1998 Toyota Tacoma problems
The 1998 Toyota Tacoma has 358 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (28%) concerns body & structure. After that come air bags (13%) and tires (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 358 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 56 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 34 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 139,000 miles 139 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 22 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 15 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 33 |
What the data shows
Among the 139 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 139,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 135,000 miles (68 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 56 complaints mention a crash; 34 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Toyota Tacoma with enough data (141 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Toyota tacoma truck 1998, my son died in the accident 2 years ago, according police report said he fell asleep in the wheel but the car never was an issue but now that we have recall maybe it was the brake system failure.
Single car accident resulting in severe front end damage into the engine compartment with no air bag deployment. Driver sustained severe head trauma as a result.
Front impact crash with a guardrail. Severe damage to front of vehicle at, above and below front bumper. Neither airbag deployed (driver side or passenger side). Driver suffered broken nose and other head injuries. Impact appears to have been to steering wheel. Passenger suffered broken arm. Impact appears to have been to front windshield. I would like to be contacted regarding this incident.
My wife stopped at the edge of our driveway to let a pedestrian pass and then proceed to enter the driveway by making a right turn. As she accelerated to entered the driveway, the tacoma took off with the engine screaming at a very high RPM and, despite her efforts to stop the truck by pressing hard on the brake, she crashed into the garage and east wall of the house.
The vehicle was in motion on a highway at a speed between 60-65 ml/hr, when I heard something pop. When coming to a stop sign at the off ramp, the steering wheel immediately turned to the right, after pressing on the brakes. I took it to walmart were I purchased the tires and explained to the intake technician of the situation and requested a balancing of all 4 tires, because I thought a weight had fallen off the rim. The auto technician balanced all 4 tires. The receipt stated tires balance accepted and complete.