2010 Toyota Yaris problems & reliability
90 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2010 Toyota Yaris, alongside 9 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
10 complaints report injuries (13 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2010 Toyota Yaris vehicles were involved in 23 fatal crashes with 15 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 45 | 50% |
| Seats | 8 | 9% |
| Electrical System | 7 | 8% |
| Visibility/wiper | 7 | 8% |
| Steering | 6 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6 | 7% |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 4% |
| Unknown OR Other | 4 | 4% |
| Engine | 3 | 3% |
| Power Train | 3 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 36,000 miles (middle 50% between 8,750 and 60,750 miles), based on 36 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Vehicle was in Park and keys were out and I was on passenger side unloading a shelf and the shelf hit the shifter and the vehicle started rolling backwards and ran over my leg.”
Unknown OR Other · filed Nov 29, 2024
“I would like to point out that both Driver and Police Officer safety may be improved if all vehicle designers and manufacturers were to disrupt the convention of locating caches for the drivers vehicle registration information at or below driver shoulder height. It may be a fairly inconsequential to implement a design…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jun 27, 2024
“Malfunctioning components 1. Door locks do not lock all the time when the lock button is pressed. 2. Randomly I will find my doors unlocked, when I closed them when I got out. 3. Doors unlock by themselves and that poses a problem for me and my family. To be able to figure out the issue I have to take it to the dealer…”
Electrical System · filed Sep 28, 2021
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
Technical service bulletins
175 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2010 Toyota Yaris. The 10 most recent:
Some 2005 – 2026 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. Follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. The…
T-SB-0055-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 7, 2026
The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and…
T-SB-0039-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 6, 2024
To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from…
T-SB-0038-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 6, 2024
Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal…
T-SB-0035-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 6, 2024
Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. Follow…
T-SB-0061-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 5, 2024
Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can…
T-SB-0062-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 3, 2024
Some 2005 – 2024 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. Follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. The…
T-SB-0055-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2024
Some 2005 – 2024 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. Follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. The…
T-SB-0055-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2024
The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and…
T-SB-0039-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 12, 2024
To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from…
T-SB-0038-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 12, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2010 Toyota Yaris has 9 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2010 Toyota Yaris?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 36,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.