2007 TOYOTA 4RUNNER Electrical System Problems

Driving along the freeway in winter conditions I used the rear defroster for the back window, this caused the back glass to explode loudly, shattering glass onto belongings, animals and the road behind us. This caused drivers behind us to act evasively and myself as well making a winter driving condition more dangerous, not to mention the spray of glass that reached the back seats of my car with passengers. This has been well documented by other drivers and been acknowledged by Toyota in letters and technician bulletins for replacement of the windows, there are no warning lamps, it just goes from working correctly to exploding.

The contact owns 2007 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, while the vehicle was parked or idling, the electrical system malfunctioned. The contact stated that while the brake pedal was depressed, brake lights intermittently illuminated or failed to illuminate as needed, the horn failed to operate, and other undisclosed electrical systems intermittently failed to operate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown ICMU failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, A HIGH PITCHED AUDIBLE ALARM SOUNDED AND THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND EMERGENCY BRAKE SENSORS REMAINED ILLUMINATED. ALSO, WHEN DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP THE VEHICLE, THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED AND THE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO JIM HUDSON TOYOTA (970 COLUMBIANA DR, IRMO,SC) , BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.

MY REAR WINDOW SHATTERED AFTER USING THE DEFROSTER. ONCE I GOT OUT OF MY CAR AFTER PARKING IT IN MY JOB'S GARAGE IT BUSTED ON IT'S OWN. I FOUND OUT THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY 4TH GENERATION 4RUNNER OWNERS BUT TOYOTA WON'T RECALL OR EXTEND THE WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE ANY LONGER. NOW I HAVE TO EITHER NEVER USE MY REAR DEFROSTER AGAIN WHILE LIVING IN COLORADO OR RISK IT SHATTERING AGAIN AND HURTING PASSENGERS IN MY CAR. I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT THE VEHICLE IF I HAD KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH A DANGEROUS ISSUE.

I WAS DRIVING ON DEC. 24TH, 2018, TURNED ON MY REAR DEFROSTER ON, AND WITHIN MINUTES MY REAR WINDOW EXPLODED. THE COMPANY, SAFELITE, TOLD ME THAT THE DEFROSTER LOOKED LIKE IT SHORTED OUT AND CAUSED THE DAMAGE. ATTACHED IS A PICTURE OF THE DEFROSTER WIRES.

THE REAR HATCH DOOR HANDLE IS DEFORMED AND TURNED INTO A TAR-LIKE MESS THAT COVERS OUR FINGERS WHENEVER WE TRY TO OPEN THE REAR HATCH. I HAVE NOTED NUMEROUS OTHER 4-RUNNER OWNERS HAVING THE SAME EXACT MALFUNCTION. PROBLEM IS THE MELTED RUBBER COVER WHICH IS PART OF THE SWITCH ASSEMBLY, PART #84840-35010. TOTALLY UNSAT! *TR

VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON SHOULDER OF ROAD, ENGINE RUNNING, WHILST ADJUSTING THE MOBILE GPS (HENCE THE REASON FOR STOPPING). AT FIRST SMOKE WAS COMING UP AROUND/THROUGH CENTER CONSOLE (BETWEEN DRIVER'S SEAT AND PASSENGER FRONT SEAT) AND THEN FLAMES. THE INTERIOR OF PASSENGER COMPARTMENT WAS TOTALLY BURNED OUT IN SPITE OF PROMPT RESPONSE BY EMERGENCY CREW. STATE FARM INSURANCE HAS NATURALLY BEEN NOTIFIED ALTHOUGH I HARDLY SEE WHY STATE FARM SHOULD PAY AND NOT TOYOTA. SURELY THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING WRONG WITH ELECTRICAL WIRING.

THE REAR HATCH DOOR HANDLE TURNED INTO A MELTED RUBBER/PLASTIC MESS. OUR HANDS ARE COVERED WITH BLACK MELTED RUBBER TYPE MATERIAL WHENEVER WE TRY TO OPEN THE REAR HATCH. AFTER ONLINE RESEARCH, I SEE THERE ARE ALLOT OF OTHER TOYOTA 4 RUNNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THE PART IS CALLED, SWITCH ASSEMBLY, BACK PART #84840-35010. NO DOUBT THAT THE PART IS FAULTY. *TR

MY VEHICLE, 2007 TOYOTA 4RUNNER, HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME ISSUES WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS BELOW FREEZING. LIVING IN MAINE, THIS HAPPENS MORE OFTEN THAN ANY HUMAN WOULD LIKE. IN ANY EVENT, MY HVAC BLOWER MOTOR CONTINUES TO LITERALLY FREEZE UP AND WILL NOT WORK. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A TSB (AC002-07) ON THIS EXACT ISSUE. SINCE MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY I'M TOLD BY THE LOCAL DEALER AND BY TOYOTA DIRECTLY THAT I NEED TO ASSUME ALL COSTS FOR REPAIR, YET IF THE VEHICLE WAS "IN WARRANTY" THESE REPAIRS WOULD BE COVERED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN IN WARM CLIMATES FOR THE DURATION OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND THIS ISSUE WAS NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL A RECENT MOVE. I'M UNCLEAR HOW THIS ISSUE IS NOT SEEN AS A DIRECT SAFETY ISSUE AND HAS NOT BECOME A STANDARD VEHICLE RECALL FOR REPAIR. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW WITH THE VEHICLE WHICH CAN...

MICE HAVE INFILTRATED THE HEADLINER AREA OF 2007 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER. THEY BUILT A NEST AND CHEWED THE WIRING INSULATION FOR THE SUNROOF SWITCH WHICH CAUSED A SHORT THAT MELTED THE WIRES AND CAUSED THE SUNROOF TO MALFUNCTION. DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE SWITCH AND REPAIRED THE WIRES FOR $360 SINCE THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. AFTER EXPLORING THE INTERNET OTHER PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS ON HONDA AND SEVERAL OTHER MODELS. SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS REFERRED TO THE WIRING INSULATION BEING MADE OUT OF SOY BASED MATERIAL. IS THERE ANY IDEA WHY/HOW ARE THEY PAST THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND INTO THE HEADLINERS AND CABINS? COULD THERE BE A DESIGN FLAW? FROM READING THE POSTS A STRONG POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR ACCIDENTS TO BE CAUSED BECAUSE MICE ARE RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE'S FEET, ETC. WHILE THEY ARE DRIVING. HEALTH CONCERNS HAVE ALSO BEEN RAISED DUE TO ODORS AND FECES BY THE MICE,...