Owners have filed 23 complaints on the Toyota Cressida, covering 1982–1992. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 1991, 1989, 1985; cleanest: 1984, 1988, 1992. 5 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 9.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Toyota Cressida
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 23 Cressida complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 6 Read
Dt: consumer owned a 1991 toyota cressida. There was a hummer pm525 muffler, manufactured by pilot motor sports installed on the vehicle after purchase. The heat from the muffler caused the rear bumper to catch on fire. It burnt the whole back of the vehicle and the vehicle was totaled. This occurred on august 1, 2005…
Driving southbound on a fl turnpike. The temp. Was 85 deg. F. Traveling at about 80 mph (general traffic was traveling at that speed). A couple on in a truck was indicating that something was wrong with our car (they acually stated that our car was on fire). The car was handling ok at the time and there were no…
The head gasket failed causing damage to the engine components when engine overheated, consumer has owner two other toyota cressidas (1982 and 1990) which experienced the same head gasket failures
Seat Belts 5 Read
Motorbelt failed to restrain driver during collision, causing injury
During emergency stops/ regular stops, seat belts does not hold passengers
The drivers latch for the safety belt just broke and shattered. Please describe
Vehicle Speed Control 3 Read
Sudden acceleration when vehicle placed in drive, causing accident/injuries
Vehicle has experienced sudden acceleration on two occasions, on the first occasion consumer turned engine off and only had damage caused by knocking over a stop sign, dealer could not find any problems, the second incident consumer had put vehicle in reverse and there was a loud acceleration from the engine, consumer…
Sudden acceleration, causing accident/injury
Power Train 2 Read
Engage in reverse with foot on the brake, vehicle suddenly accelerated in reverse hitting a car, then accelerated forward hitting a car. Tt
Transmission slipped/shuttered
Tires 2 Read
Firestone , firehawk tires are not original tires on a toyota, cressida, 1991, p205/60r15, dotvdunjbbo. While traveling at 75 to 80 mph vehicle started to shake very badly. Pulled over to shoulder and noticed left front tire tread had come completely off. However, tire was still inflated.*ak mileage at purchase of the…
2 p195/65r-15 89h b yokohama yk420 (31210) tires bought at discount tire on 08-14-2002 receipt#1405700 mileage 45,179 at the time of incident was 08-10-06 and mileage was 71,000 miles....steel belt on two tires separating from tire and potential for unsafe highway operation occurred while driving...I have a letter...…
Suspension 2 Read
Cracked control arm noticed at the state inspection. Mechanic said it was rare problem, and toyota should pay or repair it . Please advice. Thanks
Vehicle was taken for regular service, and found that the upper support brackets on the front struts cracked. *ak. Also, replaced egr valve and removed intake manifold and cleaned it. *ak. Problem identified by lexus, toyota- media motors, service and repair shop in burbank, ca 91502. Phone 818-842-57577. Media motors…
Electrical System 1 Read
Computer system failed twice
Service Brakes 1 Read
Air conditioner failed four times, cylinder head/head gasket cracked, two oxygen sensors replaced within 10,000 miles, brakes grind, valve cover gasket leaks
Cressida years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1991 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 2 | |
| 1990 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1986 | Suspension | 1 | — | |
| 1985 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — | |
| 1984 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1982 | Suspension | 1 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 22 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 9.4 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
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
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 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
What are the worst years for the Cressida?
By complaint volume, 1991, 1989, 1985 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Cressida years are the cleanest?
1984, 1988, 1992 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Toyota Cressida have?
23 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–1992. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.