Toyota Tercel
Owners filed 259 complaints across 11 model years of the Toyota Tercel. The 1995 drew the most (51).
Model years11
Complaints259
Recalls9
Fires14
Deaths4
Which Toyota Tercel years should you avoid?
Going by 259 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Toyota Tercel years to avoid are 1994.
- 19942.8× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (3 fires, 17 crashes, 2 deaths).
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Toyota Tercel model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System | Routine | |
| 1999 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Fatalities reported | |
| 1998 | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1997 | 20 | 2 | — | 5 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1996 | 40 | 2 | 4 | 11 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1995 | 51 | 2 | 1 | 21 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1994Avoid | 40 | 0 | 3 | 17 | Air Bags › Frontal | Fatalities reported | |
| 1993 | 43 | 0 | — | 20 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1992 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Seat Belts › Front | Fatalities reported | |
| 1991 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Seat Belts › Front › Retractor | Routine | |
| 1990 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 4 | Fuel System, Gasoline › Carburetor System | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.