Toyota Venza Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Toyota Venza model year from 2009 to 2024, benchmarked against each other with 1,000 federal complaints, 13 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2009, 2021. These years top the Venza's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2012, 2014–2015 — 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 Venza's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Other tops the Toyota Venza file with 160 complaints, concentrated in the 2009, 2021 model years, most often reported around 36,566 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Too early to call | 34 | 1 | — | 14 |
| 2023 | Few reports | 29 | 1 | — | 27 |
| 2022 | Typical | 76 | 1 | Visibility & wipers | 30 |
| 2021 | Avoid | 238 | 1 | Visibility & wipers | 92 |
| 2015 | Better year | 34 | 1 | Other | 18 |
| 2014 | Better year | 38 | 1 | — | 17 |
| 2013 | Below average | 87 | 4 | Airbags | 60 |
| 2012 | Better year | 34 | 4 | — | 20 |
| 2011 | Below average | 89 | 6 | Electrical | 42 |
| 2010 | Below average | 110 | 9 | Other | 41 |
| 2009 | Avoid | 231 | 8 | Speed control | 100 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 2,009 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Toyota Venza. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Toyota Venza TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Toyota Venza years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2009, 2021 as the Toyota Venza years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Toyota Venza problem?
Other tops the Toyota Venza file with 160 complaints, concentrated in the 2009, 2021 model years, most often reported around 36,566 miles.
What are the best Toyota Venza years to buy used?
The quietest Toyota Venza years in federal records are 2012, 2014–2015 — 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 Venza 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.