Toyota 86 Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
21 NHTSA complaints (2017–2020).Complaint rate: 11.9 per 1,000 vehicles.
Compare Toyota 86 vs:
Should I buy a Toyota 86?
Quick answer from 21 NHTSA complaints · 2017–2020
Toyota 86 shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 19.0% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to engine problems. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2018 Toyota 86· 2 complaints
- 2020 Toyota 86· 2 complaints
- 2017 Toyota 86· 3 complaints
- 2019 Toyota 86· 14 complaints
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Why these years are worse
The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:
- engine problems — 5 complaints (20.0% involved a crash)
- fuel system — 3 complaints (0.0% involved a crash)
- body structure — 2 complaints (50.0% involved a crash)
What Happened to 1,764 Toyota 86s On the Road
Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 1,764 Toyota 86 VINs built 2017–2023 — accidents, title brands and odometer flags from our vehicle-history database, not from the NHTSA complaint file.
Do the complaint spikes show up in real accident history?
The Toyota 86 averages 42.1% accident history across all model years. Here is how the years flagged above compare on real records:
- 2019 — 41.2% of 439 VINs on record show accident history, in line with the 42.1% model average. Owners complained more, but these cars are not crashing more.
Typical Toyota 86 on record: 2.0 owners on average, 50,490 average miles.
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.
Bottom line: The 2019 Toyota 86 had a notable spike in NHTSA complaints. Other years had typical complaint volumes. Most common issue across all years: Engine.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
No years stand out as significantly better.
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $8.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaints by Model Year
NHTSA complaint count per model year
Common Toyota 86 Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Problems | 5 | 20.0% |
| Fuel System | 3 | 0.0% |
| Body Structure | 2 | 50.0% |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (21 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: Not yet available for this model. Complaint counts are shown as raw numbers.
On-road outcomes: Accident, title-brand, theft and odometer records for 1,764 Toyota 86 VINs in our vehicle-history database. Independent of the NHTSA complaint file — a complaint is what an owner reported, these are what was recorded against the vehicle. Year-level figures are shown only for model years with at least 200 VINs on record.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint count. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
Buying a Toyota 86?
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