Toyota Yaris Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
1,095 NHTSA complaints (2006–2020).Complaint rate: 126.1 per 1,000 vehicles.
Compare Toyota Yaris vs:
Should I buy a Toyota Yaris?
Quick answer from 1,095 NHTSA complaints · 2006–2020
Toyota Yaris shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 22.2% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to airbags. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2014 Toyota Yaris· 3 complaints
- 2018 Toyota Yaris· 7 complaints
- 2016 Toyota Yaris· 8 complaints
- 2007 Toyota Yaris· 331 complaints
- 2008 Toyota Yaris· 289 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:
- airbags — 354 complaints (27.1% involved a crash)
- unintended acceleration — 68 complaints (35.3% involved a crash)
- electrical faults — 65 complaints (3.1% involved a crash)
- brakes — 62 complaints (30.6% involved a crash)
- suspension failures — 44 complaints (9.1% involved a crash)
What Happened to 8,686 Toyota Yariss On the Road
Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 8,686 Toyota Yaris VINs built 2007–2020 — 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 Yaris averages 34.0% accident history across all model years. Here is how the years flagged above compare on real records:
- 2007 — 22.5% of 721 VINs on record show accident history, in line with the 34.0% model average. Owners complained more, but these cars are not crashing more.
- 2008 — 17.6% of 695 VINs on record show accident history, in line with the 34.0% model average. Owners complained more, but these cars are not crashing more.
Typical Toyota Yaris on record: 2.1 owners on average, 83,671 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: Avoid the 2007–2010 Toyota Yaris (188 crash-related complaints). The 2018 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Airbags.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
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 Yaris Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Airbags | 354 | 27.1% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 68 | 35.3% |
| Electrical Faults | 65 | 3.1% |
| Brakes | 62 | 30.6% |
| Suspension Failures | 44 | 9.1% |
| Steering Defects | 38 | 23.7% |
| Seat-Related Issues | 37 | 10.8% |
| Engine Problems | 34 | 8.8% |
| Seat Belt Issues | 34 | 29.4% |
| Body Structure | 29 | 44.8% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
| Year | Generation | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006NO DATA | — | 9 | 6 | 2 | View → |
| 2007AVOID | — | 331 | 55 | 8 | View → |
| 2008AVOID | — | 289 | 75 | 2 | View → |
| 2009AVOID | — | 134 | 37 | 4 | View → |
| 2010AVOID | — | 123 | 21 | 2 | View → |
| 2011 | — | 31 | 5 | 3 | View → |
| 2012 | — | 47 | 15 | 1 | View → |
| 2013GOOD | — | 11 | 3 | — | View → |
| 2014NO DATA | — | 3 | 1 | — | View → |
| 2015GOOD | — | 22 | 14 | — | View → |
| 2016NO DATA | — | 8 | 4 | — | View → |
| 2017GOOD | — | 21 | 3 | — | View → |
| 2018NO DATA | — | 7 | 3 | — | View → |
| 2019 | — | 43 | 1 | 1 | View → |
| 2020GOOD | — | 16 | 0 | — | View → |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (1,095 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 8,686 Toyota Yaris 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).
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