2003 Toyota 4RUNNER problems
The 2003 Toyota 4RUNNER has 909 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (31%) concerns body & structure. Next are suspension (13%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 909 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 31 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 110,000 miles 611 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 | 112 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 23 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 38 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 56 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 63 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 72 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 57 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 49 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 43 |
| 200k+ miles | 63 |
What the data shows
Of the 611 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 110,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 138,000 miles (199 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 31 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 84% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota 4RUNNER with enough data (226 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Vehicle was hit with significant impact on front driver's side. Driver sustained facial lacerations, restrained child sustained shoulder/clavicle injury. Minimum estimated damage to vehicle is $7000, neither side curtain or front airbags deployed. Front airbags would have likely prevented injury to driver.
After suffering through months of illness caused by a noxious smell, we have researched and found that our v8 toyota 4 runner's catalytic converter emits oxides of sulfur (so2, hs2, etc.) on the matter of sulfur dioxide alone, we found that according to the EPA, so2 contributes to respiratory illness, particularly in children and the elderly, and aggravates existing heart and lung diseases. People with asthma are particularly affected by peak levels of so2.
Terrible sulphur smell in the cabin. Windows are always up due to 3 of 4 members having asthma. Makes all passengers sick to stomachs and headaches. Want full purchase price back for this vehicle. Cannot drive anylonger. Very upsetting from a toyota product. Have been to dealer 3 times.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota 4runner. While the vehicle was at an independent mechanic for unknown repairs, the technician found excessive rust on the rear frame of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 187,000.
Rear driver side control arm broke off at the frame after striking pothole at highway speed. After the failure the vehicle was very hard to control and almost LED to a rollover. The vehicle was unable to be driven and had to be towed. Toyota recalled tundra's, tacoma's, and sequoia's for frame replacement so it is a known problem. Will toyota be held liable for accidents resulting from premature frame failure?