AutoUtility currently tracks 78 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Toyota 4Runner. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 18 complaints (23.1% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 5 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 78 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (18 reports • 23.1% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (11), Suspension (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 5 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Toyota 4Runner
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #16V937000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- Campaign #19V741000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- Campaign #19V005000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Suspension
Body & Structure
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V763000 STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD
- Campaign #17V425000 STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Toyota 4Runner
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Swivel motion has started to jam when half locked, base will show half red/half green and refuse to lock. Unlock handle becomes hard to lift to swivel the car seat back to attempt to lock it again. I’ve contacted Evenflo, but waiting to hear back."
"The paint is failing on this vehicle. The color is 8S6 Nautical Blue Metallic. The paint is peeling on the roof, hood, and two doors. The failure has been confirmed by a body shop."
"We were traveling down the mountain of Mt. Nebo in Dardanelle, AR, around 1:08pm on Friday, May 22, 2026. It had been misty rain for a few hours. As we were traveling down the switchbacks of the mountain, we pressed on the brake to slow the vehicle; however, the vehicle did not slow down any. Since..."
"On March 6, I was on South bound on Rt 29 in Culpeper County VA at the posted speed limit of 55mph when I hit a debris item on the road. I do not know what it was but it impacted the front skid plate and seems to be no other damage from the impact. There was no contact with the bumper, wheels or..."
"I am reporting premature clear coat failure on a 2016 Toyota 4Runner in Magnetic Gray Metallic. The vehicle has approximately 120,000 miles and has been properly maintained, including regular washing and professional ceramic coating. The clear coat on the hood and roof (horizontal panels) is..."
Complaint History for Toyota 4Runner
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Toyota 4Runner | 85 | 10 | 9 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Toyota 4Runner Current Page | 78 | 6 | 8 | Current |
| 2017 Toyota 4Runner | 36 | 3 | 5 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Toyota 4Runner | 58 | 7 | 5 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Toyota 4Runner | 64 | 5 | 4 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Toyota 4Runner | 32 | 4 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Toyota 4Runner | 35 | 3 | 1 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Toyota 4Runner | 39 | 5 | 3 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Toyota 4Runner | 31 | 6 | 1 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Toyota 4Runner | 8 | 1 | 1 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Toyota 4Runner | 56 | 2 | 1 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Toyota 4Runner | 0 | 0 | 1 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Toyota 4Runner
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 33 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CARRY HANDLE, SHELL, BASE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE,WHEELS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.