1998 Toyota 4runner — L4

The 1998 Toyota 4Runner generated 267 complaints, nearly matching 1997’s 270 while remaining well below the 335 and 494 complaints filed for 1999 and 2000, respectively. Across the contiguous 1996–2002 model run, federal filings trended upward in complaints and technical service bulletins, climbing from 182 complaints and 68 TSBs in 1996 to a high of 494 complaints and 95 TSBs by 2000, which places 1998 in the early phase of that escalation before the worst years. Its five recalls tied 1996 for the highest count within that span, though the data does not specify root causes, and its leading complaint categories were structure (57), suspension (38), and tires (33), alongside 19 crash-related and 6 fire-related complaints. Relative to later years in that same run, 1998 sidesteps the 2000 complaint surge and carries fewer TSBs than 2001–2002 models, suggesting it sits before the steepest part of the reported-issue escalation. Given that it precedes the 1999–2000 spike in owner complaints while still carrying elevated recall exposure, the 1998 4Runner represents a reasonable but not risk-free purchase, preferable to 1999–2000 but not as clean as the lower-complaint 1996.