2003 Toyota Tacoma: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 2003 Toyota Tacoma. The newest campaign is 12V542000. NHTSA received the report on 23 Nov 2012. The NHTSA record gives the component Tires / Temporary/Emergency Spare Tire. NHTSA has 359 complaints on file for this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 12V542000, in the NHTSA record
Toyota will notify owners, dealers will inspect the vehicle and replace the spare tire carrier lift plate as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in February 2013. Owners may contact their Toyota dealer or the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
3 campaigns, newest first. 1,041,739 units in total.
12V542000Received . 150,000 units.
Tires / Temporary/Emergency Spare Tire
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2001 through 2004 Tacoma light trucks manufactured from August 28, 2000, through August 27, 2004, and originally sold, or currently registered, in the following cold climate states with high road salt usage: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The spare tire in the subject vehicles is located underneath the rear of the vehicle and held by a spare tire carrier. A lift plate on the carrier is used to help raise, lower and retain the tire. During its manufacture, the lift plate may not have been sufficiently coated with anti-corrosion materials. If the plate is insufficiently coated and the vehicle is operated in cold climate regions where road salts are frequently used, road spray can reach the carrier assembly and corrode the lift plate.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Corrosion of the plate could cause it to break, which could result in detachment of the spare tire from the vehicle. Detachment of the spare tire could result in a road hazard which may increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Toyota will notify owners, dealers will inspect the vehicle and replace the spare tire carrier lift plate as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in February 2013. Owners may contact their Toyota dealer or the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
05V225000Received . 768,379 units.
Suspension / Front / Control Arm / Lower Ball Joint
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain sport utility vehicles, due to a manufacturing issue in the front suspension lower ball joint, there is a possibility that the surface of the ball of the joint may have been scratched. The ball joint may eventually experience excessive wear and looseness, resulting in increased steering effort.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The lower ball joint may separate from the knuckle causing loss of steering control and a crash could occur.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the front suspension lower ball joints free of charge. The recall began on july 5, 2005. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Report filed by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 50J. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
03V189000Received . 123,360 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain pickup trucks, during side impact ncap test (i.e. Lincap test), a flange at the rear end of the double cab body deformed and interfered with the fuel inlet hose that connects the fuel filler pipe and fuel tank, resulting in damage to the fuel inlet hose.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This damage could result in fuel leakage, which could result in a fire if in the presence of an ignition source.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a fuel hose protector on the body flange. Owner notification began june 3, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Report filed by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number SSC 30H. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
359 complaints, 479 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2003 Toyota Tacoma
- All 2003 vehicles
| Component | 2003 Tacoma | All 2003 vehicles | Tacoma, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | 390.4 | 64.3 | 207.2 | 187 |
| Suspension | 142 | 59 | 146.4 | 68 |
| Air Bags | 56.4 | 83.7 | 52.2 | 27 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 56.4 | 41.3 | 72.5 | 27 |
| Unknown or Other | 54.3 | 23 | 67.4 | 26 |
| Tires | 45.9 | 20.1 | 24.9 | 22 |
| Power Train | 37.6 | 118.5 | 88.6 | 18 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 29.2 | 74.5 | 16.3 | 14 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 27.1 | 35.2 | 11.6 | 13 |
| Steering | 25.1 | 48.1 | 44.2 | 12 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 25.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 30
- Complaints that report a fire
- 1
- Injuries in the complaints
- 21
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 22 Feb 2026
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
- 19952
- 19961
- 19970
- 19981
- 19990
- 20000
- 20014
- 20023
- 20033
- 20043
- 200510
- 200611
- 200710
- 200811
- 200913
- 201013
- 20119
- 20127
- 20136
- 20144
- 20154
- 20164
- 20175
- 20183
- 20194
- 20201
- 20210
- 20223
- 20234
- 20245
- 20255
- 20260
A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.
Follow by RSS:Toyota recallsVehicle recalls
Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2003 Toyota TacomaThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2003 Toyota Tacoma: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/toyota/tacoma/2003/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2003 Toyota Tacoma?
- 1,041,739 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Toyota Tacoma have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 56 recall campaigns for the Toyota Tacoma, model years 1995 to 2026. 3 of them name the 2003 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2003 Toyota Tacoma name most often?
- Structure: 187 of 479 component mentions, or 390.4 per 1,000. For all 2003 vehicles the figure is 64.3 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2003 Toyota Tacoma open?
- The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.