2021 Toyota 4Runner Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: September 2, 2026 · Filed: September 3, 2026

While vehicle was parked and not in use, upon entering the vehicle, the steering wheel/column dropped out of its locked position on its own. Disassembly of the steering column revealed that the tilt-lock mechanism's steering lock fracture bolt has broken in half on the right side. This cause the steering wheel to fall out of a locked position and allowed the entire column to rotate skewed to the left side. The steering wheel became dangerous to use as it was in a freed position that allowed the entire column to move while providing inputs into the steering wheel. Had this occurred while the vehicle was in motion, it could have caused a sudden loss of steering control and significantly increased the risk of a crash or injury. The problem was confirmed by an independent mechanic upon teardown of the steering column, who visually verified the broken fracture bolt and the resulting free movement of the column. There were no dashboard warning signs, error messages, or noticeable symptoms prior to this event. The column simply came loose and dropped when entering the vehicle after it had been parked. The vehicle had about 120,000 miles at the time of failure.

Incident: February 3, 2026 · Filed: August 25, 2026

The power door lock actuators on both front doors of my 2021 Toyota 4Runner have failed. The problem developed progressively. The front door locks initially began working intermittently and became less reliable over time. Eventually, both front door lock actuators stopped operating. They have now been inoperative for more than six months. The front doors will not reliably lock or unlock using the vehicle's power locking system or key fob, while the rear power door locks continue to operate normally. I discussed the problem with a Toyota dealership and was told by dealership personnel that they have seen this door lock actuator failure happen countless times. Despite the apparent frequency of the problem, I am not aware of a recall covering my vehicle. I am concerned about the safety implications of multiple door lock actuators failing prematurely. The failure prevents the vehicle's power locking system from reliably securing or unlocking the front doors and could cause difficulty quickly unlocking a front door for a passenger or occupant in an emergency. There were no warning lights or dashboard messages before the failures. The primary warning was the progressively intermittent operation of each front door lock before it stopped functioning entirely. Both front doors experienced the same progressive malfunction. I am reporting this because the failure has affected multiple actuators on the same vehicle, has persisted for more than six months, and a Toyota dealership indicated that it has encountered this problem many times.

Incident: June 10, 2026 · Filed: June 22, 2026

The interior of both headlights have the interior coating peeling in the first 20k miles

Incident: May 28, 2026 · Filed: May 30, 2026

I just had the tires road force balanced on a haweka with lug-centric balance, and the steering wheel persists shaking from 55-65 mph. From what I have seen is this is a design flaw on this generation of 4 runners called the shimmy. For a newer vehicle this is not only dangerous, but unacceptable to not be considered for a recall when it is this widespread.

Incident: March 6, 2026 · Filed: March 6, 2026

Today while I was driving home from work, in a snow storm, suddenly a low braking power notification and ABS malfunction popped up on my console with loud beeping and my brakes completely stopped working. In order to avoid hitting the car in front of me I had to swerve to the shoulder and come to a stop.

Incident: May 1, 2025 · Filed: January 22, 2026

My backup camera does not work consistently. It will sometimes come on and show objects behind me; other times it is a black screen. I have read where Toyota models from 2022 to newer, but not including the 4 Runner, are having major issues with the back up camera and are under recall. I believe this recall should include the Toyota 4 Runner, as mine seems to be having issues which affect my safety and others. I called the nearest Toyota dealership to verify if my car was under recall and they said no. I have not taken the vehicle to be inspected by the dealership. This issue started about 6 -8 months ago. No lights or warning messages appear on the dashboard. I thought maybe my camera was dirty, but wash the car and it still is inconsistently working. It fails more than it works.

Incident: October 15, 2025 · Filed: December 27, 2025

Rear backup camera has been failing or intermittently working, it is available for insp[ection upon request. This has created a situation upon reversing in driveway where I expect it to be on and dont see a vehicle or trailer behind me. I have hit a parked car because I was expecting it to work as I check rearview mirrors. This is now a habit and I did not realize it wasn't working at the time until i collided with the vehicle. The dealership will not confirm it or inspect it unless payment is rendered. No one has inspected it except for Virginia. Which I am unsure that is even something they inspect. They may have just inspected other things that allow for use on highway. No lamps or other warnings when it began in april 2023. I have not tried to get it fixed as this is a new vehicle and I wasn't willing to pay the dealer to diagnose and most likely decline my warranty coverage.

Incident: December 10, 2025 · Filed: December 10, 2025

Vehicle was diagnosed from a mechanic with no fuel pressure due to not starting. Vehicle has approximately 135,000 miles and had no warnings or indications of problem. It appears when VIN was ran on gov. recall that Honda had issues with fuel pump. Vehicle will be inspected by Toyota dealer.

Incident: July 16, 2024 · Filed: December 3, 2025

Several door lock actuators have prematurely failed. The first to do so was front passenger door in summer 2024; front driver door lock failed a few months after. Most recently, approximately 4 months ago, the lock actuator for liftgate failed. This poses safety hazard in easily exiting vehicle and/or entering it if in dangerous situation. I have been communicating with local Toyota dealership for months about repairing these defective items, They have acknowledged awareness of an issue with the actuators, but have offered no help. I have read there is a class action lawsuit pending about this issue. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: July 12, 2025 · Filed: July 18, 2025

Saturday morning July 12th after starting my vehicle, a warning was presented “SRS AIRBAG SYSTEM MALFUNCTION”. I immediately took it to the dealership where they ran diagnostics. The service advisor admitted he nor his mechanic had ever seen anything like that before. They were unable to detect the issue that day. We planned to return the vehicle Thursday July 17. I dropped it off at 10am and never heard from the dealership again that day. Friday, July 18th I contacted the service advisor around 10 am to get an update in which he said they were looking into it. Friday afternoon, I received a call from the service advisor letting me know that the front passenger Occupant ECU had malfunctioned, costing approximately $1000. After researching this, I learned that Toyota has issued many recalls on this issue with other models. I called Toyota headquarters to see how they would rectify this but ended the conversation with no solution other than it is the consumer’s liability. This is a safety issue that should fall back on the manufacturer, especially given the history of recalls issued on this specific defect.