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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2021 Toyota Tacoma

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

78

Complaints

9

Crashes

0

Fires

15

Injuries

1

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Toyota Tacoma have filed 78 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2021 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 13 of them (17%). The typical failure was reported at 9,700 miles, the median across the 18 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose 27% year on year: 14 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 11 in the twelve before.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 78.

POWER TRAIN 13 17%
SERVICE BRAKES 12 15%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 15%
ENGINE 11 14%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 12%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 9 12%
AIR BAGS 7 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 8%
STRUCTURE 5 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 5%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3 4%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 20.

2021 2026
2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 death · 1 injured · crash · towed

The subject vehicle left roadway and impacted a tree in a pure frontal impact. The front seat passenger airbag failed to deploy. An 11 year old child was seated and properly belted in the front passenger seat. The child was killed as a result of blunt force trauma to his head when his head struck the front dash structure. In addition, the belted occupant seated behind the front passenger seat, while properly belted, impacted the rear of the front passenger seat and the seat deformed forward, limiting the ride down space for the front passenger seat occupant. The other three occupants in the subject Toyota Tacoma suffered non-life threatening injuries.

NHTSA complaint 11501237. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

4 injured · crash · towed

I was rear ended in my Tacoma and then hit at about 30-35mph in the front driver side. No air bags deployed anywhere in the vehicle and the driver head rest that was fully installed went flying out of the seat. Vehicle is currently waiting to be inspected by insurance representatives.

NHTSA complaint 11444078. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

4 injured · crash

I was in a severe T-none car accident and the airbags did not deploy. The power restrain activated, the seat locked in place but no airbag deployment. The car that hit me was going at aprox. 50-60MPH. I could have died and so could have my 11 & 6 year old passengers. My sister got cought in between the cabin space and the impacted door.

NHTSA complaint 11475044. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured · crash · towed · 38,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2021 TOYOTA TAKOMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-40 MPH WHEN COMING TO A RED LIGHT APPROXIMATELY 500 YARDS AWAY, THE CONTACT BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN IN SPEED THEN BEGAN TO PRESS THE BRAKES DUE TO A TRUCK NEARBY SUDDENLY COMING FROM THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE'S BRAKES AND COLLISION PREVENTION SYSTEM FAILED CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BUT HAD NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY DIAGNOSED TOTALED AS OF YET. THE CONTACT RECEIVED INJURIES TO THEIR WRIST AND THE ABDOMINAL AREA. THE PASSENGER OF THE VEHICLE RECEIVED NECK, BACK, SHOULDER, AND LEG INJURIES. MEDICAL

NHTSA complaint 11397696, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Having two issues major issues that’s causing me a $10,000 bill. The timing cover is leaking and there is a coolant bypass hose that is leaking. I have spend a lot of maintenance on this truck on maintaining it to have to remove the engine. As for the forward collision warning ive had it go off multiple times witout a vehicle there. While in cruise control ive had it unexpectedly break on me when there was no visible vehicle infront or next to me.

NHTSA complaint 11755683. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Brake master cylinder is leaking in the interior of truck on driver side floor mat. Oil is come from brake master cylinder seal.

NHTSA complaint 11750147. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Multi-Information Display (MID) on the instrument cluster (combination meter) has failed completely. The display shows full-width horizontal RGB scan lines across the entire screen with no readable information. The analog gauges (speedometer and tachometer) remain functional but all digital display information is unavailable including speed, warnings, fuel economy data, and safety system status indicators. This failure occurred suddenly with no prior warning. Vehicle has approximately 50,000 miles. I am aware that Toyota issued Safety Recall 25V595 in September 2025 covering the identical combination meter failure on 2023-2025 model year Tacomas and other Toyota vehicles. The root cause

NHTSA complaint 11746832, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Digital instrument panel speedometer screen has gone blank. No longer displays speed. This occurred while driving the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint 11746375. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
About a month ago the Blind spot monitoring system failed, dealer said $2500.00 to repair, about 10 days ago, backup sonar parking system failed, dealer cost to repair $2200.00

NHTSA complaint 11743192. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The plastic coolant crossover valve or pipe failed at 66,000 miles and 5 years of usage. This led to the radiator cracking. After researching online, I read about thousands of Tacoma 3rd generation users with the same issue. Also, the same issue was recalled for several other models of Toyotas but not the Tacoma.

NHTSA complaint 11740269. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Tacoma

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 82 5 1
2024 142 5 —
2023 52 4 —
2022 57 3 —
2020 86 1 —
2019 212 4 —
2018 202 3 —
2017 237 5 —
2016 323 4 —
2015 100 4 —
2014 93 4 —
2013 124 6 —
2012 294 7 —
2011 185 9 2
2010 291 13 —

Other 2021 Toyota models

Highlander 488 RAV4 382 Corolla 184 Venza 182 Camry 154 RAV4 Prime 98 Sienna Hybrid 37 4Runner 34

Every Toyota on this site — 272 vehicles, 370 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst