Owners have filed 730 complaints on the Toyota Yaris, covering 2007–2020. The system named most often is Air Bags (332 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2014, 2018, 2013. 141 reports describe a crash, 11 a fire, 8 a death. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Toyota Yaris
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 730 Yaris complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 332 Read
Hi, my name is [xxx] do to a car crashing into my toyota yaris my son was driving and some car crash into him. He got hurt airbags did not work at all when the accident was very fatal. Engine was on fire department had to take him out of the car unconscious and the wheels where twists. Car was destroyed was…
Takata recall my wife was hit in the front end and no airbags went off
The contact owns a 2017 toyota yaris. While the vehicle was idling at a traffic light, the air bag deployed without impact or warning. The contact accelerated and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact sustained unknown injuries and medical attention was…
Service Brakes 54 Read
The contact owned a 2019 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that while his wife was reversing out of the driveway, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated although the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle crashed into a tree and the neighbor's house. The paramedics, fire department, and police arrived and created a…
I was in motion on a city street, and involved in a collision in which my forward collision warning system and automatic emergency breaking did not activate
I was driving my 2009 toyota yaris (ca. 30k miles) home from work under normal road conditions. As I approached a red light, I was alarmed to find that the brakes were compromised and the braking power was reduced. I had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the back end of the car in front of me. At this…
Electrical System 52 Read
I got in my car, started the engine, immediately I started smelling strong burning smell. Than started seeing smoke from the driver door. Within few seconds I started seeing flames. Since I was already on the road, I couldn't just stop the car. The flame got bigger and bigger, in the car cabin, it was fill with…
The toyota yaris 2009 I purchased had a recall already never claimed since owning with loan failures of the mechical tires along with computer problems and more
The contact owns a 2009 toyota yaris. While driving approximately 25 mph, the driver noticed smoke around the front driver side door window. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and turned off the engine. A certified independent mechanic came out to inspect the vehicle and noticed that the circuit…
Vehicle Speed Control 42 Read
At 19000 miles I started experiencing problems with my breaking sometimes the anti-lock brakes would work and sometimes the anti-lock brake did not in the brakes will lock up and so would the tires . While traveling at about 25 miles an hour I attempted break and make I turn into a neighborhood when I applied my…
Sudden unintended acceleration with speed of almost 100 mph, brakes not slowing vehicle wile traveling e/b on freeway and exiting off ramp and colliding with another vehicle traveling n/b on city street chp collision report # 9855-2015 2306 vehicle impounded for investigation.....updated 01/25/16
The toyota 4 door yaris suddenly accelerated upon initiating movement from a right turn stop. The vehicle accelerated to approximately 30 mph within 100 ft. And caused a head on with ford 250 truck. Upon impact, the steering wheel air bag deployed and driver of the yaris sustained a concussion, fractured sternum and…
Suspension 41 Read
I was in an accident going 55 mph in the process my car clipped a curb and it snapped my axel causing the car to go head on into an object across the road my car also flipped none of the airbags deployed
2012 toyota yaris. Consumer writes to recommend recalling vehicle model because of its many manufacturing defects. *as
The front end shakes at a low speed took it to a mechanic he can't figure it out
Steering 37 Read
While I was parking my car in my drive way and I tried to stop with the breaks . I didn't stop even though I was breaking hard and the speed excellerated and I had trouble controling the steering wheel , its moved it self
Purchased 2008 toyota yaris sedan used in 7/09 for my daughter with 16,000 miles on it. She's at college so I drive it every other day to work which is only 10 miles. I began to notice a sound when I made a sharp right hand turn into a parking spot like the noise of an actual bar and also a rattle if I went over a…
The contact owns a 2008 toyota yaris. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the power steering and brakes suddenly malfunctioned causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into an embankment. The air bags did not deploy. The contact suffered a left knee and back injury during the…
Structure 24 Read
I rented this vehicle at a major airport 2 days before the accident. It was close to 4 pm when I entered the hotel parking lot at 5 mph and slowed even more when I entered the parking space in front of my hotel room. I was almost parked and had my foot on the brake to make a complete stop just about 3 feet away when…
My car came to stop due to a car in front of me stopping suddenly my car did not touch the car in front. I had to brake quickly since car in front brake quickly. Car behind me hit me causing my car to hit the car in front. Car crashed into me in a approximate speed of 30 mph I protected my head from hitting steering…
I'm writing this letter to your office, because of the unfair and deceit practice of auto loan finders, inc; located at 1800 sandy plains industrial parkway, suite 320, in marietta, georgia 30066. I pray you can assist me with this matter. In november of 2010, I had purchased a used 2009 toyota yaris sedan with 47,398…
Power Train 18 Read
The contact owns a 2010 toyota yaris. The contact stated that the key was in the ignition when the contact shifted into park. The vehicle then abnormally began to roll away in reverse from a residential driveway. The vehicle came to a stop as it crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer.…
Was traveling on constantine drive on my way to beach blvd in huntington beach. I was going approximately 15 mph, I had glanced down to look at my navigation system I noticed that I was close to a parked car and put on my brakes. I ended up striking the left tail light of a parked 2010 - blue - ford element. The point…
My car was spinning in circles on the icey freeway after I applied the brakes to avoid a car fender in the middle of the road. The car stopped short of the guard rail, then all of a sudden it took off and began spinning toward the other side of the freeway. The back end of my car hit the guard rail
Yaris 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other,engine | — | — | |
| 2019 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2014 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control | 1 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 22 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 46 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 35 | 4 |
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 | 284 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 18 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 18. 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 Yaris?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 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 Yaris years are the cleanest?
2014, 2018, 2013 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Toyota Yaris have?
730 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2020. Of those, 141 describe a crash and 11 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.