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The 2020 Toyota 4Runner is supposed to carry on a tradition of being an on- and off-road SUV. The newest model is tagged with the motto, “when your adventures require more.” However, many customers are dealing with adventures that aren’t particularly fun. From defective air bags, to a faulty service brakes and a malfunctioning electrical system, this 4Runner is proving to be annoying.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2018 2019 2021 2022
Contents
- 1| NHTSA Complaints for the 2020 Toyota 4Runner
- 2| Problems with the Air Bags
- 3| Problems with the Service Brakes
- 4| What is causing the braking problems on the 2020 Toyota 4Runner?
- 5| Problems with the Electrical System
- 6| What is causing the electrical problems on the 2020 Toyota 4Runner?
- 7| Complaint Data
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2020 Toyota 4Runner
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Air Bags | |
| Steering | |
| Suspension | |
| Structure:body | |
| Wheels | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Dynamic Brake Support/brake Assist | |
| Back Over Prevention: Warnings | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control |
Problems with the Air Bags
Air bags are an essential safety feature included with every new vehicle. This system has been proven over the years and should be completely operational.
However, this NHTSA complaint states something different about the 4Runner. “The 4Runner struck a vehicle that ran a red light. The 4Runner was at approximately 35 miles per hour and struck the other vehicle, a Nissan Altima side on with enough force to propel that vehicle two lanes into another vehicle. The airbags failed to deploy the 4runner but did deploy on the Altima. The roads were dry and visibility was clear. Injuries to the 4Runner driver included: head from contact with grab bar above driver’s door, neck, back, wrists, fingers and arms. Altima driver had to be removed by paramedics and rushed to the hospital. Investigation of the vehicle computer showed the vehicle was unknowingly sold to me with errors in the multi-terrain, ESC and pre-collision system. Vehicle was purchased in November of 2019.”
The company has not yet issued any statements about faulty air bag systems. However, it’s clear that this SUV isn’t designed for an adventure of any kind, and certainly not one that “requires more.” Maybe Toyota should focus on getting the basics down before promising to offer anything additional.
Problems with the Service Brakes
As with the air bags, the service brakes are designed to keep people from getting hurt. Yet, this is another system that seems to have some flaws in the 4Runner.
Here’s one Edmunds review discussing why he won’t upgrade from his current 4Runner model. “Same brake rotors (which will warp between 20-35k miles).”
What is causing the braking problems on the 2020 Toyota 4Runner?
It appears that the brakes on 4Runners suffer from premature warpage, which could put people in danger. There are other braking issues, such as what’s addressed in Service Bulletin #T-TT-0597-20. Here, Toyota talks about trouble with the ABS system and how the ABS light can come on. Brakes and air bags are both things any driver would want during an adventure, but Toyota doesn’t think that either is important.
Problems with the Electrical System
Looking at the electrical system on this Toyota SUV, it’s clear that there are just as many problems.
Here’s one last Edmunds review to consider. “Bought a brand new 2020 Toyota 4runner and in 13 days I already have a major problem. The PSC sensor light appeared on my dashboard as if it was turned off yet the actual control switch was on the on position. Found out it is a common problem with Toyota vehicles not only 4Runners. Apparently the sensor getting wet is the prompt with a minimum amount of rain. It is found it is a hazardous problem because the sensor can cause the vehicle to break on its own making it a dangerous. To make it short. Toyota is a cheaply over rated vehicle. Never will I purchase one again.”
What is causing the electrical problems on the 2020 Toyota 4Runner?
Even Toyota has a database filled with electrical-system communications between the automaker and the technicians. One such document, Service Bulletin #T-SB-0161-19, addresses trouble with Audio Plus. This system may have several conditions, including limited phone book grammar, faulty hand-free operation, difficulty resuming music automatically and trouble with the vehicle position. All of these issues require a software update done by Toyota, but who knows how many more problems that will create. Apparently, the “adventure” in owning a 4Runner is figuring out how many times it will be at the dealer for a repair.
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Complaint Data
| Category | Steering, Suspension, Wheels |
| Date | Feb 14, 2023 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The car shakes when going at speeds as low as 48 mph and as high as 68 mph that I know of. Typically, it shakes heaviest from the mid-50 mph range to the mid-60 mph range. I rarely drive the full speed limit for energy conservation reasons, so I cannot tell you how much higher it goes on the range. The car has had the wheels rebalanced three times (installation, upon purchase from the dealer and on a take back to the dealership), the alignment has been checked twice and I have spoken to the tire manufacturer about the tires being the cause of this. I took the tires into an authorized retailer to no avail. With everything checked, including a road force balancing of the tires, my 4runner still shakes disturbingly. I called a service advisor at another toyota dealership today (they were not the seller). In describing the problem to him, he cut me off and said it is a known problem. He went on to share that the dealership had been in contact with toyota corporate. It is disturbing for me as a driver, my passengers and from an engineering standpoint; shaking can never be good. It could easily cause premature and unnecessary wear to drive, suspension and steering parts. It could lead to a serious and fatal accident over time. The shaking, I imagine, could also lead to a problem in less than ideal driving conditions such as rain, snow or ice as well. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 23, 2022 |
| State | PR |
| Description | While driving down a road a mango fruit fell from a tree and hit the front glass causing it to break. The glass also broke toward the inside there were pieces of glass on the dash inside the vehicle. This could of cause me injuries. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jul 24, 2022 |
| State | KY |
| Description | The sunroof suddenly shattered while driving. The interior glass cracked and rained down on me. The exterior glass cracked. It sounded like a gunshot. It caused cuts, fear from the loud bang and the inability to drive the vehicle out of fear of the remaining glass falling and for protection from rain or other elements |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 08, 2022 |
| State | WA |
| Description | Break problem after letting car sit overnight and coming up to a stop sign or anything slowly pedal goes to the floor if you pump tge pedal the brakes will come back and seem to work fine except when sitting in a drive-through line with your foot on the brake pedal it'll slowly lose brake pressure and you'll start creeping forward until the pedal starts going lower and lower and requires excessive pressure to hold vehicle stopped. It doesn't happen all the time but it is fairly consistent. Especially through the drive thru line is when you notice it took to dealership dealership said there was nothing wrong with it |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Dec 25, 2021 |
| State | PA |
| Description | I was driving down the road and heard a loud bang. When I got home I was looking for the source and there was a big hole in the sunroof from the sunroof shattering. There was no contact from anything the sunroof just shattered on its own. |
| Category | Air Bags, Forward Collision Avoidance: Dynamic Brake Support/brake Assist |
| Date | Nov 18, 2021 |
| State | SC |
| Description | The contact owned a 2020 toyota 4runner. The contact stated that while the driver who was her father crashed into another vehicle, the air bags failed to deploy. In addition, the contact stated that the braking alert for getting too close to a vehicle failed to illuminate. A police report was filed. The contact stated that the driver sustained two injuries and the contact sustained two injuries. Medical attention was sought. The contact was unaware of the other passengers from the other vehicle sustained any injuries. The vehicle was damaged and towed to a tow lot. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,000. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 04, 2021 |
| State | WA |
| Description | Thirteen months ago I purchased a 2020 4 runner from parker toyota. Last week my sunroof exploded for no reason, there were no rocks or debri that caused this. This is clearly a manufacturers defect of the glass used. I am thankful I wasn't covered in shattered glass or worse, cause an accident. The picture shows my shattered sunroof, it has tape holding it together so it didn't cave in on me. |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Aug 31, 2021 |
| State | PA |
| Description | Unknown but not really a "safety issue" in the true sense of the meaning. Front brakes. Loud squeal from brakes under cold climate conditions. Dealership has inspected but nothing found. Mentioned nhtsa # 10190453 & tsb #t-tt-0636-20 rev to the service manager but they stated that there is/was no official "tsb" for brake squeal issue on my vehicle. I believe they were referring to a toyota "t-sb-#######", rather than the "t-tt-0636-20 rev". I did not get any info from dealership since no official "tsb" is published? |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Jul 03, 2021 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Steering wheel shakes at highway speeds (58-64mph). Steering wheel has shaken as much as 1. 5 inches back and forth, causing vehicle to shake while driving at high speeds. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer and has been in 6 times to try to fix it with no change. The problem started the second week we owned it. It gets progressively worse. Tires can be balanced and it comes right back a few days later. Toyota corporate states that it is a known issue and “is a characteristic of the vehicle†cause by “harmonics.†tires have been road force balanced, tire/wheels swapped, driven with no drive shaft, driven with computer to turn off torque converter, drive shaft swapped- all with no change. Toyota would not agree to provide loaner car after requesting buyback arbitration. I was told it would take 30-45 days to get arbitration started, and was told to drive the vehicle during that time period. I was told to return loaner and drive 4runner that was still shaking. I asked dealer to give me something in writing saying that the vehicle was safe and mechanically sound before I left, and they refused. |
| Category | Suspension |
| Date | Mar 31, 2021 |
| State | PA |
| Description | I bought my 4runner brand new last year. To change the differential from h4f to h4l, I stop the car and change the shifter into neutral position. Once in neutral position, I change the differential knob h4f to h4l. Then I start driving again. My expectation is the when shifting the differential from h4f to h4l, the dashboard light will change from yellow to green just like my previous 4runner. But this model does not change from yellow to green to identify successful transfer of gear from high to lower gear. The dashboard color stays yellow. I believe this is a defect. I believe there is a defect in differential locking mechanism or at the very least the lelectronics that updates the dashboard. The new models also have same issue. I believe anytime you see a yellow light in the dashboard, it is a warning message that something is wrong or will be wrong in the future. Toyota dealers said this is a standard color but I dont believe because their manual says yellow color means warning. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Feb 17, 2021 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Tl* the contact owns a 2020 toyota 4runner. The contact stated while driving at 40 mph, when she slid off the road and crashed into a tree. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the front driver air bag did not deploy. The contact was able to drive to her residence. No police report was filed. The contact did not sustained any injuries or seek medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000. |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Warnings, Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Fuel/propulsion System |
| Date | Dec 09, 2020 |
| State | GA |
| Description | On december 8 , 2020, the above referenced vehicles engine stalled three times while in driving mode. On all three occasions, the vehicle was moving at a speed less than 40 mph. The vehicle restarted after each stall, when the gear shifter was placed in park. The vehicle seemed to be running out of fuel and/or having fuel pump problems. The fuel level of the vehicle was half full. I purchased the vehicle october 21, 2020. Todate, I have experienced 5 engine stalls. The vehicle had approximately 28. 700 miles. The malfunctioning of the vehicle is an ongoing problem that has been reported the dealer as well as butler toyota in macon georgia who informed me that they were not sure if they could diagnose the problem without keeping it for weeks, possibly at my personal expense. I chose not to leave the vehicle under the circumstances. I will return the car to the seller under the 90 day certified warranty agreement. Also, I will continue to pursue whatever remedy toyota may provide under the vehicles remaining warranty. I traded a 2013 toyota highlander on the vehicle in question. I am a very disappointed toyota customer who is very concerned about the safety of the vehicle in question. |
| Category | Air Bags, Structure:body |
| Date | Dec 07, 2020 |
| State | VA |
| Description | I was in a traffic accident and my air bag did not deploy |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Dec 04, 2020 |
| State | OH |
| Description | The front passenger airbag on this car is deactivated automatically whenever the front pasenger weighs less than 100 lbs. We did not know about this feature when we bought the car. My wife, who is 65 years old, weighs about 95 lbs and whenever she sits in the front passenger seat, a warning light appears indicating that the front passenger air bag has been deactivated. We contacted the dealer and toyota and were told that this system was designed to automatically protect smaller children who may ride in the front seat. Unfortunately, this system prevents my wife from using what I consider to be an essential safety feature (the front air bag). The nhtsa should mandate that manufacturers provide us with a switch or a system setting that allows the driver to activate the front passenger airbag and override this "child safety feature". It certainly impacts my wife's safety evrytime she sits in the "death seat". |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Nov 16, 2020 |
| State | CA |
| Description | While slowly slowing the vehicle down, the brake pedal went completely to the floor and lost all braking. As soon as pedal is brought back up and pumped once or twice, brakes regained function. No warning or safety lights went off. This has occurred 3 different times with 2 different drivers. |
| Category | Power Train, Service Brakes |
| Date | Sep 30, 2020 |
| State | WA |
| Description | Brakes are not functioning properly, the pedal goes way down to the floor before engaging any brakes. At idle the brakes seem to function fine, after driving at about 10mph the brakes go back to not working again. Dealership says the brakes are "normal" and I was told to drive it home even though it was still having the issue. Transmission is not shifting properly either, it gets stuck at 4000-5000 rpm sometimes and then shifts into the next gear. The braking issue occurred even worse going down a hill at 55mph right before it went in for service. |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Sep 17, 2020 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Steering wheel shakes driving 58-62mph on highway |
| Category | Structure:body |
| Date | Sep 01, 2020 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Tl* the contact owns a 2020 toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the frame of vehicle was rusted and rust powder was present falling from the frame after removing the rear seat covers. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer town and country toyota located at 9101 south blvd, charlotte, nc 28273, was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100. *ln *js |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Apr 09, 2020 |
| State | CO |
| Description | Every time I push the brake pedal, it makes a hissing sound. There is a electronic noise after the hissing sound. This is annoying and it makes me feel nauseous. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Mar 28, 2020 |
| State | CO |
| Description | While I am driving, I smell something like exhaust or sulfur inside car. I could only smell it when the car is going over 70 miles, rpm is over 2500 (hard acceleration) , and when all the windows are closed and recirculate cabin air is on. |
| Category | Air Bags, Electronic Stability Control, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Mar 21, 2020 |
| State | GA |
| Description | The 4runner struck a vehicle that ran a red light. The 4runner was at approximately 35 miles per hour and struck the other vehicle, a nissan altima side on with enough force to propel that vehicle two lanes into another vehicle. The airbags failed to deploy on the 4runner but did deploy on the altima. The roads were drive and visibility was clear. Injuries to the 4runner driver included: head from contact with grab bar above drivers door, neck, back, wrists, fingers and arms. Altima driver had to be removed by paramedics and rushed to the hospital. Investigation of the vehicle computer showed the vehicle was unknowingly sold to me with errors in the multi-terrain, esc and pre-collision system. Vehicle was purchased in november of 2019. See attached photos for verification. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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