2004 Toyota 4Runner Service Brakes Problems
- 49
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 49 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- lights came · 7 records
- brake calipers · 5 records
- brake pads · 5 records
- trac brake · 4 records
- passenger side · 4 records
- brake fluid · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 150–400k mi | 15 |
| 100–150k mi | 13 |
| 60–100k mi | 9 |
| 30–60k mi | 6 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Body · Service Brakes · Steering
Bought 4th generation 4runner in 1-15 from dealer after owning 4 prior 3rd generation ones and this one is plagued with excessive rust beyond normal wear in frame (some holes), suspension, steering rack and shaft, brake components, virtually everything steel under the body has rusted excessively while body remains rust free. I know 95-03 tacomas and tundras were under frame and brake line recall due to same issue…
ODI 10836938
Service Brakes
Driving home and my brakes stopped working. I had my mechanic look at it and he said the abs module had failed. He said that only my front brakes are working. I feel very unsafe driving my car. *tr
ODI 10664090
Electronic Stability Control · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
Driving on the interstate in north carolina vsc light turned on, tsc light turned on, abs light turned on, brake light turned on. Car was drivable for a short period of time then braking became extremely difficult. Limped home with my 3 year old in her car seat and luckily was able to do so without incident as given time of day and location from home, very light traffic made travel possible. Several times though i…
ODI 10622083
Electrical System · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
8/6/14-started my 2004 4-runner to leave work and a high-pitched alarm sound started and the vsc, abs, and other dash light symbols came on. I reversed out of my parking spot, and brake, and nothing other than those things was out of the ordinary. I pulled forward and pulled into another spot and called my husband to let him hear what was going on to see if he knew what it may be. He asked me to reverse, pull…
ODI 10620809
Service Brakes
I have had two incidents of brake calipers failure. Under 50k i had a front driver side caliper fail. Then again at 99k the rear passenger side caliper failure. Toyota has a major issue with their brake caliper design on 4-runners. Toyota should extend their warranty, i always bought toyota's, but never again after this last incident. Toyota does not build cars like they use to. *tr
ODI 10614845
Service Brakes
This complaint is not about the vehicle but rather about a replacement parts made/sold by the following outfit: ph: [redacted] fax: [redacted] [redacted] www.finestautoparts.com the caliper (new) i purchased from them was not only imported from china contrary to the company description "german efficiency for japanese cars" as it appears on their site which may not constitute a crime these days but a manufacturing…
ODI 10608975
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
Suffered sudden, catastrophic failure of vsc/abs brake system while driving. Vsc, abs, brake dash indicator lights illuminated with an audible alarm. Vehicle operated normally for about 1 mile, then lost most braking control. Narrowly avoided collision with another vehicle due to having minimal brake system. Had to use evasive steering and emergency brake maneuvers to slow and stop vehicle. After researching this…
ODI 10607748
Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
While approaching a red stop light, the abs, brake! Vsc off, vsc trac lights all came on along with a loud buzzer. I had no idea what was happening. 1 block later i pulled into a parking lot that was luckily empty, because when i went to brake to stop the truck, i had no brakes...zero!!! I had the truck towed to my mechanic. I have come to find out, that it's the abs module and unattainable with toyota at $2500 plus…
ODI 10595268
Electrical System · Service Brakes
1.) 4runner sat for 10-15 minutes with radio on (not running) (battery tested good/700, 701, 691 our of 75 ca) 2.) 4runner would not start, battery issue, and was subsequently jumped. 3.) drove 4runner 10 minutes, parked, tuned off and started back up just fine. 4.) 4runner sat for 3 hours, started 4runner, buzzer/warning sound emitted and brake and abs light were on. 5.) tried disconnecting battery to see if system…
Crash reported
ODI 10593640
Service Brakes
My wife was at the school zone taking our children to school, when she heard a noise and an alarm start to sound, the abs and track off lights came on and the brake pedal went to the floor, she was not able to stop the vehicle, fortunately she was on school speed zone and nothing was in front of her and the vehicle stop by it self because the low speed, she was about to enter on the freeway to take our son to other…
ODI 10557616
Service Brakes
I started my vehicle @ 3pm when i got off work as soon as it started the vsc, abs and brake light came on as well as a alarm in the dash. I also noticed the clock in the dash said 1:00 instead of 3:00. When i depressed the brake i had virtually no brakes. I have read up on this and found that a bad ground cable on the battery can send a low voltage signal to the cars computer and shut down the brake system. I think…
ODI 10640900
Electronic Stability Control · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
Driving to coral gables at around 20 mph, all of sudden four lights comes on and loud beeping noise. Vsc, trac off, abs & brake lights on at the same time, brake peddle is hard and no brakes at all. I had to go into neutral try the emergency brake to try and stop and pull over, i had to tow my truck home, i call the toyota dealer they told me they i need to replace the complete brake master cylinder assembly costing…
ODI 10543755
Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
I experienced a terrifying "acceleration problem" this past week as i was parking my car at a local store. I'd already slowed down to almost a halt, but as i put my foot on the brake to come to a complete stop, it suddenly lurched forward with shocking speed. I instinctively threw the gear into park; it stopped as it crashed into the steps leading to the store entrance. The cause had nothing to do with a floor mat…
Crash reported
ODI 10504751
Power Train · Service Brakes
I opened the passenger side door to place my bag down. The car rolled out of gear down my driveway with my daughter in the front seat. Then i had to jump into the rolling car to put it back into park and the keys were not in the ignition. *tr
1 injury
ODI 10503306
Service Brakes
On 8/22/2011, phil bachman toyota in johnson city, tn replaced a leaking left front caliper on my toyota 4runner. The leak was so bad that the front brake pads were saturated and had to be replaced. Brake fluid covered my tire and wheel, and the wheel had several knicks from something that occurred related to the brakes and this issue. On 3/16/12, the very same problem occurred again with the left front caliper; the…
ODI 10495984
Service Brakes · Steering
FRONT CALIPER SEIZE UP L/F AND R/F 3 INCIDENTS 11/2012 02/2015 06/2015
ODI 10724056
Service Brakes
While driving at approximately 50 mph and pressing the brakes for a sudden stop, the 4-runner lurches to the left, and then, when the brake is released, back to the right. I was on a trip and was lucky enough to get in to a toyota dealer on saturday. The service department told me i had two frozen pistons in the brake calipers, and the rear slides were not working properly. I had to replace the calipers, pads and…
ODI 10479996
Body · Service Brakes · Wheels
Vehicle was being parked alongside the curb when it suddenly jumped the curb, the sidewalk onto the uphill grassy landscape, hit and severed a tree, and almost crashed the house inches away, then bounced back to the street- all in about 3 seconds. The tires spun violently and left a thick residue of rubber and thick smoke throughout. The brake was hard and stuck , as i managed to put the stick to neutral and then to…
Crash reported
ODI 10480595
Service Brakes
There is a design flaw in the 04 4runner. The brake calipers rust out, and freeze, sieze, and need to be replaced any time the brake pads need to replaced. This also damages the rotors. Today, i had to overhaul the entire front end braking system, including pads, rotors and calipers. This is the second time i have had to go through this with the vehicle, and had all new parts installed 2 years ago, and the total…
ODI 10464370
Power Train · Service Brakes
Drive shaft is clanging, banging, causing slamming with the braking action surging forward several feet before stopping. *tr
ODI 10460358
Service Brakes · Steering · Suspension
2004 toyota 4runner limited, has excessive chassis rust and rotted out at some point on the sub frame, contacted the dealer and there is no recall available also called toyota and recall is not available.i am afraid that the chassis will break and cause an accident.
ODI 10744741
Service Brakes
When i went to change my brake pads, i noticed that the front had hardly been worn down. I had previously noticed that i needed more room to stop, and my rate of deceleration had lessened. I discovered that my inner lower pistons on my front calipers had rusted and frozen. A quick search online and on a forum i am part of (t4r.org) showed that this has affected numerous others. The design of the calipers caused the…
ODI 10604838
Service Brakes
While i was driving my toyota 4runnerand i stepped on the brakesand let off of the brakes i kept on making a thud sound as the faster i drive the louder it would make that sound and it had a burning smell to it so when i took it to the repair shop they told me that my brake pads where completely gone i had to get the rotors replaced the mechanic said the pistons in the caliber froze in the open position so that is…
ODI 10622300
Seat Belts · Service Brakes · Structure · Suspension
I have a toyota tacoma 4 door 4 cly pick up..i was on the internet and just notice a recall about brakes,,is my truck included in this recall? And another i have never got any letter or anything telling me about any recalls on my truck and i see here there has been recall for front ball joints and crack frames ,,,seat belt problems..i was in shock..so what do i do can they still fix any problems if any and check my…
ODI 10644882
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2004 Toyota 4Runner.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.