2009 Toyota 4RUNNER problems
The 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER has 33 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (21%) concerns transmission. Next are electrical system (12%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 23,000 miles 31 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 | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 31 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 23,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 83% 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 2009 ranks 30th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota 4RUNNER with enough data (23 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
I was driving in the left/fast lane on a toll road when another vehicle who was speeding in excess of 55MPH entering the toll road crossing and cutting off the other lanes of traffic running into me on the passenger side forcing me into the concrete wall/barrier head on. His vehicle swung into again into my passenger rear side then bounced off. I was stunned, in shock, unable to exit on my side and didn't see it coming.
My granddaughter was driving a 2009 that I bought her for graduation in may 2010. In june 2010 she and some friends were driving and a fire started in the console area. There were flames and smoke. They stopped the car, went up to someone's house and got water to pour into the car and put out the fire out. If they hadn't been quick thinking, the car would be toast. Also, if they had wrecked and could not get out of the car, they would have had severe burns or death.
When my wife stepped on the gas to pull into a parking spot,the 4runner just lurched forward into a fence. Luckily no one was in front of the 4runner. The bumper and fence was damaged. She is now very scared to drive the 4runner.
2009 4 runner transmission: same as other complaints about slipping and lag time in engaging into gear at low speeds (like when slowing down to make turns or go over speed bumps). Obviously not shifting correctly and is a safety issue when turning across traffic and the vehicle does not respond properly when the accelerator is depressed. Toyota needs to investigate this as it looks like a recurring problem for this year and a safety issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated while pulling out of a driveway, the contact observed a grinding noise coming from the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel violently yanked to the right. Additionally, the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle pulled to the left inadvertently. The vehicle was stopped and inspected. The contact observed that the front passenger’s side tire was dangling by the rocker arm and the subframe.