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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2021 Toyota Venza

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

182

Complaints

14

Crashes

0

Fires

11

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Toyota Venza have filed 182 safety complaints with NHTSA between June 2021 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 74 of them (41%). The typical failure was reported at 15,000 miles, the median across the 9 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints fell 38% year on year: 15 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 24 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

22V239000 · April 13, 2022

The defect
Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022 Lexus LX 600, Lexus NX 350h, Lexus NX 450h+, Toytoa RAV4 Hybrid, 2021-2022 Lexus LS 500h, Toyota Mirai, RAV4 PRIME, Sienna, Venza, and 2020-2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The Skid Control ECU software may not turn on the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system when the vehicle is restarted after the driver has disabled the VSC system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
The risk
Driving with a deactivated stability control system increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the Skid Control ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TA03. Lexus' number for this recall is 22LA01.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 458,110 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 182.

VISIBILITY/WIPER 74 41%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 23%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 8%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 14 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 6%
ENGINE 10 5%
POWER TRAIN 9 5%
AIR BAGS 7 4%
STRUCTURE 7 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 75.

2021 2022 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.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured · crash · towed

as I attempted to turn left in the parking lot of a strip mall with several restaurants, my engine suddenly revved and accelerated and despite pumping the brakes several times I could not slow it down or stop it. As a result I slammed into a concrete berm, kept going and crashed through the glass doors of a coffee shop/restaurant, continued on and the car did not stop until it hit a metal counter. Fortunately I was not hurt, nor did I kill anyone, although I was told two workers went to the hospital with bruises and lacerations on their legs. Since I was unable to stop the car, not only was my life at risk, but anyone who crossed my path or who was in the coffee shop could have been

NHTSA complaint 11474269, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

On 17th June 2023, while returning home on the WA-9/SR-9 NB, I stopped at the red light where WA-2 was crossing. My wife was sitting with me in the car. One Subaru rammed me from behind. This road has a speed limit of 55 Miles per hour and is a single-lane state highway. The rear was damaged heavily. I lost control of the vehicle, went into the SB lane, and saw a car approaching me from the opposite direction. I looked right and saw a little space between the car ahead of me and the vehicle ahead of it. I turned right without hitting those two cars and entered the roadside ditch damaging the front. In both cases, the airbag was not deployed, first the ramming from behind and then going into

NHTSA complaint 11532610, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2 injured · crash · towed

The crash occurred at 2:50 PM on January 10, 2024 while pulling our 2021 Toyota Venza into a diagonal parking space on a slight upgrade. The vehicle surged over the curb, across the sidewalk and into a brick wall with gas pipelines attached to it. As this was happening, the driver yelled, “I don’t know what’s happening.” The car then rebounded onto the sidewalk and was turned off quickly because of a gas smell. We exited the vehicle and tried to keep people away from the scene because of the smell. The passenger had great difficulty getting out of the car because the passenger side door was blocked by a tree in the median. The Fire Department cleared the area, the police interviewed both

NHTSA complaint 11576503, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

It was raining, I was driving in the far left lane next to the center divider. I noticed the car in front of me drive through a significant collection of water that was the width of the entire lane. I was unable to switch lanes, so I slowed down and went through the water as well. As soon as my Venza came to the collection of water, my steering wheel locked up. I was unable to direct the car in the opposite direction of the pull. I was not able to move the steering wheel at all. The car continued to go in it’s own direction, despite me pumping the brakes. The Venza spun out, hit another car before it crashed into the concrete center divider. As a result I smashed my head on the driver’s

NHTSA complaint 11477342, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
low‑beam headlights/headlight assembly issues. Moisture getting in, corrosion of prongs that connect to the headlight assembly. Dimming lights once assembly was replaced. Condensation in the headlights. Some bulbs work while others don't.

NHTSA complaint 11755427. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The center console has cracked and has sharp corners causing an increased risk of injury. Also may cause one to jerk the wheel if placing their elbow down and not expecting the sharp corner. No accident occurred as of yet, but could if someone else were to be driving my car and place their arm down on the center console. I have to place my arm down a certain way to avoid getting poked. Just wanted to report this as I am not sure if other owners have reported similar issue with their center console developing sharp edges. Would probably be similar to NHTSA campaign number 26V368000

NHTSA complaint 11749249. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rear passenger side window exploded (shattered) while driving on the Hardy Toll Road in [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11749273. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
My 2021 VENZA has had an issue with the airbag light coming on. The SRS Airbag Malfunction notification is on when starting the vehicle. Within the first year of having the car I paid to have the system checked and the tensioner and airbag replaced. Three months later the light came back on. I was told the seatbelt got twisted again. Other vehicles under Toyota have active recalls on Airbag issues currently with this manufacturer. I believe this make and model should be included. I am currently having to pay another diagnostic fee in 2026 after only having the preowned vehicle two years to figure out why the SRS malfunction notification has come back on. Of course the light has come on when

NHTSA complaint 11735141, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
This just showed in my 2021 Toyota Venza. I heard that this is is common issue for all Toyota but was not corrected .

NHTSA complaint 11734838. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash

While driving under normal conditions and driving into my driveway on Thursday, March 19, I experienced a sudden and temporary loss of braking ability. When I applied the brake pedal, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected. This resulted in a collision with a residential fence at low speed. There were no warning lights or prior indications of a braking issue before the incident. The loss of braking appeared to be momentary, but significant enough to prevent me from stopping the vehicle in time. The vehicle has been regularly maintained and had no known prior brake issues although there are times when the brakes skip when traction is involved. There are also sudden issues with the

NHTSA complaint 11729686, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Venza

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 23 1 —
2023 20 1 —
2022 40 1 —
2015 27 1 —
2014 31 1 —
2013 59 4 —
2012 25 4 —
2011 59 6 —
2010 79 9 —

Other 2021 Toyota models

Highlander 488 RAV4 382 Corolla 184 Camry 154 RAV4 Prime 98 Tacoma 78 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