2009 Toyota 4RUNNER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2009 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR. w/SAB has not been rated for its overall safety. However, it received a 4-star rating for both the driver and passenger side in the front crash tests, and a high 5-star rating for both driver and passenger sides in the side crash tests, indicating good protection in these areas. The SUV also scored a 3-star rating for rollover protection. It comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which can help drivers maintain control in tricky situations. Unfortunately, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems, which are features that can provide additional safety benefits.

On the downside, there have been 21 complaints reported for this model, along with 6 recalls, suggesting that there may be some issues or safety concerns that have been identified by drivers or authorities. It's important for potential buyers to consider these factors alongside the safety ratings when evaluating the overall safety of the 2009 Toyota 4Runner.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

21

Recall Count

6

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2009 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2009 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2009 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2009 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 4 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 3

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 3 3 3
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4

Complaints for the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota 4runner. the contact stated that while driving at low speeds and turning, the vehicle lost accelerating power. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 24,000. updated 03/21/13*lj the consumer stated the transmission slipped (revved to high rpms) while attempting to accelerate after slowing down below 15 mph (while making turns or slowing for traffic). this has caused dangerous situations where significant lag time between depressing the gas pedal and when the transmission engaged while making a left turn across oncoming traffic or when a quick acceleration was needed after slowing down. the potential for an accident is high. toyota should address the situation before someone gets into a serious accident as several other reports of this condition have been reported. there are a number of complaints on the internet with the same problem."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2012-03-12

Complaint:
"2009 4runner transmission slips (revs to high rpms) while attempting to accelerate after slowing below 15 mph (while making turns or slowing for traffic). this has caused dangerous situations where a significant lag time between depressing the gas pedal and when the transmission engages while making a left hand turn across on coming traffic or when a quick acceleration is needed after slowing. the potential for an accident is high. toyota should address this situation before someone gets into a serious accident as several other reports of this condition have been reported. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2012-02-07

Complaint:
"2009 4 runner transmission: same as other complaints about slipping and lag time in engaging into gear at low speeds (like when slowing down to make turns or go over speed bumps). obviously not shifting correctly and is a safety issue when turning across traffic and the vehicle does not respond properly when the accelerator is depressed. toyota needs to investigate this as it looks like a recurring problem for this year and a safety issue. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2011-01-08

Complaint:
"in a parking lot, while trying to stop and park on reverse, the vehicle kept accelerated on d (drive). i had not change the stick yet to reverse. i was just trying to stop. i had to step on the brakes very hard to control the car and turn off the engine and change the stick to p (parking). the rear right wheel left a mark on the pavement. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2010-08-07

Complaint:
"i have a 2009 toyota 4 runner, purchased new in november '09. the car currently has 1800 miles on it, however i noticed the problem at about 400 miles. the problem is the transmission slips when shifting up at about 10 miles per hour. it does not do this from a complete stop, only after de-accelerating (example, slowing down to make a right turn) and accelerating back up, then it will slip. nothing has been done to correct this defect because the dealership says they have never heard of this problem with the 4 runner and toyota has not issued a technical service bulletin. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2009-01-11

Complaint:
"i am filing this claim to report a potential safety problem with the transmission in the 2009 toyota 4runner. i bought my 2009 4runner new in may of 2009 and from the first week noticed a problem with the transmission slipping, and it is progressively getting worse. it happens consistently each time i slow down (but don't stop completely) to turn corners and then continue to accelerate,. the transmission doesn't respond, the car just sits there, and the engine goes from 1500 rpms to up to 2500 rpms before the transmission catches up with the engine again and the car then moves. i am concerned each time this happens, especially when there is traffic following behind me in the turn. i brought it in to the dealership to check it out right after we bought it. they ran a diagnostic and told us that everything checked out ok. i had the technician drive it, and i went with him. he said that he couldn't feel what i was talking about, even though i felt it when he slowed to make a turn. he then told me that it was probably because it took the new electronic transmission a few seconds to communicate with the car's computer. sounded like he was guessing at what might be causing the problem. i have since contacted customer care at toyota, and received a response in e-mail telling me to contact the dealership in my area, and that toyota had already done so on my behalf. he said if i didn't hear from the manager at my dealership by feb. 11, 2010, to contact toyota again. i haven't heard from my dealership as of feb 13. i have talked with other owners of this model, and they experience the same thing, and they have gotten the same runaround from the company. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2010-02-05

Complaint:
"i have a 2001 toyota 4runner. the rear differential leaks oil through pin holes, and from what i have read, mine is not the only one. the car barely has 100,000 miles on it, and the differential should last as long as the car. the risk is that it will run dry, seize, and the rear wheels will lock up causing an accident. this is clearly a defect by toyota reducing the cost of their material the construct the differential housing with. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2009-02-11

Recalls for the 2009 Toyota 4RUNNER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"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."
Consequence:
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.
Remedy:

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.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2014-11-19

Recall:
"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."
Consequence:
If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy:

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.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2016-06-02

TOYOTA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

TOYOTA ranks 3 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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