2007 Toyota 4Runner
Complaints about this year name melted far more often than the other years of this generation — 10% of them, about 21× the usual rate of 0.5%.
Generation 1 of the Toyota 4Runner, which began in 2003 and ran to 2009. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 154 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 58 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Involving a fire | 3 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 17 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- pedal — 16.9% of this year's complaints, against 4.7% across the other years of this generation (3.6×).
- assembly — 6.5% of this year's complaints, against 1.4% across the other years of this generation (4.6×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- handle — 8% of complaints, 21× usual
- door — 8% of complaints, 13× usual
- rubber — 6% of complaints, 10× usual
What owners wrote
THE RUBBER ON THE INSIDE THE TAILGATE HANDLE HAS MELTED AND ERODED. IT IS STICKY TO THE TOUCH AND CONSISTS OF A BLACK TAR-LIKE SUBSTANCE. YEAR ROUND THE HANDLE IS DIFFICULT TO LATCH. THIS IS AN OBVIOUSLY FAULTY PART, AND SHOULD BE REPLACED AS THE [VIN] IS WELL…
MELTED BLACK BACK DOOR LIFT GATE RELEASE SWITCH. PART#84840-35010 DEALER SAID IT WAS SHORTED OUT THAT CAUSED IT TO MELT AND BECOME STICKY.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V396000 SEATS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V743000 SEATS Fixed free of charge.
- 11V113000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
- 10V035000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 10V036000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Toyota 4Runner was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2007 Toyota 4Runner? What happened to yours?
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