← New search

2021 Toyota 4RUNNER

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Toyota 4RUNNER do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 58.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
Compare all 4RUNNER years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 3 of 36 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Steering. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Suspension. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports1 fire reports1 injury reports

Steering complaints

13 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Sep 3, 2026
Steering

While vehicle was parked and not in use, upon entering the vehicle, the steering wheel/column dropped out of its locked position on its own. Disassembly of the steering column revealed that the tilt-lock mechanism's steering lock fracture bolt has broken in half on the right side. This cause the steering wheel to fall out of a l…

Read full complaint

While vehicle was parked and not in use, upon entering the vehicle, the steering wheel/column dropped out of its locked position on its own. Disassembly of the steering column revealed that the tilt-lock mechanism's steering lock fracture bolt has broken in half on the right side. This cause the steering wheel to fall out of a locked position and allowed the entire column to rotate skewed to the left side. The steering wheel became dangerous to use as it was in a freed position that allowed the entire column to move while providing inputs into the steering wheel. Had this occurred while the vehicle was in motion, it could have caused a sudden loss of steering control and significantly increased the risk of a crash or injury. The problem was confirmed by an independent mechanic upon teardown of the steering column, who visually verified the broken fracture bolt and the resulting free movement of the column. There were no dashboard warning signs, error messages, or noticeable symptoms prior to this event. The column simply came loose and dropped when entering the vehicle after it had been parked. The vehicle had about 120,000 miles at the time of failure.

NHTSA ODI #11761925

Mileage unknown · May 30, 2026
Steering

I just had the tires road force balanced on a haweka with lug-centric balance, and the steering wheel persists shaking from 55-65 mph. From what I have seen is this is a design flaw on this generation of 4 runners called the shimmy. For a newer vehicle this is not only dangerous, but unacceptable to not be considered for a recal…

Read full complaint

I just had the tires road force balanced on a haweka with lug-centric balance, and the steering wheel persists shaking from 55-65 mph. From what I have seen is this is a design flaw on this generation of 4 runners called the shimmy. For a newer vehicle this is not only dangerous, but unacceptable to not be considered for a recall when it is this widespread.

NHTSA ODI #11741081

Mileage unknown · Jul 9, 2023
Steering

I have a Toyota 4runner 2021. I'm actually presenting steering wheel shake and a feeling of unstable suspension issues in the front end during highway speeds more than 60 MPH. I when to the dealership and they align and balance the tires. But problem still happens. They said that not problem has been found when they verified the…

Read full complaint

I have a Toyota 4runner 2021. I'm actually presenting steering wheel shake and a feeling of unstable suspension issues in the front end during highway speeds more than 60 MPH. I when to the dealership and they align and balance the tires. But problem still happens. They said that not problem has been found when they verified the vehicle but they noticed the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11531153

Mileage unknown · May 10, 2023
SteeringSuspension

I purchased the vehicle from a Dealer. During a test drive I noticed a shake in the steering wheel that represented a wheel balance issue. The dealership acknowledged that, according to their techs that it was a wheel issue. A new set of tires was ordered mounted and balanced. I have been dealing with the issue of sometimes exce…

Read full complaint

I purchased the vehicle from a Dealer. During a test drive I noticed a shake in the steering wheel that represented a wheel balance issue. The dealership acknowledged that, according to their techs that it was a wheel issue. A new set of tires was ordered mounted and balanced. I have been dealing with the issue of sometimes excessive steering wheel shake and a feeling of unstable suspension issues in the front end during highway speeds of 60-70 MPH. In researching this model of Toyota it appears this is a well documented problem that has not been addressed by Toyota.

NHTSA ODI #11521332

Mileage unknown · Dec 12, 2022
SteeringSuspension

At speeds above 45 miles and hour, the steering wheel begins to nibble / shake which creates an unsafe driving situation. Vehicle has had alignment performed, and new tires balanced which still has not resolved issue.

NHTSA ODI #11497027

Mileage unknown · Aug 30, 2022
SteeringSuspensionWheels

Bought the vehicle brand new and have been dealing with a steering wheel/vehicle shake ever since. The vehicle feels out of control around 55-65mph(like death wobble) and the ride is rough at any speed over 50mph. This has been a serious issue on the highway with instances of crossing lanes because of lack of control over steeri…

Read full complaint

Bought the vehicle brand new and have been dealing with a steering wheel/vehicle shake ever since. The vehicle feels out of control around 55-65mph(like death wobble) and the ride is rough at any speed over 50mph. This has been a serious issue on the highway with instances of crossing lanes because of lack of control over steering. No warning lights have ever come on. Been to the dealership many times complaining about the issue just to be told that the "problem can't be replicated". I have taken it to several tire shops as well to have the wheels/tires balanced but nothing seems to help. I even bought new wheels and tires just to see if this was the cause and still no solution. This is a serious problem that thousands of 4Runner owners are experiencing and Toyota needs to get to the bottom of this. This absolutely should not be happening on brand new/modern day vehicles. I believe this is a multivariate issue causing the shake - a mix between wheel/tire balance, steering column, and possibly the drive shaft/differential/CV components. The problem must be big if Toyota continues to deny the problem year after year after year.

NHTSA ODI #11481939

Mileage unknown · Feb 19, 2022
Service BrakesSteeringSuspension

Driving up to 60mph the steering wheel vibrates excessively. I have taken it to the dealer and got repairs to fix it but 2 days later it returned. I had wheels balanced and rotated with an alignment. I fear I will loose control of the suv soon.

NHTSA ODI #11453013

Mileage unknown · Sep 28, 2021
SteeringSuspension

Steering wheel shakes around 58-64 mph. Brought 4Runner in twice already with tires being road-forced balanced but nothing seems to work. I will be bringing it in again for the third time. This has happened with less than 100 miles, now with 2,700 mi.

NHTSA ODI #11434710

Mileage unknown · Sep 4, 2021
Steering

I purchased a 2021 sr5 premium and on the 2nd day I noticed that after driving at 60-63 the car shakes and pulls to the right, I've took it back to the dealership, and the problem still there. They said that is normal but after reading on forums alot of people are experiencing the same problem. Will take it back to have check …

Read full complaint

I purchased a 2021 sr5 premium and on the 2nd day I noticed that after driving at 60-63 the car shakes and pulls to the right, I've took it back to the dealership, and the problem still there. They said that is normal but after reading on forums alot of people are experiencing the same problem. Will take it back to have check out again.

NHTSA ODI #11431705

Mileage unknown · Jul 16, 2021
SteeringSuspension

*Steering shudder occurs when driving 55-70mph. *The shudder makes it feel as you have no control over vehicle, especially in wet/snow driving conditions. *dealer technicians have inspected multiple times with no fix. *issue began with in first 500 miles (brand new purchase).

NHTSA ODI #11425077

Official recalls

1

22V480000 · Equipment:other:labels

Jul 6, 2022

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2020-2022 4Runner vehicles equipped with 20-inch Black Gunner Wheels. The load carrying capacity modification labels are incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: SET will mail replacement labels to owners, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 4, 2022. Owners may contact SET's customer service at 954-429-2000. SET's number for this recall is SET22A.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.