Due to the dreaded ' toyota rot ' frame failure the spare tire mechanism had rusted off going down us highway 25 in kentucky and put a poor man and his children in harms way. Toyota doesn't care about their customers they just want your money !!! I feel this problem could have been avoided toyota should have recalled these vehicles knowing the frame issues have existed since the mid 90s!!!! When I look up my vehicle it has zero recalls shame on you toyota there should be a remedy even if it's splitting the cost with your customer. Very unsatisfied
2000 Toyota 4RUNNER suspension complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 102, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The under frame rotted out and broke while traveling on highway at 65mph, when all of a sudden the vehicle started weaving back and forth violently. Almost lost control of vehicle before slowing down.pulled over because we thought we had a flat. Was not the case. Got back on the road and any time we went over 45mph it started to violently weave back and forth. Luckily we did not roll over or crash with an autistic child in the back of the 4runner or my very ill husband on oxygen. If not addressed or recalled soon, someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse. This needs to be recalled. My 4runner only has 168,000 miles on it. *bf contact stated vehicle was taken to the shop for repair but was told it was not repairable.
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.
My 2000 toyota 4runner with 180,000 miles on the car, has abundant amount of rust. Being a daily driver it is near the point that it is unsafe to drive. The frame is completely rotted. Deemed unsafe to drive any further. As a solid running car, it would be a waste of money to junk the car.
"rusted frame", my 2000 4runner suffered structural damage when the frame broke away from the rear control link support brackets while driving. The rear of the vehicle became unstable and hard to control. We could not drive vehicle and had to have it towed to a garage. We are trying to determine if the frame can be repaired not. I called a toyota representative and they would not help because there was only a recall on pickup trucks of these years and not 4runners. This is a vehicle that was garage kept for a good portion of its life. I religiously wash my undercarriage throughout the winter months in pa. I have owned 11 toyotas in my driving life, I am 55. Several of my vehicles went over 300,000 miles and I have never had a frame rusting problem up until this one. The body on this truck does not have a speck of rust anywhere but the frame is disintegrating. I find it sad that toyota will not acknowledge that there is a problem with these and fix them.
"rusted frame", my 2000 4runner suffered structural damage when the frame broke away from the rear control link support brackets while driving. The rear of the vehicle became unstable and hard to control. We could not drive vehicle and had to have it towed to a garage. We are trying to determine if the frame can be repaired not. I called a toyota representative and they would not help because there was only a recall on pickup trucks of these years and not 4runners. This is a vehicle that was garage kept for a good portion of its life. I religiously wash my undercarriage throughout the winter months in pa. I have owned 11 toyotas in my driving life, I am 55. Several of my vehicles went over 300,000 miles and I have never had a frame rusting problem up until this one. The body on this truck does not have a speck of rust anywhere but the frame is disintegrating. I find it sad that toyota will not acknowledge that there is a problem with these and fix them.
"rusted frame" my 2000 4runner suffered structural damage when the frame broke away from the rear control link support brackets while driving. The rear of the vehile became unstable and hard to control. We could not drive vehicle and had to have it towed to a garage. We are trying to determine if the frame can be repaired not. I called a toyota representative and they would not help because there was only a recall on pickup trucks of these years and not 4runners. This is a vehicle that was garage kept for a good portion of its life. I religiously wash my undercarriage throughout the winter months in pa. I have owned 11 toyotas in my driving life, I am 55. Several of my vehicles went over 300,000 miles and I have never had a frame rusting problem up untill this one. The body on this truck does not have a speck of rust anywhere but the frame is disintegrating. I find it sad that toyota will not acknowledge that there is a problem with these and fix them.
Frame rust causing suspension arm to drop while driving. It dug into road surface which lifted entire rear into the air. Kind of a pole-vault effect. Very dangerous. Checking for frame rust is not something listed in toyotas maintenance schedule nor should it have to be by owners
Was driving to work one morning and my frame broke and cause my rear differential to shift cause me to have to tow my vehicle.
Tamara recall.. My frame on my 2000 toyota 4runner is rotting out where the back front spring hangers suspension mounts to the frame. Also the frame rails are rotted out on the inside of the frame and is soon to be too dangerous to be driven. Noticed when looking this problem up online it is a major issue with these vehicles and a lot of people is having the same problem. I really like my 4runner but I have children that I would be afraid to let be riding in it if the problem continues to worsen!! So if something isn't done the vehicle will have to be parked
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.
Frame on both my 2000 4runners is rotting out both bodies are in perfect shape cant wait to sue toyota when they fail .
Frame rusted and tire came detached from car while driving. Felt like driving on ice
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.
Driving down the highway in my 2000 4runner, it started to sway back and forth violently, it went into oncoming traffic. Thank god the oncoming traffic was far enough away, I had time to get it back in my lane. If not, I would have been a casualty. I got it home and checked underneath the vehicle and found out the frame was rusted through. The whole frame was rusted, holes everywhere you looked. I just spent $2,000 on new tires and other repairs three months ago. Now the 4runner is useless, I can't believe this was not a serious safety recall. With all the 4runners on the road there is going to be a lot of people killed. You don't know when this is going to fail until it throws you into oncoming traffic and killing everyone in you car and other innocent people in the other cars that you come in contact with. This has to be a safety recall and have toyota replace these defective frames. This 2000 4runner is in excellent shape, no rust on exterior and runs great. Does not burn or use any oil. Bad defective rusty frame which was a poor design or lack of prep in manufacturing.
Rust in all parts of the frame front/rear
Drivers side bracket holding rear wheel snapped off while stopped. Unable to drive vehicle as is.
The entire frame under the vehicle is rotting away the vehicle is unsafe to drive and will not pass the pa. State inspection
Frame corrosion issues need to be addressed. Will cause bodily harm or death should failure occur.
Thought shocks were bad,put new ones on gotten better one payed almost a 1,000 dollars for four shocks.the most uncomfortable ride I have ever in counter, you fi'll every bump and anything else in the highways. Surely this is not the way it is supposed to ride,.I will never buy a toyota of any style for this reason ever again. Unhappy owner
I bought a toyota year ago, my first ever car payment, counting on toyotas being reliable. Now I have 4runner in drive way with broken rear trailing arm & frame rott I wish dealer which should it to me or toyota would step in. Wife & 15 month old baby traveling 35-40mph felt right rear drop like tire went side ways... Truck wobbled/rocked like boat in water. Likely needs new frame
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.
2000 toyota 4runner frame rot. Rear suspention is seperating from the frame, middle of the frame has a 2 foot section missing, and the front of frame right by the firewall has big rot holes in it. The truck is becoming un safe to drive and hard to control at highway speeds
Took my truck to toyota dealership for repairs and they let me know the frame is rusting out.
I was driving and all of a sudden my car started across the center line from the rear end.
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.
"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.
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.
I bought the vehicle recently and was taking it to have it safety inspected. Driving down a curvy road, the vehicle became difficult to steer straight. A loud thunking noise was coming from the passenger rear quarter. Upon inspection it became apparent that the passenger side rear lower 4 link frame attachment tower (just forward of the passenger side rear wheel and tire) had detached from the frame. This condition seems to have been caused by severe metal deterioration from the inside out, hiding itself until it perforated the frame. On further inspection the frame was found to be perforated all along the lower inside wall - from the 4 link tower to the middle crossmember attach point . This area of the frame is adjacent to the muffler and is exposed to exaggerated thermal cycling on a daily basis. Some metallurgical reaction to this condition is causing extreme corrosion of the frame rails to the point of failure. This is happening to a lot of 1999 to 2003 4runners in the same exact spot and it's going to get someone seriously hurt or killed. Many people are unaware anything is amiss until they poke around the area of the inside frame rail.
My 2000 4runner only has 123k mils on it and the frame is so rusted it might be unsafe to drive. I tried to get new shocks on it and was told they can't due to the bad rust. The rest of the truck is in perfect condition!
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