Other suspension problem on the 1998 Toyota 4RUNNER
When other suspension problem gets reported
Owners of the 1998 Toyota 4RUNNER report other suspension problem at a median of 170,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 145,000 miles and a quarter after 230,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 125,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 245,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 118,500 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125,500 miles | 145,000 miles | 168,821 miles | 229,684 miles | 244,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 18 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2021, at a median of 400 miles, and latest on the 1996 at 185,000 miles.
By volume the 2003 carries the most reports, with 59; the 1998 has 15. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl *- the vehicle is 1998 toyota 4runner. The contact received recall letter 02v021000 in december. The contact stated had approximately 4 appointments, and each time the part did not come in. The contact stated the dealer told him they will call him when the part arrived. The contact stated he heard a noise when he turned the vehicle to the left. *ak
Tl* - the contact owns a 1998 toyota 4 runner, the contact received recall notice #02v021000. The contact drove the vehicle to two dealers, and was told that they would call when the parts were available. The contact has attempted to schedule an appointment with the dealer since 2003. The contact informed the manufacturer several times and they called the dealer who stated they have been unable to find the parts and would call the contact when they arrived. *ak
Rear bearings have failed. There was a recall issued by NHTSA #02v021, which sited the rear suspension parts needed to be replaced on all 1996-1998 toyota 4runners. The problem was for 2wd but was issued for 4WD vehicles also to avoid confusion. (mine is a 4WD) my question is, if the springs were under-sized, will this cause damage or undue strain to the rear bearings? Also, toyota refused to honor the recall statement from the NHTSA that states that "toyota will recall these vehicles to avoid public confusion as to which vehicles should receive the replacement parts." *tr
Also reported on the 1998 Toyota 4RUNNER
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other body or interior problem
Rust or structural corrosion
Differential or transfer case failure
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other brake problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 15 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other suspension problem happen on the 1998 Toyota 4RUNNER?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 170,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 145,000 miles and a quarter after 230,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other suspension problem on the 1998 Toyota 4RUNNER?
15 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed