1999 Toyota 4RUNNER problems
The 1999 Toyota 4RUNNER has 446 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (26%) concerns body & structure. Next are suspension (15%) and fuel system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 446 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 39 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 30 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 160,000 miles 284 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 16 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 24 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 30 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 32 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 29 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 31 |
| 200k+ miles | 84 |
What the data shows
Of the 284 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 160,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 174,000 miles (92 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 39 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 30 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota 4RUNNER with enough data (108 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
After a less than 10 mile drive the toyota was parked. After a hour or so it burst into flames. Prior to this the door locks were locking themselves. Two fire departments responded. The 4runner was a complete loss. Also burned part of the roadside. I have found other complaints and photos of others bursting into flames, but have found no recalls. Toyota was absolutely no help. Horrible ordeal and thankful no one was killed. Shame on toyota.
Consumer was traveling about 25MPH on the two lane highway. There were some pedesttrians on side on the shoulders . There was a vehicle in-front of consumer, and no lights on at all. Consumer hit vehicle from behind. Dual airbag didn't go off, and seat belts didn't retract. Her daughter went through windshield and into steering wheel. There were 2 injuries.
I have a 1999 toyota 4-runner and the fuel gauge has stopped working. It began by showing a quantity of fuel when it really did not have any fuel. This caused me to run out of fuel and almost have a major accident. It now may read full, zero, 1/2 etc. You cannot depend on the accuracy. I contacted dealer who told me they knew it was a toyota defect but that the vehicle was out of warranty and they would do nothing about it but tell me to bring it in and they would fix it for between $500 - $1000!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the rear frame was cracked and rotted. The stability of the frame was tarnishing and weakened the support for the rear of the vehicle. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was taken to a welding shop to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 281,000. The VIN was unknown.