Toyota Tacoma Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 556 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the Toyota Tacoma across 31 model years. The 2006 model year has the most (76). The words owners use most often: “air bag” (33% of reports).
- 556air bags complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 280mention a crash
- 179mention an injury
- 9related recalls
- $840typical repair cost reported by owners
- 29%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bag: mentioned in 181 of 556 complaints (33%)
- Spiral cable: mentioned in 88 of 556 complaints (16%)
- Failed deploy: mentioned in 49 of 556 complaints (9%)
- Upon impact: mentioned in 37 of 556 complaints (7%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical air bags repair on the Toyota Tacoma at $840, and half of them between $730 and $1,150.
Based on 43 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2009–2022), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 323 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 556 complaints, 280 mention a crash, 3 a fire, 179 an injury.
Toyota Tacoma air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Tacoma | 1 | 1% | 4,000 |
| 2024 Tacoma | 2 | 1% | — |
| 2023 Tacoma | 8 | 15% | 18,844 |
| 2022 Tacoma | 8 | 14% | 24,000 |
| 2021 Tacoma | 7 | 9% | — |
| 2020 Tacoma | 4 | 4% | 24,300 |
| 2019 Tacoma | 4 | 2% | 19,520 |
| 2018 Tacoma | 3 | 1% | — |
| 2017 Tacoma | 13 | 5% | 26,350 |
| 2016 Tacoma | 5 | 2% | 22,400 |
| 2015 Tacoma | 11 | 11% | 38,000 |
| 2014 Tacoma | 8 | 9% | 54,051 |
| 2013 Tacoma | 10 | 8% | 89,000 |
| 2012 Tacoma | 9 | 3% | 28,500 |
| 2011 Tacoma | 17 | 9% | 62,000 |
| 2010 Tacoma | 16 | 5% | 116,500 |
| 2009 Tacoma | 13 | 3% | 76,000 |
| 2008 Tacoma | 29 | 6% | 85,000 |
| 2007 Tacoma | 44 | 8% | 68,500 |
| 2006 Tacoma | 76 | 10% | 85,000 |
| 2005 Tacoma | 46 | 7% | 80,000 |
| 2004 Tacoma | 15 | 4% | 113,000 |
| 2003 Tacoma | 28 | 8% | 40,000 |
| 2002 Tacoma | 19 | 6% | 137,500 |
| 2001 Tacoma | 20 | 5% | 148,450 |
| 2000 Tacoma | 25 | 12% | 78,000 |
| 1999 Tacoma | 38 | 15% | 143,500 |
| 1998 Tacoma | 46 | 15% | 166,894 |
| 1997 Tacoma | 5 | 4% | 131,500 |
| 1996 Tacoma | 16 | 6% | 131,243 |
| 1995 Tacoma | 10 | 6% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (9)
Air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette; steering:column
Model years: 2023
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, Lexus RX350, 2023-2024 NX250, and NX350 vehicles that may have been incorrectly repaired under previous NHTSA recall number 23V-480. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: A deactivated driver's air bag will not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 17, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 25TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 25LA02.
Steering:column; air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette
Model years: 2023
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, 2023 Lexus RX350, RX350 Hybrid, RX500 Hybrid, 2023-2024 Lexus NX250, NX350, and NX350 Hybrid vehicles. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: A deactivated driver's air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 8, 2023. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TA08. Lexus' number for this recall is 23LA02.
Air bags:knee bolster
Model years: 2016
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Tacoma trucks manufactured August 20, 2015, to September 10, 2015. In the affected vehicles, incorrect bolts were used to install the driver's knee air bag module.
Risk: The incorrect bolts may loosen over time and affect the performance of the driver's knee air bag, increasing the risk of driver injury during a crash that necessitates deployment of the air bags.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install the correct driver's knee air bag module mounting bolts, free of charge. The recall began on November 19, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is F0T.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Model years: 2009, 2010
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, 2008-2010 Highlander, and 2009-2010 Tacoma, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and General Motors Pontiac Vibe vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the steering column assembly contains electrical connections to the driver's airbag module housed in a spiral cable assembly, which includes a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC). Due to the shape and location of the FFC's retainer, the FFC could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned.
Risk: If the FFC is damaged, connectivity to the driver's air bag module could be lost and the air bag deactivated. The failure of the driver's air bag to deploy in the event of a crash that typically necessitates deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver.
Fix: Toyota will notify the Toyota vehicle owners, and General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Toyota sent owners an interim notification letter in May 2014 to advise owners of the recall. Toyota will mail owners a second letter when remedy parts are available. General Motors sent Pontiac Vibe owners an Interim letter on June 20, 2014 notifying them that parts are currently unavailable. General Motors sent notices to the Pontiac Vibe owners on September 15, 2014, that a remedy is available. The recall began on October 27, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-762-2737.
Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Model years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Air bags:frontal
Model years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 tacoma vehicles, manufactured from september 14, 2004, through august 29, 2008. Over time, steering wheel vibration may damage the spiral cable assembly (clockspring) that powers the driverâs air bag module. If damage occurs, the air bag warning lamp will illuminate and the air bag may become deactivated.
Risk: In the event of a crash, the driverâs side air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the spiral cable assembly, free of charge. An interim letter is expected to be mailed to owners during april 2012. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Air bags
Model years: 2005, 2006
Problem: On certain vehicles, due to improper assembly of the air bag inflator, which is used in the side air bag, the curtain shield air bag, and the knee air bag assembly, some inflators were produced with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper air bag deployment. In this condition, the expansion force of the gas may be insufficient to properly inflate the air bag when the srs system is activated during a crash.
Risk: This may increase the risk of injury to the occupant in the involved seating position in the event of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the specific srs air bag. The recall began on april 6, 2006. Owners may contact toyota at 1-888-270-9371, scion at 1-866-548-1851, or lexus at 1-800-255-3987.
Air bags
Model years: 2005
Problem: On certain regular cab pickup trucks equipped with a bench seat, the seat position and seat belt buckle sensor connector pins are incorrectly positioned due to a wire harness manufacturing process error.
Risk: In this condition, the seat position and seat belt buckle sensor may not function as designed, affecting the adaptive air bag deployment, which if the vehicle is involved in a crash, could result in improper occupant restraint.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the seat position and seat belt fastening condition sensor connector. An additional sub-wire harness will be installed to correct the connector pin manufacturing error, if necessary. The recall began on july 25, 2005. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-431-4331.
Air bags:on-off switch assembly
Model years: 1998
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The statement required in the owner's manual that "...the on-off switch should only ben used when a member of a passenger risk group identified in the request form in appendix b......is occupying the right front passenger seating position..." is mis-stated. This does not comply with the requirements of fmvss 208, "occupant crash protection."
Risk: If the air bag switch is "off," the seat occupant who is not a member of the passenger risk group would be subject to increased injury in the event of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Owners will be sent a corrected owner's manual.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
I was traveling on highway 12 at 60 mph when the seat belts exploded and cinched up tight to child safety lock mode. There was an odor of burning wires/electrical.
I wrecked my truck in a snowstorm, and the front airbags did not deploy. The crash had me and 2 others in my vehicle. I have permanent injuries
I purchased a vehicle from a car dealer "as is" with a clean title. About two months after purchase I took it to a mechanic after I got an airbag light and he told me the vehicle was missing airbags and was in a hard enough collision that it caused the airbags to deploy. This was not listed on the…
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that over time the horn intermittently became inoperable; however, the horn operated while in the middle of making a turn. The contact was concerned about the failure because the horn and the air bag in the steering wheel were connected by…
I was traveling southbound on I-25 when the flatbed truck in front of me came to a sudden stop. I was unable to stop in time to avoid rear-ending the truck. The airbags did not deploy upon impact.
Frequently asked questions
Do all Toyota Tacomas have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 556 owner complaints about air bags for the Toyota Tacoma. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Toyota Tacoma air bags?
Yes: 9 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
How much does it cost to fix air bags problems on the Toyota Tacoma?
Owners report a typical cost of $840 (half paid between $730 and $1,150), from 43 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the Toyota Tacoma?
The most frequent phrase is “air bag”, in 181 of 556 complaints, followed by “spiral cable” (88).
Other Toyota Tacoma problems
- Structure problems (2,204)
- Suspension problems (1,533)
- Power Train problems (941)
- Vehicle Speed Control problems (779)
- Steering problems (476)
- Electrical System problems (434)
- Engine problems (433)
- Service Brakes problems (392)
See all Toyota Tacoma problems.