2000 Toyota 4RUNNER: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Dec 3, 2020 · Body, Suspension · 185,000 miles · IN

Traveling on interstate at 65 MPH and heard a "pop." vehicle started swerving badly -- total loss of control. Rear end wagging horrifically nearly hitting cars in other lanes. Managed to get to shoulder but couldnt see what was wrong. Got vehicle off at exit and to garage. Was told frame snapped and rear end control arm no longer attached rear end to frame. Frame rot extensive. Scary as hell. No other rust on vehicle. Thought vehicle would flip!

Filed Aug 13, 2020 · Body, Suspension · 200,000 miles · TX

Vehicle started handling poorly. I had recently replaced the rear shocks and thought I needed an alignment done. Brought it to my mechanic who pointed out that my rear upper control arm brakcet on the passenger had rotted and broken, causing the squirrely handling. Shortly after, while driving home from work on the highway at ~70mph, I heard a clunk and the tail end of the truck started jumping/swerving. Took back roads home and assessed the problem. Lo and behold my driver's side upper control arm bracket encountered the same fate. Rotted and broken. My vehicle's first owner was in minnesota but since then it has been in texas where there is no salt on the roads. I've done what I can to seal and prevent further rust on the frame after purchase and yet this still happens? My truck is no longer drive-able as it's extremely unsafe to have my rear axle disconnected from the frame. So until I can manage to 1) find someone willing to weld my frame 2) pay for such a service I am without a vehicle... I paid $2000 for this car less than a year ago with only 170k miles on it.

Filed Aug 16, 2019 · Body, Suspension · 194,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 toyota 4runner. The contact inspected the vehicle and found that the frame was corroded with holes. The contact also found that the rear control arm was corroded. The contact was unsure if the vehicle could be repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not conctacted. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The failure mileage was 194,000.

Filed Mar 30, 2019 · Body · 195,000 miles · KY

Major rust/corrosion on inside right frame rail extending from front section of vehicle's frame to rear frame. The frame supports near transfer case and the right rear control arm pose a serious risk of detachment. Rear right control arm failure could result in serious crash or injury at city or highway speeds. Rust has eaten through most of the right frame rail with large holes. No action being taken by toyota, no shop wants to repair.

Filed Jan 11, 2019 · Suspension · 118,000 miles · MN · crash · 1 injury

I was driving 65 MPH on the interstate when I heard a clanking sound from the rear, the car started to sway terribly and shake and I lost control. I crossed over the highway lanes, rolled a couple of times and ended up in the ditch with the car upside down. A witness driving behind me said the wheel of the car fell off while I was driving. After inspecting the car, we saw the tire's tread had been ripped off, there were gashes in the tire, and the rear left control arm had fallen off. The car had recently received its regularly scheduled alignment and tire rotation, and the tires were in good shape with only 15,000 miles on them. The car had 118,000 miles on it. The car was a total loss. This was a very serious accident. It sounds like the same problem toyota has been having with other 4runners of this mileage and of other toyota models which have been recalled due to premature rust and corrosion of the suspension.the is a very unsafe car at that mileage and I'm lucky I survived the accident. It's important that other toyota 4runner owners know about this problem because it fails without warning.

Filed Nov 27, 2018 · Body, Suspension · 214,025 miles · WI

The frame where the lower control arm meets is rusting out at an alarming rate. It is going to be unsafe to drive in a few months when the rear lower control arms will be ripped off from the frame rail. There is almost no rust on the body of the truck and it spend most of its life in arizona out of the salt belt. In only 5 years the frame has started to desegregate and it has been cleaned reqularly. I've started undercoating it with petroleum based products and rust converters/ inhibitors and it is still just meting away. The rust hole has grown to over 2 times the size it was 2 months ago. I'm really disappointed that the frames are this bad, I had gm vehicles older and less maintained do better than this.

Filed Sep 11, 2018 · Suspension · 145,000 miles · CA

I want to be clear that I am submitting this on behalf of all 3rd gen 4runners! It has not, yet, happened to me but I am fearful to drive the vehicle until I replace the parts even though they seem fine. At the least a better, safer design could be made so that when it does fail, peoples live aren't put into jeopardy. Hello! I have a question about 1996-2002 toyota 4runner's and their very common issue of the lower control arm ball joints failing. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is stock or modified, first year or last year run but somehow toyota only has issued a recall for the 2001 and 2002 model years. Leaving hundreds of thousands of us vulnerable to a severe accident. The failure point is the bail joint and when it fails it severs itself from the vehicle, pulling the axle shaft out and causing the front end to dip to the ground causing a very unsafe driving experience as you could possibly die at any speed. You can find thousands of stories on google, it happens literally everyday with people reporting in many 3rd gen 4runner forums and facebook groups. Google '3rd gen 4runner lbj failure' for instance. Why does toyota only need to recall 2 years of a 6 year vehicle run? All years are equally affected. Toyota is a name of dependability so this rare act of betraying the customer and putting their lives on the line is just so unlike them. Can you please look into this and help ya out? I have not personally had this happen but I check my lower arms all the time for any play but have heard stories of others with detailed maintenance and it happening to them regardless. It's totally unsafe and a redesign should be thought up, newer generations do not have this failure prone issue and more importantly if they do fail they do not make for a very unsafe environment.

Filed Dec 20, 2017 · Body, Suspension · 166,000 miles · MI

Just recently bought my 4runner from a dealer. Began swaying at highway speeds and producing a faint clicking sound. The swaying was noticeably prevalent when engaging and disengaging the accelerator, driving over small terrain features (railroad tracks, road seams etc.) switching lanes and coming to complete stops. Upon inspection found the left rear control arm had completely separated from the main frame. This could potentially have caused serious fatalities. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, it appears that 17 years was the magic number.

Filed Oct 16, 2017 · Body, Suspension · NJ

"takata recall" I noticed a very large rust whole in my frame right next to the transmission cross member, it spans about 5-6in from where the visible whole is. Also where the lower control arm bracket attaches to the frame is rotting away. Both whole on the passenger side.

Filed Sep 25, 2017 · Suspension · 142,491 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 toyota 4runner. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle started to wobble and the contact heard a clunking noise emerging from the rear driver side. The contact had to pull over to the side of the road and noticed a metal bar hanging form the rear driver side of the vehicle. The rear driver side control arm was rusted and detached from the frame. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 142,491.

Filed Jun 28, 2017 · 196,000 miles · WV

Frame rust found next to muffler on passenger side and next to gas tank on driver side. Has rusted through and control arm is almost broken off. Request frame replacement.

Filed Feb 17, 2017 · Body · MI

Right rear control arm frame bracket broke, brought to garage for repair to find passenger side frame rusted out from rear to front and unstable, drivers side frame rusted and deteriorated as well, mechanic says vehicle unfit for the road, motor, transmission and body still great shape, shame on you toyota for using such low quality steel on a important structure of the vehicle, could of resulted in loss of life. Rectify this issue before it does please.