Owners filed 17 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the seat belts › front › retractor. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
Component
Reports
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
3
1
0
1
Seat Belts › Front › Webbing
2
1
0
2
Seat Belts
2
0
0
0
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
2
0
1
0
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
2
0
0
0
Seats › Front Assembly › Head Restraint
1
0
0
0
Seats
1
0
0
0
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Hood › Latch
1
0
0
0
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Doors › Latch
1
0
0
0
Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner
1
0
0
0
What owners reported
Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Nov 25, 2005218,800 milesKY
THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ON MY 91 TOYOTA TERCEL SEEMS TO HAVE A DEFECT. OCCASIONALLY, WHEN I TURN ON MY TURN SIGNAL, OR MY HEATER FAN, THE HEADLIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS, AS WELL AS THE RADIO WILL TURN OFF FOR ABOUT HALF A SECOND, AND THE CAR WILL STUTTER A BIT. SO FAR, THE LIGHTS AND EVERYTHING HAVE COME BACK ON WITH NO PROBLEM, BUT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THEM STAYING OFF AT SOME POINT AND LEAVING ME UNABLE TO SEE OR BE SEEN. IT DID IT TONIGHT AFTER I HEARD A LOUD CLICKING AND TURNED OFF MY HEATER TO SEE IF IT WAS COMING FROM THERE, AND THEN TURNED THE HEATER BACK ON. *NM
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Doors › Latch
Filed Jun 5, 2001CA
A PART OF THE DOOR MECHANISM THAT CONTROLS THE LATCH BECOMES DISENGAGED TO WHERE THE DOOR CAN NOT BE OPEN FROM THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. *AK
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Hood › Latch
Filed Jan 25, 2000IL
THE SECONDARY HOOD LATCH (THE ONE OPERATED BY HAND FROM OUTSIDE) SEEMS TO STICK IN THE OPEN POSITION. THE SPRING DOES NOT RETURN IT BACK TO THE SECURE POSITION. *AK
Seat Belts
Filed Mar 9, 1999MD
DRIVER SIDE SHOULDER SEAT BELT NEEDS REPLACEMENT. THE SEAT BEALT THREADS ARE ALL LOOSE, IS ALL TORNED APART. WEARING THE SEAT BELT IS NOT PROVIDING ANY PROTECTION AT ALL. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE IT, NOT EVEN IN OLDER AND MORE USED CARS.
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Jan 28, 1999NV
DUE TO A DEFECTIVE THEROMOSAT, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND OIL LEAKED, DAMAGING THE ENGINE WHICH NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION AND VIN #. *AK
Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
Filed Dec 7, 1998KY
DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT IS JAMMED WITHIN THE RETRACTING MECHANISM, CAUSING THE SHOULDER BELT TO BECOME INOPERABLE. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAIL. *AK
Seat Belts › Front › RetractorCrash1 injured
Filed Aug 28, 1998NY
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 5-10 MPH VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION. UPON IMPACT, THE RESTRAINTS DID NOT RETRACT, CAUSING THE DRIVER'S HEAD TO GO INTO THE WINDSHIELD . THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTFIED. *AK *ML
Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
Filed Apr 8, 1998LA
WHILE DRIVING THE SEAT BELT BROKE AND THE DRIVER WAS NOT RESTRAINED IN THE SEAT. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, AND THEY SAID THAT IT WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. THE OWNER HAD TO PAY TO HAVE THE BELT CORRECTED. OWNER THINKS THAT THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT. *AK
Seat Belts › Front › Webbing
Filed Dec 12, 1997MD
DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT IS RIPPING APART. THE OWNER HAS MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER . *AK
Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner
Filed Oct 28, 1997AL
AIR CONDITIONER FAILED, WETTING FRONT FLOOR ON PASSENGER'S SIDE.
Seat Belts
Filed Mar 24, 1997MI
THE DRIVER'S SIDE PASSIVE RESTRAINT SHOULDER BELT WOULD FREQUENTLY NOT ALLOW THE DRIVER TO LEAN FORWARD IN SEAT; DRIVER WOULD HAVE TO PRESS HIS BODY BACK AND FORTH AGAINST THE SHOULDER BELT TO REGAIN SOME SLACKNESS IN THE SHOULDER BELT. ALSO, SHOULDER BELT WOULD NOT RETRACT FULLY, SHOULDER BELT WOULD GET CAUGHT WHEN DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO MANUALLY RESTRAIN. *AK
Seats
Filed Jul 24, 1996MO
SEAT DESIGN DOES NOT ACCOMMODATE CHILD SAFETY SEATS. *AW
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › GasolineFire
Filed Jul 12, 1996MD
CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE, PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
Seat Belts › Front › WebbingCrash2 injured
Filed Jul 2, 1996OK
TERCEL WAS HIT HEAD ON; SHOULDER BELTS DID NOT RESTRAIN DRIVER & PASSENGER. *AK
Seats › Front Assembly › Head Restraint
Filed Jun 3, 1996CA
HEAD RESTRAINTS INOPERATIVE, DUE TO HEADREST RESTAINTS INTERNAL BOLT BREAKING, CAUSING DETACHMENT FROM SEAT, SECOND OCCURRENCE. *AK
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed May 7, 1996AZ
ENGINE FAILED TWICE. *DSH
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Feb 14, 1996OR
ENGINE MOUNTS BROKE ON VEHICLE, UNABLE TO DRIVE VEHICLE. TT
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.