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2021 Toyota 4RUNNER

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 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: 3 of 36 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.

  • Steering. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Suspension. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports1 fire reports1 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

6 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 6, 2026
Service Brakes

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.

NHTSA ODI #11722616

Mileage unknown · Feb 18, 2025
Service Brakes

My brakes and rotors are requiring replacement after less than 10,000. I purchased my vehicle used with less than 15,000 miles. My brakes and rotors have been replaced three times in the last 45,000 miles. The dealership denies any malfunction or error with the breaking system. I have seen multiple complaints online from other 4…

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My brakes and rotors are requiring replacement after less than 10,000. I purchased my vehicle used with less than 15,000 miles. My brakes and rotors have been replaced three times in the last 45,000 miles. The dealership denies any malfunction or error with the breaking system. I have seen multiple complaints online from other 4Runner owners with the same issues. My vehicle has less than 60,000 miles and I commute 5 miles a day to work on surface streets. I do not take it off Roading. I do not tow. I drive 5 miles to work and 5 miles home. I have been driving for over 30 years and have never had to replace brakes and rotors every nine months. Right after we purchased the vehicle, we brought it in saying the brakes did not feel right. My husband thought they needed to be adjusted. We were told the brakes are hydraulic brakes and do not require adjustment. But the brakes have felt off since we first got them. Toyota service insist that they have inspected the vehicle fully and have found no issues.

NHTSA ODI #11643552

Mileage unknown · Jan 28, 2024
Service BrakesCrash

While pulling this vehicle in to my garage about halfway in the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicle hit a bench on the opposite side of the entrance. After pumping the brakes after waiting about 10 minutes they seemed to work normally. I backed the vehicle out of the garage and saw NO fluid under the vehicle. The nex…

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While pulling this vehicle in to my garage about halfway in the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicle hit a bench on the opposite side of the entrance. After pumping the brakes after waiting about 10 minutes they seemed to work normally. I backed the vehicle out of the garage and saw NO fluid under the vehicle. The next morning the vehicle was towed the the dealer collision shop and then taken to the service department at the dealer. This problem; ,after almost 2 months was never solved....corporate offices checked the data recorder...no conclusions.....and implied this problem did not occur. The body is now being repaired yet no brake problem has been ever repaired. ( under warranty....31,967 miles ). I understand a similar problem occured in New Jersey although on the road and the driver had to be removed through the sunroof and the vehicle was totaled.

NHTSA ODI #11568310

Mileage unknown · Feb 4, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesVehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

was going to work on rt 80 east had cruise control on and was getting off exit 45 in new jersey to get bus into manhattan at approx 430 amwhile getting off highway stepped on brakes pedal went to floor tried pumping nothing happened nor did criuise control disengage or collision warning come on a total collapse of system had th…

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was going to work on rt 80 east had cruise control on and was getting off exit 45 in new jersey to get bus into manhattan at approx 430 amwhile getting off highway stepped on brakes pedal went to floor tried pumping nothing happened nor did criuise control disengage or collision warning come on a total collapse of system had this car for approx 1 month purchased used at paramus mercedes benz took this vehicle to my mechanic for a full inpection everything was good vehicle had approx 22000 miles on it at purchase lost all control and crashed going off roadway and sliding down bridge abuttment car is a total loss rushed to hospital car was hauled off abutment by wrecker company police fire and ambulance showed up had to break sunroof to get me out no one could belive i survived this happened yesterday feb 3 2023 called toyota corporate and they issued me a claim number as well as my insurance comp looking on line this problem seemed to happen to quite a few people can you please address this issue before more people get injured or worse its only by the grace of god that i am writing this to you this vehicle is now in storage at powder mill collision thankyou

NHTSA ODI #11505501

Mileage unknown · Feb 19, 2022
Service BrakesSteeringSuspension

Driving up to 60mph the steering wheel vibrates excessively. I have taken it to the dealer and got repairs to fix it but 2 days later it returned. I had wheels balanced and rotated with an alignment. I fear I will loose control of the suv soon.

NHTSA ODI #11453013

Mileage unknown · Jun 23, 2021
Service Brakes

On May 27, 2021 The brakes failed on my brand new 2021 Toyota TRD Off-Road Premium 4Runner. I attempted to brake at a stop light, the brake pedal went to the floor and the car did not stop. Luckily no accident occurred and I was able to drive it home (4 miles). No warning lights or messages appeared at all before, during or a…

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On May 27, 2021 The brakes failed on my brand new 2021 Toyota TRD Off-Road Premium 4Runner. I attempted to brake at a stop light, the brake pedal went to the floor and the car did not stop. Luckily no accident occurred and I was able to drive it home (4 miles). No warning lights or messages appeared at all before, during or after the incident. This occurred between 3-4 pm in Custer, SD on Main Street during clear weather. The vehicle was hauled to Toyota dealer in Rapid City, SD the next morning, May 28th. They could not duplicate the issue, brakes appeared to work fine. They found no fluid leaks and no computer trouble codes. Dealer says they can't diagnose and fix it unless they can replicate the issue. I asked how brakes can completely fail and then work fine again - they don't know. After this brake failure I have found several other 4Runner owners who have experienced this same failure, under similar conditions and speeds. Other owners have also submitted incident reports to NHTSA.

NHTSA ODI #11421989

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.