Toyota 4Runner Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

I am reporting a suspected manufacturing defect involving the exterior paint on my 6th generation Toyota 4Runner. The paint appears to be abnormally thin and is showing premature wear, including chipping and surface irregularities, under normal driving conditions. This vehicle has not been subjected to any abnormal environmental exposure, misuse, or neglect. The condition developed much earlier than expected for a new vehicle and raises concerns about inadequate paint application or quality control during manufacturing. While this issue is cosmetic in nature, it may lead to long-term structural concerns such as corrosion if the underlying metal becomes exposed. Additionally, this concern appears to be reported by multiple owners of the same generation vehicle, suggesting a potential pattern rather than an isolated case. I am requesting that this issue be documented and reviewed for possible investigation if additional complaints are received.

Driving 70 mph on a cloudy 73° day around 6:30 pm no cars immediately around me on I45. I heard a loud gunshot to the point I ducked in my car. Immediately pulled over walked around the car. My Sunroof exploded upwards. Took to Longo Toyota on Monday at 7am. Upon arrival they thought it would be covered under warranty. They brought in a specialist to evaluate and they can’t prove it but something must have hit it and they are denying warranty. The glass moved upward and was shattered but intact upon initial inspection. Upon online review this is a known problem w Toyota but one that needs to be addressed in a bigger scale as this could have caused an accident just from the sound alone or if the sunroof cover had been open glass raining down on passengers and driver.

The Toyota 4Runner (5th and 6th Generations) lacks a dedicated 'Approach Lighting' function, creating a critical personal safety and trip-and-fall hazard during nighttime entry. Users are forced to navigate the vehicle's perimeter in total darkness, increasing the risk of injury from unseen obstacles or security threats. I am requesting an investigation into this lighting logic omission and a remedy via a software update to the Lighting Control Module to ensure owner safety for all generations of the 4Runner platform.

Vehicle: 2025 Toyota 4Runner Summary of Issue: The rear tailgate cannot be opened if the rear window is even slightly lowered. This appears to be an intentional design feature; however, it creates a real-world safety concern. Description of Safety Concern: In normal daily use, I needed to quickly access the rear cargo area (to retrieve my child’s belongings) while parked with the vehicle turned off. The rear window was partially lowered, which prevented the tailgate from opening entirely. This resulted in a delay while I attempted to determine why the tailgate would not open and then had to return to the driver’s seat to raise the rear window before accessing the cargo area. During this time, my child was left standing in a parking lot longer than necessary. While the vehicle was stationary, the inability to quickly access the rear compartment created an avoidable safety exposure. Why This Is a Concern: The system does not account for vehicle state (e.g., parked, engine off, zero speed). A more appropriate design would allow the tailgate to open when the vehicle is stationary or automatically raise the rear window when the tailgate is activated. Instead, the current behavior enforces a strict lockout regardless of context, which can delay access in situations where timely access is important for safety. Requested Action: I request that this behavior be reviewed for potential safety implications and that consideration be given to a software update or design change that allows tailgate operation when the vehicle is stationary, or provides an automatic window-close function when opening the tailgate. Additional Notes: This behavior may be present across multiple model years and could affect a large number of vehicles.

I felt an unnatural vibration and roll to one side of the vehicle when slowing around a curve on the highway which affected my ability to control the vehicle as expected, so I took it to a mechanic specializing in Toyota. The XREAS suspension system has already failed at 36,000 miles and Toyota is refusing to assist since this is out of warranty. However, this is a known issue that you can see many many people are affected by with a quick internet search, and multiple Toyota certified mechanics can confirm this is an issue they see an inordinate amount of failures on. This is a very well publicly documented issue with the XREAS suspension. The XREAS has suffered from early failure for years and Toyota has not and is not addressing it, these vehicles should all be recalled and repaired as they are a danger to the public having cars with non-functional and unsafe suspensions, a critical system for safety in any automobile. Not only are the owners of these vehicles affected, the general public is being put at risk by drivers unknowingly commuting without fully functional suspensions or even being unaware their vehicle may not even pass a basic safety inspection. These are not parts any consumer should or could reasonably expect to fail so early, this is recall worthy based on the danger to public but Toyota clearly will have to be forced to do so. At the very least Toyota should be telling people to lookout for this, it is a safety issue they are trying to avoid. I will replace my own soonest possible because I want to be responsible, unfortunately Toyota is not sharing that want and is instead leaving American citizens at risk of injury and death by knowingly producing and shipping faulty suspensions on one of their best selling vehicles.

Brakes squeak/squeal very loudly and often, no matter if it’s cold, rainy, hot or humid. It was only squeaking/squealing when applying the brakes while backing up but now starting to squeak/squeal when applying the brakes while moving forward. Seems to be getting worse. Spoke to the dealer and they say there’s nothing they can do until Toyota comes up with a fix.

While going around turns (left or right) over 30mph the vehicle has knocking that can be felt coming through the steering wheel. This is not the driver assist feedback. If the turn are longer (like highway on ramp) you can hear a slight clunk associated with the knocking that is felt.

At approximately 520 miles, while performing a low speed left hand turn, the vehicle experienced a sudden mechanical "thunk" in the drivetrain followed by an immediate loss of motive power (Limp Mode) in my new 2026 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro. The engine revved significantly, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended, creating a hazardous situation in the intersection of oncoming traffic. A diagnostic health check at an authorized dealer confirmed stored DTC fault codes P281671 and P08BA71, indicating that Pressure Control Solenoids Actuators "H" and "L" were in a "stuck" state. The vehicle's Freeze Frame Data recorded a catastrophic internal transmission slip, showing an engine speed of 1767 RPM while the vehicle was moving at only 4 MPH in 2nd gear. There are no previous warning signs or symptoms of this problem before the transmission failure. It was sudden and unexpected. The manufacturer’s technical service protocols (such as T-SB-0094-24/T-SB-0076-24) for these specific solenoid codes on this specific 8-speed hybrid transmission (L580F) – which is equipped on my vehicle – identify this as an internal mechanical actuator failure requiring full transmission, torque converter, and hybrid module replacement. However, the manufacturer has denied the repair because the vehicle’s specific VIN is not yet listed on a service bulletin and that they could not reproduce it in a short test drive. The manufacturer’s official recommendation is to continue operating the vehicle with a documented and non-repaired powertrain defect until a second failure occurs in traffic. I am reporting this as a significant safety risk, as a recurring loss of motive power during critical driving maneuvers puts myself and other motorists in danger. The vehicle and its stored diagnostic data are available for inspection.

I was driving the vehicle and suddenly the steering wheel started to getting hard to turn it and the dash board doesn’t show any failure I went right away to dealership close by they inspected the vehicle they states there is a power steering failure but the car never showed any failure on dashboard or safety system

The brake system emits a high-pitched noise, which seems to be worn down to the discs when used in drive mode and reverse mode. At any moment, they could stop working or cause an accident. The problem was reported to the dealership on October 28, 2025, when the vehicle had only 3,171 miles. The vehicle is still under warranty. It has been inspected by the dealership. To date, it has not been repaired. The dealership reports that this problem has occurred in most of these vehicles. There were no warning lights or warning messages. The situation first occurred when the vehicle had approximately 3,100 miles and was reported to the dealership at 3,171 miles.

Brakes screech every time I back up. Brake pads have been replaced twice and issue is still unresolved. Just had pads replaced again a few weeks ago (they claimed they have new pads) and issue is ongoing

With the slanted windshield and location of the rearview mirror creates a blind spot when looking to the upper right. Both my husband and I have trouble seeing.