Recall: structure of truck. I have 2003 toyota 4 runner that is rusting real bad. The structure frame is loosing a lot of rust . I have even have at least 3 wholes in my passenger side frame under my truck. I see many other people are having this issue. I would like to see someone look into to see why this is happening and take action because I feel this will become a serous safety issue to people who are having this issue with the structure rusting of the truck. I just had my vehicle at the dealer for warranty work and nothing was noted on the final checkout paper work about the serous issue with the rust. My vehicle is driven for daily use no off tossing or crazy activities with my vehicle. We even wash our vehicle regularly doing the winter months.... I see they have did a structure recall to ( toyota tacoma, tundras, and sequios. I am really surprised how this is happening to tony vehicle. Please note this has been a issue for awhile with the truck with rusting it just did not start .
2003 Toyota 4RUNNER body complaints
Page 7 of 11: complaints 161 to 190 of 284, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Frame is badly rusted. After a minor accident, the body shop stated they were unable to weld in a replacement crossmember due to excessive rust. I understand toyota has recalled frames of similar vehicles but not 4runners.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to mount airy toyota (508 n andy griffith pkwy, mount airy, nc 27030, (336) 786-2118), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer informed the contact that the extended warranty expired on may 31, 2017 and provided case number: 1808210330. The failure mileage was 164,000. The VIN was not available.
My 4runner has parts of the structure with above average rust. That frame element intended to hold the skid plate on is completely rusting through. For fear of safety performance issues in the event of a collision I refuse to drive my family in this vehicle. In one instance a steel piece designed to stabilize the muffler popped off it's weld while I was driving, causing a potentially dangerous situation to the cars around me. I was driving down a hill to my near my home at the time.
While driving to work on august 22, 2018 my power steering suddenly gave out while turning making the vehicle difficult to maneuver. Luckily, I was on city streets and only doing 30 MPH. The next day I took the car to the mechanic to have that fixed along with an oil change and other normal maintenance. The mechanic called me and informed me that he found that my frame has significant corrosion to the point that the frame would most likely fail in the next few months. He also informed me that the power steering had failed due to corrosion, and since the frame and other components that needed to be removed to access the power steering were so rusted the labor needed for the repair would be significantly higher. This increased cost put the repair above the salvage value of the vehicle. My otherwise wonderful vehicle has been rendered useless because of the frame corrosion. I fear to think what could have happened if this failed on the highway while my pregnant wife and infant son were in the car with me.
I took my 2003 4runner in for its routine oil change and the technician informed me my car was unsafe to drive do to excessive rust and corrosion on the frame. My vehicle is in perfect visual condition. I believe this is a major safety concern.
The frame of my vehicle is suffering from extreme and premature corrosion and rusting. There is signifiant rotting due to rust and corrosion on parts of the frame. Although no incident has yet to occur, I fear an unsafe incident could occur while driving due to the corrosion and rust of the vehicle's frame.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. While the vehicle was stationary and while driving various speeds, the frame became severely rusted and corroded over the period of two years. The contact stated that an independent mechanic made a series of repairs for the following failures: the drive shaft was rusted, the tow hooks detached from the vehicle, the muffler detached from the vehicle, and the frame fractured into pieces upon the contact's initial assessment of the damages. The contact stated that the series of failures occured due to the severe rust and corrosion of the frame. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
My 2003 toyota 4runner sport has experienced extreme, and dangerous, levels of rust on the frame cross bars, despite being washed regularly. The rust appears to be originating from inside the supports, and I was advised by a toyota dealer mechanic that the rust could potentially lead to complete frame failure in the very near future. At this point, sizable areas have rusted through entirely. I have brought this to the attention of toyota, and they have regularly refused to acknowledge that there is any problem with the frame.
03 4runner has excessive frame rust near rear wheel area and front radiator mount.
My vehicle although in perfect visual condition has excessive rust on the frame. I have been told it should not be driven as it could be hazardous. The car is in great shape with no rust on any other part of the car aside from the frame flaking away
The frame on the 2003 toyota 4runner has an excessive amount of frame rust. Others have reported this issue and it is believed to be a design flaw by toyota. Due to the excessive amount of rust, there is a major safety concern.
The frame is rusted through on passenger side bottom of frame section has large rusted through hole and I have removed a large freezer bag full of rust from inside this hole. I believe the root cause was that the air condition condensate drain hose exited down directly on top of the frame in the engine compartment and the condensate(water) then ran down the frame to the rusted location as this is how I discovered the rust problem, it dripped from that location leaving a rust spot on garage floor. The driver side frame in same area is fine. I have since re-routed the condensate drain to keep problem from accelerating.
2003 4runner with excessive rust of the frame and undercarriage. Potential failure of frame and frame components due to rust could cause serious injury. Dealer submitted photos to toyota.
My 4 runner failed va safety inspection due to "frame rusted through" see attached photo
The frames on 2003-2008 4runners rust very badly and have deemed hundreds of otherwise good vehicles unusable. Note that just the frame components are rusting through while the bodywork remains intact.. Toyota recalled and replaced frames on several similar vehicles in their lineup but did not offer the same to 4runner owners. Hopefully this changes.
Vehicle frame has excessive rust, broke apart at frame joint. Vehicle unsafe to drive 156k.
I took my car for an oil change on 5/29/18 and they came back and told me my frame was unsafe to drive on. We took it to another shop and put it up on the lift and the frame is about to crack in half from the amount of rust. My car is garaged and barely driven during the snow. I realize it is 15 years old, but the two individuals that looked at it stated that the holes and rust found on the frame should not be that bad. Toyota has stated that they will not do anything about this. I am extremely mad, as I feel that the dealership should have notified me sooner that the frame was rusting. It is beyond patch repair work and probably could have been patched earlier, had I been notified of the issue. My car is taken in for all routine maintenance and other than the frame is in great condition. It only has $126k miles and shouldn't be falling apart like this.
Substantial corrosion of the frame, technician advised owner not to drive the vehicle.
Extensive frame rot on both sides right after the engine. The rest of the frame is ok with "normal" surface rust. Tried to treat rust but it has gotten worse in
Recently bought my 4runner, took it to the dealer to be inspected, only for them to tell me that the frame was compromised due to rust damage. Toyota has agreed to replace frames on tacoma's, tundra's and sequoia's, but not 4runners, even though they are all the same frames.
Excessive rusting of frame while rest of vehicle remains intact.
Vehicle frame has multiple holes due to rust, unsafe to drive and not repairable
Front cross member rusted into on one side and rusted bad on the other. Plus, frame has several holes in it.
Rust holes in frame at 140,000 miles.
The vehicle feels like it's bottoming out going over the slightest little bump when in motion and the rotors were making a horrible sound going down the highway even after the brakes had been checked. Spent $400+ on new brakes & rotors only to find out that the frame is completely rusted out and the mechanic advised us not to drive it at all. It was too dangerous and would cause a bad wreck when it finally did drop out.
There is excessive rust on the underbody of my 2003 4runner. It has just 165,000 miles and the frame is extremely rusted. Being only 15 years old I find this to be very sad and unreasonable. The car should be able to last 20-30 years and 300,000 miles. The car has been regularly washed and driven in pennsylvania, illinois, ohio, new york. If there was additional treatment required for the frame it should have been coated, or at the very least notify the customers to make sure they do it. These car should last much much longer and as expensive as the 4runners are they should last.
Frame is rusting and deforming uniformly on both sides of the vehicle just behind the front wheels and engine, in front of the transfer case.
There is extensive corrosion on the right hand side of the car frame. It's of greatly safety concern and it seems that the problem is consistent with other 4runner type of frames. Our mechanic seen a few related issues in the last year or so.
Vehicle frame is rotted/perforated,unsafe as per toyota dealership.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Toyota 4RUNNER?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history