2002 Toyota 4Runner: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 261 complaints
261
Total Complaints
136,000mi
Median Mileage
STRUCTURE:BODY
Top Issue
15
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

100,500 25th Percentile
136,000 Median Mileage
169,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY
74
SUSPENSION
35
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
30
POWER TRAIN
24
SERVICE BRAKES
10
STEERING
9
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS
8
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
7
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
5

Severity Assessment

15
Crashes
2
Fires
18
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2002 4RUNNER WAS UNSTABLE AFTER PURCHASE, CONSUMER HAD TIRES REPLACED AND AN ALIGNMENT. FRONT AND REAR TIRES BLEW OUT. CONSUMER RECEIVED LETTER OF FRONT SUSPENSION BALL JOINTS AFTER ACCIDENT OCCURRED. *TS *JB"
"ON APRIL 17TH AT 5:45 AM WHILE DRIVING ON I-465, I FELT A LOSS OF STEERING IN THE WHEEL. I DID NOTHING TO THE WHEEL, AS ONE WOULD NORMALLY DO WHEN DRIVING ON ICE. I WAS DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE LANE, THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE HIGHWAY DIVIDER AND THEN CAREENED OFF THE ROAD. A CARMEL POLICE OFFICER CA..."
"DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE RECALL WORK FOR NHTSA RECALL # 05V225000, PERTAINING TO THE LOWER BALL JOINT, WAS UNABLE TO BE PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE WITHIN THE NOTED 24 HOURS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE SERVICE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE REPAIR WOULD TAKE 2 DAYS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DEALE..."

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

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