Toyota 4Runner: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Toyota 4Runner: 15 model years scored from 817 NHTSA owner complaints and 62 recall campaigns. Worst year 2025, best year 2020.
Toyota 4Runner: which years to avoid
Across 14 scored model years the Toyota 4Runner ranges from 44/100 in 2025 to 90/100 in 2020 — a 46-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a 4Runner at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Service Brakes (23 of them).
Avoid: 2025 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2025 4Runner, the first year of a new generation, which scores 44 on 56 complaints at 56.0 per year on the road, with Service Brakes at 23. Buy a 2017 (89 on 36 complaints) or any year from 2020 to 2024, which score between 79 and 90 on 39 complaints or fewer. The 4Runner's 817 complaints make it the quietest of the Toyota trucks, and its only other weak year is the 2011, a CAUTION at 57 where 112 of 163 complaints are Air Bags, matched by six inflator module and sensor campaigns reaching 2011 to 2015 cars. The 2012 has 70 Air Bags complaints out of 96 and five safety-critical recalls, the most of any year. From 2013 no year exceeds 85 complaints. Steering at 11 on the 2018 and 10 on the 2019 matches campaign 19V670000 for distributor-fitted steering parts that may not have been tightened; both years are inside the 20V682000 fuel pump campaign.
Read the guide
Used Toyota 4Runner and Tundra: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the 4Runner changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2015
Mean score 72/100, about 7 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Air Bags more than anything else (216 complaints). 18 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2024
Mean score 83/100, about 7 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Unknown Or Other more than anything else (63 complaints). 4 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2020 (score 90). Worst: 2025 (score 44, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 44 | AVOID | $4,394 | 56 | 1 |
| 2024 | 90 | BUY | $4,346 | 8 | 1 |
| 2023 | 80 | BUY | $4,606 | 31 | 1 |
| 2022 | 79 | BUY | $4,735 | 39 | 3 |
| 2021 | 87 | BUY | $4,823 | 35 | 1 |
| 2020 | 90 | BUY | $4,934 | 33 | 1 |
| 2019 | 74 | BUY | $4,943 | 64 | 4 |
| 2018 | 78 | BUY | $5,048 | 58 | 5 |
| 2017 | 89 | BUY | $5,126 | 36 | 5 |
| 2016 | — | DATA PENDING | $5,040 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 71 | BUY | $5,326 | 85 | 9 |
| 2014 | 76 | BUY | $5,442 | 77 | 7 |
| 2013 | 84 | BUY | $5,512 | 36 | 6 |
| 2012 | 70 | BUY | $5,730 | 96 | 8 |
| 2011 | 57 | CAUTION | $5,946 | 163 | 10 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the 4Runner, through the years →
What goes wrong on the Toyota 4Runner
Across every 4Runner model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Air Bags238 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
- Unknown Or Other122 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Electrical System79 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Service Brakes78 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Steering67 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement$1,020–$2,500
- Suspension36 complaints across all 4Runner years · typical job: Struts, springs and control-arm bushings, one axle$780–$1,580
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Toyota 4Runner years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2025 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2025 is the weakest at 44/100, with its complaints concentrated in Service Brakes.
What are the best Toyota 4Runner years to buy?
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020… all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2020 at 90/100, on 33 complaints and 1 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Toyota 4Runner problem?
238 of the complaints filed against the 4Runner across all its model years sit in the Air Bags group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04