2009 Toyota 4RUNNER Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Source: NHTSA · Updated Jun 13, 2024 · 22 owner complaints analyzed

Compared with other 4RUNNER years
Far fewer complaints than other years 30th of 32 for complaints
NHTSA crash rating
Not rated

Owners have filed 22 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER. That ranks 30th out of 32 4RUNNER model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is power train (10 complaints, 45%), typically at around 19,750 miles. Complaints mention 4 crashes, 1 fire, 1 injury. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.

Toyota 4RUNNER
Toyota 4Runner 2.4T SR5 2025. Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: RL GNZLZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.

Compare with another car

Most common 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER problems

Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.

Power Train10 · ~19,750 mi
Electrical System4 · ~13,250 mi
Structure3 · ~114,000 mi
Air Bags2 · ~78,131 mi
Engine2 · ~39,619 mi
Engine and Engine Cooling2 · ~39,901 mi
Fuel System, Gasoline2 · ~145,063 mi
Steering2 · ~79,000 mi
Suspension2 · ~99,500 mi
Unknown or Other2 · ~79,000 mi
Problem areaComplaintsShareMedian milesOwners mention mostTypical repair cost
Power Train1045%19,750——
Electrical System418%13,250——
Structure314%114,000——
Air Bags29%78,131——
Engine29%39,619——
Engine and Engine Cooling29%39,901——
Fuel System, Gasoline29%145,063——
Steering29%79,000——
Suspension29%99,500——
Unknown or Other29%79,000——
Seats15%30——
Vehicle Speed Control15%12,000——

One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Complaints by year received

Peak: 2010, with 8 complaints
2009: 2200922010: 8201082011: 1201112013: 3201332014: 2201422017: 1201712018: 1201812019: 1201912020: 1202012022: 1202212024: 120241

n = 22 complaints · Source: NHTSA

2009 Toyota 4RUNNER recalls (6)

Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.

Seats:front assembly:seat heater/coolerJun 2, 2016 · NHTSA campaign 16V396000 · 7,749 vehicles

Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.

Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

Seats:front assembly:seat heater/coolerNov 19, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V743000 · 3,233 vehicles

Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.

Risk: Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.

Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.

Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactiveJan 16, 2013 · NHTSA campaign 13V014000 · 3,235 vehicles

Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Vehicle speed control:accelerator pedalFeb 24, 2011 · NHTSA campaign 11V113000 · 1,363,244 vehicles

Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 through 2011 lexus lx570, 2003 through 2009 toyota 4runner, and 2006 through 2010 rav4 vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.

Risk: A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.

Fix: The remedy is now available. The safety recall began early april 2011. The remedy will involve modification or replacement of the accelerator pedal and replacement of any toyota all-weather floor mat. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or lexus at 1-800-255-3987.

Equipment:other:labelsFeb 3, 2010 · NHTSA campaign 10V035000 · 271,417 vehicles

Problem: Gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

Risk: This does not meet the standard requirements.

Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. Dealers will also correct the owner's manual. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact gulf states toyota at 713-580-3300.

Equipment:other:labelsFeb 3, 2010 · NHTSA campaign 10V036000 · 153,418 vehicles

Problem: Southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

Risk: A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact southeast toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • Unintended and Uncontrolled Acceleration (RQ10003) — opened Feb 16, 2010, closed Mar 1, 2011, led to recall 11V112000.

Recent owner reports

Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated while pulling out of a driveway, the contact observed a grinding noise coming from the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel violently yanked to the right. Additionally, the contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed…

Structure · received Jun 13, 2024 · NHTSA complaint 11594145

On 4/8/22, the rear window of our 2009 Toyota 4runner just shattered and fell apart for no reason. We took it to get replaced at Safelite on 4/13/22 and one of their techs asked if we knew what caused the glass to break and we told him we had no idea. We told him it just broke out of nowhere from…

Unknown or Other · received Apr 19, 2022 · NHTSA complaint 11461419

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota 4runner. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, they crashed into a cow which caused damaged to the front of vehicle. The contact was concerned the air bags failed to deploy. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed. The local dealer was not…

Air Bags · received Dec 3, 2020 · NHTSA complaint 11377705

Less than 80k miles and frame is completely rotting apart. While driving approximately 40 mph i lost control because the control arm completely separated from the frame! Completely unsafe and death traps

Steering · received May 27, 2019 · NHTSA complaint 11210138

Steering was very hard to do and really jerky.took it to dealership and was told that the rack and pin needed to be completely corroded and needed to be replaced. Yet another part i have to eat the cost due to corrosion. I have read multiple complaints about the same problems. Why is nothing being…

Steering · received Nov 22, 2018 · NHTSA complaint 11153258

Other Toyota 4RUNNER years

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See all Toyota 4RUNNER problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER?

Owners most often report power train, electrical system, structure problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 10 complaints.

Was there a recall on the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER?

Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.

Was the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER a good year?

Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other 4RUNNER model years, the 2009 has far fewer complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.