1999 Toyota Prerunner Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1999 Toyota Prerunner, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Airbags233.3%
- Suspension233.3%
- Engine116.7%
- Tires & wheels116.7%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
I PURCHASED TRUCK USED 2012. THE AIRBAG FAULT LIGHT WAS ON MOST OF THE TIME. I TOOK IT TO AURORA COLLISION IN SEATTLE , WA. THEY COULDNT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG SO THEY REPLACED THE ENTIRE AIRBAG UNIT. WITHIN 1 YEAR THE AIRBAG FAULT LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON AGAIN. I CALLED THEM TO REPORT THIS PROBLEM AND THEY SAID A NEW COMPANY BOUGHT THE BUSINESS SAME PHONE NUMBER 206 522-0493 AND THEY DO NOT HAVE MY RECORDS. TOYOTA OF SEATTLE TOLD ME THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP CUSTOMERS RECORDS FOR 10 YEARS AND PASS THEM ON TO THE NEW OWNER. NEW BUSINESS OWNER SAYS HE DOES NOT HAVE THEM. TOYOTA OF SEATTLE SAYS THEY CANNOT DETERMINE WHAT AIRBAG I HAVE WITH OUT TAKING THE TRUCK APART. WHAT CAN I DO?
WHILE TRAVELING AT 64 MPH ANOTHER DRIVER CROSSED CONSUMER'S PATH, AND CONSUMER HIT OTHER DRIVER HEAD-ON. CAR WAS TOTALLED. UPON IMPACT, AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. CONSUMER FELT THIS WAS UNSAFE. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Suspension
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY 1999 TOYOTA TACOMA PRERUNNER WITH LADDER RACK AND 3 LADDERS, SWAYS DANGEROUSLY, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.IT CAN BE CAUSED BY CONCRETE BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. IT SWAYS SIDE TO SIDE. MY TOYOTA DEALER SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG.*AK
BED OF TRUCK SWAYED WHEN A LOAD WAS IN BED, DEALER HAS CHANGED RACK & PINION STEERING/TIE ROD ENDS/SPRINGS AND SHOCKS, BUT THAT HAS NOT REMEDIED THE PROBLEM. *AK CONSUMER WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES WHICH WAS ACTUALLY CAUSING THE PROBLEMS, THE TIRES WERE THEN BALANCED AND ROTATED, CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM WITH THE SWAYING WAS STILL THERE, CONSUMER REALIZED THAT WHEN WEIGHT IS ON BED OF THE VEHICLE, THAT IS WHEN THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO SWAY, CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT HAS NO PLACE OF ALLEVIATING THE PROBLEM. *JB
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
A ROD WAS THROWN THROUGH THE ENGINE BLOCK. THE DEALER CLAIMED IT WAS A MAINTENANCE PROBLEM WHERE THEY REFUSED ANY RESPONSIBILITY. 80,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. PURCHASED NEW ENGINE AND $8,000 HAD A NEW ENGINE WITH A PERMANENT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. DEALER CLAIMS CHECK LIGHT WAS A NEW PROBLEM AND OFFERED TO FIX FOR SOMEWHERE NORTH OF $1,500. REFUSED THIS FIX. OIL WAS CHANGED AT REGULAR INTERVALS. BOO TOYOTA. *NM
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Tires & wheels
Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.
From owner reports, verbatim
BED OF TRUCK SWAYED WHEN A LOAD WAS IN BED, DEALER HAS CHANGED RACK & PINION STEERING/TIE ROD ENDS/SPRINGS AND SHOCKS, BUT THAT HAS NOT REMEDIED THE PROBLEM. *AK CONSUMER WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES WHICH WAS ACTUALLY CAUSING THE PROBLEMS, THE TIRES WERE THEN BALANCED AND ROTATED, CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM WITH THE SWAYING WAS STILL THERE, CONSUMER REALIZED THAT WHEN WEIGHT IS ON BED OF THE VEHICLE, THAT IS WHEN THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO SWAY, CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT HAS NO PLACE OF ALLEVIATING THE PROBLEM. *JB
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .