The frame of my 2003 toyota 4runner v8 demonstrates excessive and concerning rust damage. The body is in extremely good condition and has almost zero rust, a stark contrast against the frame. The frame has rust damage heavily on the lower radiator support, a 8" long spot on the bottom of the frame directly behind the transmission crossmember on the passenger side, and by the driver's side rear lower trailing arm mount. These areas of rust damage cause me to be concerned for the safety of the vehicle in the long term. The vehicle has only 180k miles, which should leave many years of enjoyable toyota ownership for me, if only the frame was still in half as good of shape as the body. I understand that toyota has recently done frame replacements for other similar vehicles, and I do not understand why they would not do at least something for the 4runner. Living in michigan I always expect some rust on a 15 year old vehicle, but this is certainly excessive. I have started to use por15 rust coating to hopefully slow the rot so that the vehicle may remain safe to drive for a few more years, but I am highly disappointing none the less. I had expected this on my previous vehicle, a nissan with open recalls for excessive rusting, but I had faith that this toyota 4runner would not have these issues since toyota has historically been good about making things right where rusty frames are concerned. Clearly not in this case. This does genuinely have an impact on my likelihood to purchase a new toyota in the future, as rust is a nightmare to deal with and I don't intend to risk having to again, unless I see some signs that toyota will help where there was clearly some kind of mistake.
2003 Toyota 4RUNNER suspension complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 114, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Took the vehicle in to have work done on the struts and discovered that the entire frame underneath is completely rusted through and unsafe to drive. This appears to be a very common problem, but toyota still refuses to replace the frames or address the issue in any way, despite having issued a recall for other vehicles with the exact same problem. *ln
Frame and undercarriage rust. Rotted bolts affecting ability to have complete alignment performed. Failed wheel bearings causing loud rotational friction sounds while in motion. Rusted exhaust system causing failure and required replacement.
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
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.
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.
After an inspection by our mechanic we were informed that our 2003 4runner's frame rusted through in multiple locations and will be drivable for a limited time. We are an original owners, the car has been maintained by a professional mechanic and has been garaged its entire life.
2003 4runner has significant frame rust and is a common and well known problem. Toyota has acknowledged the same problem with other similar models. Toyota has taken action on other models but will not with the 4runners with same frame.
Etensive undercarriage rusting.
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.
Excessive rust on the frame and under structure of the vehicle for a 2003 4runner limited. Noticed during inspection 10/19/17 and prior years.
My 2003 4runner sr5 looks great and its v8 engine hums like it is new but the frame rails are totally rotten and I have been advised not to drive it at all as it is too dangerous to drive. So its value should be about 5-,6000 and now it is totally junk and has only scrap value. Toyota USA recalled the sequoia, the tundra and the tacoma from the time period, approximately 2003-2007 maybe more year models, but did not recall the 4runner because there were too many sold and it would have cost too much money. The frame and frame rail rot on the 4runner from that time period is well documented and many complaints have been filed with the nhta yet toyota has seen fit not to recall the 4runner!! . What a disgrace!! The most important fact is the 4runners, past and present, sit on the exact same frame as the tacoma. The tacoma was recalled for the frame rot but the 4runner were not. Could you please provide the reasoning for not recalling the 4runner for frame rot while the tacoma with the exact same frame from the exact same factory was not/has not been recalled?
The rear differential housing and third meander are extremely rusted I contacted toyota and was told that they know there is a issue with rust on some 4runners but they are not recalling them
Frame rusting underneath the rear of vehicle. Happened within the last year because when the auto was inspected in 5/2016 the rust was not there.
2003 4runner failed inspection due to rotting frame. Recall was available on the tundra's tacoma's and sequoia's. Why not the 4runners?
Frame and under parts are rusted
The rear sway bar and axle have rotted out. The sway bar dropped to the ground while driving and caused the vehicle to lose control.
On 10/03/16 I took my 4-runner to an auto repair shop for front end brake replacement. A couple of hours later, I contacted the repair shop an asked them to also replace all shock absorbers, which they agreed to do. Later, I went to the shop and the mechanic informed me that the undercarriage and frame were severly corroded and did not install the shock absorbers due to the severity of the corrosion. The mechanic wrote the following statement on my invoice. "frame of car is rotted in several places. Do minuium repairs to keep on road. Should not be used on highway!!!
Frame and suspension attached to the frame corroded early. The attachments for the rear shocks are almost corroded through.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle swerved to the left and right and became uncontrollable without warning. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear passenger side control stabilizer arm was rusted and detached from the frame. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 182,835.
This 2003 toyota 4runner has 135,000 miles on the odometer and the frame and exhaust system including catalytic converter are completely rusted out and the vehicle is now unsafe to drive. Some frame components have completely rusted and broken off from the frame I.e. Tow hooks, exhaust and engine mounts. The frame is only held on to the body by the shock absorbers. The vehicle can no longer be driven safely. The cost to repair this damage would be prohibitive and I believe that this issue needs to be addressed by toyota. I purchased this vehicle in good faith and trusted that toyota quality would last. Please advise any possible recourse. Thank you
My 2003 toyota 4 runner has massive frame rot. I fixed what I could, but still fighting with the problem. I know toyota recalled their pick up trucks because of frame issues, they should do the same for their 4 runners.
Noticed the right front wheel making awful sound. I had my mechanic to take a look. It is the wheel bearings going out, but then proceeded to tell me that the rust is so bad underneath that all the hose lines will have to be replaced. Brake lines leaking, transmission line leaking. All will have to be replaced. The rust is eating away underneath the car like cancer. No stopping it. The sway bars are rusting into as well. Our mechanic will let us know how much it will cost to repair the lines...but is it worth spending the money on??? This is our 7th toyota that we have owned, always taken excellent care of vehicle, and I have never experience such a rusty mess. Love my 4runner but really don't know what to do with it!
The frame on my 2003 4runner has rusted to the point of breaking. Toyota had a recall on the tacoma of the same year for this issue and that vehicle has the same frame. As an owner of a 4runner I am upset because my vehicle costs more, but toyota will not fix this.
While driving on the highway the passenger rear side of my toyota 4runner began to move up and down and wobble making the car wander all over the road. We immediately went to the local toyota dealer, carver toyota of columbus in taylorsville, in. Inspecting the car on the passenger rear side we found that the rear suspension had pulled away from the frame where the frame had completely rusted leaving a big hunk out of the frame. There was extensive rusting of the frame in multiple places. The car was inspected and photographed by matt warren, service manager at carver toyota and was determined to be undriveable. This is a well maintained vehicle which is in tip-top condition in every other respect than the rusted frame. We are very upset to lose a good car which still had a lot of value still left in it to us. We also feel that this is a very important safety issue. We were incredibly lucky that neither we nor anybody else on the highway that day were injured by this dangerous situation. And we are very concerned that this has been reported in other 4runners as well and there hasn't been a recall and these dangerous vehicles are still on the road. We are holding on to the vehicle hoping that there will be some remedy for this situation. Thank you so much for your attention.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. While backing out of the driveway, the lower control arm failed and the vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and an inspector sent by the manufacturer examined the damage. The inspector determined that the subframe bracket, which holds the lower control, had rusted and caused the lower control arm to fail. The inspector recommended that the entire frame of the vehicle be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,000.
The frame is rotting out.
2003 toyota 4 runner was brought into dealership on saturday august 29, 2015 to inspect the frame rust. The rust was verified by the dealer, and was sent on my way, with no warning that it was unsafe. Monday august 31, 2015, the vehicle experienced a frame failure that could have been catastrophic. The driver side rear control arm mount broke free from the frame at approximately 30 MPH. The rearend started to shake, wobble and vibrate and was immediately pulled off the road. Talked to dealer, no recalls on said vehicle. Talked to toyota corporate, they said there is nothing they can do. Tacoma's and tundra's have a recall, but not the 4runner. A complaint was filed here on july 5, 2015.
2003 toyota 4runner with excessive frame rot on rear of frame. Rear control arm mount is compromised with extreme rust perforation. Bump stop over axle is missing because of 2"-4" hole in outer frame rail. Car is deemed unsafe to drive.
The dealer discovered severe rusting and a hole in the vehicle frame. The vehicle has been properly maintained and should not be rusting and creating a safety issue at these miles and vehicle age. Toyota was notified and said that there is nothing that can be done. Since these vehicles share the same frame manufacturer issues as the previous frame recalls for tundra and tacoma vehicles, toyota should do a recall and replacement of the defective frames on the 4runners as well.
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