CarComplaints.com Notes: Although the 2003 model year is the "worst" model year for the 4Runner, it's not really bad at all -- mainly it's just that the other 4Runner model years are even better. Howver the 2003 model year has no major problems & no unexpected problems for a 17-year old vehicle. We award the 2003 4Runner our Seal of Awesome, since overall versus other comparable models of the same age, it's very reliable.
Initially the 4th generation (2003 - 2009) 4Runner didn't earn our top "Seal of Awesome" rating because it received poor crash test ratings for rear impacts. However it's proven to have one of the lowest driver death rates out of all vehicles (not just SUVs), so we've bumped it back up to our top award.
9.6
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
900 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
- the contact owns a 2003 Toyota 4 runner. The contact heard a noise coming from the front brakes. The contact had to apply the brakes with great force for the vehicle to stop. The vehicle slid to a stop. The dealer's diagnoses was that debris in the rotors caused the noise. However, they were unable to diagnose why the vehicle could not stop without sliding. The front brake pads were replaced, and the rotors resurfaced. The failure mileage was approximately 900 miles. The contact has the repair order. The current mileage was 40,000 miles.
- Hicksville, NY, USA
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- Hicksville, NY, USA