Toyota Tacoma Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2016 At least twice the 83.5 complaints of a typical Tacoma year. Most reported area: powertrain.
Best years: 2021, 2022, and 2023 Under three quarters of the 83.5 complaints of a typical Tacoma year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 11, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 24 mpg combined, arrived in 2024.

Tacoma problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Tacoma year drew 83.5 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (47). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (83.5), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2016 Tacoma Avoid Most reported: powertrain	200	324	4
2019 Tacoma Most described: stalling or shutting off	143	219	4
2018 Tacoma Most described: stalling or shutting off	122	210	3
2017 Tacoma Most described: stalling or shutting off	118	245	5
2010 Tacoma Most described: rust or corrosion	78	294	13
2013 Tacoma Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	54	125	6
2020 Tacoma Most described: stalling or shutting off	49	90	1
2015 Tacoma Most reported: body structure	45	102	4
2021 Tacoma Best Most described: airbags not deploying in a crash and unintended acceleration or surging	42	81	0
2023 Tacoma Best Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	41	54	4
2022 Tacoma Best Most described: airbags not deploying in a crash	38	59	3
2012 Tacoma Most described: loss of power or limp mode	36	295	7
2014 Tacoma Most described: rust or corrosion	33	93	4
2011 Tacoma Most described: suspension part problems	24	186	9

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Tacoma for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Hybrid	0	14
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Hybrid	5	118
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Hybrid	6	155	Not rated
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	4	54
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	3	59
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	0	81
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	1	90
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	4	219
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	3	210
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	5	245
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	4	324
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	4	102
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	4	93
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	6	125
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	7	295
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	9	186
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	13	294	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2016: 324 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Toyota Tacoma
Model year	Complaints
2010	294
2011	186
2012	295
2013	125
2014	93
2015	102
2016	324
2017	245
2018	210
2019	219
2020	90
2021	81
2022	59
2023	54
2024	155
2025	118
2026	14

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 21 to 23 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); highest in 2013. Hybrid: 23 to 24 mpg (2024 to 2026); highest in 2024.

Best gas version
Best hybrid version

2026: gas 23 mpg · hybrid 23 mpg

Show as a table

Toyota Tacoma best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version	Best hybrid version
2010	22	–
2011	22	–
2012	22	–
2013	23	–
2014	22	–
2015	22	–
2016	21	–
2017	21	–
2018	21	–
2019	21	–
2020	21	–
2021	21	–
2022	21	–
2023	21	–
2024	23	24
2025	23	23
2026	23	23

Every Tacoma year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Questions

Which Toyota Tacoma years should you avoid?

The 2016 Tacoma is the year to avoid: it drew at least twice the 83.5 owner complaints of a typical Tacoma year in its first three years. The area named most for the 2016: powertrain. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Toyota Tacoma years?

The 2021, 2022, and 2023 Tacoma are the best years: they drew 42, 38, and 41 owner complaints in their first three years, each under three quarters of the 83.5 complaints of a typical Tacoma year since 2016, and none has an open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Toyota Tacoma years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2016 (200) drew the most, then the 2019 (143). Most-reported area for the 2016: powertrain.

Which Toyota Tacoma years have the most recalls?

The 2010 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (13), then the 2011 (9). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. No recall for 2010 to 2026 models tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside.

What are the most common Toyota Tacoma problems?

In the 2,664 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe loss of power or limp mode (164 complaints, most of them for the 2012 and 2018); shaking, shuddering or vibration (145 complaints); and rust or corrosion (137 complaints). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Toyota Tacoma year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 24 mpg combined, first reached by the 2024 hybrid version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.