30 of the 389 complaints filed about the Toyota Venza Hybrid are about the lighting — 8% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2021.
30
Complaints
8%
Share of all complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The front headlight developed condensation with zero evidence of a hit or accident. Additionally, the car randomly loses power when going from a stop to acceleration, leaving me in the middle of an intersection with no power for about 3-5 seconds
NHTSA complaint #11667562 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When driving at night using low beams a shadow is cast by the headlights. The shadow is on the driver's side approximately 100 feet in front of the vehicle, at the 11:00 position. This gives the impression that someone or something is entering the path of the vehicle causing the driver to brake or swerve to avoid a collision. This endangers the occupants of the vehicle and others on the roadway. If the driver grows accustomed to this and "learns" not to pay attention to this area of his/her path it endangers those who enter this area.
NHTSA complaint #11645248 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I just purchased as 2021 Toyota Venza Limited. The headlight on low beam cast a odd shaped shadow. It is very distracting and often makes you think something is in front of the car. The issue dissappears when headlight are switched to high beam. This is very unsafe and deserves a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11621547 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
drivers side low beam projects a dark spot within view, causing a shadow that is disconcerting and distracting while driving at night. Headrest notches for the rear passenger and rear driver side seats are machined improperly, causing them to lift completely out of the seat unless latched at the very lowest setting. Notches are on opposite sides of the same pole.
NHTSA complaint #11608294 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
Head lights! Dangerous. They have blind-spots due to equipment blocking full light vision. This is my 2nd report to you. I have not gotten a response. I think this should be looked into immediately. I don't care to drive at night because of this blind-spot. Yes, I have reported this to Toyota and they could not do anything about it because they it from the new type of light bulbs. Please review, research and respond. Thank you.
NHTSA complaint #11597737 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When driving at night with headlights on low beam the driver’s side headlight casts a distracting shadow on the road. Not only does this shadow prevent full illumination of the roadway, limiting visibility on the driver’s side, but the shadow can also make it look like an obstacle might be in the road. This shadow is not there when the bright lights are on. I have had this vehicle since Dec. 15, 2023 & I have had two different Toyota service departments check this out. They both told me there is no fix for the shadow. I also spoke with Toyota Corporation by phone to report the problem. They told me there is no program in place to address the issue. I have seen multiple reports of this problem on the Toyota Nation website stating this problem has existed for three years.
NHTSA complaint #11578800 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlights cast a shadow at night — particularly to left. Vision obscured in shadow area and cannot see what is in road. As well, turning corners think something is in road because of shadow and want to pull away. This is definitely a hazard and has been reported on Toyota nation and seems to effect more than the venza and needs to be addressed because it is a safety issue. I bought the vehicle used on 2/23/24 and had no idea this was an issue has been reported but not fixed.
NHTSA complaint #11577944 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlight / Dashboard design of this vehicle is defective. With DRL lights only on, the dashboard fully lights up, misleading a driver into believing they have their headlights and taillights turned on. This kind of defective design is not limited to Toyota, can also be seen on many other Honda and Nissan vehicles. This needs to be addressed urgently, as many drivers drive without correct illumination at night, and they are a hazard to other drivers.
NHTSA complaint #11569521 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When the headlights are on Low, not High beam, there is a dark horizontal round area and vertical streak (shadow) in the illuminated area in front of the vehicle. The dark area looks like an a large dark basket ball. It is only the left headlight. This shadow area prevents full illumination of the roadway on the left side of the of the vehicle. This also is a distraction and causes the driver's eyes to drift to the dark areas and further degrades nighttime driving safety. Per Toyota Forum, this problem is across the board for the Toyota vehicles, not just mine. When the lights are on Low and you hold a paper in front of the left light, the dark streak is easily seen.
NHTSA complaint #11550015 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
HELP! I just purchased a pre-owned Toyota Venza 2021 Limited. I like the car but I went out tonight for the first time at dark and used the head lamps. Something's wrong! The low beams don't shine far enough down the road, there is a distinct cut off between dark and light, like you are looking under a shade. Plus there are dark spots in the light near the edge, especially on the left side and they follow the headlights while you are driving. It is so distracting and dangerous. I swerved a couple of times because I thought there was an animal in the road. The stark cut off between light and dark is like a straight line and the shadows are ridiculous! How could this design have passed safety tests! This makes me sea sick and scared bc I can't see more than 15 - 20' ahead of me! Very very dangerous! Please recall this stupid design!
NHTSA complaint #11541313 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
WHEN DRIVING AFTER DARK IT LOOKS LIKE A SHADE GOT PULLED DOWN OVER 1/2 OF THE WINDSHIELD PLUS ANOTHER BLACK SPOT UNDER THAT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE HAD MANY COMPLAINTS. I HAD THEM ADJUST THE HEAdlamps up a little bit but now everyone is blinking brites at me and even pulling off the road the next thing will be a road rage driver. it is impossible to drive after dark without the brites on you can not see road signs because the headlamps aim down if you go down a hill all you see is a few feet ahead it is definately a severe safety concern toyota dealer said it was the way the headlight is designed and if they get enough complaints they might do something but right now my new car i bought is sitting in my garage because it is not d safe to drive except during the day i have had other people in the car and they all say the same thing (who pulled the shade down) its that bad
NHTSA complaint #11536474 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When using low beam lights there are two dark spots being projected
NHTSA complaint #11535986 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
There is a black shadow/blotch/blob in the driver side headlight. This blob bounces with the headlights depending on road condition. It is extremely distracting when driving at night. I live in an area with minimal streetlights and am often on dark, country roads with abundant wildlife. This blob both obscures my vision and leads me to think there’s an animal on the road. I find the lack of clarity and the distraction hazardous. Yes, this problem has been confirmed by a dealer. No, there has not been an inspection by any of the parties mentioned. This problem has been an issue since purchase in October 2022.
NHTSA complaint #11524739 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Shutter mechanism for the projector headlights, when closed it causes a shadow across half of the field of vision. This severely hampers the field of vision and causes serious safety concerns while driving at night.
NHTSA complaint #11498547 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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 complaint #11497161 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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 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 complaint #11495683 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Rear turn signal location is not easily visible in many traffic situations when being followed in traffic. Signals get snow covered quickly and markers are not visible from the side views. Rear signals are located very low on the rear bumper. Signals are small in size. There is also a recall on the failure of the signal on some of the 2021 Venzas that is concerning.
NHTSA complaint #11475057 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.