30 of the 389 complaints filed about the Toyota Venza Hybrid are about the electrical system — 8% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2021.
30
Complaints
8%
Share of all complaints
5
Crashes
0
Fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The radio display intermittently goes black
NHTSA complaint #11757728 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
low‑beam headlights/headlight assembly issues. Moisture getting in, corrosion of prongs that connect to the headlight assembly. Dimming lights once assembly was replaced. Condensation in the headlights. Some bulbs work while others don't.
NHTSA complaint #11755427 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The inflation screen keeps going on and off
NHTSA complaint #11736846 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving under normal conditions and driving into my driveway on Thursday, March 19, I experienced a sudden and temporary loss of braking ability. When I applied the brake pedal, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected. This resulted in a collision with a residential fence at low speed. There were no warning lights or prior indications of a braking issue before the incident. The loss of braking appeared to be momentary, but significant enough to prevent me from stopping the vehicle in time. The vehicle has been regularly maintained and had no known prior brake issues although there are times when the brakes skip when traction is involved. There are also sudden issues with the acceleration. Given the safety risk, I believe this incident may be related to a potential defect in the braking system or electronic control systems.
NHTSA complaint #11729686 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The entertainment screen keeps going on and off. The radio will not stay on! I brought it to the Toyota dealer and told them the problem and that I saw on the internet a recall for this problem. He checked the vin number and said it was not mine. He also if it’s the screen that will be expensive to replace as my car is no longer in warranty
NHTSA complaint #11726161 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Venza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the screen displayed a black screen while the vehicle was in drive(D). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was most predominant when the weather was cold. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11712196 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Primary Control/Head Unit Failure - I can no longer access any of the electronic functions of the vehicle due to the computer screen failure. The back up camera works, but when the vehicle is in drive, it's nothing but a strobing light trying to connect. It's a safety concern most at night due to the constant strobe effect coming across the screen every 3 seconds. It draws your attention from the road and/or gives you the impression that something is coming to hit you from the passenger side. Yes, the vehicle has been inspected and diagnosed by Toyota. Toyota is unwilling to admit their head unit is faulty and want me, the consumer, to pay out of pocket for the parts and the labor. No, the failure happened without warning. One day it was working fine and the next it was frozen and then "dead" with this strobe effect.
NHTSA complaint #11699429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The infotainment system is not consistently working. It is the 12.5 screen-based system that enables the control of numerous features including air conditioning/heating, audio (all radio and satellite radio), backup camera feed, and map/gps display. I see that there is a recall for this system for some Toyota models, however I have not yet received a notification, and I am assuming that it is because my car is a 2021 model. Not having this display makes navigation difficult (as the screen will just turn off suddenly) and control of the cabin environment impossible (i.e. I struggle turning on the AC/Heat as I don't know what the temperature is set to). Why would my vehicle not be included in the recall? What can be done to get this fixed? I view this as a safey concern as all vehicle safety notifications are posted on the screen (which won't work), all of the systems that are controlled from the screen are not available, and the back up camera display won't work at times.
NHTSA complaint #11698720 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The infotainment system has failed. It is the 12.5 screen-based system that enables the control of numerous features including air conditioning/heating, audio (all radio and satellite radio) and map/gps display. This system is the focus of a recall on this model car (newer versions) but the issue is the same for this year. Not having this display make navigation difficult, control of the cabin environment impossible. I wonder why this year vehicle was not included in the recall. I have ordered a replacement at a cost of $3,300. This began in May of 2025.
NHTSA complaint #11690377 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While attempting to cross a busy street, I picked an opening in the coming traffic to cross, released the brake to allow the car to start rolling slowing, but when I pressed the accelerator , I got no response from the car and no acceleration at all for about 3 seconds. Leaving me and my family stuck in the middle of the street with oncoming traffic just seconds away from hitting us. In the 3 seconds span, I tried pressing the accelerator several times until the car finally responded. The car remained ON the entire time. No errors or messages were displayed on any of the dashboards at any time. I have seen several similar stories in online forums with this model. Something is wrong and very dangerous.
NHTSA complaint #11682744 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Venza. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The contact stated that during the first failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed, however the diagnosis was unknown. The contact stated that during the second failure, the steering wheel warning light illuminated, the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the accelerator and brake pedals seized. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and thirty seconds later, the vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that during the third failure, the contact became aware that the fuel gauge was not operating properly. After refueling the vehicle, the fuel gauge warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the buttons on her steering wheel and the infotainment system also failed to function as designed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 57,346.
NHTSA complaint #11680955 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The left head light has failed. As a result, these are the functionality issues I am experiencing: 1. Loss of power to power mirrors. This causes issues because the mirrors do not retract, and have to be manually adjusted before each drive session. They have folded in while driving, causing hazardous driving conditions without use of the mirrors. 2. Windshield wiper fluid dispenser has lost functionality, causing hazardous driving conditions because I am unable to remove debris and liquid that obstructs my vision while driving. 3. Windshield wipers will only work on one setting, being the fastest setting 4. Dash panel not displaying information such as temperature, trip information, and proper odometer readings. Low fuel notifications not showing properly. I almost ran out of fuel because I was unaware or actual fuel levels 5. Lift gate not opening from key fob 6. Neither headlight will operate in "bright" mode, despite only one head light being compromised. This is a major issues that has affected many Venza drivers. There are a multitude of reports on Reddit and other forums that discuss these issues. What's worse, is that Toyota has tied critical electrical components and functionality to a single headlight, which happens to be very costly to remedy (Over $1000k). There were no warnings present, just issues identified after the headlight failure, and these are only the ones I have discovered thus far. This needs to be recalled
NHTSA complaint #11658511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
-Issue with electrical system. Unable to access to connect services (APP, SOS). Contacted Toyota three times to let them know about this issue. -Collision Warning/Rear Cross Warning don't always operate. There is no sound or warning. -Occasionally, screen turns off completely when driving. -Navigation system is always confused and doesn't give proper directions. -Carplay not able to connect to phone sometimes. - -
NHTSA complaint #11656854 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On 1/1/25 around 5PM when it was getting dark, I was driving in my 2022 Toyota Venza LE on the highway in the rain when all of a sudden my left headlight off, windshield wipers stopped working and experienced a host of other electrical issues - engine temp doesn't read, apple carplay stopped talking to device, side mirrors lost power, traction control disabled. It was very dangerous as I lost visibility in heavy rain while on the highway. I was able to slowly drive the car home with hazard lights blinking all the way. There were no error messages leading up to the failure. Only my engine temp not being able to read when the engine was cold that morning. It quickly resolved once the engine warmed up. I drove my car to Toyota dealership in which they spent over a day isolating the issue to faulty headlight assembly sending error codes to the ECU and jamming other zones on the car. They unplugged the left headlight assembly and told me I was ok to drive home. Ultimately I asked for replacement of the headlight and the light was restored and all issues did not return. I no longer have the original headlight assembly for inspection. I made a forum post regarding this issue and 2 other recent venza owners have reached out to me with same behavior which prompted me to make this safety report.
NHTSA complaint #11650945 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
At approximately [XXX] on Friday, [XXX], my wife was slowly pulling into a stripped parking place at Museum Hill's lower paved paved lot on [XXX], in Santa Fe, NM that has three levels when the car suddenly bolted up and over the concrete curb and up a short hill where it faced the fronts of two vehicles; the car stopped (possibly due to automatic braking systems) and rolled backwards into a small tree resting off of the pavement on soil, but against the curb. There is front end dislocation of the right fender and the passenger door hits the fender if trying to open it. The right front tire is broken and the alloy wheel is damaged. After a disagreement with a towing company, I backed the car over the curb and onto the pavement where I installed the spare. The car seemed to be OK to drive and my wife drove it home 3 miles away on back streets. The car's event data recorder was inspected by an employee of EAA from Denver in Toyota of Santa Fe's Dealership shop on [XXX] and the car driven. Toyota's report from their Legal Claims Analyst said that "pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal prior to the impact." My wife was going to her regularly scheduled lunch time support shift at the [XXX], was pulling into her regular parking area, and DID NOT press the accelerator to the floor causing this wreck. I believe that the power steering created a negative voltage drop that caused the concurrent calibration of the accelerator electronics to believe that full power was required at that instant. The safety of my wife was at risk, but no other person was nearby and damage to shrubbery was not consequential. This problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. However, several papers on the subject have been written by Ronald A. Belt, PhD of Plymouth, MN, the latest dated 20 July 2024. The only inspection of the vehicle was on [XXX] by Toyota's EEA Service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11642860 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The other day when I was backing out of a parking spot my car almost backed into 2 people. There was no alert from the rear cross traffic warning.
NHTSA complaint #11633986 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I don’t have the specific date that this happened because it was several times. When I first got the car the Toyota app stopped working after a few days. I brought it back a couple times and they replaced the headpiece because the app system crashed. Then the CarPlay stopped working not long after the head piece was replaced and the app stopped working. After going to the dealership for eight or nine times they finally ordered me a DCM. While waiting for that part, the auto start via key fog was not heating up the car. So with presetting the defrost to be on for auto start, the hazards came on when I auto started it. I happened to have had it at the service department when it happened and the mechanic said he didn’t know how to shut it off so he had to disconnect the battery. While I was speaking with Toyota about it on the phone, they asked me to try it out to see if the problem was gone and it wasn’t and I couldn’t shut the hazards off. So I drove with the hazards on and eventually the hazards turned off, but the CarPlay screen completely shut off when the hazards turned off. Also, when the hazards were on the car didn’t shut off when I opened the door. Also, another incident was that there was an acceleration issue when going to accelerate from a stopped position at a light. When I pressed on the gas the car started to move and then it went to a complete stop as if I was pushing on the break, but I wasn’t on the break. I was on the gas. I even looked down to see that my foot was on the gas. After pumping the gas pedal, it finally started to go. All of the above issues so far seem to be resolved after replacing the DCM. Like I said there’s too many incidences above for me to give a date to which all of this happened but it’s within the last few months I got this car in August.
NHTSA complaint #11633987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My wife and I stopped to get our mail at our community HOA mailboxes. I was driving. I stopped, set/engaged the brake hold button while my wife got the mail. She was about to get back in and suddenly the car lurched forward very rapidly and crashed into the neighborhood playground and the chain linked fence. I could not stop the acceleration and had to keep forcefully applying the brakes and the vehicle finally quit. I was able to steer to avoid some kids playing basketball. I could have injured my wife or others, it could have been very tragic. The 3 boys got out of the way and helped us afterwards picking up the car debris left all around. The damage happened very quickly. I felt such shock afterwards and trauma wondering what happened and what could have happened. The police did a report and took pictures, our insurance declared it a total loss. We have contacted Toyota and are waiting for someone to inspect it before it is hauled away. No warnings prior, the vehicle has worked well. As I managed to drive it home, we noticed a machanical error code after the fact.
NHTSA complaint #11633567 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Door lock actuators have all systematically failed on the car, so I can lock the doors manually, but anytime an electrical signal is sent to the lock (key fob, putting the car in drive, etc), the door locks do not operate. It is my understanding this is a known problem by Toyota across many SUV models. I have left my car unlocked on many occassions "thinking" it is locked, and I don't like driving with passengers in the car due to the safety issue of being able to open a door while the car is in motion when I "think" it is locked
NHTSA complaint #11629442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am the primary driver of our 2022 Toyota Venza. On [XXX] I had just taken the car through the Splash automated car wash on [XXX] and I was navigating into an adjacent space for use of the vacuum cleaners. As I took my foot off the accelerator to put the vehicle into Park, it suddenly and unintentionally accelerated. It crossed the driveway entrance to the car wash, jumped a curb which was actually the top of retaining wall for the parking lot of the adjacent business, and sailed over the retaining wall into the parking lot which was over 2 feet lower than the level of the car wash. I was able to bring the car to a stop without hitting anything, but 3 tires were blown out and severe damage occurred to the underside and front end of the car (we are awaiting estimates of the damage to the car). The airbags did not deploy. I had a minor shoulder bruise from the seat belt but no other injury. The car is at an auto repair shop awaitinng estimates and adjuster inspection. No report has yet been filed with Toyota but we expect to file today. No independent service center or other inspection has been done yet. There was no warning system notification prior to the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11592872 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.