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2020 Toyota 4RUNNER

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Toyota 4RUNNER do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 58.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

Limited mileage data: 15 of 33 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Air Bags. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

8 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 25, 2023
Unknown Or OtherWheels

Took the vehicle in 3/19/2021 @ 6076 Mileage for a steering wheel shake, the dealer has tried numerous times to fix it by trying to balance the tire and rotate the tires, it only masks the problem and the steering wheel shake comes back. The shake can happen at any MPH. I finally took it to another shop called discount tire and…

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Took the vehicle in 3/19/2021 @ 6076 Mileage for a steering wheel shake, the dealer has tried numerous times to fix it by trying to balance the tire and rotate the tires, it only masks the problem and the steering wheel shake comes back. The shake can happen at any MPH. I finally took it to another shop called discount tire and dynamic 4x4 alignment. Discount tire said there was coupling in the stock tires Nitto Grappler, so I replaced the tires with Michelin Defenders this only masked the problem. On 9/25/2023 a local Toyota Technician and I took a ride together to see if he could duplicate the problem. At 67 and 68 we were able to duplicate the problem when the steering wheel shook the passenger side of the car shook. The technician and I swapped and I was able to duplicate the problem as well. I was stopped at a red light and took off after the tires were warmed up. When I reached 67 or 68 mph the steering wheel began to shake and he confirm that the vehicle shook too on the passenger side. I have experienced shaking in the steering wheel previously but now its being felt in the vehicle too. Toyota sent out a technician on the last issue and I was told they found something and then I was told there was nothing. Please see notes below as I have documented every occurrence and can provide maintenance documentation too.

NHTSA ODI #11546416

Mileage unknown · May 26, 2023
Unknown Or Other

I have attempted to use the SOS button 4 times in different days and in different locations, only connecting once and the rep. claimed she couldn't hear me that only time I "connected." The system causes premature battery drain (even while the car is off, it draws power) and doesn't work in its intended way as a safety/rescue t…

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I have attempted to use the SOS button 4 times in different days and in different locations, only connecting once and the rep. claimed she couldn't hear me that only time I "connected." The system causes premature battery drain (even while the car is off, it draws power) and doesn't work in its intended way as a safety/rescue tool. This is an expensive feature that fails to work while locked in with an inferior cellular service provider through an exclusive contract between Toyota and AT&T.

NHTSA ODI #11523940

Mileage unknown · Aug 23, 2022
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11480820

Mileage unknown · Jul 24, 2022
Unknown Or Other

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

NHTSA ODI #11475549

Mileage unknown · Dec 25, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11444957

Mileage unknown · Oct 4, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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 s…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11435369

Mileage unknown · Mar 28, 2020
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11319617

4,000 miles · Mar 21, 2020
Air BagsElectronic Stability Control (esc)Unknown Or OtherCrashInjury

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…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11318897

Official recalls

1

22V480000 · Equipment:other:labels

Jul 6, 2022

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2020-2022 4Runner vehicles equipped with 20-inch Black Gunner Wheels. The load carrying capacity modification labels are incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: SET will mail replacement labels to owners, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 4, 2022. Owners may contact SET's customer service at 954-429-2000. SET's number for this recall is SET22A.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.