Toyota Tundra Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Toyota Tundra model year from 1999 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 9,436 federal complaints, 82 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2000. These years top the Tundra's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2009–2021 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Tundra's own worst year — full methodology.
Under investigation. Federal regulators currently have 2 open defect investigations on the Toyota Tundra.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Body & structure tops the Toyota Tundra file with 1,729 complaints, concentrated in the 2000 model years, most often reported around 111,000 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Too early to call | 34 | 1 | — | 2 |
| 2025 | Too early to call | 221 | 4 | Engine | 16 |
| 2024 | Too early to call | 510 | 10 | Engine | 33 |
| 2023 | Below average | 616 | 13 | Engine | 43 |
| 2022 | Below average | 630 | 13 | Engine | 42 |
| 2021 | Better year | 31 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 2020 | Better year | 55 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 2019 | Better year | 104 | 10 | Fuel system | 9 |
| 2018 | Better year | 153 | 9 | Electrical | 12 |
| 2017 | Better year | 112 | 6 | Electrical | 8 |
| 2016 | Better year | 156 | 6 | Electrical | 11 |
| 2015 | Better year | 59 | 5 | Electrical | 4 |
| 2014 | Better year | 115 | 5 | Electrical | 8 |
| 2013 | Better year | 105 | 6 | Engine | 9 |
| 2012 | Better year | 215 | 4 | Engine | 16 |
| 2011 | Better year | 184 | 11 | Engine | 14 |
| 2010 | Better year | 218 | 16 | Suspension | 19 |
| 2009 | Better year | 53 | 13 | Transmission & drivetrain | 4 |
| 2008 | Below average | 460 | 13 | Speed control | 36 |
| 2007 | Below average | 535 | 14 | Transmission & drivetrain | 47 |
| 2006 | Below average | 677 | 13 | Body & structure | 53 |
| 2005 | Below average | 491 | 14 | Body & structure | 43 |
| 2004 | Below average | 652 | 13 | Body & structure | 51 |
| 2003 | Below average | 524 | 10 | Body & structure | 42 |
| 2002 | Below average | 648 | 6 | Body & structure | 53 |
| 2001 | Below average | 543 | 5 | Body & structure | 46 |
| 2000 | Avoid | 1,334 | 7 | Body & structure | 100 |
| 1999 | Few reports | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 5,525 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Toyota Tundra. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Toyota Tundra TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Toyota Tundra years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2000 as the Toyota Tundra years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Toyota Tundra problem?
Body & structure tops the Toyota Tundra file with 1,729 complaints, concentrated in the 2000 model years, most often reported around 111,000 miles.
What are the best Toyota Tundra years to buy used?
The quietest Toyota Tundra years in federal records are 2009–2021 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Toyota Tundra only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.