There are 15 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2000 Toyota 4Runnerin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
FUEL GAUGE SEEMS TO BE MALFUNCTIONING OR INACCURATE. MY CONCERNS FOR IT BEING INACCURATE ARE THAT WHEN REFUELING THE TANK AFTER 8-10 MILES THE YELLOW LIGHT HAS COME ON, THE TANK ONLY "FILLS UP" WITH 13.2 GALLONS WHERE THE MANUAL STATES THAT IT HAS A FUEL CAPACITY OF 18.5 GALLONS (PAGE 261 OF MANUAL). AFTER FILLING UP THE TANK, THE NEEDLE SEEMS TO BE AT THE "FULL" LINE. HOWEVER, AFTER ONLY DRIVING 5 MILES ON A RESIDENTIAL ROAD OF AT A MAXIMUM 40 MPH, THE NEEDLE OF THE GAUGE "COMES OFF" FULL QUICKLY. ONLY DRIVING 26 MILES, THE NEEDLE IS AT THE 1/4 LINE OF GAUGE. ESTIMATING THE CAR TO GETTING 104 MILES PER TANK.
READINGS FLUCTUATES, OR INDICATE MORE GAS THAN ACTUALLY IN TANK. I WAS ON THE FREEWAY IN MOTION AND THE TRUCK STOPPED WORKING. I LOST POWER STEERING AND POWER BREAKS. IT WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND LUCKY NOTHING HAPPENED. IT TURNS OUT THE QUARTER TANK READING WAS FALSE. THE TANK WAS EMPTY.
FUEL GAUGE IS INACCURATE, GIVES MISLEADING INFORMATION, MAY BE TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE FUEL REMAINING. THIS LEADS TO FREQUENT, UNNECESSARY, GAS STATIONS STOPS. *TR
WHEN I FILL MY CAR UP IT ONLY TAKES 12 GALLONS OF GAS. TANK SIZE IS 18.5. *TR
2000 TOYOTA 4RUNNER FUEL GAUGE NOT WORKING. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A BULLETIN AND BASICALLY REDESIGNED THE PARTS FOR A FAULTY SYSTEM AND EXPECTS THE CONSUMERS TO PAY FOR THEIR ENGINEERING PROBLEMS. I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO HAVE CONSUMERS PAY 800 TO 900 DOLLARS AS QUOTED FROM MY DEALER FOR A DESIGN FLAW FOR TOYOTA. *TR
I RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS CAR AND NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE IS READING FULL TANK. AFTER DRIVING THE CAR FOR ABOUT 00 MILES, MY CAR STALLED ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY. ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT I WAS OUT OF GASOLINE. I WAS LUCKY, I DID NOT GET HIT. *TR
BOUGHT TRUCK USED HAD 2 WEEKS NOTICED PROBLEM NOW ITS GOING TO COST 400.00 TO FIX. *TR
THE VEHICLES FUEL SENDING SENSOR IS MALFUNCTIONING CAUSING THE FUEL GAUGE TO READ INACCURATE FUEL QUANTITIES. THIS HAS LED TO FUEL STARVATION WHICH COULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE SHOULD IT HAPPEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. NO CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN AS OF YET. THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED BY TOYOTA AS A KNOWN DEFECT IN TOYOTA SERVICE BULLETIN EL010-00. SINCE TOYOTA HAS IDENTIFIED THIS AS A KNOWN DEFECT ISSUE; MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE ORDERED TO RECALL AND REPLACE DEFECTIVE PARTS. *JB
THE FUEL GAUGE READS EMPTY WHEN THERE ARE 5 GALLONS LEFT IN THE GAS TANK. TOYOTA SAYS TSB EL010-00 ADDRESSES KNOWN DEFECTIVE 1999 AND 2000 4RUNNER FUEL GAUGES. MY VEHICLE IS A FEW MONTHS AND MILES OUT OF WARRANTY SO TOY WILL NOT PAY FOR FIX. SOME ADDRESSED THERE IS NO FUEL IN TANK EVEN THOUGH FUEL GAUGE READS 1/2. THIS CAUSE VEHICLE STALLS AND DIES ON FREEWAY ALMOST CAUSING WRECK. *AK
CONSUMER CAN SMELL FUEL. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK
SPECIFICATIONS ON VEHICLE INDICATE 18.5 GAL. TANK, BUT ONLY CAN FILL TO 15 GALS. FUEL GAUGE WARNING LIGHT COMES ON WITH 3-5 GALLONS STILL IN THE TANK. FUEL GAUGE INDICATOR NOT PROPORTIONATE WITH GAS LEFT IN THE TANK.
FUEL GUAGE DEFECTIVE ADMITTED BY TOYOTA (NO CURRENT SOLUTION). *AK
FUEL TANK DOES NOT FILL UP TO THE ADVERTISED 18.5 GALLONS. WHEN THE FUEL GACE IS ON EMPTY, IT ONLY FILLS UP TO 14.5 GALLONS.
FUEL GUAGE DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. *ET
THE FUEL GAUGE IS INACCURATE. IT DID NOT READ THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF GAS IN THE VEHICLE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, AND STATED THEIR WAS NOTHING THAT COULD BE DONE. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026