2008 Toyota 4Runner UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Hitch bent when pulling small ATV trailer. Under inspection of vehicle found the frame rusted out at the rear crossmember. Called Toyota @[XXX], they stated no coverage for this condition. Case #[XXX]. If this broke off it could have killed someone. This was verified at a Toyota dealer at last service. (7/5/23) INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR FAILURE
FRAME RUST. I HAVE SEEN THE RECALLS ON OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES OF THE ERA DUE TO PREMATURE FRAME RUST. I KNOW THAT THE 4RUNNER SHOULD BE ON THIS LIST AS WELL. IT'S RARE TO SEE A 4RUNNER WITH NO FRAME RUST. THE FRAME RUSTS BEFORE ANY OTHER PART OF THE VEHICLE. *TR
I WAS WAITING FOR ANOTHER CAR TO PULL OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AT THE CARWASH. AS I INCHED FORWARD WITH MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR, THE CAR SUDDENLY STARTED ACCELERATING AND WHEN I BRAKED IT DIDN'T STOP. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND THE CAR ACCELERATING, I WAS ABLE TO STEER AWAY FROM THE CAR PULLING OUT. MY CAR STOPPED WHEN I HIT A ROCK ABOUT 18" HIGH ALONG THE DRIVEWAY. THE DAMAGE TO MY CAR IS $3,200.00. I'LL HAVE THE INVOICE WHEN I PICK THE CAR UP FROM THE REPAIR SHOP IN A DAY OR TWO. THE MILEAGE I'M SUBMITTING ISN'T EXACT SINCE I DON'T HAVE MY CAR TO LOOK AT THE ODOMETER.
REAR HATCH DOOR LATCH FAILURE. THE HATCH RELEASE HAS DETERIORATED TO THE POINT OF BEING UNABLE TO OPEN THE HATCH IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW THAT TOYOTA IS WELL AWARE OF. INITIALLY I THOUGHT FOR SEVERAL YEARS THAT THIS WAS AN ISOLATED PROBLEM BUT QUICKLY FOUND THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS DEFECTIVE HATCH RELEASE. TOYOTA HAS CORRECTED THE PROBLEM ON NEW MODELS AND IN JAPAN BUT 2007-2008 MODELS IN THE U.S. STILL HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PART. IN THE CASE OF A FLAT TIRE & RETRIEVAL OF THE SPARE TIRE OR OTHER EMERGENCY, THERE IS NO WAY TO GET THE HATCH OPENED. SEARCHING YOUR OWN DATABASE WILL UNCOVER COUNTLESS COMPLAINTS FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE REGARDING THE DEFECTIVE HATCH RELEASE. PLEASE ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL FOR TOYOTA MODEL YEARS OF 2007-2008 WITH THIS DEFECTIVE LATCH RELEASE MECHANISM. THANK YOU.
SEVERAL SECONDS AFTER COMING TO A STOP I FEEL A BUMP AS THOUGH I WAS HIT FROM BEHIND. THIS STARTED FROM DAY ONE OF PURCHASE. IT WAS CHECKED SEVERAL TIMES WHILE UNDER WARRANTY AND PROBLEM COULD NOT BE FOUND. NOW IT HAPPENS WHEN CAR IS STARTING OUT FROM STOPPED POSITION AS WELL AND HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY.
UNACCEPTABLE, INTOLERABLE BAD SULFUR SMELL WHEN ACCELERATING UP HILLS. WELL KNOWN ISSUE. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. IF IT'S THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS THEN THEY SHOULD BE RECALLED.
I AM TRYING TO GET RESOLUTION FOR RECALLS THAT NEED TO COMPLETED MY TRUCK. I HAVE CALLED THE TOYOTA RECALL CENTER ON 30 JANUARY, 13 MAY, AND ONE OTHER DATE THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER ABOUT THE STATUS OF GETTING MY TRUCK FIXED. MY TOYOTA RECALL CASE # IS [XXX]. I AM STATIONED IN GERMANY SERVING IN THE ARMY. BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH TOYOTA RECALL CENTER THAT THERE IS NO TIME FRAME TO GET A RESOLUTION FOR THE RECALL ON MY TRUCK FIXED BECAUSE I LIVE IN GERMANY. IT HAS BEEN OVER 100 DAYS WITH NO RESOLUTION. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE PARTS AND LABOR COMPLETED BECAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS ALL ACROSS GERMANY. ANY ASSISTANCE ON THIS MATTER WOULD BE HELPFUL BECAUSE I AM GETTING NO WHERE. THE PHONE NUMBER BELOW WILL NOT WORK. PLEASE DIAL [XXX]TO CALL ME IN GERMANY OR EMAIL ME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2008 Toyota 4Runner has 8 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.