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2021 Toyota Tacoma

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Toyota Tacoma are lower than the model-year median of 228.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 18 of 80 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Power Train. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports0 fire reports8 injury reports

What owners actually said

80 reports
Mileage unknown · Dec 15, 2022
Fuel/propulsion System

When filling truck at any gas pump or station the pump will not shut off before shoots out from filling port. Gasoline will shoot onto my hand and clothing if at full flow at pump. I have adapted to slow pump to trickle at 11-12 gallons or near full. It will still eject gasoline but less amount and less velocity. Has been evalua…

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When filling truck at any gas pump or station the pump will not shut off before shoots out from filling port. Gasoline will shoot onto my hand and clothing if at full flow at pump. I have adapted to slow pump to trickle at 11-12 gallons or near full. It will still eject gasoline but less amount and less velocity. Has been evaluated at dealer but they noted two other Tacomas do same so noted not a problem. This is my first vehicle that has ever done this. If I was a smoker this would be huge fire risk if gasoline gets on my clothing. This is not normal.

NHTSA ODI #11497640

Mileage unknown · Jul 25, 2022
Unknown Or Other

The accelerator on my truck suddenly accelerates without warning at highway speeds 60MPH and above, as well as residential speeds of 25+ MPH. It also accelerates when coming up to a stop sign and you are slowing down. The Toyota dealership said they were unable to reproduce or duplicate the problem. It is very frightening when …

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The accelerator on my truck suddenly accelerates without warning at highway speeds 60MPH and above, as well as residential speeds of 25+ MPH. It also accelerates when coming up to a stop sign and you are slowing down. The Toyota dealership said they were unable to reproduce or duplicate the problem. It is very frightening when it happens because it lasts between 4-5 seconds if you do not apply the brakes hard. There has not been any warning lights or anything that comes up on the dash board.

NHTSA ODI #11475745

Mileage unknown · Jul 21, 2022
Air BagsCrashInjury

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 impact…

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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 ODI #11475044

10,000 miles · Jun 14, 2022
Power Train

Vehicle purchased less than year ago. Vehicle has approximately 10,000 miles on it. I am on my second rear differential replacement. The original and the first replacement were both making a whining noise. Dealer inspected and found metal shavings in both. There are numerous complaints of similar situation on Tacoma owner websit…

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Vehicle purchased less than year ago. Vehicle has approximately 10,000 miles on it. I am on my second rear differential replacement. The original and the first replacement were both making a whining noise. Dealer inspected and found metal shavings in both. There are numerous complaints of similar situation on Tacoma owner websites. A new vehicle that is less than a year old should not be on its 3rd rear differential. A failure of the rear differential at high speed or in congested traffic could have catastrophic consequences for occupants as well as any other nearby vehicles.

NHTSA ODI #11469227

Mileage unknown · Jun 1, 2022
Air BagsForward Collision AvoidanceCrashInjury

Another vehicle turned left in front of the Toyota, resulting in a head-on collision at about 30 mph. The forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems did not engage and the airbags did not deploy. Police report has not been completed by GRPD as of today (6/1/2022).

NHTSA ODI #11466987

Mileage unknown · Apr 5, 2022
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

The truck will accelerate on its own during highway speeds of 60+ MPH and residential 25+ MPH. Also accelerates when coming up to a stop sign causing me to almost hit a child in a crosswalk. There was no cruise control engaged during the incidents. I took it into the Autonation toyota dealership twice and they said they could no…

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The truck will accelerate on its own during highway speeds of 60+ MPH and residential 25+ MPH. Also accelerates when coming up to a stop sign causing me to almost hit a child in a crosswalk. There was no cruise control engaged during the incidents. I took it into the Autonation toyota dealership twice and they said they could not reproduce and or duplicate the problem. It is very frightening when it happens as it lasts between 4-5 seconds if you do not apply the brakes hard. There has not been any warning lights or anything that comes up on the dash board.

NHTSA ODI #11459755

Mileage unknown · Mar 28, 2022
Electrical SystemService BrakesUnknown Or Other

PCS malfunction, VSC malfunctions, Data transmitter for codes to dealership doesn't work, Transmisson jerk/lost in gears, from stop to go would jerk into gear, hot air comes out of steering wheel (video proof), air coming through window controls. when the Pre-collision system had its malfunction the truck took complete control …

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PCS malfunction, VSC malfunctions, Data transmitter for codes to dealership doesn't work, Transmisson jerk/lost in gears, from stop to go would jerk into gear, hot air comes out of steering wheel (video proof), air coming through window controls. when the Pre-collision system had its malfunction the truck took complete control which gave me no access to breaks or gas, when PCS system kicked off truck jerked really hard & started accelerating on its own causing very high RPMs then just stopped accelerating. Transmission would occasionally seem to have an improper shift & jerk. I took my vehicle to Toyota of Denton for the 5k service, & stated issues with the PCS & VSC malfunctions shown on the dashbord. Denton Dealership said don't worry we will take care of it. The itemized reciept doesn't show issues were looked at; & I kept having the same issues. So I took my truck back to the Denton dealership 2nd time & was told "no malfunction light so no ssues were there" by the Service Manager. who also said "the truck sends malfunction codes to a computer at the dealership, but no codes were sent." Which made me feel like there was more wrong with the truck, including electronics, data sender/reciever, & vehicle alert system relay via dash board aswell. Contacted Corp. Informing them of my issues & concerns making it the 3rd time trying to resolve ongoing issues & requested a field inspector from Corp. look at it instead of a dealership. When complaining to Corp. I stated hot air comes from the steering wheel after 1 hr driving it. Field inspector only drove it 45 miles & said nothings wrong with it. I drove this truck for 8,557 & he didnt find anything wrong in the little 45 mile test; yet the black box showed several pending codes on my truck & also the inspectors truck which is the same year & model. Black box data shows pending code on 1/12/21, 4 days before I acquired it; none again until 2/6/21 & then pending codes AT LEAST twice a month until 11/22/21. BBD pic proof

NHTSA ODI #11458694

Mileage unknown · Mar 22, 2022
Unknown Or Other

The Audio system sound cuts out intermittently when the vehicle is in motion. This occurs when using the AM radio, the FM radio, the SiriusXM radio, and when the phone is connected. The display on the Audio head unit remains on and shows the radio station and information about what's being broadcast, while the connection to the …

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The Audio system sound cuts out intermittently when the vehicle is in motion. This occurs when using the AM radio, the FM radio, the SiriusXM radio, and when the phone is connected. The display on the Audio head unit remains on and shows the radio station and information about what's being broadcast, while the connection to the speakers cuts out at random. This has been an ongoing problem for the past 6 months. I have made 8 trips to a Toyota dealer to have this diagnosed and fixed to no avail as the dealer is often unable to replicate the problem. The Audio head unit has been replaced twice (3rd Audio head unit now) and the problem persists. I have cell phone video of the problem as proof. This would be a "safety" issue if I were attempting to be informed of an imminent severe weather event, or in the event I was attempting to make a phone call in the case of an emergency.

NHTSA ODI #11457891

9,400 miles · Mar 3, 2022
Service Brakes

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that brake lines, brake pads, and brake rotors needed …

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The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that brake lines, brake pads, and brake rotors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,400.

NHTSA ODI #11455023

Mileage unknown · Jan 30, 2022
Engine

in traffic engine surges at times,going from 1200 to 3500 rpm's very dangerous, afraid to drive , wife refuses to drive it, naturally the dealer says NO PROBLEMS, that truck will last 300.000, at 3000 miles in seven months ,thinking about trading it in, dealers tell me I must repair the engine knocking noise, I didn't tell them …

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in traffic engine surges at times,going from 1200 to 3500 rpm's very dangerous, afraid to drive , wife refuses to drive it, naturally the dealer says NO PROBLEMS, that truck will last 300.000, at 3000 miles in seven months ,thinking about trading it in, dealers tell me I must repair the engine knocking noise, I didn't tell them about the revving up part, very unhappy ,have owned Toyota's never had problems !!

NHTSA ODI #11449441

Official recalls

0

No 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.