2004 Toyota Tacoma problems
The 2004 Toyota Tacoma has 545 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (38%) concerns body & structure. After that come suspension (16%) and cruise control (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 545 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 38 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 29 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 108,000 miles 417 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 | 47 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 29 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 31 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 36 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 37 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 68 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 52 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 45 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 27 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 24 |
| 200k+ miles | 21 |
What the data shows
Among the 417 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 108,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 119,000 miles (155 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 38 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 29 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Toyota Tacoma with enough data (117 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
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.
2004 toyota tacoma slid on ice and hit a tree resulting in the vehicle flipping and injuring the three passengers and the air bags did not inflate.** answer required***.
I was driving on the freeway and a car was in a accident, the vehicle was on its side. The owners of the car had got out to safety, but had to leave it to protect themselves. It was a black or very dark colored. With in this time of my passenger and myself in my 2004 toyota truck had come upon it to fast to stop. It was a split decision and reflex to slam on my brakes. Other cars where around and I had no other choice but to hit head on.
December 26, 2013- going east on warner rd. At 45 miles per hour from kyrene and warner. Minimal traffic on the road. At warner and bullmoose a car did not stop at the stop sign at bullmoose to pull out onto warner. I hit the camaro, t-boned him. My air bags did not go off, my seat belt tightened, then popped off of me at some point during the crash. I just know that when I stopped and pulled over my seat belt was off. That concerned me a lot. That was the first thing I noticed when I came to a stop!
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota tacoma. While driving 5 MPH and making a right turn the contact heard a groaning noise in the front passenger side wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians stated that they could not diagnose the failure but the wheel bearing on the vehicle was tightened. After the vehicle was taken to the dealer the contact was driving 65 MPH when the front passenger side tire came off of the vehicle. The wheel assembly broke as well. There were no injuries reported.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota tacoma sr5. The contact stated that fuel fumes were emitted into the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that there was a hole in the fuel tank. As a result, the fuel tank and sending unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 111,000.