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2021 Toyota Venza Hybrid

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 15 of 188 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 74 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Exterior Lighting. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

15 crash reports0 fire reports9 injury reports

What owners actually said

188 reports
Mileage unknown · Dec 23, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I received a call from the Toyota service department during a routine oil change. They indicated that I had severe rodent damage throughout my car. After doing my own research, I found numerous complaints of similar nature with Toyota vehicles due to the soy based wiring they use. It creates a safety hazard as rodents (mice) …

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I received a call from the Toyota service department during a routine oil change. They indicated that I had severe rodent damage throughout my car. After doing my own research, I found numerous complaints of similar nature with Toyota vehicles due to the soy based wiring they use. It creates a safety hazard as rodents (mice) are attracted to the wiring and create nests within the vehicle. My cost to fix the problem was over $4,500 that my insurance covered, but I still had to pay my deductible. The job took approximately 3-4 weeks and I was without a vehicle. The dealership nor the Toyota representative would do anything for me. The car was only a year old. I’ve never had anything like this happen to any new vehicles I have purchased. It seems to be a serious issue with other Toyota vehicles and can be hazardous.

NHTSA ODI #11498644

Mileage unknown · Dec 12, 2022
Exterior Lighting

You just cannot see with these headlights. I cannot drive the car at night. No crashes but we live in the country with no added light and these light don’t work. This is a proble since we bought the car a year ago.

NHTSA ODI #11497161

Mileage unknown · Dec 1, 2022
Exterior Lighting

Both left and right headlights on this car cast a dark "shadow" on the road in front of the car when driving at night. It only occurs when the headlights are on low beam, the high beam headlights are normal. Each headlight casts 2 shadows, for a total of 4, which can be seen about 100 feet in front of the car. They are very d…

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Both left and right headlights on this car cast a dark "shadow" on the road in front of the car when driving at night. It only occurs when the headlights are on low beam, the high beam headlights are normal. Each headlight casts 2 shadows, for a total of 4, which can be seen about 100 feet in front of the car. They are very distracting at all times, but especially when the car is driven around a corner; it appears something is running across the road in front of the car. When I have pointed it out to passengers in the car, everyone remarks that it is very distracting and odd. I told the folks in the service department at the dealership I bought the car from about it, and they turned the headlights on and pulled the car up to a blank wall. I was with them and we could all clearly see the black shadows on the wall. It's like there are pieces of tape on the headlight lenses, but there isn't anything visible that would make these shadows. The service folks at the dealership just scratched their heads and said there was nothing they could do, and so the problem remains. This car is available for inspection at any time. There are no warning lamps or messages about the headlights. I bought this car new in May 2021 and noticed the problem right away. The dealership looked at it when we took it in for it's first oil change in February 2022, but they did not note it on the service receipt.

NHTSA ODI #11495683

Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2022
Service Brakes

Sometimes when I'm driving the Toyota Venza 2021 downhill and press the brakes they freeze and sound weird without control to stop the car. I think is very dangerous. I reported two times in the dealership but nothing happened.

NHTSA ODI #11494309

Mileage unknown · Nov 17, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I have had to replace the windshield 5 times in the last two years. The windshield cracks with just the slightest impact to the windshield from small debris on the highway that should not typically damage the windshield in such a way. All replacement windshields have been ordered directly from Toyota and all have had this issue.

NHTSA ODI #11493935

Mileage unknown · Oct 17, 2022
Visibility/wiper

windshield cracking when i hit a "hard Shell" BUG on the interstate...Not a rock, nor a stone, but a bug!...Nobody around the vehicle in the middle of nowhere...;in broad daylight...going to cost me a high deductable because it cracked right in the line of vision for the driver...total replacement required...Toyota wont stand be…

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windshield cracking when i hit a "hard Shell" BUG on the interstate...Not a rock, nor a stone, but a bug!...Nobody around the vehicle in the middle of nowhere...;in broad daylight...going to cost me a high deductable because it cracked right in the line of vision for the driver...total replacement required...Toyota wont stand behind their product ...this windshield is way too soft...!!!

NHTSA ODI #11489561

Mileage unknown · Oct 14, 2022
Visibility/wiper

A crack in the windshield appeared at approximately 13,000 on June 20, 2022. It appeared after a short local trip-seemingly out of no where. Initially the crack was about six inches long, ending at the bottom of the window pane. Minutes later, the crack continued an additional foot. The crack has continuted to grow and on 10…

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A crack in the windshield appeared at approximately 13,000 on June 20, 2022. It appeared after a short local trip-seemingly out of no where. Initially the crack was about six inches long, ending at the bottom of the window pane. Minutes later, the crack continued an additional foot. The crack has continuted to grow and on 10/14/22 is in excess of 2 feet long, with approximately 19,000 miles. The windshield had been out of stock since July, 2022 when I initiated an insurance claim. It is now scheduled to be replaced on 10/24/22.

NHTSA ODI #11489293

Mileage unknown · Sep 16, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

2021 Toyota Venza while being driven while merging onto the highway, the vehicle lost all braking power causing my wife to almost cash into the car in front of her. The vehicle was moving between 50 to 55 miles per hour. Once the vehicle was pulled over, the dash was displaying these error messages: Pre-Collision System Malfunct…

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2021 Toyota Venza while being driven while merging onto the highway, the vehicle lost all braking power causing my wife to almost cash into the car in front of her. The vehicle was moving between 50 to 55 miles per hour. Once the vehicle was pulled over, the dash was displaying these error messages: Pre-Collision System Malfunction; Braking Power Low/Visit your Dealer; Check Engine; and Secondary Collision Brake System Malfunction. This caused my wife to be stranded on the side of the highway. The vehicle has 24,811 miles on it. The vehicle had to be towed to the Toyota dealership. This is the second time this happened. The first time this happened was about 20 months ago when I had just bought the vehicle new and put about 400 miles on it. The first time the dealership said they could not find anything wrong with it.

NHTSA ODI #11484848

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2022
Unknown Or Other

windshield cracked 8 inches when a small object hit it. u want even traveling close behind any vehicle. It was on a surface street and not the freeway.

NHTSA ODI #11484311

Mileage unknown · Sep 5, 2022
Structure

Unknown

NHTSA ODI #11482919

Official recalls

2

22V239000 · Electronic Stability Control (esc):control Module:software

Apr 13, 2022

Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022 Lexus LX 600, Lexus NX 350h, Lexus NX 450h+, Toytoa RAV4 Hybrid, 2021-2022 Lexus LS 500h, Toyota Mirai, RAV4 PRIME, Sienna, Venza, and 2020-2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The Skid Control ECU software may not turn on the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system when the vehicle is restarted after the driver has disabled the VSC system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Driving with a deactivated stability control system increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will update the Skid Control ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TA03. Lexus' number for this recall is 22LA01.

22V033000 · Exterior Lighting:hazard Flashing Warning Lights; Exterior Lighting:turn Signal:bulbs

Jan 26, 2022

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021 Venza Hybrid vehicles. Water may enter the rear turn signal LED lights, allowing condensation to form on the circuit board, and causing a short circuit. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A short circuit can cause dimming or failure of the rear turn signals and hazard lights, reducing the vehicle's visibility to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace both rear turn signal LED bulbs and replace the rear turn signal light assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 18, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available by June 30, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TB01/22TA01.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Exterior Lighting:hazard Flashing Warning Lights

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021 Venza Hybrid vehicles. Water may enter the rear turn signal LED lights, allowing condensation to form on the circuit board, and causing a short circuit. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence: A short circuit can cause dimming or failure of the rear turn signals and hazard lights, reducing the vehicle's visibility to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace both rear turn signal LED bulbs and replace the rear turn signal light assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 18, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available by June 30, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TB01/22TA01.

Exterior Lighting:turn Signal:bulbs

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021 Venza Hybrid vehicles. Water may enter the rear turn signal LED lights, allowing condensation to form on the circuit board, and causing a short circuit. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence: A short circuit can cause dimming or failure of the rear turn signals and hazard lights, reducing the vehicle's visibility to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace both rear turn signal LED bulbs and replace the rear turn signal light assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 18, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available by June 30, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TB01/22TA01.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.