper on my toyota 4runner. the leak was so bad that the front brake pads were saturated and had to be repalced. brake fluid covered my tire and wheel, and the wheel had several knicks from something that occurred related to the brakes and this issue. on 3/16/12, the very same problem occurred again with the left front caliper; the brake pads again had to be replaced but phil bachman did this work under warranty. on 1/31/13, the very same problem occurred but this time it was with the right front caliper, and it will cost me several hundred dollars to have this fixed. i did a google search and found that many 2003 and 2004 toyota 4runners have this problem. why was there not a recall by toyota for this problem? it is a safety issue--by the time i realized what the problem was each time, my life was at risk in driving this vehicle with this type of problem. | |||
| 08/25/2012 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. the tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke throughout. the brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to park. i was truly shocked and shaken that i could have hurt or killed myself or others. this is the second time this happened- the first in july 22, 2009 when the same acceleration happened when i was moving the vehicle into the garage, surged in about 2 secs. crashing into the storage and the garage walls. reference: toyota claim no.[xxx] (2009) and no.[xxx] (2012). in both cases toyota disowned any responsibility. while toyota assures me of the safety of the vehicle, i cannot in my right mind continue to drive this vehicle nor pass it on to somebody else except to return it to toyota. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr | |||
| 08/25/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. the tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke thruout. the brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to park. i was truly shocked and shaken that i could have hurt or killed myself or others. this is the second time this happened- the first in july 22, 2009 when the same acceleration happened when i was moving the vehicle into the garage, surged in about 2 secs. crashing into the storage and the garage walls. reference: toyota claim no. 0908120756 (2009) and no.1208271694 (2012). in both cases toyota disowned any responsibility. while toyota assures me of the safety of the vehicle, i cannot in my right mind continue to drive this vehicle nor pass it on to somebody else except to return it to toyota. | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 140000 | 1 | |
| While driving at approximately 50 mph and pressing the brakes for a sudden stop, the 4-runner lurches to the left, and then, when the brake is released, back to the right. i was on a trip and was lucky enough to get in to a toyota dealer on saturday. the service department told me i had two frozen pistons in the brake calipers, and the rear slides were not working properly. i had to replace the calipers, pads and rotors on all four wheels 2 years ago for frozen calipers. the warranty for that repair was 1 year, so i have to pay another $1200 to make the car safe to drive once again, after having spent $2000 2 years ago for the same problem. the history of this problem is widely known and toyota should either extend the warranty on these parts, or fix the problem permanently and issue a recall. this is a safety issue, as the car lurches from side to side, and especially in the rain or when towing a trailer, is quite dangerous. *tr | |||
| 08/25/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. the tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke thruout. the brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to park. i was truly shocked and shaken that i could have hurt or killed myself or others. this is the second time this happened- the first in july 22, 2009 when the same acceleration happened when i was moving the vehicle into the garage, surged in about 2 secs. crashing into the storage and the garage walls. reference: toyota claim no. 0908120756 (2009) and no.1208271694 (2012). in both cases toyota disowned any responsibility. while toyota assures me of the safety of the vehicle, i cannot in my right mind continue to drive this vehicle nor pass it on to somebody else except to return it to toyota. | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 140000 | ||
| While driving at approximately 50 mph and pressing the brakes for a sudden stop, the 4-runner lurches to the left, and then, when the brake is released, back to the right. i was on a trip and was lucky enough to get in to a toyota dealer on saturday. the service department told me i had two frozen pistons in the brake calipers, and the rear slides were not working properly. i had to replace the calipers, pads and rotors on all four wheels 2 years ago for frozen calipers. the warranty for that repair was 1 year, so i have to pay another $1200 to make the car safe to drive once again, after having spent $2000 2 years ago for the same problem. the history of this problem is widely known and toyota should either extend the warranty on these parts, or fix the problem permanently and issue a recall. this is a safety issue, as the car lurches from side to side, and especially in the rain or when towing a trailer, is quite dangerous. | |||
| 08/25/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. the tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke thruout. the brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to park. i was truly shocked and shaken that i could have hurt or killed myself or others. this is the second time this happened- the first in july 22, 2009 when the same acceleration happened when i was moving the vehicle into the garage, surged in about 2 secs. crashing into the storage and the garage walls. reference: toyota claim no. 0908120756 (2009) and no.1208271694 (2012). in both cases toyota disowned any responsibility. while toyota assures me of the safety of the vehicle, i cannot in my right mind continue to drive this vehicle nor pass it on to somebody else except to return it to toyota. | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 140000 | ||
| While driving at approximately 50 mph and pressing the brakes for a sudden stop, the 4-runner lurches to the left, and then, when the brake is released, back to the right. i was on a trip and was lucky enough to get in to a toyota dealer on saturday. the service department told me i had two frozen pistons in the brake calipers, and the rear slides were not working properly. i had to replace the calipers, pads and rotors on all four wheels 2 years ago for frozen calipers. the warranty for that repair was 1 year, so i have to pay another $1200 to make the car safe to drive once again, after having spent $2000 2 years ago for the same problem. the history of this problem is widely known and toyota should either extend the warranty on these parts, or fix the problem permanently and issue a recall. this is a safety issue, as the car lurches from side to side, and especially in the rain or when towing a trailer, is quite dangerous. | |||
| 08/25/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. the tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke thruout. the brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to park. i was truly shocked and shaken that i could have hurt or killed myself or others. this is the second time this happened- the first in july 22, 2009 when the same acceleration happened when i was moving the vehicle into the garage, surged in about 2 secs. crashing into the storage and the garage walls. reference: toyota claim no. 0908120756 (2009) and no.1208271694 (2012). in both cases toyota disowned any responsibility. while toyota assures me of the safety of the vehicle, i cannot in my right mind continue to drive this vehicle nor pass it on to somebody else except to return it to toyota. | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 140000 | ||
| While driving at approximately 50 mph and pressing the brakes for a sudden stop, the 4-runner lurches to the left, and then, when the brake is released, back to the right. i was on a trip and was lucky enough to get in to a toyota dealer on saturday. the service department told me i had two frozen pistons in the brake calipers, and the rear slides were not working properly. i had to replace the calipers, pads and rotors on all four wheels 2 years ago for frozen calipers. the warranty for that repair was 1 year, so i have to pay another $1200 to make the car safe to drive once again, after having spent $2000 2 years ago for the same problem. the history of this problem is widely known and toyota should either extend the warranty on these parts, or fix the problem permanently and issue a recall. this is a safety issue, as the car lurches from side to side, and especially in the rain or when towing a trailer, is quite dangerous. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 08/13/2006 | 47000 | 1 | |
| Dirt road, moderate braking, slight skid, abs/trac/vsc lights illuminated, second time happened. reset the first time manually by tricking computer to reset. second time, no go. vsc/abs/trac computer may be bad. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 10/14/2011 | 70000 | ||
| I had a new break pads and rotor's installed at 50,000 miles,at 70,000 miles i discovered that the front lower brake caliper piston had frozen. it was the same for both sides. took it into the shop, and they said the same thing. had to have the caliper, break pads, and rotors, replaced on both sides for a total of $724. this is the same thing that has happened to many other owners, which can be found on www.t4r.org | |||
| 11/11/2010 | 54000 | ||
| Both front (left and right) caliper seized. lower inside piston seized and would not retract. replaced both calipers with re-manufactured parts from a1 cardone and less than 1 year and 5000 miles later both calipers have seized again creating wheel shake when braking above 40 mph. i am not the first owner of this vehicle and am not sure how many times in the past it has been an issue on this particular vehicle. research on the internet has revealed that this is a very common problem for 4th generation 4runners. it seems like there is a deign flaw that has not been addressed by toyota as i can find no upgraded replacement. | |||
| 10/14/2011 | 70000 | ||
| I had a new break pads and rotor's installed at 50,000 miles,at 70,000 miles i discovered that the front lower brake caliper piston had frozen. it was the same for both sides. took it into the shop, and they said the same thing. had to have the caliper, break pads, and rotors, replaced on both sides for a total of $724. this is the same thing that has happened to many other owners, which can be found on www.t4r.org | |||
| 11/11/2010 | 54000 | ||
| Both front (left and right) caliper seized. lower inside piston seized and would not retract. replaced both calipers with re-manufactured parts from a1 cardone and less than 1 year and 5000 miles later both calipers have seized again creating wheel shake when braking above 40 mph. i am not the first owner of this vehicle and am not sure how many times in the past it has been an issue on this particular vehicle. research on the internet has revealed that this is a very common problem for 4th generation 4runners. it seems like there is a deign flaw that has not been addressed by toyota as i can find no upgraded replacement. | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 165931 | ||
| The evening of 8/10/11 as i was leaving work, i turned the vehicle on and a high pitched alarm-type sound started; vsc light, brake lights came on. at this point, i asked a near by supervisor to take a look at the vehicle; upon inspection he did not find anything out of place. he test drove the vehicle around a couple of parking spaces as i watched. he stopped the vehicle and asked if i had been having brake issues. he then asked me to test it to see if my brakes normally responded as they did with him. when i got into the vehicle to test drive, i also went across a few parking spaces but when i got ready to brake, the brakes totally failed. the curb of the end parking space stopped the vehicle, it came to rest and the truck was later towed to toyota dealership. on 8/11/11, toyota dealership called me and stated that the skid control actuator/ecu assembly needed to be replaced which would cost $3,000. | |||
| 12/23/2009 | 70000 | ||
| Frozen front brake caliper resulting in brake part failure and brake pedal pulsating.occured again may 2010. this problem occurs with many toyota trucks. | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 29000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota 4runner. while driving approximately 40 mph, the contact heard a loud rumbling noise. the vehicle was pulled over and the contact noticed the caliper on the front driver side was locked and extremely hot. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the caliper and brake pad on the front driver side were replaced. the failure mileage was 29,000 and the current mileage was 33,000. | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 29000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota 4runner. while driving approximately 40 mph the contact heard a loud rumbling noise. the vehicle was pulled over and the contact noticed the caliper on the front driver's side was locked up and very hot. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the caliper and brake pad on the front driver's side were replaced. the failure mileage was 29,000 and the current mileage was 33,000. sm. | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 105000 | ||
| Had to replace right front caliper at 55,000 miles after it froze up after new pads were installed--it was done by a local garage by a former toyota tech.--had it checked by a toyota dealership at 57,000 miles and they said it was all good--still did not feel right--had it checked again by toyota dealership at 66,000 miles and they said it was all good again--at 94,000 miles still not working very well and had it service by toyota dealership which said it was fine--at 105,0000 miles both front calipers are frozen and needed to be replaced | |||
| 11/09/2010 | 67000 | ||
| Took my 4runner to be serviced and i was told that both front brake calipers had frozen pistons. because only one piston worked, they damaged the rotors and worn out the pads unevenly. this is a car that always serviced by dealer according to toyota specifications with 67k miles. the job repair cost me $2000. not only this extremely dangerous but also a very costly repair. | |||
| 08/17/2010 | 42364 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota 4runner. she took the vehicle in for inspection on her brakes and the dealer found brake failure. the front caliper was rusted and ceased. the dealer replaced both front rusted caliper which cost the contact $1116. the toyota manufacturer was contacted and she did not receive a favorably answer. the failure mileage was 42,364.....mw | |||
| 08/18/2010 | 10000 | ||
| 2004 toyota 4runner brake calipers seem to seize at 10k miles. the boots on the pistons hold water, and during winter gather significant corrosion from road salt. toyota replaces with the same part, but these fail in the same manner. | |||
| 05/05/2010 | 79664 | ||
| Brake pedal spongy, not stopping like it should ( extended stopping range) uneven brake pad wear smell of hot brakes when used hard | |||
| 05/25/2010 | 73989 | ||
| 2004 toyota 4runner sr5, with just under 74k miles on it, has a frame with severe corrosion, and more importantly the front calipers had to be replaced due a ceased lower piston. i've talked to the dealer about all of these issues, but they can't do anything for me. i got the same story from the toyota customer service hot line. they blame the salt, but can't explain why its worse on the 4runner than other vehicles. i should mention that the people at the dealer and on the hot line were very friendly. they said they noted the issue and would monitor the calls for trends. i felt unsatisfied with this, so i am filing a complaint with the nhtsa. i'm a little annoyed by their unwillingness to address safety issues without a major accident or consumer report rating. | |||
| 05/10/2010 | 32000 | ||
| Frozen pistons on inside front brake calipers | |||
| 04/23/2010 | |||
| I have a 2004 toyota 4runner sr5 v6. i have a constant issue with pistons on the front brake caliper siezing. this lowers the effectiveness of the brake system, and causes uneven wear on the break pads. i have been able to dislodge the piston using a c-clamp and find that i have to replace the brake pads about every 6 months rather than the 2,3 to 4 year intervals on all other cars i have driven (including an older generation 4runner) this has been happening ever since i bought the car brand new in january of 2004. i found this website while searching for answers to my issues which i also found out that countless other toyota 4runner owners are experiencing. i have been diligent with my constant brake pad replacements as to not cause further damage or safety issues. i believe that toyota should step up and resolve this problem with these vehicles as they have with all of the vehicles in their new mass recall problems. they know it is an issue and even came up with a replacement caliper but it is not covered and is a $1500 job. | |||
| 08/20/2009 | 66000 | 1 | |
| I was driving at about 35mph and had to start braking for a vehicle that was signaling a left turn. i notice the brakes did not feel normal and that the pads were not catching on the rotors. so i jammed on the brakes as hard and as far as they could go and avoided hitting the other vehicle by inches. i came home and decided to investigate and found that the front calipers inner 4 pistons were seized. i just changed the brakes last year and they were fine. but noticed a surge or slippage forward when stopped at a red light or stop sign after a complete stop waiting for right of way. i am now leaving the vehicle in the driveway for now until i can replace the calipers. many other people have complained about the same problem on forums just look up 03-09 4runner caliper seize. this is very dangerous and could cause serious harm in an avoidance situation at highway speeds. *tr | |||
| 10/01/2008 | 85000 | 1 | |
| While driving, noticed that the vehicle decelerated quickly when letting off the accelerator. returned home and after exiting the vehicle found flames in the area of the left, front wheel. the brake rotors on both left and right front were glowing red hot. root cause was found to be a yaw rate sensor failure caused a computer to apply the brakes and leave them applied while driving. *tr | |||
| 03/01/2006 | 50000 | 30 | 08/01/2004 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota 4runner. while driving any speed, the brake pedal and the vehicle vibrate and pulsate when the brake pedal is depressed. the dealer has not inspected the vehicle. the contact replaced the brake pads, however, the problem continues to persist. the current mileage is 65,000 and failure mileage was 50,000. | |||