2009 Toyota 4Runner: Use caution

1. Powertrain69% · 9 complaints · median 20,000 miles
2. Electrical31% · 4 complaints
3. Engine23% · 3 complaints
4. Fuel and propulsion8% · 1 complaints
5. Body and structure8% · 1 complaints
6. Seats and belts8% · 1 complaints

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

• NHTSA 16V396000June 20167,749 vehicles

  Seats: front assembly: seat heater/cooler

  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.

• NHTSA 14V743000November 20143,233 vehicles

  Seats: front assembly: seat heater/cooler

  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.

• NHTSA 13V014000January 20133,235 vehicles

  Seats · Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive

  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.

• NHTSA 11V113000February 20111,363,244 vehicles

  Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal

  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.

• NHTSA 10V035000February 2010271,417 vehicles

  Equipment: other: labels

  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.

• NHTSA 10V036000February 2010153,418 vehicles

  Equipment: other: labels

  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.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Toyota sent NHTSA 247 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2009 4Runner. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

• T-SB-0103-20 Rev1 · June 2024This Service Bulletin provides updated non-electric water pump leak inspection and diagnostic tips for some 2008 – 2025 model year Toyota vehicles.
• T-PANT-2024-004- · March 2024This is to advise of various price adjustments that will affect Toyota Genuine Motor Oil and Long Life Coolant, effective March 1, 2024.
• T-SB-0057-18 · May 2023TSB: The Immobilizer and Smart Key Reset is a feature that allows the registration of new keys when all master keys are lost.
• T-TT-0628-20 · October 2020TT: HVAC drain tube is found to be blocked/clogged.
• T-TT-0578-19 Rev · October 2020TT: Some customers may encounter Bluetooth® connectivity concerns such as: ?Difficulty to pair the phone.
• T-TT-0468-17 Rev · July 2020TT: HVAC drain tube is found to be blocked/clogged.
• DOR-M3J3F-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.
• DOR-M9J4S-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.

All 2009 4Runner bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2009 Toyota 4Runner reliable?

Owners filed 13 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota 4Runner in its first five years on the road, about 49 for every 100,000 sold: 1.4× the rate of a typical 4Runner year. That's above average, so use caution. Ratings compare 4Runner years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.

What are the most common 2009 4Runner problems?

Owners' complaints most often involve the powertrain (transmission and drivetrain) (69%), the electrical system (31%) and the engine (23%). A complaint can name more than one area.

Has the 2009 Toyota 4Runner been recalled?

Yes. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the 2009 Toyota 4Runner, the most recent in June 2016 (seats). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.