NHTSA Complaint #11128717 — 2000 TOYOTA 4RUNNER

I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT I AM SUBMITTING THIS ON BEHALF OF ALL 3RD GEN 4RUNNERS! IT HAS NOT, YET, HAPPENED TO ME BUT I AM FEARFUL TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL I REPLACE THE PARTS EVEN THOUGH THEY SEEM FINE. AT THE LEAST A BETTER, SAFER DESIGN COULD BE MADE SO THAT WHEN IT DOES FAIL, PEOPLES LIVE AREN'T PUT INTO JEOPARDY. HELLO! I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT 1996-2002 TOYOTA 4RUNNER'S AND THEIR VERY COMMON ISSUE OF THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINTS FAILING. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE VEHICLE IS STOCK OR MODIFIED, FIRST YEAR OR LAST YEAR RUN BUT SOMEHOW TOYOTA ONLY HAS ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE 2001 AND 2002 MODEL YEARS. LEAVING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF US VULNERABLE TO A SEVERE ACCIDENT. THE FAILURE POINT IS THE BAIL JOINT AND WHEN IT FAILS IT SEVERS ITSELF FROM THE VEHICLE, PULLING THE AXLE SHAFT OUT AND CAUSING THE FRONT END TO DIP TO THE GROUND CAUSING A VERY UNSAFE DRIVING EXPERIENCE AS YOU COULD POSSIBLY DIE AT ANY SPEED. YOU CAN FIND THOUSANDS OF STORIES ON GOOGLE, IT HAPPENS LITERALLY EVERYDAY WITH PEOPLE REPORTING IN MANY 3RD GEN 4RUNNER FORUMS AND FACEBOOK GROUPS. GOOGLE '3RD GEN 4RUNNER LBJ FAILURE' FOR INSTANCE. WHY DOES TOYOTA ONLY NEED TO RECALL 2 YEARS OF A 6 YEAR VEHICLE RUN? ALL YEARS ARE EQUALLY AFFECTED. TOYOTA IS A NAME OF DEPENDABILITY SO THIS RARE ACT OF BETRAYING THE CUSTOMER AND PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE IS JUST SO UNLIKE THEM. CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS AND HELP YA OUT? I HAVE NOT PERSONALLY HAD THIS HAPPEN BUT I CHECK MY LOWER ARMS ALL THE TIME FOR ANY PLAY BUT HAVE HEARD STORIES OF OTHERS WITH DETAILED MAINTENANCE AND IT HAPPENING TO THEM REGARDLESS. IT'S TOTALLY UNSAFE AND A REDESIGN SHOULD BE THOUGHT UP, NEWER GENERATIONS DO NOT HAVE THIS FAILURE PRONE ISSUE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IF THEY DO FAIL THEY DO NOT MAKE FOR A VERY UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT.