Problems with 2000 Toyota 4Runner POWER TRAIN

Was driving to work one morning and my frame broke and cause my rear differential to shift cause me to have to tow my vehicle.

Driving in mild winter condition (light wet slush) on a maintained highway my 4runner began to fish tale. when an attempt was made to correct the fish tale no control input from the drive would correct the sliding motion. this caused the vehicle to slide toward the shoulder of the road. on the shoulder of the road the vehicle began to slow to almost a stop, however, the rear end was far enough off the shoulder that it began to be pulled by gravity down hill. while it slid down hill the rear wheel hit a rock causing the axle to snap near the contact point of the wheel. this caused the vehicle to roll one and a half times endangering four lives. the air bags failed to deploy however none were injured. the car was destroyed and not able to be driven.

Vehicle began to sway violently while driving on the interstate. the weld joint which joins the rear drivers side lower control arm attachment point to the frame had separated allowing to control arm to move forward an back. this in turn allowed the rear axle to turn from side to side. on inspection the frame is heavily rusted in this area and the weld has given way and is tearing apart from front to back. the joint on the passenger side is also rusted, but the joint has not yet separated.

Experienced soft hum like noise. took vehicle to local toyota dealer for diagnosis. rear end housing found to be severely rusted to the point where the internal fluid is seeping out thru the rear of that housing. non reparable, needs replaced minimum $3000. dealer said this is not an isolated problem & had contacted toyota of this situation. dealer was told it happens & toyota would not do anything about it. has been a good vehicle otherwise. disheartened & financially stressed! *tr

Rear differential housing is rusted very badly leaking gear oil. rust is extremely thick. huge flakes more like chunks. leaking from rear of housing where rust has penetrated far enough to cause a slow leak. rest of 4runner is in good shape. *tr

Rear axle seals leaking gear oil from rear differential into rear brake drum housing covering brake shoes, drums, and braking components in gear oil. loss of gear oil in rear differential can cause differential failure as well as failure in rear braking. a notorious issue with 3rd generation toyota 4runners due to poor engineering of rear axle seals and retainers, therefore failing to properly seal components. seals begin to leak again soon after; even when repaired, due to poor mating of seal and retainer on axle within the axle housing. *tt

I discovered this morning that the rear differential housing cover is leaking oil the vehicle has had some major rust issues which have affected the structural and mechanical well being of this vehicle. *tr

The rear axle housing has rusted through such that differential fluid was leaking through a hole in the metal and dripping onto the roadway. the metal was so thin, like paper. this is a safety issue since all of the rear axle fluid could leak out, allowing the rear differential to freeze or seize up, causing a loss of control of the vehicle and creating a possible accident. it could also cause other vehicles to lose traction on road due to gear oil leaking onto roadway. we had no choice but to have the car repaired by an independent repair shop who had to replace the entire axle housing. research on the internet supports this is an ongoing problem with this vehicle. i think the nhtsa needs to step in and make toyota issue a recall for these faulty differentials. it is obvious that toyota used inferior metal to manufacturer these parts. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 toyota 4runner. the contact stated that there was oil leaking from the rear of the vehicle. upon further investigation, the contact discovered that the rear differential was leaking. the contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or a local mechanic for a diagnostic test or repairs. the failure mileage was 170,000.

When getting the left/rear wheel bearing repaired (due to heavy rusting of the differential housing, causing fluid loss), the technician reported extensive frame loss also due to corrosion. affected vehicle (otherwise in good condition) was/had to be junked for safety reasons, thus forcing me to purchase a new vehicle sooner than anticipated. in n.e. (north east) usa, toyota tacomas (frames manufactured in the usa) were recalled for this condition but not toyota 4runners (frames manufactured in japan). both my 4runner corrosion conditions are not unusual in n.e. usa! (photos available upon request). should toyota be allowed to continue doing nothing about this dangerous condition? *tr

My 2000 4runner is rusting out next to the rear passenger wheel well. it's always been parked in the garage. i take it for regular washes--and this still happened. i purchased my 2000 4runner brand new with an additional undercoating protection--but you would not know it by looking at the rust damage. this is the telltale spot, it seems, for 4runners rusting out. this is unacceptable toyota!!

Rear differential housing has rusted through, leaks fluid, and is irreparable. *tr

Rear differential casing is completely rusted through. it is beyond repair and requires replacement of entire unit. *tr

No injury or crash . . . reporting what i believe may be a design defect which could potentially be a safety danger. --- the rear differential housing in the 2000 toyota 4runner i own seems to be rusting unusually quickly. this is a 10-year old vehicle, but it only has 113,715 miles on the odometer when it sustained a leak due to corrosion. apparently this is a known issue as both the local toyota dealer and my local mechanic said they are seeing this issue with toyotas. the local mechanic stated that it seems to be due to toyota having thinner metal in the housing. *tr

2000 toyota 4runner 6cyl 78000 miles. noticed rear end differential is leaking oil. dealer says it is because i park it on dirt driveway. not leaking at seal or normal connection point. is coming through the metal itself. they said the metal has become ' porous '. last 4 runner had 340,000 miles on it and never had a drop come through the metal and was used extensively off road. this vehicle minimally. this is obviously a defective part through substandard manufacturing process or inferior metal. i am getting no help from dealer in fixing this problem. have seen alot of people with same issue on line and was referred to this site through a link. *tr