IllustrationDRIVING SOUTH ON MACINTOSH RD. TRIED TO AVOID HITTING A CAR THAT MADE AN ILLEGAL U-TURN IN FRONT OF ME. I RAN INTO THE WALL HARD ENOUGH TO KNOCK THE WALL (CEMENT) DOWN. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I RECEIVED A CONCUSSION, AND AM STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH SIDE EFFECTS A YEAR LATER. ACCIDENT HAPPENED MAY 12, 2014.
1997 Toyota Tacoma
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Toyota Tacoma do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 228.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Tacoma years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
10–25K
125–50K
550–75K
775–100K
15100–150K
29150K+
58 reports with mileage · 73 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Structure. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Tires. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
13 crash reports0 fire reports8 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
5 reportsWAS IN A TERRIBLE COLLISION AND ROLL OVER IN 1996 TOYOTA TACOMA AND BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVERS SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I SUSTAIN MAJOR FRACTURED FACE RESULTING IN RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY AND NOW HAVE NECK PROBLEMS AND FIBROMYALGIA. *TR
CONSUMER HAD LOST CONTROL OF HIS VEHICLE AND HIT A GUARDRAIL AT A HIGH SPEED. UPON THE COLLISION, THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. *LA (LAWYER MARY SPEEDY HAJDU ON BEHALF OF CONSUMER KENNETH C. MILLER) *JB
CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A 50 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH THE DRIVER'S OR PASSENGER'S AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. PLEASE GIVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *AK
UPON IMPACT, DURING FRONT CRASH, AT APPROX. 40MPH, REAR ENDED VEHICLE, 12:30 ON FRONT BUMPER, DRIVER'S AIRBAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.