1999 Toyota 4RUNNER

The frame above the RT rear tire has rusted completely through. It's where the rear end bolts to the frame, at a wedge welded to the frame with bolt holes in it. It's like it wants to flip over and darts left or right every time there's a dip or rough spot in the road. I chained it and put a tow strap around everything I could to keep the rear end from coming out & killing me or someone behind me

The contact's wife owns a 1999 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at a slow speed, the back end of the vehicle began to wobble. The contact stated that his daughter pulled the vehicle into a parking lot and had the vehicle towed to the contact's home. The vehicle was inspected and severe corrosion was discovered on the driver's side rear lower control arm mount. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed him that there are no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was given the same information as the dealer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.

The component that is failing is the frame. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The safety of myself and others is at risk due to the frame falling apart due to the lack of integrity. The lack of integrity and strength is from oxidation or major rust. The vehicle has not been inspection by a 3rd party. The rust is a common issue in this year/model from other owners and has appeared to be a manufacturing error.

Over the years of ownership, my vehicle has been overwhelmed with rust issues. All four axles are rusted to include the brake components. I didn't realize how bad the rusting was until I heard "popping" noise when making turns The rear suspension sway bar link was rusted so bad, it broke free. I had the rack and pinion replaced in August of 2020 because rust ate through the lines. The frame appears to have separations due to rust as well.

DRIVING EASTBOUND INTO PORTLAND (OR) ON HWY.26 (SUNSET HWY.), THREE LANES INBOUND. THREE LANES INBOUND, I WAS IN THE RIGHT LANE.AS WE NEARED THE TUNNELS, TRAFFIC STOPPED BUMPER-TO-BUMPER, AS IT OFTEN DOES. I STOPPED, LEAVING A SMALL BUFFER BETWEEN MY VEHICLE AND THE ONE AHEAD OF ME, AND WATCHED THE RED MAZDA CX-5 APPROACHING BEHIND, NOT SLOWING, AND BRACED FOR THE BUMP. BAM! IT WAS A SERIOUS JOLT. WE PULLED OFF ONTO THE SHOULDER. TRAFFIC WAS BUSY, SO IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET OUT TO INSPECT DAMAGE. I WAS EXPECTING MORE THAN I FOUND, AND ACTUALLY NOTICED NO DAMAGE AT THE TIME. THE MAZDA THAT HAD REAR-ENDED ME SUSTAINED SOME SERIOUS COSMETIC DAMAGE, BUT WAS STILL DRIVEABLE. WE TRADED INFO, AND I HEADED ON TO MT.HOOD TO SKI. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER, I NOTICED THAT MY DRIVERS SEAT WAS A BIT WOBBLY. WHEN I GOT A CHANCE TO CHECK THE CAUSE,I FOUND THAT THE FRONT LEFT BOLT HOLDING THE SEAT WAS LOOSE.I TIGHTENED IT BACK DOWN.,BUT IT CAME LOOSE AGAIN AFTER THE EMBEDDED NUT CAME LOOSE FROM THE FRAME. A GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALED A PLEATHORA OF 4RUNNER AND TACOMA OWNERS ENCOUNTERING SIMILAR FAILURES.TO FIX, I DRILLED A 1/2" HOLE THROUGH THE BOLT HOLE AND THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME CHAMBER, RAN A 4"X1/2" STEEL BOLT THROUGH THE HOLE, FASTENED WITH A LARGE WASHER, LOCK WASHER, AND NUT, SOME THREAD-LOCK, AND SLATHERED ON THE BLACK SILICONE RTV. ALL DONE. SEEMS JUST FINE, NOW. CBS NEWS DID A STORY ON THEIR MORNING SHOW LAST THURSDAY, REGARDING DANGERS OF SIMILAR SEAT FAILURES IN HONDAS, I BELIEVE. I'M SURPRISED THAT THESE COMPANIES HAVE NOT DONE RECALLS ON THESE DESIGN FAILURES,ALREADY.

MY VEHICLE IS VERY CLEAN AND WELL MAINTAINED AND HAD NO INDICATION OF TROUBLE OR HANDLING ISSUES. A REPAIR SHOP WAS TAKING IT BACK TO FIX AN EXHAUST PROBLEM WHEN HE NEARLY LOST CONTROL. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WHEN HE NOTIFIED ME IT WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE, BUT FOUND OUT THAT ONE SECTION OF THE FRAME HAD TOTALLY RUSTED THROUGH WHERE THE AXLE LINK MOUNTS TO THE FRAME. IT COULD HAVE TORN THE AXLE OUT FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE WITH NO PREVIOUS WARNING. I HAD BEEN DRIVING ON 4 LANE INTERSTATE AT 70 JUST DAYS BEFORE WITH NO HANDLING ISSUES AT ALL. I PERSONALLY HAVE CHANGED THE OIL AND GREASED THE DRIVE TRAIN ALL BUT ONCE OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS AND NOT NOTICED THIS SMALL AREA OF SEVERE RUST THROUGH. I HAVE ALSO SPENT OVER $3000 ON EXHAUST, TIRES, AND MAINTENANCE REPAIR OVER THE PAST YEAR BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS WORTHY OF 5-10 MORE YEARS AND 100,000 MORE MILES. MY 2001 CAMRY IS DRIVEN BY MY SON NOW AND HAS APPROXIMATELY 390,000 MILES ON IT. I JUST SOLD MY 1994 JEEP CHEROKEE WITH OVER 300,000 MILES ON IT AND THIS 4RUNNER BODY IS IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION THAN THOSE AND THAT WAS WHY I EXPECTED THIS WOULD TOO. THIS IS DEFINITELY A WEAK SPOT HARD TO DETECT BECAUSE MYSELF AND 3 OTHER MECHANIC PLACES HAD NOT SEEN IT WHEN SERVICING IT BUT YET IT IS ALSO A VERY CRITICAL FUNCTION THAT CAN CAUSE COMPLETE LOSS OF CONTROL WHEN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AXLE IS TORN LOOSE AND OUT FROM THE VEHICLE. HEAD-ON COLLISIONS, ROLLOVERS, ETC ARE VERY LIKELY. THEREFORE, I BELIEVE THAT THIS WARNING MUST BE MADE KNOWN TO OTHER DRIVERS OF THESE 4RUNNERS AND A RECALL TO REPLACE THE FRAME AS NEEDED JUST LIKE TOYOTA HAS DONE FOR OTHER TRUCKS OF THEIRS, I.E. TUNDRA, SEQUOIA, TACOMA WITH FULL FRAME LIKE THIS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THIS FOR PROTECTION OF OUR PUBLIC.I HAVE PLENTY MORE PHOTOS OF THE VEHICLE THAT I CAN SHARE TO SUBSTANTIATE THE SOUNDNESS OF THE REST OF THE VEHICLE OR BAD SPOT RUSTING.