Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 80 safety complaints
about the 2021 Toyota Tacoma with the US government. Of those, 9 describe a crash, 15 people were injured and 1 death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the power train,
named in 14 complaints, 18% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 9,700 miles,
the median across the 18
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers February 2021 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
80 complaints on file
80
Complaints
9
Describe a crash
0
Mention fire
15
People injured
1
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a
finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts
them.
Complaints rose by half year on year: 18 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 10 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.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
POWER TRAIN 14 · 18%
14 18%
SERVICE BRAKES 12 · 15%
12 15%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 · 15%
12 15%
ENGINE 11 · 14%
11 14%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 11%
9 11%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 9 · 11%
9 11%
AIR BAGS 7 · 9%
7 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 · 8%
6 8%
STRUCTURE 6 · 8%
6 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 6%
5 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 · 5%
4 5%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3 · 4%
3 4%
0815
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 80.
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2021 at 20.
24 18 12 6
212021222022232023242024252025262026
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what
happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2021 Toyota TACOMA, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
PU/CC 2WD
PU/CC 4WD
PU/EC 2WD
PU/EC 4WD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
14.7%
19.1%
14.7%
19.1%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed.
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
In owners’ own words
Quoted from the complaint file
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.
POWER TRAIN
Driving in town 30 to 40mph, (while in drive) the vehicle rev’d up like it was in neutral then went back to normal. That is concerning because it will cause transmission problems & pulling onto a road the truck could shift to (neutral) causing it to not go.
NHTSA complaint 11762933. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STRUCTURE:BODY
The cabin air pressure vents behind the back seat are leaking letting water into the vehicle. The seals have dried up. It's causing a moldy smell in the vehicle.
NHTSA complaint 11760539. 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.
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. How
many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by
the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst