2010 Toyota Yaris Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Source: NHTSA · Updated Nov 29, 2024 · 90 owner complaints analyzed

Compared with other Yaris years
Far more complaints than other years 4th of 15 for complaints
NHTSA crash rating
Not rated

Owners have filed 90 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Toyota Yaris. That ranks 4th out of 15 Yaris model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (45 complaints, 50%), typically at around 32,000 miles. Complaints mention 12 crashes, 2 fires, 13 injuries. There are 9 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.

Toyota Yaris
2024 Toyota Yaris Hybrid Z 2WD. Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: TTTNIS, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.

Compare with another car

Most common 2010 Toyota Yaris problems

Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.

Air Bags45 · ~32,000 mi
Seats8 · ~49,500 mi
Electrical System7 · ~58,290 mi
Visibility/wiper7 · ~60,848 mi
Steering6 · ~36 mi
Vehicle Speed Control6 · ~23,050 mi
Seat Belts4 · ~46,000 mi
Unknown or Other4
Engine3 · ~94,000 mi
Power Train3 · ~32,000 mi
Problem areaComplaintsShareMedian milesOwners mention mostTypical repair cost
Air Bags4550%32,000——
Seats89%49,500——
Electrical System78%58,290——
Visibility/wiper78%60,848——
Steering67%36——
Vehicle Speed Control67%23,050——
Seat Belts44%46,000——
Unknown or Other44%———
Engine33%94,000——
Power Train33%32,000——
Service Brakes33%77,000——
Structure33%130,000——
Visibility33%8,000——
Wheels33%30,766——
Electronic Stability Control (esc)22%20,000——
Engine and Engine Cooling22%31,784——
Exterior Lighting22%8,500——
Fuel System, Other22%74,167——
Interior Lighting22%8,500——
Suspension22%130,000——
Traction Control System22%20,000——
Equipment Adaptive/mobility11%60,000——
Fuel/propulsion System11%26,000——
Fuel System, Gasoline11%75,000——

One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Complaints by year received

Peak: 2016, with 20 complaints
2009: 1200912010: 132010132011: 4201142012: 5201252013: 2201322014: 112014112015: 6201562016: 202016202017: 152017152018: 5201852019: 3201932020: 2202022021: 1202112024: 220242

n = 90 complaints · Source: NHTSA

2010 Toyota Yaris recalls (9)

Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module; air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleOct 17, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V741000 · 928,220 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430, 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 and 2010-2015 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJan 9, 2018 · NHTSA campaign 18V024000 · 628,018 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, IS-F, and GX460 vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP (Saipan), and the U.S. VI or "Zone A." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, ES350, IS-F, GX460, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Toyota is also recalling certain 2009 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Lexus IS250, IS350, ES350, IS-F, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles ever registered in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJan 9, 2018 · NHTSA campaign 18V025000 · 116,126 vehicles

Problem: On January 9, 2018, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified NHTSA that they are recalling 14,585 model year 2010-2012 Yaris vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of January 30, 2018, Toyota is additionally recalling 3,347 model year 2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles located in states listed above. Also included in this recall filing is 98,194 model year 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles, located throughout the U.S., that previously received a “like-for-like” interim air bag inflator replacement. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assemblies with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0R (Zone B), and H0A (Zone C), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A).

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleMay 23, 2016 · NHTSA campaign 16V340000 · 1,754,517 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus IS250C, Lexus IS350C and Lexus GX460, 2011 Sienna, 2007-2011 Lexus ES350, and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris, 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350 and 2007-2008 Lexus ES350 vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles of these model years and models that were not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on December 6, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for interim notification for this campaign are G1P (Toyota Zone A), G1R (Toyota Zone B), G2G (Lexus Zone A), and G2H (Lexus Zone B). Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), GLG (Lexus Zone A), and GLH (Lexus Zone B).

Visibility:power window devices and controlsOct 22, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V689000 · 1,814,284 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.

Risk: If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 20, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is C0M.

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleApr 9, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V168000 · 1,486,413 vehicles

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.

SeatsApr 9, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V169000 · 472,388 vehicles

Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 22, 2005, through May 12, 2010, and 2008-2010 Scion xD vehicles manufactured April 4, 2007, through May 12, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the springs used for the seat rails on the driver's seat and the seat rails of the front passenger seat of three-door models may break.

Risk: If the spring breaks, the seat may not lock in position. In the event of a vehicle crash, the seat could move increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat rail, and replace it with a new one, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on July 3, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Equipment:other:labelsFeb 3, 2010 · NHTSA campaign 10V035000 · 271,417 vehicles

Problem: Gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

Risk: This does not meet the standard requirements.

Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. Dealers will also correct the owner's manual. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact gulf states toyota at 713-580-3300.

Equipment:other:labelsFeb 3, 2010 · NHTSA campaign 10V036000 · 153,418 vehicles

Problem: Southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

Risk: A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact southeast toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.

Recent owner reports

Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.

Vehicle was in Park and keys were out and I was on passenger side unloading a shelf and the shelf hit the shifter and the vehicle started rolling backwards and ran over my leg.

Unknown or Other · received Nov 29, 2024 · NHTSA complaint 11627951

I would like to point out that both Driver and Police Officer safety may be improved if all vehicle designers and manufacturers were to disrupt the convention of locating caches for the drivers vehicle registration information at or below driver shoulder height. It may be a fairly inconsequential…

Unknown or Other · received Jun 27, 2024 · NHTSA complaint 11597216

Malfunctioning components 1. Door locks do not lock all the time when the lock button is pressed. 2. Randomly I will find my doors unlocked, when I closed them when I got out. 3. Doors unlock by themselves and that poses a problem for me and my family. To be able to figure out the issue I have to…

Electrical System · received Sep 28, 2021 · NHTSA complaint 11434616

2010 yaris, broken frame after hitting pothole, frame and suspension all rotted out. Even though there is no outside visible rust on any exterior panels.

Structure · received Apr 24, 2020 · NHTSA complaint 11322105

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota yaris. The contact stated the fuel gauge failed to illustrate the correct amount of fuel which caused the vehicle stall due to a lack of fuel. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated or informed that the fuel level was low. The vehicle was not drivable…

Fuel System, Other · received Feb 3, 2020 · NHTSA complaint 11306737

Other Toyota Yaris years

← 2009 Yaris · 2011 Yaris →

See all Toyota Yaris problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2010 Toyota Yaris?

Owners most often report air bags, seats, electrical system problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 45 complaints.

Was there a recall on the 2010 Toyota Yaris?

Yes, 9 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.

Was the 2010 Toyota Yaris a good year?

Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Yaris model years, the 2010 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.