TOYOTA PREVIA · model year

1994 TOYOTA PREVIA

20 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1994TOYOTAPREVIA carries 20 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 3 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1994 PREVIA is seat belts:rear/other with 3 filings, followed by seat belts:front:buckle assembly (2) and structure:body:door (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 51 investigation files overlapping the 1994 PREVIA, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

20
Complaints
1
Crashes
3
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

20 filings

Crashes Reported

1 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER3
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY2
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR2
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS1
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
TIRES1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS1
POWER TRAIN1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM1

Recent Complaints

20190806AIR BAGS

I STARTED THE CAR AND NOTICED THAT IT SMELLED STRANGE. I PUT IT INTO REVERSE AND STARTED TO BACK UP WHEN THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, SPIDERWEBBING THE WINDSHIELD AND FILLING THE CABIN WITH A SMOKE THAT SMELLED INTENSELY OF THE BAD SMELL FROM BEFORE. THERE WAS NO COLLISION NOR EVEN CONTACT WITH ANY THING ELSE BY THE VEHICLE.

Mileage: 130,000

20101019FirePOWER TRAIN

VEHICLE CATCHES ON FIRE DUE TO OIL LEAK. MANUFACTURER DESIGNED INHERENT FLAWS. *TR

Mileage: 194,000

20101019FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

VEHICLE CATCHES ON FIRE DUE TO OIL LEAK. MANUFACTURER DESIGNED INHERENT FLAWS. *TR

Mileage: 194,000

20051020STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

DT: THE CONSUMER HA A PROBLEM WITH RIGHT SIDE SLIDING VAN DOOR HANDLE. UPON PULLING OPEN THE DOOR HANDLE IT BROKE OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO SHOP FOR REPAIR BUT DUE TO THE COST THE HANDLE WAS NEVER REPAIRED. THE HANDLE WAS MADE OF POOR QUALITY PLASTIC THAT WAS VERY FRAGILE. THIS WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY INCIDENT WITH THE DOOR HANDLE. NO REPAIRS OR CORRECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. THE PLASTIC DID INJURED THE CONSUMER'S HAND WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.*AK

Mileage: 110,000

20050610SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER

(1) EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE: WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AND APPROACHING INTERSECTION. LIGHT TURNS YELLOW AND DRIVER DECIDED TO STOP FOR THE RED LIGHT. STOP WAS FROM SOMEWHERE AROUND 30 MPH OVER MAYBE 100 FEET. (FIGURES ARE JUST FOR REFERENCE) (2)FAILURE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES: FEMALE, RECEPTACLE FOR SEAT BELT SOMEHOW BROKE AND SPLIT ITS CASING TO RELEASE THE STRAP. RESULTING IN THE 6 YEAR OLD IN BOOSTER SEAT FLYING FROM BACK SEAT INTO FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AND STARTS CRYING, SCARED BUT RECEIVING ONLY A BUMP ON HIS HEAD. (3) WHAT WAS DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE: HAD THE SEAT BELT LOOKED AT BY ROYAL MOORE TOYOTA IN HILLSBORRO, OR. THEY SAID THEY HAD NEVER SEEN THAT HAPPEN BEFORE AND THAT WOULD BE $180 TO REPLACE. I DID NOT REPLACE THE SEATBELT->RECEPTACLE YET AND STILL HAVE THE BROKEN PART.

Mileage: 143,000

20020718VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

WHILE DRIVING CRUISE CONTROL WENT OUT, AND COULD HAVE LOST STEERING CONTROL WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

20000920STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR HAD A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE TO OPEN DOOR WITH NO WARNING SIGNS. CONSUMER STATES THAT IN AN ACCIDENT IT COULD BE DEADLY. TOYOTA FAILED TO RESPOND TO THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION, FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.*AK

20000905UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THIS FAILURE RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURY - PORTION OF THE RIGHT THUMB SEVERED

20000905TIRES

I NOTICED A BUMP-BUMP-BUMP LIKE RUNNING OVER ROUGH ROAD WHEN I DECIDED TO SLOW DOWN FROM 70 TO ABOUT 55 AND THEN IT BLEW. I STILL HAVE THE LAST TIRE. TWO MONTHS AGO, A SISTER TIRE BLEW UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND WE RETURNED IT TO THE LOCAL GOODYEAR SERVICE CENTER AND THE CREDITED US SOME PART OF THE COST OF A NEW ONE (THEY SAID IT STILL HAD 15-20,000 MILES STILL LEFT IN TREAD).( DOT NUMBER: MKVF5BHR03 TIRE SIZE: P215/65R15 )

19990928SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER

REAR LAP BELT ISN'T WORKING DUE TO THE CASING WITHIN THE SEAT BELT CRACKING, AND THE SEAT BELT IS CATCHING IN THE CRACK, AND WON'T COME OUT. *AK

19990605VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

ACCELERATOR STICKS, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ACCELERATE GRADUALLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU MUST PUSH DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR VERY HARD. THIS LEADS TO THE CAR ABRUPTLY LUNGING FORWARD, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC OR TIGHT SPACES. THIS PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE FIRST 8 MONTHS. THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED, HOWEVER ITS OCCURRING AGAIN. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM ON THIS VEHICLE. *AK

19980805FireFUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

GAS TANK FAILURE RESULTING IN FIRE.

19970425CrashAIR BAGS:FRONTAL

DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY DURING FRONTAL IMPACT, DRIVER SUSTAINED JAW BONE FRACTURE. *AK

19970325STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

SLIDING REAR DOOR STICKS.

19961029SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

SEAT BELT BUCKLE RELEASE BUTTON CASING FELL APART.

19960930SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

SECOND ROW PASSENGER SHOULDER/LAP BELT RELEASE BUTTON BUCKLE LOOSENED AND FELL APART, OCCUPANTS RODE UNRESTRAINED.*AK

19960102EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

HEAD LIGHT DOES NOT SHINE BRIGHT ENOUGH TO SEE WHEN POSITION ON DIM. TT

19951113SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER

ALL OFF THE REAR BENCH SEATBELTS ARE UNSAFE TO HOLD A REAR FACING CHILD SEAT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT

19950227SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTED CAUSED CHILD TO BE UNCONSCIOUS AND CAPILLARIES BROKEN IN NECK AND FACE. FATHER CUT CHILD LOOSE WITH SCISSORS. TT

19950112VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

SLIDE SUN ROOF FAILED. *SKD

Compare 1994TOYOTAPREVIA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1994 TOYOTA PREVIA have?
The 1994 TOYOTA PREVIA has 20 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 3 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1994 TOYOTA PREVIA?
The most-complained component for the 1994 TOYOTA PREVIA is SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER with 3 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY and STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR.
Is the 1994 TOYOTA PREVIA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.