2008 Toyota 4RUNNER problems
The 2008 Toyota 4RUNNER has 134 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (13%) concerns drivetrain & axles. Next are cruise control (12%) and body & structure (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 134 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 13% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 15 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 59,000 miles 103 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 | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 14 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 103 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 59,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 84,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 15 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota 4RUNNER with enough data (63 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
On August 11th 2024 at approximately 8:30PM I was hit on the passenger side of my vehicle. As a result both passenger doors were smashed in. And had also been shoved into the car and causing the passenger seat to be stuck between the doors and center console. There was ZERO airbag deployment. There are 3 known airbags on that side of the vehicle and not one went off. The accident could have been A LOT worse then it was but knowing now what I do about the air bags I regret buying this vehicle.
On 6/15/2017, the driver's side airbag in my 2008 toyota 4runner did not activate during a frontal, 35 to 40 MPH collision. I was traveling at about 35 to 40 MPH on a four-lane state road. Another driver pulled out in front of me from a two-lane state road. I couldn't stop and ran into the driver's side of that vehicle. The result was a "t-bone" traffic accident. I was wearing my seatbelt and my airbag did not deploy.
Vehicle displayed a check engine light due to a non sealing gas cap. This condition also disables the stability control system. Vehicle lost control on wet conditions and was unable to recover due to all traction and stabilization systems being turned off due to a check engine light (faulty gas cap). I have owned the vehicle for 6 years and have put over 80,000 miles on it without incident. Vehicle was in motion traveling the speed limit on a rainy road.
A steering vibration occurs at highway speeds between 65 MPH to 80 MPH. A new set of tires where installed and balanced properly at discount tire but the steering vibration would not go away. Then I had the store change the tires and install another set of four thinking bad tires where installed. The tires are dunlop grandtrek at 20 what toyota originally puts on the car. However, the steering vibration is still there. I have had the tires balanced a multiple times and the problem is not fixed.
Tamara recall prev owned veh, bought from dealership as "safe" to operate,110,000 mi on 11072016. Prev owner and current owner had ve had veh serviced regularly. Undercarriage and braking noise while in motion on hwy. Rear door not able to open, manually or with remote. Maint light and tire light came on. Post noise inspection by mechanic, left (?)front axle boot is split. Front noise undetermined (sway bar links or strutts?) at this time.