AutoUtility currently tracks 35 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Toyota 4Runner. Steering System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 12 complaints (34.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
12 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
6 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
5 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The power door lock actuators on both front doors of my 2021 Toyota 4Runner have failed. The problem developed progressively. The front door locks initially began working intermittently and became less reliable over time. Eventually, both front door lock actuators stopped operating. They have now..."
"The interior of both headlights have the interior coating peeling in the first 20k miles"
"I just had the tires road force balanced on a haweka with lug-centric balance, and the steering wheel persists shaking from 55-65 mph. From what I have seen is this is a design flaw on this generation of 4 runners called the shimmy. For a newer vehicle this is not only dangerous, but unacceptable..."
"Today while I was driving home from work, in a snow storm, suddenly a low braking power notification and ABS malfunction popped up on my console with loud beeping and my brakes completely stopped working. In order to avoid hitting the car in front of me I had to swerve to the shoulder and come to a..."
"My backup camera does not work consistently. It will sometimes come on and show objects behind me; other times it is a black screen. I have read where Toyota models from 2022 to newer, but not including the 4 Runner, are having major issues with the back up camera and are under recall. I believe..."
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 | 78 | 6 | 8 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 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 Current Page | 35 | 3 | 1 | Current |
| 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 → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 21 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Toyota 4Runner
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Toyota 4Runner is Steering System, appearing in 12 records (34.3% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Suspension (10) and Brakes & Traction Control (6).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 35 consumer defect complaints and 1 safety recall campaign for the 2021 Toyota 4Runner.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Toyota 4Runner, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.