5 ways Toyota’s ‘most reliable’ reputation is at risk

The Toyota brand is a juggernaut in the automotive market. Toyotas are ubiquitous on American roadways, with many vehicles in various categories garnering high praise and consistently large sales volumes. Vehicles such as the Toyota Hilux, which was essentially banned in the US, are also examples of Toyota’s history and innovation.

However, Toyota has experienced some setbacks in recent years. The brand is often ranked as the most reliable automaker by Consumer Reports, but in early 2025, the outlet’s rankings highlighted a new reliability champion. Subaru claimed the top spot, and Lexus came in second (a luxury brand owned by Toyota, but not the corporation’s flagship).

Toyota had to settle for third place, and although the automaker regained the top spot in Consumer Reports’ most recent rankings, the fluctuations highlight the volatility within the Toyota catalog.

Read more: Honda’s CR-V TrailSport Hybrid looks great, but smart money buys a different trim

Major recall issues

Memories are never good, especially for brands with a reputation for trust and reliability. Since automakers build tens of millions of vehicles each year in the U.S. alone (about 16.5 million per year from 2015 to 2019 and about 13 million in 2022, the latest data available via USA Facts), there are bound to be certain pain points that need to be fixed. Sometimes these are simple problems, but other problems are more complicated. For example, in 2023, the NHTSA investigated reports that the steering wheel of the Tesla Model Y was allowed to be unclear.

Last year, Ford experienced the highest number of total recall orders. 12.9 million Ford vehicles were potentially affected by the problems highlighted in the recall orders. Toyota didn’t experience nearly as many recalls, but still came in second on the list with 3.2 million potentially affected vehicles. Toyota was one of five brands with more than 1 million vehicles affected despite being subject to only 15 individual complaints.

Unfortunately for Toyota’s reputation, many of its recent problems have been high-profile issues rather than minor problems. In 2024, more than 380,000 older Tacomas were recalled due to improper rear axle fixtures, and newer Tacoma models had problematic transmissions. Another highly visible problem involves GR corolla burning. Although Toyota’s recalls are much smaller than Ford’s, these recalls will remain controversial.

Toyota’s new Tacoma, Tundra, and bZ4X SUVs did not meet user satisfaction expectations

In December 2025, Consumer Reports named Toyota the most reliable car manufacturer. But a year ago, Toyota crowned Subaru as the leader of the pack for its collection of problems. In large part, the decline came because drivers were disappointed or dissatisfied with Toyota’s three new models. User satisfaction scores with the new Tacoma, Tundra, and Toyota’s all-electric SUV, the bZ4X, showed significant declines.

All three models scored below average on their reliability scores. This knock on overall performance came at the same time that Subaru had only one underperforming model. Many satisfaction issues arose from a suite of major updates. Many automakers offer minor updates over a few consecutive years, keeping parts and general aesthetics relatively unchanged from one model to the next.

But 2024 saw a major update to the look and feel of many of Toyota’s vehicles, and it seems that users didn’t like the new style as much as Toyota had hoped. Conversely, Subaru is known for making as few visual and functional changes as possible, which gives a more consistent look and feel from year to year.

2021 saw a new engine built, and production issues left the metal teeth behind

In 2021, Toyota phased out its V8 engines for a new twin-turbo V6 model. It was a remarkable decision for those who know and love Toyota vehicles. The brand has long been associated with simple designs that make maintenance of cars easier in the long run.

Toyota features significant overall durability, and their critical components last a long time, because they are built to be highly functional with as few complications as possible. The old V8 that powered Toyotas fit that bill perfectly, while its replacement offered solid power and performance, but relied on more internal pressure, a higher volume of moving parts, and more technical complexity. The benefit of this swap was clear, though: In particular, it offered massive low-end torque that was ideal for hauling stuff in a truckbed or with its hitch.

Concerns about the change were raised before real drivers tested the vehicle on real roads, but a manufacturing issue caused the engines to fail for a different reason. More than 100,000 Toyota Tundras and Lexus LXs were recalled in 2024 because the engine’s manufacturing process left tiny metal skins inside the structure, allowing them to migrate into sensitive, interior nooks and crannies and cause the engines to fail. Engine failure is certainly a major issue, but the root cause of this problem must be completely avoided.

Toyota is being sued for secretly tracking drivers in 2026

Toyota is already facing problems in 2026, and it could affect countless owners. A Florida man is suing Toyota because his 2021 RAV4 is collecting telemetry data on his driving habits, and that information was recently used to create a profile that would raise his insurance rates.

Toyota argued that accepting the terms and conditions when using vehicle-connected services expressly implied such data collection. However, within that agreement, there is no clear indication whether Toyota retains the right to sell or otherwise disseminate that information to third parties, including buyers such as insurance companies.

In the past, other automakers have been flagged for tacitly sharing data with third-party users. GM was banned from selling the data, in particular, after its Smart Driver program was exposed as a data collection effort that generated lucrative side deals without user consent. After these suspicious allegations, drivers may be wary of sharing information with Toyota.

New improvements are in the works, but drivers have long disliked Toyota’s touchscreen controls

Apart from the car’s performance and technical specifications, there is the ‘infotainment’ system, which has become a central feature in most modern cars. Gone are the days of analog dials and buttons to control various features of the passenger environment.

Like its peers, the Toyota packs air conditioning, GPS and radio into a single interface. That may be effective, but Toyota has long had unpopular touchscreen control systems. On Toyota’s luxury Lexus models, much of the hate is directed at the vehicle’s touchpad or joystick control elements.

However, recent updates seek to change this within the Toyota universe. As of early 2020, Toyota’s infotainment systems have more processing power than their predecessors. The brand may have kept a visually dated user interface that feels cheap and uninspiring, but new voice controls, greater responsiveness, and standard integrations like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay make a noticeable difference.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.