1993 Toyota Tercel

Routine

Owners filed 43 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags › frontal. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags › Frontal16
14014
Air Bags › Frontal › Sensor/Control Module3
000
Air Bags3
101
Vehicle Speed Control2
000
Seat Belts › Front › Anchorage2
001
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline2
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine2
000
Visibility › Windshield1
000
Tires › Tread/Belt1
000
Tires1
100

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags › FrontalCrash1 injured
Filed Aug 11, 2005WA

AIR BAG, DRIVERS SIDE DID NOT DEPLOY DURING REAR-END CAR ACCIDENT. *NM

Fuel System, Other
Filed Jan 7, 2003CA

CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT ANY SPEED SMELL STRONG CHEMICAL FUMES INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT(PLASTIC MATERIAL) DEALER HAS INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. TS

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Mar 22, 2002CO

WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE EXHIBITS WHITE SMOKE, CONSUMER HAD TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS INSPECT VEHICLE AND BOTH STATED THAT THE RINGS ARE SHOT AND ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS THAT THE ENGINE OVERHEATED. *TT

Air Bags
Filed Jan 9, 2001NH

DEALER FIRST SAID NOTHING WRONG. RESET . THEN CAME ON AGAIN. SAID MAY BE BAD SENSOR. I NOTICED 50 AIRBAG COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE. THIS AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY IN A CRASH AND DEALER/TOYOTA WILL NOT REPAIR THIS OBVOIUS SAFTEY DEFECT.*AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited SlipCrash
Filed Dec 28, 2000AZ

WHILE TRAVELING AT 65 MPH CONSUMER APPLIED BRAKE WHICH CAUSED WHEELS TO LOCK. BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR, AND WOULD NOT RETURN. PROBLEM CAUSED VEHICLE TO REAR END ANOTHER VEHICLE. MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAIL ON THIS MATTER. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Dec 14, 2000MI

CONSUMER PURCHASED NEW AT 72,517, WAS TOLD THAT A NEW ENGINE NEEDED TO BE INSTALLED. DEALER AGREED TO REPLACE ENGINE, ONLY IF DAMAGE WAS NOT DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR. DEALER TOOK ENGINE APART, AND SAID IT WAS WEAR AND TEAR, AND DID NOT REPLACE ENGINE. CONSUMER HAD TO PURCHASE A NEW ENGINE IN DECEMBER OF 1999. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Dec 14, 2000MI

ENGINE PREMATURELY FAILED AT 72,000 MILES. CONSUMER HAD TO BUY A REBUILT ENGINE.*AK

TiresCrash
Filed Aug 22, 2000NJ

THAT DAY, WHEN I DRIVE IN RT 21, I SUDDENTLY LOST CONTROL, HIT TO ANOTHER SUV, WE SLOW DOWN( DOT NUMBER: )

Tires › Tread/Belt
Filed Aug 1, 2000CA

AFTER PUTTING AIR IN ALL TIRES, CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP WHERE THEY FOUND OUT THAT TIRES HAD A TREAD SEPARATION WITHOUT A PRIOR WARNING. *AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrash2 injured
Filed Mar 30, 2000CA

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 35 MPH CONSUMER'S VEHICLE CRASHED INTO ANOTHER,AND THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

Air Bags › Frontal › Sensor/Control Module
Filed Nov 15, 1999MN

THE AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON AFTER VEHICLE HAS BEEN STARTED. BEEN TO DEALER & PLACED ON DIAGNOSTIC. WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC SHORT AIR BAG SENSOR SYSTEM WAS CAUSED & HAD A SHORT IN IT. THE ENTIRE SENSORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK

Visibility › Windshield
Filed Jun 1, 1999WY

HAVE LOOKED AT SEVERAL OTHER 1993 TERCELS. MOST I HAVE NOTICED HAVE A HORIZONTAL CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. I AM WONDERING IF THIS IS A PROBLEM IN MOST OF THAT YEAR? I FIND IT STRANGE THAT THE TERCELS I HAVE SEEN HAVE THE SAME TENDENCY TO CRACK IN THE SAME AREA IN THE SAME WAY. *AK

Structure › Body › Bumpers
Filed Apr 15, 1999PA

IN MINOR IMPACT THE BUMPER SUSTAINED EXCESSIVE DAMAGE. MJS

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Mar 8, 1999NC

CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN 25 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. ALSO, DRIVER'S SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK UP UPON IMPACT. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

Air BagsCrash1 injured
Filed Mar 3, 1999MD

MY AIRBAG DEPLOYED UPON A MINOR CRASH. I RECEIVED BURNS AND SCRAPES TO MY FACE. ALSO THE AIRBAG OR SOMETHING IN IT CAUSED BURN IN MY SHIRT, THROUGH MY BRA AND ONTO MY CHEST AREA. I DON'T BELIEVE THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED PROPERLY AND AM VERY CONCERNED AS TO WHY.

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Feb 19, 1999CO

CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH REARENDED VEHICLE IN FRONT, DRIVER'S AIRBAG DEPLOYED AND AIRBAG DUST CAME OUT, BUT DID NOT INFLATE. CAME OUT FLAT ,NO AIR IN THE BAG. *AK

Seat BeltsCrash
Filed Dec 14, 1998NC

WHILE IN A CHAIN REACTION ACCIDENT WAS HIT FROM THE FRONT AND BACK, THE SHOULDER BELTS FAILED TO RESTRAIN. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrash1 injured
Filed Oct 22, 1998FL

CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT WITH ANOTHER CAR AND THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED HALFWAY. DRIVER WAS INJURED. *AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation ComponentsCrash1 injured
Filed Jul 6, 1998LA

WHEN APPLYING BRAKES WHILE DRIVING OVER A PUDDLE, BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE, CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, CAUSING CONSUMER TO SUSTAIN BURNS TO THE SKIN. CAUSE UNKNOWN. *AK

Exterior Lighting › Headlights
Filed May 9, 1998MA

BOTH DRIVER'S/PASSENGER'S SIDE HEADLIGHTS ARE INOPERABLE.

20 of 43 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1995
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20001000Routine
19991101Fatalities reported
19983100Routine
199720200Routine
199640240Routine
199551210Routine
199440032Fatalities reported
1993 — this page43000Routine
199224011Fatalities reported
199117010Routine
199019140Routine

Compare every Tercel year →

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.