Home · 2018 Toyota 4RUNNER · Complaints

What 57 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Toyota 4RUNNER

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (57)Crash / fire / injury (9)Steering (11)Fuel system (9)Airbags (7)Brakes (6)Body & structure (5)Engine (5)Suspension (4)Electrical system (3)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (2)

5 of 57 complaints match · Body & structure · clear filters

Apr 28, 2022Body & structure

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated that the frame holding the radiator of the vehicle was severely rusted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the radiator frame was corroded; however, the dealer applied paint to the structure instead of replacing the part under warranty. The contact later noticed that the radiator frame was corroded. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who informed the contact that the radiator frame needed to be replaced and the repair would be completed at her own expense as the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 13,290.

NHTSA ODI 11462620

Oct 26, 2020Body & structure

WE PURCHASED A NEW 2018 TOYOTA 4RUNNER WITH VIN [XXX] IN LATE 2017. IN OCTOBER OF 2019 WE NOTICED THAT THE BUMPER KEPT SEPARATING FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE. AT THAT TIME THE VEHICLE HAD 31K MILES. JIM HUDSON TOYOTA TRIED TO FIX IT. THE BUMPER IS HELD ON BY SMALL CLIPS THAT COME LOOSE WHILE DRIVING. THEY SAID IT WAS A KNOWN DEFECT BUT NOT A RECALL AND THE DESIGN WAS CHANGED FOR THE 2019 MODEL, SO IT IS UNIQUE TO THE 2018 MODEL. TOYOTA GAVE THE DEALERSHIP 3 WAYS TO FIX THIS ISSUE. THEY WERE SUPPOSEDLY GOING TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE IF THE 3 FIXES DID NOT WORK. WE TOOK THE VEHICLE IN A TOTAL OF 10 TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF OVER A YEAR. THEY TRIED ALL 3 OF THESE PLUS ANOTHER 5 WAYS TO TRY TO FIX; SOME DID NOT WORK, AND SOME WERE MERELY COSMETIC AND DID NOT HOLD DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE LAST 2 TIMES JIM HUDSON PAID A BODY SHOP TO FIX IT AS IF IT HAD BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, WHICH IT HAS NOT. WE ARE STUCK WITH A VEHICLE THAT HAS LOST VALUE DUE TO TOYOTA (DEFECT AS WELL AS HISTORY OF REPAIRS) AS WELL AS QUESTIONABLE SAFETY DUE TO THE BUMPER CONTINUOUSLY DETACHING.. ALL WE ASKED IS THAT THEY PURCHASE THE VEHICLE FROM US FOR WHAT WE OWE. WE FINANCED THROUGH TOYOTA. TOYOTA CORPORATE REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING FURTHER AFTER REVIEWING FOR 2 MONTHS. THEY CLAIM THAT BECAUSE IT TOOK THEM SO LONG TO WORK ON IT, THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER LIABLE SINCE THE VEHICLE NOW HAS MORE THAN 35,000 MILES ON IT A YEAR AFTER INITIATING THE PROCESS TO FIX IT, EVEN THOUGH IT DID NOT HAVE THAT MANY MILES ON IT WHEN THE PROCESS WAS STARTED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 11366551

Jul 20, 2020AirbagsBody & structureCrash

HUSBAND FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL GOING 80MPH AND HIT A HUGE EXIT SIGN WHICH HIT THE ENTIRE FRONT BUMPER AS WELL AS THE DRIVER SIDE PASSENGER DOOR AND NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 11340505

Jan 4, 2020AirbagsBody & structureElectronic Stability Control (esc)Crash

TOTALED VEHICLE REPAIRED AFTER VEHICLE REPORTED TOTALED - VEHICLE NOT REPAIRED ADEQUATELY AND IS UNSAFE AS A RESULT OF A HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT. INCIDENT REPORTED TO POLICE - INSURANCE COMPANY, TOWING SERVICE, AND CONSUMER FRAUD BY NETWORK HACKING INSURANCE INFORMATION.

NHTSA ODI 11297063

Dec 10, 2018Body & structure

DRIVER DOOR OPENED WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA ODI 11160523

Working with the data? Download all 57 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 7, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Toyota 4RUNNER verdict →