The 1992 Toyota 4runner has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 977,839 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 73 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STEERING05V3890002005-09-06977,839 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, IF THE STEERING WHEEL IS REPEATEDLY TURNED UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHERE HIGH STEERING EFFORT AND POWER ASSIST ARE REQUIRED, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN FULLY TURNING THE WHEEL WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED, A FATIGUE CRACK MAY DEVELOP IN THE STEERING RELAY ROD.
Consequence
IF THE VEHICLE IS CONTINUED TO BE OPERATED IN THIS CONDITION, THE RELAY ROD MAY FRACTURE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING RELAY ROD. THE RECALL BEGAN OCTOBER 5, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
6
4crashes5injuries3deaths
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
4
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
2
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
2
1fires
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
2
Total complaints73
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Made a noise starting idling weird hadn't even warmed up the car yet just drove up the street to store real quick when came back. Sounding like poop and checked everything milky oil a sign of a head gasket. Ps it happened on my birthday last year. It really”
“On february 28, 2010, my 1992 toyota 4runner had a repeated accelerator issue. My truck accelerated several times while my foot was off the accelerator. I was stopped at a traffic light when the truck surged forward. I pressed on the brake with both feet and the accelerator continued to race. I…”
“Mysterious coolant loss, pressurized system found no external leaks. Watched problem for about a month, kept topping up coolant. Driving home last night sudden loss of power on free way temperature spike, almost caused a major accident getting off freeway. Head gasket failure. Towed. Campaign has…”
“Exterior light recall. *tr”
“Left rear tire blew out on left hand gradual turn on gravel road 8/12/07. Right rear tire blew out on a straight level gravel road in early july. Both occasions at or below posted speed limit for conditions. Hankook dynamic rf04 lt235/75/r15 6 pr *tr”
“I have a 1992 4 runner. I purchased it in 1997. I took it in for the recall on the head when I bought it. I now has another problem, on of the cylinder is only producing 20% compression. My mechanic said that it has to do with a problem with the head. Is this covered under the recall also? *nm”
“Dt*: the contact stated while turning a corner, the steering became inoperable causing the driver to crash into a garbage can. A nhtsa recall letter#05v389000 concerning the relay rod was performed on the vehicle four months before the crash. The vehicle was driven to the dealer who gave no…”
“1992 toyota 4-runner, 3.0 liter, v-6, 4 wd truck in shop for blown head gasket & possible cracked block. I understand this vehicle has a design flaw which causes head gaskets to blow over and over in spite of so-called gasket "fix" by toyota which I had after 50,000 miles. Toyota should make it…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP02002 Opened 2002-03-26 · closed 2002-08-26
REAR SEAT BELT ROUTING
InvestigationSQ99003 Opened 1999-01-27 · closed 1999-04-22
CORRODED BRAKE LINES
TOYOTA IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL IN CANADA 98-253. CORRODED BRAKE LINES COULD FAIL RESULTING IN A PARTIAL BRAK SYSTEM LOSS AND INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCES
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1992 Toyota 4runner as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.