The Toyota Tacoma has three bad patches in its record and two good ones, and a buyer should know all five. Avoid the 2016, 2017 and 2019 trucks (323, 239 and 217 complaints, scores of 55, 61 and 54) and the 2024 and 2025 trucks (scores of 38 each, with 72.5 and 86.0 complaints per year on the road, the highest figures on record). Buy a 2013 to 2015 truck, the best three years at 85, 90 and 89, or a 2020 to 2023 truck, all of which score 76 or better on fewer than 90 complaints apiece. Across fifteen model years the site holds 2,085 complaints and 61 recall campaigns, and the pattern they make is a truck that is very good between redesigns and troubled right after them.
The second generation, 2011 to 2015
The 2011 is a decent truck with a suspension problem. Suspension is its top component at 60 complaints, and campaign 14V604000 (29/09/2014) explains it: a rear leaf spring on Pre-Runner and 4x4 trucks that may fracture. Exterior Lighting follows at 32. It carries nine recall campaigns, the most of any year, but most are distributor campaigns for labels, seat heaters and accessory hood scoops; the two safety-critical ones are 13V337000 for Access Cab seat belts and 13V014000 for an air bag sensor module. Score 79, evidence high.
The 2012 is the one second-generation year to be careful with. Its 295 complaints are the most of any year until 2016, and Engine dominates at 122, with Fuel/Propulsion System at 52 and Power Train at 35. There is no engine campaign on the 2012 in the record — the valve spring campaign 13V557000 covers 2013 and 2014 trucks built in a narrow window — so the record shows a symptom cluster without an official cause. The one safety-critical campaign specific to it, 14V054000, is for the brake actuator and covers 2012 and 2013. Score 67, CAUTION.
Then the record goes quiet. The 2013 has 124 complaints, the 2014 has 93 and the 2015 has 101; no component reaches 30 in any of the three years, and the 2014 and 2015 have no safety-critical recalls at all. Power Train leads the 2013 at 22, Structure the 2014 at 20, and the 2015's top entry is Unknown Or Other at 29. These are the best Tacomas on record, with scores of 85, 90 and 89.
2016 to 2019: the third generation's first years
The third generation launched for 2016 and Power Train went from 13 complaints on the 2014 to 136 on the 2016, the largest single component count for any Tacoma year. Engine adds 47 and Electrical System 36. Two campaigns speak to the drivetrain on 2016 and 2017 trucks: 17V285000 (27/04/2017) for oil leaking where the rear differential carrier meets the axle housing, and 17V356000 (01/06/2017) for a crank position sensor on six-cylinder trucks that can cause a stall. The 2017 improves — 239 complaints, Power Train 68, Engine 36 — but adds Service Brakes at 32 and the safety-critical brake vacuum pump campaign 18V211000.
The 2018 has no complaints in the record at all, so it is DATA PENDING and cannot be scored. The 2019 has a different problem: Service Brakes is top at 56 and Fuel/Propulsion System second at 55. It has three safety-critical recalls, more than any other Tacoma year: 18V888000 (13/12/2018) for a brake master cylinder that was improperly machined, and the two fuel pump campaigns, 20V012000 and 20V682000, the second of which reaches every truck from 2017 to 2020. Scores: 55, 61 and 54.
2020 to 2023: the quiet middle
From 2020 the third generation settles. Complaints fall to 87, 79, 57 and 53 for 2020 through 2023, and per year on the road they run between 14.2 and 17.7, against 31.0 for the 2019. Fuel/Propulsion System is still the top entry on the 2020 at 21, and that truck is inside the 20V682000 fuel pump campaign, so check it. The 2021 has no recalls at all. The 2022 and 2023 share 24V152000 (27/02/2024) for an axle shaft that may separate from the housing and 22V520000 for child seat anchor welds; the 2023 alone carries the steering column campaigns 23V480000 and 25V040000, the second covering trucks that may have been repaired incorrectly under the first. Power Train is 15, 13 and 10 on the 2020 to 2022, against 136 on the 2016. Scores of 85, 86, 85 and 76.
2024 and 2025: the fourth generation
The fourth generation is the new problem. The 2024 has 145 complaints, which sounds modest next to the 2016's 323, but at 72.5 per year on the road it is the highest exposure-adjusted figure the Tacoma has ever produced, and the 2025 is higher still at 86.0. Power Train is top on the 2024 at 52 with Service Brakes at 34 and Hydraulic at 15; on the 2025 Structure leads at 29 and Power Train follows at 19. The recalls match the pattern: 25V058000 (06/02/2025) for rear brake hoses on four-wheel-drive trucks that can be damaged by mud building up inside the wheel, 26V514000 for shock absorber flanges that may corrode and let the external reservoir detach, 25V656000 for a front driveshaft joint on 2025 trucks that may deform and break, and 25V595000 for the instrument cluster. Both years score 38, AVOID, though evidence is medium and the counts are still growing.
Toyota Tacoma: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 38 | AVOID | 86 | 5 |
| 2024 | 38 | AVOID | 145 | 5 |
| 2023 | 76 | BUY | 53 | 4 |
| 2022 | 85 | BUY | 57 | 3 |
| 2021 | 86 | BUY | 79 | 0 |
| 2020 | 85 | BUY | 87 | 1 |
| 2019 | 54 | CAUTION | 217 | 4 |
| 2018 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 61 | CAUTION | 239 | 5 |
| 2016 | 55 | CAUTION | 323 | 4 |
| 2015 | 89 | BUY | 101 | 4 |
| 2014 | 90 | BUY | 93 | 4 |
| 2013 | 85 | BUY | 124 | 6 |
| 2012 | 67 | CAUTION | 295 | 7 |
| 2011 | 79 | BUY | 186 | 9 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Toyota Tacoma model page.
What to check before you buy
- On a 2017 to 2020 truck, have the dealer confirm 20V682000 against the VIN; on a 2019, add 20V012000 and 18V888000.
- On a 2016 or 2017 six-cylinder, ask whether 17V356000 and 17V285000 have been done, and look under the rear axle for oil around the differential carrier.
- On a 2011 Pre-Runner or 4x4, check the rear leaf springs and the status of 14V604000.
- On a 2012, ask for the engine service history. The record shows 122 Engine complaints with no campaign to close them.
- On a 2022 or 2023, confirm 24V152000 for the axle shaft; on a 2023, both steering column campaigns.
- On a 2024 or 2025 four-wheel-drive, have a shop pull the rear wheels and look at the brake hoses and shock reservoirs. Confirm 25V058000 and 26V514000.
- Fuel economy is 21 mpg combined on every year from 2011 to 2023 and 23 on the 2024 and 2025, so it should not decide the year for you.
Summary
The Tacomas to buy are the 2013 to 2015 and the 2020 to 2023, which between them cover seven model years that all score 76 or higher. The ones to avoid are the 2016, 2017 and 2019 trucks of the third generation's first years, with drivetrain, brake and fuel pump problems the campaigns confirm, and the 2024 and 2025 fourth-generation trucks, whose exposure-adjusted complaint rates are the worst on record. The 2012 is a CAUTION on its engine record, and the 2018 has no record at all.