IllustrationBRAKE PEDAL GOES AL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WHEN SITTING AT A STOP . THE 4 RUNNER HAS 3 MASTERS AND ONE COMPLETE POWER BRAKE UNIT INSTALLED BY TOYOTA AND I STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM, TOYOTA STATED IT IS NORMAL. *JB
2003 Toyota 4 Runner
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2003 Toyota 4 Runner do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 96.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all 4 Runner years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
770–25K
925–50K
150–75K
175–100K
0100–150K
1150K+
89 reports with mileage · 79 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seats. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports8 injury reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
8 reportsI PURCHASED A NEW 2003 4 RUNNER FROM TOMS RIVER TOYOTA. ALL SERVICE OF THE VEHICLE PERFORMED THERE. OVER A YEAR AGO WE COMPLAINED LOW A LOW BRAKE PEDAL. DEALER SAID NOTHING WAS DEFECTIVE. RECENTLY DEALER RECOMMENDED REAR BRAKE SERVICE. PROBLEM STILL NOT RESOLVED. ON LAST SERVICE VISIT THE DEALER ADVISED ME THAT TOYOTA ISSU…
Read full complaint
I PURCHASED A NEW 2003 4 RUNNER FROM TOMS RIVER TOYOTA. ALL SERVICE OF THE VEHICLE PERFORMED THERE. OVER A YEAR AGO WE COMPLAINED LOW A LOW BRAKE PEDAL. DEALER SAID NOTHING WAS DEFECTIVE. RECENTLY DEALER RECOMMENDED REAR BRAKE SERVICE. PROBLEM STILL NOT RESOLVED. ON LAST SERVICE VISIT THE DEALER ADVISED ME THAT TOYOTA ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN REQUIRING A PAD SPACER BEING INSTALLED. BUT NOW DUE THE MILEAGE BEING OVER THE 50000 MILE WARRANTY, DEALER REQUIRES >$ 250. BE PAID BY OWNER TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE. NO SUCH SERVICE BULLETINS WERE FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE SEARCH. *NM
INFO COPY LTR FWD TO TOYOTA REGARDING FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINT RECALL, CUSTOMER DISSATISFIED W/QUALITY OF CURRENT TOYOTA VEHICLES. *TS **REFERENCE 10140998*** ON 2 OCCASIONS, THE STARTER WOULD ONLY CLICK. THE VSC, TRAC, VSC OFF AND ABS LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND STAYED ON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND FINALLY WENT OFF ON THE…
Read full complaint
INFO COPY LTR FWD TO TOYOTA REGARDING FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINT RECALL, CUSTOMER DISSATISFIED W/QUALITY OF CURRENT TOYOTA VEHICLES. *TS **REFERENCE 10140998*** ON 2 OCCASIONS, THE STARTER WOULD ONLY CLICK. THE VSC, TRAC, VSC OFF AND ABS LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND STAYED ON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND FINALLY WENT OFF ON THEIR OWN. TWO WEEKS LATER THE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AGAIN, THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND UPON INSPECTION, THEY DETERMINED A SENSOR INSIDE THE RIGHT WHEEL AREA HAD BEEN DAMAGED. THE DEALER CLAIMED THE CONSUMER RAN OVER SOMETHING. THE CONSUMER REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. THE DEALER DID INFORM THE CONSUMER IF THE REPAIRS WERE NOT MADE THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM WOULD NOT WORK. *JB
WHEN BRAKING AT ANY SPEED THE BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
THIS CONDITION COULD BE RELATED TO ITEM 2. THIS CONDITION STARTED LAST WINTER AND IS GETTING WORSE.) AFTER BEING AT A STOP AND RELEASING THE BRAKES, I GET A HARD SHAKE/THUD FROM THE DRIVELINE/BRAKES. THIS OCCURS IN 90% OF STOPS/STARTS. (E.G., IF IT WAS NORMAL, IT WOULD DO IT ALL THE TIME TO SOME DEGREE.) THERE IS NO METAL O…
Read full complaint
THIS CONDITION COULD BE RELATED TO ITEM 2. THIS CONDITION STARTED LAST WINTER AND IS GETTING WORSE.) AFTER BEING AT A STOP AND RELEASING THE BRAKES, I GET A HARD SHAKE/THUD FROM THE DRIVELINE/BRAKES. THIS OCCURS IN 90% OF STOPS/STARTS. (E.G., IF IT WAS NORMAL, IT WOULD DO IT ALL THE TIME TO SOME DEGREE.) THERE IS NO METAL ON METAL NOISE, JUST THE SHAKE/THUD LIKE THE BRAKES ARE RELEASING TOO HARD OR THE DRIVELINE HAS TOO MUCH LASH IN IT. (CONDITION IS WORSE IF YOU COME TO A HARD STOP, BEFORE STARTING AGAIN.) 2) SOMETIMES (ABOUT 20% OF THE TIME) AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AT A STOP SIGN OR RED LIGHT, THE TRANSMISSION GOES INTO FIRST GEAR HARD AND/OR THE CONVERTER/TORSEN DIFFERENTIAL IS UNLOCKING/LOCKING INCORRECTLY. IT WILL ACTUALLY ROCK THE VEHICLE FORWARD. SOMETIMES IT GIVES THE SAME SENSATION AS IN ITEM 3. (ACTUALLY, ON A FEW OCCASIONS I GET ITEM 2 PROBLEM FOLLOWED BY AN ITEM 1 PROBLEM. *AK
THE BRAKES ARE INOPERATIVE. AS A RESULT, VEHICLE IS HARD TO STOP. *AK
BRAKES FAILED AT 10000 MILES. DEALER STATED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL. *AK
I PURCHASE A NEW TOYOTA 4 RUNNER FROM TOYOTA WORLD LAKEWOOD N J ON 9/25/03 WHEN I DROVE THE TRUCK HOME I NOTICE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES I WENT BACK TO THE DEALER ON 10/17/03 THEY TOOK THE TRUCK FOR A TEST DRIVE WHEN HE CAME BACK HE SAID I NEED NEW ROTOR DISC THAT THEY WERE WARP. *LA
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.