Hi, I always have a thought about how safe my 4Runner is but I never get the chance to talk about it until I found this forum. Now, I think this is the best time to bring out my long unanswered question. For all of you that have the 4Runners, from the 1st to the 3rd generation, how safe are they during a high speed accident on the highway ? Let's say you are driving a 4Runner going at 65 mph on the highway and suddenly there is a car or truck hit you from the side or from behind, will the 4Runner rollover in that type of crash ? For those of you with the 4Runner that had been in an accident in the past, especially on the highway, please describe what the condition of the 4Runner will be after it has be hit either from the side or from behind ? does the body remain in good shape ? will it rollover ? How bad is the driver and the passenger will get injured ? any fatality reported ? please tell us your past experience so that we have an idea of what to expect if we do get into an accident someday in the future. Thank you

 

the question you are asking has so many variables to it. I'll just answer by saying - i don't want to be the one to find out first hand. I would imagine that the later models would be better equipped to handle an accident seeing how the first and second gens didn't have air bags (not to my knowlege anyways - maybe the sequoia runners did?). I concern myself more with being a prepared and responsive driver rather than relying on my vehicle to protect me if i were to get in an accident.

 

4runner will roll very easily if they are hit from the side. I know a guy who pulled out onto a road and was hit from the side at about 45mph and his 2nd gen rolled about 4 times. He broke some stuff but he made a full recovery.

 

In the scenario you describe ANYthing can/will roll. Sure, an SUV is more likely to roll, but at those speeds the energies involved are HUGE and survival is a matter of pure luck. No guarantees at all.

And Sizzlechest is right on - no two accidents are alike, one experience can never be compared to another.

 

The 3rdgen has pretty good NHTSA scores for impacts (try search their website). Like all SUVs you will have higher risk of rollover. But in reality it is something like 2-3 fold that of a passenger car.

 

Yea that would definitely happen in any car man. The only difference may be another car may roll over 3 times instead of 4 or somehting.

 

If you drive on the highway often and an SUV type vehicle is required, you are pretty well off with a 3rd or 4th gen. But at high speeds, I personally fell infinitely safer in a sedan that does not have the ground clearance and tour bus sized windows.

 

Buckle Up!

 

I nearly wrecked my '95 on the interstate in September/October. I was driving through Philly, hit the reminants of hurricane Ivan....We spun 90degrees to the right almost instantly, I corrected for it, and then spun 270degrees to the left. I stopped about two feet short of a pretty concrete Jersey wall. Thank goodness no one else was near me, or I would have plowed into them.
However, it didn't roll. I was totally suprised by that. I would have expected a sedan to flip after that maneuver.
While the 4runner sits up high and could roll, it will take a ton of energy (like getting slammed into) to flip it. If you get hit like that in a small car (ie a Civic) that can't absorb the impact well, you're in trouble there too.

Do a search for wrecks/damage. There was a guy who posted last week about getting T-boned. His truck was pretty torn up, but he and his passenger are OK after taking the shot.

 

I had one of those tread separations that rolled the Ford Explorers on my '95 driving 70 mph on I-10 while passing someone. I was amazed that I could control it and didn't roll and take the other guy out as well. My wife took a construction ladder in the front end at freeway speeds (same 4Runner) and kept it under control to get it off the road. So after a couple of those instances, we said ta hell with the mpg, we're getting another 4Runner and now have the '99.

They aren't perfect, but they're pretty good.

 

Pretty much ANY car hit from behind/side, even slightly, at high speed will go into a slide, and depending on the vehicle and road surface, may or may not roll (excluding vehicles with VSC). If you're lucky, really lucky, and have the room and front wheel drive, you may be able to accelerate and pull yourself out of it, maybe. I had an idiot do it to me in a minivan at 65 mph. After an accident at that speed, I learned just how easy it is to get knocked out of control, and forget about counter-steering and all that. On a dry lake bed you may have room to "work it out", but not on a freeway. I would rate 4Runners from safest to most dangerous directly in relaton to their generations. 4th gen by far, hands down, without any doubt, light years ahead of the other three gens, then 3rd gen, 2nd gen, and 1st gen as most dangerous (fiberglass shell, no shoulder belts in the back seat, etc.

It seems there are 2 types of drivers on the road, those who have been in a serious accident, and those who have not.

 

I had a girl friend once that rolled her Explored by taking a 90degree corner at about 35 MPH. There is no way that would happen in a 4runner. I have done that manny times my self. There is something wrong with the suspension in thoes Eplorers.

 

Looks like addco will get rich off us SUV folks. = (

 

See this website for crash pix and stats from '96 and newer 4Runners: http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle...gs/ratings.htm .

And here for the 90-95 models stats: http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/u...id/2110#safety .

Edmunds on the '95: "NHTSA Ratings...Passenger: Good...Driver: Very Poor"
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1995/toy...nav..8.Toyota*

The lack of airbags doesn't help the stats on 1st-2nd Gens.

I saw a 3rd Gen flipped over on the highway a few years ago- a one vehicle accident. It shocked me to see that in the rollover, the top half of the 4Runner- from the window sills and up- was completely flattened. It reminded me of an old International, but with no roll bar or windshield. I doubt the occupants made it out alive.

I took a pretty good hit in my '90 Yota pickup... The idiot freshmen that hit me in her new SUV was doing about 45-55 mph and I was stopped. The Yota was toast, but I sustained only minor cuts and bruises. An airbag would have probably prevented even that. However, I was concerned about how far the lower dash moved back into the cab... it almost pinned me in! I imagine a 4Runner would collapse the same way.

Lesson here... slow down and avoid freshmen!