"How reliable is the 2005 Toyota 4Runner?"

"Based on 550 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Toyota 4Runner has a median complaint mileage of 113000 miles. The most common issue is Body."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Toyota 4Runner?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Toyota 4Runner is Body, accounting for a significant portion of the 550 total complaints filed."

2005 Toyota 4Runner: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 550 complaints

550

Total Complaints

113,000mi

Median Mileage

Body

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

72,000 25th Percentile

113,000 Median Mileage

160,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Body

162

Suspension

Unknown Or Other

Steering

Vehicle Speed Control

Engine

Air Bags

Visibility/Wiper

Service Brakes

Power Train

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER SPORT EDITION: FRONT DRIVER SEAT FAULTY. SEAT SHIFTS UPON BREAKING & ACCELERATION. SAFETY CONCERN/ISSUE. *NM"

"STEERING WHEEL PULLS TO THE RIGHT WHEN BRAKES APPLIED ,AT RANDOM TIMES( A FEW TIMES IT HAS DONE SAME TO THE LEFT) THIS DOSE NOT OCCUR ALL THE TIME,BUT NEVER GIVES YOU WARNING(ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR LAST WEEK IT PULLED SO HARD) THIS VERY SELDOM HAPPENS TWICE IN A ROW ,I KNOW THIS IS A VERY HARD PROB..."

"I HAD JUST BEGUN ACCELERATION FROM A STOP SIGN WHEN I HEARD A NOISE AND THE 4RUNNER BECAME LOOSE ON THE BACK LEFT. IT WAS MAKING A NOISE LIKE I HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AFTER ABOUT 100 YARDS. ON INSPECTION, THE SIDEWALL HAD BLOWN IN A STRAIGHT LINE FROM ABOU..."

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.

Body 162 complaints

25th: 90,221 mi Median: 126,000 mi 75th: 160,000 mi

Suspension 71 complaints

25th: 87,000 mi Median: 130,000 mi 75th: 166,000 mi

Unknown Or Other 67 complaints

25th: 109,345 mi Median: 150,000 mi 75th: 180,000 mi

Steering 27 complaints

25th: 72,000 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 162,624 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 22 complaints

25th: 41,250 mi Median: 64,150 mi 75th: 102,238 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

PA: 48 NY: 42 OH: 35 MA: 35 VA: 34 CA: 33 FL: 27 NJ: 24 CT: 24 MD: 19

Who Files Complaints?

4.2%

Original Owners

95.8%

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	12
1991	55	164,000	Engine	3
1992	73	143,000	Engine	8
1993	58	150,000	Engine	6
1995	52	135,000	Engine	3
1996	92	182,000	Body	7
1997	200	175,000	Suspension	25
1998	168	170,000	Body	9
1999	312	170,000	Body	17
2000	520	147,031	Body	18
2001	205	125,094	Body	8
2002	261	136,000	Body	15
2003	718	128,000	Body	22
2004	846	124,800	Body	33
2006	518	103,000	Body	34
2007	204	77,000	Body	9
2008	134	59,000	Power Train	15
2009	33	23,000	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