Total Complaints
7 filings
TOYOTA SUPRA · model year
7 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1988TOYOTASUPRA carries 7 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 3 fires, 4 injuries, and 1 fatality. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1988 SUPRA is engine and engine cooling with 2 filings, followed by structure:body:roof and pillars (2) and unknown or other (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 51 investigation files overlapping the 1988 SUPRA, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
7 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT IN 1991, SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED MY USED 1988 SUPRA, MY TARGA TOP ALSO HAD DEVELOPED A LEAK (OVER THE DRIVERS SIDE) BY DECEMBER OF THAT YEAR. DURING HEAVY RAINS, IT WAS QUITE BAD AND I HAD TO CARRY SEVERAL TOWELS AS A PRECAUTION. I TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY INSTALLED NEW RUBBER SEALS WHICH FIXED THE PROBLEM. THEY DID IT FOR FREE AS A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION! IT IS NOW 2013 (22 YEARS LATER) AND I AM STILL DRIVING THE CAR WITHOUT A LEAK IN A RAINSTORM. CURRENT MILEAGE IS 146,00 ORIGINAL. I OCCASIONALLY RUB SOME GLYCERIN ON THE SEAL WHICH MAY BE HELPING. THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT CAR AND IT IS STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 25 YEARS IN TEXAS! *TR
Mileage: 35,000
THE RADIATOR WAS SERVICED FIVE TIMES. THE HEAD GASKET FAILED DUE TO FLAW IN ENGINE DESIGN. *YH
HERE'S MY COMPLAINT, THE TARGA TOP ON MY 88 TOYOTA SUPRA, HAS LEAKED EVER SINCE I GOT THE CAR IN 1990. EVERYONE WHOM I HAVE SPOKE TO WITH A TARGA TOP, HAS TOLD ME THAT THEIR TARGA TOPS LEAK. SO, WITH THIS BEING THE CASE I'M SURE IF YOU DO SOME RESEARCH YOU WILL FIND OUT WHAT I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THE TARGA TOP, ALONG WITH ITS GASKETS ARE DEFECTIVE FROM THE PLANT. I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU FIND OUT IF THERE IS ALREADY A RECALL ON THESE TARGA TOPS AND THEIR GASKETS, AND IF NOT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD POST A CONCERN, OR LET ME KNOW IF ITS POSSIBLE TO GET A REPLACEMENT TOP AND GASKETS FOR MY MUCH LOVED SPORTS CAR. PRESENTLY, I CAN NOT DRIVE IT ON A RAINY DAY BECAUSE I'LL BE SOAKED WITHIN JUST MINUTES OF THE DOWN POUR. I THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, AND IF YOU ARE ABLE TO FIND OUT IF TOYOTA IS WILLING TO REPLACE THE FAULTY GASKETS AND TARGA TOP, I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT. CURRENTLY, I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE I'M AFRAID THE POURING IN OF WATER IS GOING TO SHOR
I HOPE YOU CAN HELP ME PREVENT POSSIBLE ACCIDENTS CAUSED FROM ENGINEERING ERROR ON IN THE CONSTRUCTION ON THE TARGA TOP ON THE 1987-1992 TOYOTA SUPRAS, EVERYONE WHOM I SPOKEN TO WHOM OWNS A SUPRA WITH THE TARGA TOP HAS TOLD ME THEY ALL LEAK. WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR THE LEAK WAS SMALL, BUT ITS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE, AND AS OF NOW, I ONLY USE IT AS A WEEKEND CAR WHEN IT IS NOT RAINING, BUT FOR THOSE SOULS WHOM DO NOT HAVE THIS OPTION, THEY ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS OTHERS AT RISK IN CONTINUING TO DRIVE THIS PARTICULAR MODEL. BECAUSE WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS INTO THE DRIVING COMPARTMENT MAKING IT HARD TO DRIVE AND SEE FREE FROM THE WATER POURING INTO THE COMPARTMENT, NOT TO MENTION, WITH THE WATER POURING IN LIKE IT DOES, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL THE WATER WILL SHORT OUT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN THE DASH. SO, AT THIS TIME I PLEAD WITH YOU THAT A RECALL MIGHT BE PUT INTO PLACE, TO PREVENT INJURY TO OTHERS ON THE ROAD. AND I MYSELF WOULD LIKE TO SEE A REPLACEME
AFTER TAKING VEHICLE FOR A SAFETY CHECK CONSUMER HAD DRIVEN ABOUT 200 MILES AND HEARD TWO BANGS. THEN, TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT TO HIGH. CONSUMER PULLED OVER, AND NOTICED FLAMES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. CONSUMER PROCEEDED TO GET OUT OF VEHICLE, AND ENTIRE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND MELTED TO THE GROUND.*AK
AFTER TAKING VEHICLE FOR A SAFETY CHECK CONSUMER HAD DRIVEN ABOUT 200 MILES AND HEARD TWO BANGS. THEN, TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT TO HIGH. CONSUMER PULLED OVER, AND NOTICED FLAMES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. CONSUMER PROCEEDED TO GET OUT OF VEHICLE, AND ENTIRE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND MELTED TO THE GROUND.*AK
VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE FOR UNKNOWN REASON WHILE IN MOTION ON FREEWAY.
Data vintage: August 2026. 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.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1988 TOYOTA SUPRA; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.