Model-year matrix

Toyota 4Runner
which year?

Compare every Toyota 4Runner model year the EPA recorded, 1984 to 2026. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Toyota 4Runner year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Toyota 4Runner?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Toyota 4Runner years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2003

695 indexed complaint reports; structure is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2003 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2004

678 indexed complaint reports; structure is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2004 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2000

483 indexed complaint reports; structure is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2000 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Toyota 4Runner model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2025 Toyota 4Runner

NHTSA complaint allegations: 54
Combined EPA economy: 21–23 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 6
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,650–2,950
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsservice brakes 20unknown or other 8electrical system 7

Open the 2025 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2026 Toyota 4Runner

NHTSA complaint allegations: 7
Combined EPA economy: 21–23 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 6
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,650–2,950
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelspower train 3electrical system 2unknown or other 2

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2026 has 47 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2025.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Toyota 4Runner by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Toyota 4Runner model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2026	7	power train 3electrical system 2unknown or other 2	21–23	6	$2,650–2,950	Dossier →
2025	54	service brakes 20unknown or other 8electrical system 7	21–23	6	$2,650–2,950	Dossier →
2024	8	structure 4electrical system 2service brakes 2	17	3	$3,600	Dossier →
2023	30	unknown or other 12exterior lighting 3forward collision avoidance 3	17	3	$3,600	Dossier →
2022	39	forward collision avoidance 7unknown or other 7air bags 6	17	3	$3,600	Dossier →
2021	34	steering 12suspension 10service brakes 6	17	3	$3,600	Dossier →
2020	31	unknown or other 8air bags 5back over prevention 5	17	3	$3,600	Dossier →
2019	64	unknown or other 12steering 10electrical system 9	18	3	$3,400	Dossier →
2018	58	steering 11unknown or other 9air bags 7	18	3	$3,400	Dossier →
2017	36	unknown or other 14service brakes 9electrical system 5	18	3	$3,400	Dossier →
2016	78	electrical system 18unknown or other 16air bags 10	18–19	3	$3,250–3,400	Dossier →
2015	86	air bags 17unknown or other 14electrical system 13	18–19	3	$3,250–3,400	Dossier →
2014	77	electrical system 24unknown or other 11air bags 8	18–19	3	$3,250–3,400	Dossier →
2013	36	air bags 11unknown or other 10service brakes 5	18–19	3	$3,250–3,400	Dossier →
2012	96	air bags 70electrical system 6service brakes 6	19	3	$3,250	Dossier →
2011	163	air bags 112structure 9unknown or other 9	19	4	$3,250	Dossier →
2010	145	air bags 92structure 12vehicle speed control 8	19–20	4	$3,100–3,250	Dossier →
2009	22	power train 10electrical system 4structure 3	15–18	4	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
2008	96	power train 28structure 16vehicle speed control 16	15–18	4	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
2007	154	structure 40unknown or other 21vehicle speed control 21	16–18	4	$3,400–3,850	Dossier →
2006	380	structure 144unknown or other 73suspension 65	16–18	4	$3,400–3,850	Dossier →
2005	424	structure 189suspension 77unknown or other 67	16–18	4	$3,400–3,850	Dossier →
2004	678	structure 310unknown or other 116suspension 113	15–18	4	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
2003	695	structure 284suspension 114unknown or other 101	15–18	4	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
2002	224	structure 90suspension 51power train 32	16	2	$3,850	Dossier →
2001	185	structure 83power train 32suspension 28	16–17	2	$3,600–3,850	Dossier →
2000	483	structure 264suspension 103unknown or other 59	16–19	7	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1999	330	structure 114suspension 66unknown or other 36	16–19	7	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1998	250	structure 78suspension 64tires 32	16–19	7	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1997	261	suspension 96structure 77service brakes, hydraulic 32	16–19	7	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1996	161	structure 43suspension 39engine and engine cooling 26	16–20	7	$3,100–3,850	Dossier →
1995	172	engine and engine cooling 116power train 16tires 11	13–18	4	$3,400–4,750	Dossier →
1994	64	engine and engine cooling 29steering 8service brakes, hydraulic 7	13–18	4	$3,400–4,750	Dossier →
1993	51	engine and engine cooling 20service brakes, hydraulic 9steering 7	13–18	5	$3,400–4,750	Dossier →
1992	53	service brakes, hydraulic 20engine and engine cooling 18electrical system 7	13–18	5	$3,400–4,750	Dossier →
1991	43	engine and engine cooling 23service brakes, hydraulic 8power train 6	14–18	6	$3,400–4,400	Dossier →
1990	78	engine and engine cooling 42power train 15structure 8	15–18	6	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
1989	6	engine and engine cooling 2tires 2exterior lighting 1	15–18	4	$3,400–4,100	Dossier →
1988	9	tires 3engine and engine cooling 2exterior lighting 2	15–19	4	$3,250–4,100	Dossier →
1987	5	power train 3service brakes, hydraulic 2equipment 1	16–19	3	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1986	8	engine and engine cooling 6parking brake 2tires 2	16–19	3	$3,250–3,850	Dossier →
1985	2	service brakes, hydraulic 1structure 1	19–21	2	$2,950–3,250	Dossier →
1984	2	suspension 1tires 1	17	2	$3,600	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.