"How reliable is the 1999 Toyota 4Runner?"

"Based on 312 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Toyota 4Runner has a median complaint mileage of 170000 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:BODY."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Toyota 4Runner?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Toyota 4Runner is STRUCTURE:BODY, accounting for a significant portion of the 312 total complaints filed."

1999 Toyota 4Runner: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 312 complaints

312

Total Complaints

170,000mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:BODY

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

131,000 25th Percentile

170,000 Median Mileage

211,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY

SUSPENSION

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

STEERING

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

POWER TRAIN

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"HAVE A 1999 4RUNNER WHICH SUFFERED RIGHT REAR AXLE GASKET FAILURE AT 59000 MILES. SAME 4RUNNER SUFFERED LEFT REAR AXLE GASKET FAILURE AT 110000 MILES. HAVE OWNED SEVERAL 4RUNNERS (DIFFERENT YEARS) THAT HAVE NEVER HAD REAR AXLE PROBLEMS. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD SAME PROBLEM. BOTH PROBLEMS WERE DIAGNOSED..."

"ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE, DANGER OF RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *NM"

"THIS EMAIL IS REGARDS TO THE INACCURACY OF THE FUEL GAUGE ON MY 99 TOYOTA . I WAS LEFT STRANDED LAST NIGHT OUTSIDE OF THUNDER BAY WITH NO FUEL EVEN THOUGH THE GAUGE READ WELL OVER 1/4 TANK LEFT. IN -35 CELSIUS WIND CHILL CONDITIONS. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THIS FAILURE. *NM"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STRUCTURE:BODY 73 complaints

25th: 134,780 mi Median: 175,000 mi 75th: 213,500 mi

SUSPENSION 56 complaints

25th: 155,000 mi Median: 185,000 mi 75th: 215,675 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 complaints

25th: 155,000 mi Median: 176,000 mi 75th: 215,000 mi

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS 22 complaints

25th: 137,170 mi Median: 175,000 mi 75th: 207,076 mi

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS 16 complaints

25th: 129,000 mi Median: 159,000 mi 75th: 215,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

OH: 34 NY: 25 MD: 23 PA: 18 IL: 17 MA: 17 CA: 16 KY: 16 VA: 10 FL: 10

Who Files Complaints?

1.9%

Original Owners

98.1%

Second+ Owners

Toyota 4Runner — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	95	150,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	12
1991	55	164,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	3
1992	73	143,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	8
1993	58	150,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	6
1995	52	135,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	3
1996	92	182,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	7
1997	200	175,000	SUSPENSION	25
1998	168	170,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	9
2000	520	147,031	STRUCTURE:BODY	18
2001	205	125,094	STRUCTURE:BODY	8
2002	261	136,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	15
2003	718	128,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	22
2004	846	124,800	STRUCTURE:BODY	33
2005	550	113,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	25
2006	518	103,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	34
2007	204	77,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	9
2008	134	59,000	POWER TRAIN	15
2009	33	23,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	8
2010	175	54,300	AIR BAGS	11
2011	180	41,320	AIR BAGS	4
2012	111	44,415	AIR BAGS	7
2013	46	74,100	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	1
2014	89	50,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	6
2015	116	38,977	AIR BAGS	15
2016	101	25,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	8
2017	47	13,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	2
2018	74	20,000	STEERING	11
2019	82	15,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	6
2020	41	9,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	8
2021	52	637	STEERING	5
2022	54	200	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	5
2023	41	9,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	10
2025	44	-	SERVICE BRAKES	2

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28