2012 Toyota 4RUNNER problems
The 2012 Toyota 4RUNNER has 112 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (62%) concerns air bags. Next are brakes (6%) and electrical system (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 112 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 63% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 44,000 miles 44 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 | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 44 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 44,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 13 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Toyota 4RUNNER with enough data (98 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 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 involved in a crash. I checked the rear view mirror preparing to brake in traffic. Before my eyes returned to the front I was crashing into the back of the vehicle in front of me pushing him into the car in front of him according to the driver in front of me. I have no idea how I got so close so fast I believe when I went to break the gas peddle was too close to the brake peddle also above the brake peddle. At the time of the crash I was in shock.and I couldn't explain what happened.
Approximately 7:45 am on 9/18/19, my son while coming home from work, had an accident. I was not with him at the time. When he showed up at home after the incident, he explained how he was unable to stop the vehicle before it collided with the vehicle in front. He articulated that when he applied the brakes, it was as if he vehicle sped up. Remembering years back during a presidential campaign, this was an issue with some other toyota's. The verdict was the place mats interfered with the pedals.
Takata recall - toyota will not replace my toyota 4r airbags. Toyota says they have no parts & don't know when they will have parts. I can't keep driving around with defective air bags
The backup camera does not work consistently. While not moving and then shifiting into reverse, the screen does not change or changes to something other than the camera. It usually stops working after several stops and shifts into reverse. Sometimes it goes 2 or 3 days without displaying and then starts working again another day.