2004 Toyota 4RUNNER buying guide

A data-driven checklist for buying a used 2004 Toyota 4RUNNER, built from 612 owner complaints, 2 recall campaigns, 195 service bulletins and federal safety records — not opinions.

Know before you buy

2 recall campaigns affect this model year. Check each one and confirm the repairs were done — recall work is free at any authorized dealer.
Main problem areas: structure (309), suspension (108), service brakes (57), air bags (36), vehicle speed control (30).
Symptoms owners describe: rust / corrosion (345), stalling (15), brake problems (15), check engine light (11), hesitation / surging (10), misfire / rough idle (8). Test-drive with these in mind.
Reported incident mileage: among 414 complaints with a usable odometer reading, half were filed between 78,125 and 160,000 miles (median 121,255). This describes when owners reported problems — it does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop one.
2 federal investigations have named this model year — read what they cover.
Fuel economy: 15–18 MPG combined (EPA; engines: 4L 6-cyl, 4.7L 8-cyl).

When problems get reported

Reported incident mileage among 414 complaints with usable odometer readings.

under 20k		11
20–40k		13
40–60k		35
60–80k		48
80–100k		48
100–150k		132
150k+		127

Before you hand over money

Run the VIN through our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact build.
Check open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall that was never fixed is a free repair you can claim.
Get a pre-purchase inspection focused on the problem areas listed above.

This guide is generated from official NHTSA, EPA and FARS records. Complaints are unverified owner reports and raw counts are not adjusted for sales volume.