I STARTED THE CAR AND NOTICED THAT IT SMELLED STRANGE. I PUT IT INTO REVERSE AND STARTED TO BACK UP WHEN THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, SPIDERWEBBING THE WINDSHIELD AND FILLING THE CABIN WITH A SMOKE THAT SMELLED INTENSELY OF THE BAD SMELL FROM BEFORE. THERE WAS NO COLLISION NOR EVEN CONTACT WITH ANY THING ELSE BY THE VEHICLE.
1994 Toyota Previa
Owners filed 19 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the seat belts › rear/other. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts › Rear/Other | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Structure › Body › Door | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Visibility › Sun/Moon Roof Assembly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure › Body › Door › Hinge and Attachments | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Seat Belts › Front › Retractor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsVEHICLE CATCHES ON FIRE DUE TO OIL LEAK. MANUFACTURER DESIGNED INHERENT FLAWS. *TR
DT: THE CONSUMER HA A PROBLEM WITH RIGHT SIDE SLIDING VAN DOOR HANDLE. UPON PULLING OPEN THE DOOR HANDLE IT BROKE OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO SHOP FOR REPAIR BUT DUE TO THE COST THE HANDLE WAS NEVER REPAIRED. THE HANDLE WAS MADE OF POOR QUALITY PLASTIC THAT WAS VERY FRAGILE. THIS WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY INCIDENT WITH THE DOOR HANDLE. NO REPAIRS OR CORRECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. THE PLASTIC DID INJURED THE CONSUMER'S HAND WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.*AK
(1) EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE: WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AND APPROACHING INTERSECTION. LIGHT TURNS YELLOW AND DRIVER DECIDED TO STOP FOR THE RED LIGHT. STOP WAS FROM SOMEWHERE AROUND 30 MPH OVER MAYBE 100 FEET. (FIGURES ARE JUST FOR REFERENCE) (2)FAILURE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES: FEMALE, RECEPTACLE FOR SEAT BELT SOMEHOW BROKE AND SPLIT ITS CASING TO RELEASE THE STRAP. RESULTING IN THE 6 YEAR OLD IN BOOSTER SEAT FLYING FROM BACK SEAT INTO FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AND STARTS CRYING, SCARED BUT RECEIVING ONLY A BUMP ON HIS HEAD. (3) WHAT WAS DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE: HAD THE SEAT BELT LOOKED AT BY ROYAL MOORE TOYOTA IN HILLSBORRO, OR. THEY SAID THEY HAD NEVER SEEN THAT HAPPEN BEFORE AND THAT WOULD BE $180 TO REPLACE. I DID NOT REPLACE THE SEATBELT->RECEPTACLE YET AND STILL HAVE THE BROKEN PART.
WHILE DRIVING CRUISE CONTROL WENT OUT, AND COULD HAVE LOST STEERING CONTROL WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR HAD A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE TO OPEN DOOR WITH NO WARNING SIGNS. CONSUMER STATES THAT IN AN ACCIDENT IT COULD BE DEADLY. TOYOTA FAILED TO RESPOND TO THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION, FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.*AK
I NOTICED A BUMP-BUMP-BUMP LIKE RUNNING OVER ROUGH ROAD WHEN I DECIDED TO SLOW DOWN FROM 70 TO ABOUT 55 AND THEN IT BLEW. I STILL HAVE THE LAST TIRE. TWO MONTHS AGO, A SISTER TIRE BLEW UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND WE RETURNED IT TO THE LOCAL GOODYEAR SERVICE CENTER AND THE CREDITED US SOME PART OF THE COST OF A NEW ONE (THEY SAID IT STILL HAD 15-20,000 MILES STILL LEFT IN TREAD).( DOT NUMBER: MKVF5BHR03 TIRE SIZE: P215/65R15 )
THIS FAILURE RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURY - PORTION OF THE RIGHT THUMB SEVERED
REAR LAP BELT ISN'T WORKING DUE TO THE CASING WITHIN THE SEAT BELT CRACKING, AND THE SEAT BELT IS CATCHING IN THE CRACK, AND WON'T COME OUT. *AK
ACCELERATOR STICKS, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ACCELERATE GRADUALLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU MUST PUSH DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR VERY HARD. THIS LEADS TO THE CAR ABRUPTLY LUNGING FORWARD, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC OR TIGHT SPACES. THIS PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE FIRST 8 MONTHS. THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED, HOWEVER ITS OCCURRING AGAIN. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM ON THIS VEHICLE. *AK
GAS TANK FAILURE RESULTING IN FIRE.
DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY DURING FRONTAL IMPACT, DRIVER SUSTAINED JAW BONE FRACTURE. *AK
SLIDING REAR DOOR STICKS.
SEAT BELT BUCKLE RELEASE BUTTON CASING FELL APART.
SECOND ROW PASSENGER SHOULDER/LAP BELT RELEASE BUTTON BUCKLE LOOSENED AND FELL APART, OCCUPANTS RODE UNRESTRAINED.*AK
HEAD LIGHT DOES NOT SHINE BRIGHT ENOUGH TO SEE WHEN POSITION ON DIM. TT
ALL OFF THE REAR BENCH SEATBELTS ARE UNSAFE TO HOLD A REAR FACING CHILD SEAT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT
REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTED CAUSED CHILD TO BE UNCONSCIOUS AND CAPILLARIES BROKEN IN NECK AND FACE. FATHER CUT CHILD LOOSE WITH SCISSORS. TT
SLIDE SUN ROOF FAILED. *SKD
19 of 19 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.