Toyota owners have filed 88,369 complaints with NHTSA across 58 models. On average the car was 5.73 years old when the problem happened, and 38.7% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.
What breaks on Toyota
The systems Toyota owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.
| System | Complaints | Share of Toyota | Ended in a crash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 10% | 25.8% | |
| Structure | 9.2% | 1% | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6% | 36.6% | |
| Power Train | 5.9% | 4.2% | |
| Unknown Or Other | 5.1% | 3.7% | |
| Service Brakes | 4.2% | 8.6% | |
| Exterior Lighting | 4.1% | 0.7% | |
| Steering | 3.9% | 5.4% |
When Toyota problems show up
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average age at failure | 5.73 years | How old the car was when the problem happened |
| Reported inside 3 years | 38.7% | Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running |
| Complaints describing a crash | 8,815 | Of 88,369 total |
| Complaints describing a fire | 1,222 | Of 88,369 total |
A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.
Which Toyota models draw the most complaints
Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.
| Model | Complaints | Share of Toyota | Avg age at failure | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMRY | 16.8% | 4.9 yrs | 2,339 | |
| PRIUS | 12.2% | 5.1 yrs | 854 | |
| COROLLA | 11.4% | 5.3 yrs | 1,541 | |
| RAV4 | 9.6% | 4.8 yrs | 716 | |
| TACOMA | 8.2% | 6.6 yrs | 578 | |
| SIENNA | 8% | 5.6 yrs | 351 | |
| TUNDRA | 6.9% | 6.6 yrs | 275 | |
| HIGHLANDER | 5.9% | 4.7 yrs | 433 | |
| 4RUNNER | 4.8% | 10.4 yrs | 243 | |
| AVALON | 3.3% | 5.5 yrs | 427 | |
| SEQUOIA | 2.9% | 8.6 yrs | 91 | |
| CAMRY HYBRID | 1% | 6.1 yrs | 69 | |
| FJ CRUISER | 0.9% | 7.1 yrs | 25 | |
| 4 RUNNER | 0.9% | 2.8 yrs | 90 | |
| YARIS | 0.8% | 5.6 yrs | 135 |
Toyota complaints by model year
A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | — | |
| 2025 | 50 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 86 | 6 | |
| 2023 | 84 | 13 | |
| 2022 | 98 | 5 | |
| 2021 | 138 | 17 | |
| 2020 | 99 | 10 | |
| 2019 | 131 | 12 | |
| 2018 | 176 | 44 | |
| 2017 | 173 | 44 | |
| 2016 | 178 | 23 | |
| 2015 | 229 | 59 | |
| 2014 | 155 | 36 | |
| 2013 | 221 | 46 | |
| 2012 | 299 | 25 | |
| 2011 | 292 | 34 | |
| 2010 | 488 | 34 | |
| 2009 | 489 | 66 | |
| 2008 | 548 | 63 | |
| 2007 | 767 | 143 | |
| 2006 | 521 | 40 | |
| 2005 | 594 | 45 | |
| 2004 | 464 | 34 | |
| 2003 | 470 | 30 | |
| 2002 | 429 | 51 |
What Toyota owners report
Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.
Air Bags 8,856 Read
Sunday, february 4 at about 7 pm, it had been a rainy day with a lot of humidity, leaving my parents' house a block before the traffic lights I do not understand how the air bags were activated and as a result of that I lost control of my vehicle and I caught the light in red. As a result almost a fatal accident my mother was in the hospital in intensive care for 3 days, me and my nephews with many blows, thank god not very serious. But the people who impacted me as a result of not stopping at the red light, also suffered many injuries. That I have to do? Thank you
My husband was in a severe accident in my car on march 15,2017. To which the air bags didn't deploy. Which caused him to get crushed in the lower half of his body. He is forever disabled at the age of 40. There was nothing left of the car. I feel if they would of deployed he wouldn't of been this bad off. The other driver in a full size dodge pickup pulled out , while my husband was in full speed of 40miles an hour. To which he hit the truck in the gas tank that caused explosion as well. We settled with the other driver. But now he needs medical and compensation for pain and suffering, dwelling. He can never work again. Its hard and time consuming for disability. We need help
I was driving down a street in charleston, wv and a lady went through a red light and she hit my toyota rav4 SUV. Head on and the air bags in my 2002 toyota rav4 SUV, did not employ, but the airbags in the other vehicle did. As a result of the air bags in my vehicle failing to employ caused me and my wife injuries.I really believe that all of the air bags in any toyota made vehicles are either defective or will not employ as a result of a head on accident. My wife and I had to have medical care as a result of my 2002 toyota rav4 SUV failing to employ on impact in a head one collision at speeds in excess of forty miles per hour. I would like for your agency to investigate as to why my air bags failed to employ during a head on accident. If the air bags in my 2002 toyota rav4 SUV would have worked then me and my wife would not have been injured. I believe whole heatedly that toyota knew about all of the defective air bags in its manufactured vehicles and they also knew about some of the air bags not employing on other models of their vehicles, like mine. Please investigate and keep me advised. Thank you
Structure 8,166 Read
On 9/06/2026 my 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid was involved in a severe collision where the impact occured on the drivers side at the passenger door. The vehicle spun several times before coming to a stop. During the spins the front passenger door flew opening. My wife was sitting in the passenger seat her seatbelt successfully restrianted her preventing ejection and injury. However the unlatching of a non impacted door under rotational forces represents a catastrophic structural or mechanical latch failure that poses an imminent risk occupant ejection
I was stopped at a car wash, pressing on the brake pedal when all of a sudden it felt like someone rear-ended me. My car accelerated without me stepping on the gas pedal and I turned the wheel quickly to avoid hitting the car in front of me head on. I clipped his right back bumper, flew over a large shrub and landed smashing into a parked vehicle. The total front end of my vehicle was damaged and no air bag deployed
Frame has snapped after being denied a replacement by Toyota under their extended service campaign for frame issues. Dealer told customer to make a separate appointment for frame inspection while truck was in for unrelated service and campaign had expired while customer was in hospital ultimately ending with Toyota denying a replacement citing that customer was outside of date for service campaign
Vehicle Speed Control 5,258 Read
The contact owns a 2007 toyota avalon. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently. As a result, the vehicle crashed into three other vehicles and the engine caught fire. The contact was taken to the hospital where she sustained both hand and neck injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate current and failure mileage was 120,000
The contact owns a 2009 toyota camry. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for recall 10V017000 (vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal) where the repair was performed. Approximately three months later, while driving 4 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, crashed into a plate glass window and wall inside a building and continued to accelerate. The contact shifted into neutral gear, then into drive until he was able to turn the vehicle off. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The current and failure mileages were approximately 50,000
The contact owns a 2010 toyota corolla. While the contact was driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle surged forward resulting in a crash that destroyed the vehicle. There was smoke coming from underneath the hood. A police report was filed which included that two people sustained injuries. The fire department did not arrive at the scene. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure and current mileages were 1,413
Power Train 5,179 Read
The contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. The contact struck a deer while driving 75 mph. She pulled off the road to inspect the vehicle and noticed that it was on fire. The vehicle soon became engulfed in flames. The insurance company stated that the fire was due to the transmission fluid line being ruptured. The coolant dripped on the catalytic converter and caused the fire. A police report was filed. Toyota is not accepting responsibility because the contact was the one who struck the deer. The failure mileage was 7,000
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, and the shifter lever was turned off, it unexpectedly fell down, causing the vehicle to shift into drive and roll down the street, where it crashed into a house. At the time of the incident, the vehicle was occupied by one three-year-old and two six-year-old children. One of the six-year-old occupants attempted to move the shifter into park while another attempted to steer the vehicle. The passenger-side sliding door was ajar. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, fire, or airbag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but declined the claim. The failure mileage was approximately 119,274
Attempted to shift out 4-wheel high back into 2-wheel drive. On the dashboard, both 4 wheel high and 4-wheel low were flashing yellow/orange. Put truck into park to clear, nothing continued to flash. Put truck into neutral, nothing continued to flash 4 high and 4 low. Turned the truck engine completely off and started again. Both 4 high and 4 low continued flashy. Put truck into drive, 4 low and 4 high now became a solid orange/yellow, no flashing. Drove truck a mile and a half down the road and lost complete control of the steering. Ended up in ditch with several thousand dollars of damage. Contacted dealer where purchased. Explained what happened to the Manager of Toyota service department. He claims it has happened on other Tundra's, says it happened on his truck. Offered no explanation or fix to the problem
Unknown Or Other 4,543 Read
Front collision in 55 miles per hour freeway after slamming on the brakes and hitting car in front with minimum damage to them, RAV4 started immediately to smell like something but burning and black smoke started on front left, after few moments car was on flames. The car burnt in it's totality
My son hit a tree at an estimated speed of 45 (As estimated by the accident report) and the car went in flame burning completely my son and the entire inside of the car. I am amazed at a new car that does not have enough front crash support and most important the fuel pump should have shut off due to hitting the front to prevent the car from being burned. Yes, my son died in the accident but we did not have the chance to see him because of the fire, we have only bones to bury
I was driving the vehicle at less than 15 miles in Wickham Park on Oct. 1, 2026. As I slowly turned right into a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly picked up speed, and crashed into a big tree near the parking lot. The airbag was activated, and the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged. Luckily, no one was injured from the accident, but this could have caused serous risk to myself and others. I am going to request Toyota to perform investigation to identify a cause of unintended acceleration. My wife also experienced unintended acceleration on the same vehicle on Sept. 29, 2025. When she was trying to slow down the vehicle to park, it suddenly picked up speed and hit a concrete wall in the garage
Service Brakes 3,695 Read
We were behind a vehicle that had come to a rolling stop because the vehicle in front of him had hit the person in front of him , we were going about 25 miles per hour and about 2 car lengths from him . I applied the brakes but the vehicle failed to stop . It was as if I did not press the brakes at all. We rearended the person in front of us . The person behind us hit us as well . It was like we were on ice but we were not
While operating a vehicle through the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Turo in Alaska (Reservation: 61060048), the vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic brake failure of the braking system while driving. The brakes completely failed to respond, creating an immediate loss of vehicle control. Immediately following the braking failure, upon exiting the vehicle, smoke erupted from the wheel well/undercarriage area. This subsequently led to a minor burn on one of the passenger's face and hand. Before this event occured, we had discussed an issue with the brake light remaining on. When discussing it with the host, she had assured me that the vehicle had been thoroughly inspected before renting it to us. She gave us a few DIY solutions we could try out, but we opted to not attempt anything of that nature. She did tell us we could take it to the mechanic if we were concerned, but we would have had to cover the cost of an inspection. After the event, the host had the car towed, but we are completely unaware if they had the vehicle inspected
I am filing this complaint to report an active, severe safety defect involving a sudden, un-warned loss of power braking assist due to a failing factory brake actuator/booster pump assembly. My vehicle is exhibiting the exact internal hydraulic seal failure, pressure drop, and audible hissing/sipping sound outlined in Toyota's prior technical service bulletins. Because the onboard ECU computer only triggers warning lights once a complete, catastrophic failure threshold is met, the system is currently masking the defect from the dashboard. However, the physical hardware is actively failing, requiring the high-pressure pump to run constantly to maintain braking pressure. This component failure dramatically increases stopping distances and presents an immediate, unreasonable risk of a crash. Toyota previously acknowledged this widespread manufacturing defect via Customer Support Program ZJB (20TA02). However, because Toyota chose to manage this critical safety hazard through a time-limited warranty extension rather than a mandatory safety recall, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are now left with a catastrophic braking hazard because the consumer coverage expired in 2022. I urge the NHTSA to open a formal defect petition review to investigate these post-warranty failures and mandate a retroactive safety recall to protect the public
Exterior Lighting 3,612 Read
The 2026 Toyota Prius illuminates a road distance on an unlight, rural road of 110 feet on low beam. Parked at the beginning of one white dashed center line, the low beams illuminate two additional white dashed lines. Road lines are a standard 12 ft painted line with a 37 ft interval between lines for a total of 110ft of illuminated road. The average stopping distance of the Toyota Prius traveling at 55mph is ~260 feet. I am able to see less than half the stopping distance of the vehicle. I have hit a deer twice because of the lack of road illumination. Each deer strike was with with two separate 2026 Toyota Prius vehicles. Both vehicles had the same illumination pattern. Fortunately, it was a deer strike, however, imagine for a moment if it were a human walking along the the road or a disabled vehicle. This is a safety concern and does not meet the NHTSA regulation FMVSS N. 108, summarized below. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations under FMVSS No. 108 mandate that low-beam headlights provide sufficient, controlled illumination for night driving while preventing excessive glare, generally aiming to illuminate approximately 200–300 feet ahead. I did complain to Maplewood Toyota about the issue and the Service Team stated they can only adjust the headlight within the Manufacturer's suggested range. This vehicle was purchased as a new, I made an assumption that everything would be properly adjusted coming off the manufacturing floor
Rear right light got water in it after washing the car and the electrical wires shot out and car went on fire. Firefighters came and investigated and came to this conclusion. Car was totaled and insurance company took pictures and wrote report. Car will be towed by insurance company today. Car was in driveway next to house, we saw smoke from window and fire was extinguished quickly but it was fortunate that we were home and saw it in time so it did not spread anywhere else. Car had not been driven for 2 days and was not on, no warning lights in past. No accidents in past, all maintenance done by Toyota dealer
After dark, the vehicle was started and the dashboard touchscreen that displays backup camera and other information was moderately bright. The display setting was set to 'Automatic', expecting the screen to dim when ambient light is low. On shifting into forward gear, the screen actually brightens. In the dark. With the inside light too bright, it is difficult to see objects outside of the vehicle. I scraped a mailbox, which I couldn't see as I pulled to the side of the road to turn the display off. Vehicle cosmetic damage, no police report. Cost of repairs at this time is unknown - scratched paint & creased metal along passenger front fender, 2 doors and rear panel. I do not know if this issue has been reproduced; this occurred on a rental with less than 3500 miles on the odometer. It has been reported to the insurance company and will be reported to the rental agency during business hours. There would be no warning as the condition is obvious as one pulls out of a lighted area, which is what happened
Steering 3,403 Read
We recently took our rav4 in for recall work. The service department decided to do a complimentary inspection on my rav4. We were told that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. It had never been a problem before. Now, the power steering pump is squealing on tighter than regular corner turning. I researched this issue on the internet. The disturbing, more constant compliant is that the power steering on my year, make and model will fail intermittently and then suddenly fail. This is a very serious issue since most of the drivers on the road are used to power steering and may not know what to do if the power steering should suddenly fail while driving. I want to make it clear that I am not blaming the dealership or the service department. They gave us a heads-up on what we had no idea was about to become a problem. The power steering pump problem is a serious issue, the rav4 is a family car for the most part
[XXX] was turning left onto [XXX] from [XXX]. Two lanes turn left. She was in the inside lane. The traffic light was red, and when it turned green, she started to turn. Partway through the turn, the steering became unresponsive. She couldn't get it to turn left, and she could not complete the turn, and crashed into the pole that holds the traffic signal. She traveled less than 100 ft total from the light to the pole. The accident was at 1:30 PM on a dry and clear day. The car has 8087 miles on it. There were no observed indications of warning lights and no symptoms of a problem. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot, the Insurance company inspected it and declared it a total loss. All the airbags went off. I mentioned to the adjuster that there was a mechanical problem, and he said they would not investigate that. [XXX] suffered a broken rib on her left side and has some serious cuts from the airbag below the dash, and of course, the seatbelt soreness. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Upon driving the vehicle the steering wheel fluid light came on, the car instantly shut off and restarted 3 times repeatedly. Once it cut back on the 4th time the car began smoking from the interior. Once I exited the vehicle and popped the trunk looking for where the smoke was coming from. The car engulfed into flames. It is so badly burnt up you can’t see what started the fire
Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 88,369 Toyota complaints.
Toyota against the rest
| Measure | Where Toyota sits | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| By complaint volume | #3 | 29 brands with 3,000+ complaints |
| By age at failure (later is better) | #13 | 29 brands |
| Complaints ending in a crash | 10% | across all 88,369 reports |
Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.
Toyota problems by model
40 Toyota models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote. Another 18 Toyota models have no complaints on record at all.
| Model | Owner complaints | Years | Most reported system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Camry | 1983–2026 | Vehicle speed control | |
| Toyota Prius | 2001–2026 | Exterior lighting | |
| Toyota Corolla | 1981–2026 | Air bags | |
| Toyota RAV4 | 1996–2026 | Electrical system | |
| Toyota Tacoma | 1995–2026 | Structure | |
| Toyota Sienna | 1995–2026 | Structure | |
| Toyota Tundra | 1995–2026 | Structure | |
| Toyota Highlander | 2001–2026 | Power train | |
| Toyota 4-Runner | 1984–2026 | Structure | |
| Toyota Avalon | 1995–2022 | Vehicle speed control | |
| Toyota Sequoia | 2000–2026 | Electronic stability control (esc) | |
| Toyota FJ Cruiser | 2007–2014 | Structure | |
| Toyota Yaris | 2007–2026 | Air bags | |
| Toyota Venza | 2009–2026 | Vehicle speed control | |
| Toyota Camry Solara | 1999–2009 | — | |
| Toyota C-HR | 2018–2026 | Power train | |
| Toyota Prius V | 2012–2017 | Service brakes | |
| Toyota Grand Highlander | 2024–2026 | Power train | |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | 2022–2026 | Engine | |
| Toyota Celica | 1981–2026 | Air bags | |
| Toyota T100 | 1993–1998 | Power train | |
| Toyota Tercel | 1981–1999 | Air bags | |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 1981–2026 | Service brakes | |
| Toyota Prius C | 2012–2020 | Service brakes | |
| Toyota Previa | 1991–1998 | Visibility | |
| Toyota Echo | 2000–2005 | Service brakes | |
| Toyota Supra | 1981–2026 | Electrical system | |
| Toyota MR2 | 1985–2007 | Power train | |
| Toyota GR86 | 2022–2026 | Engine | |
| Toyota Crown | 2023–2026 | — | |
| Toyota bZ4X | 2023–2025 | Electrical system | |
| Toyota Mirai | 2016–2026 | Fuel/propulsion system | |
| Toyota GR Corolla | 2023–2026 | Power train | |
| Toyota Paseo | 1992–2026 | Air bags | |
| Toyota Cressida | 1981–1992 | Engine and engine cooling | |
| Toyota COROLLA iM | 2017–2018 | Forward collision avoidance | |
| Toyota Scion tC | 2005–2016 | Visibility | |
| Toyota 86 | 2017–2020 | Engine | |
| Toyota Crown Signia | 2025–2026 | — | |
| Toyota Scion xB | 2004–2015 | Air bags |
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is Toyota?
Owners have filed 88,369 complaints across 58 Toyota models. On its own that number reflects how many Toyota cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (5.73 years) instead.
What breaks most often on a Toyota?
The most reported system is Air Bags with 8,856 complaints.
Do Toyota problems show up under warranty?
38.7% of Toyota complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.
Which Toyota model has the most complaints?
See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.
Mark ForCar as a preferred source and our data shows up first in your Google results. One click, no account.