TOYOTA · vehicle model
TOYOTA TERCEL
389 NHTSA complaints and 0 safety recalls across model years 1982–2000.
- Complaints
- 389
- Recalls
- 0
- Model years
- 19
The TOYOTATERCEL appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 389 consumer safety complaints and 0 recall campaigns across 19 model years (1982–2000). That averages roughly 20 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 51 investigation files tied to this model, with 1 currently open. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 |
| 1999 | 1 |
| 1998 | 4 |
| 1997 | 25 |
| 1996 | 45 |
| 1995 | 58 |
| 1994 | 45 |
| 1993 | 50 |
| 1992 | 27 |
| 1991 | 18 |
| 1990 | 23 |
| 1989 | 32 |
| 1988 | 9 |
| 1987 | 15 |
| 1986 | 8 |
| 1985 | 5 |
| 1984 | 12 |
| 1983 | 9 |
| 1982 | 2 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare TOYOTATERCEL to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 1 Open
Brake Actuator Valve Wear
Electrical problems / No-start
Joyson Passenger Side Air Bag Cushion
Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events
Brake Actuator Valve Wear
Frame corrosion
Upper Steering Column Separation
Yaw rate sensor malfunction
Low-speed surging
Low-speed surging
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the TOYOTA TERCEL?▼
What years of TOYOTA TERCEL are available?▼
Does the TOYOTA TERCEL have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common TOYOTA TERCEL complaints?▼
How do I check if my TOYOTA TERCEL has been recalled?▼
Data sources
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. TOYOTA TERCEL totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; 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.