2012 Toyota Yaris: problems, recalls and reliability
5 recalls and 35 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (48% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Oct 2019
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 35 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owned a 2012 Toyota Yaris The contact stated that while slowing down and coming to a stoplight, a second vehicle traveling 54 mph crashed into the rear of the vehicle. During the crash, both the driver-side and passenger-side seat belts malfunctioned and did not secure the occupants. The driver sustained head and torso injuries and the front passenger who was the driver's wife sustained broken ribs, and head and spine injuries. Medical attention was received. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,200.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Apr 2022
“Was driving on the freeway at 70 mph and had to brake for slower traffic ahead. When I depressed the brake pedal, the ABS system engaged, braking the left side of the car, then the right almost sending me off the road. After this had happened, the speedometer had started jumping to different speeds very rapidly and I was unable to tell my correct speed. The antilock brakes have continued to engage randomly when they are not needed, cause loss of braking control and the overall ability to come to a stop. The speedometer also jumps around every now and then. The ABS light was only triggered once, and then turned off.”Owner report · Electrical System · Dec 2020
“On my way home, a 70's truck hit my left side, the airbag came out blind me and made lost control of the vehicule. Is a miracle that im alive. Happened at pr132 km0.4 guayanilla pr 00656.”Owner report · Structure · Jun 2020
Show 7 more owner reports
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota yaris. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator was constantly illuminated for approximately one month. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 1809260488. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2018
“I was slowly pulling into a parking space when the car suddenly accelerated and jumped a curb and crashed in front of a restaurant.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Mar 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota yaris. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17v006000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue on 3/24/2017 and 6/7/2017 and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”Owner report · Air Bags · Nov 2017
“Tl* the contact owned a 2012 toyota yaris. The contact stated that while driving down the hill at 40 mph, lost control and crashed into the tree in front. All the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted and was not made aware of the failure. The contact sustained several bruises and suffered from chest congestion that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Nov 2017
“On 7/9/2017 @ 6:45pm while driving on highway 90 the rear bumper panel on my 2012 toyota yaris came unhinged and was flapping causing the right side to also detach. The plastic clips that hold the bumper are not holding! My car is in grate/excellent condition. It appears to be a poorly assembled and/or designe defect made by the manufacture since I was drive the highway speed limit. I am on vacation headed to south dakota from california and this puts myself, passenger, and other drivers on the highway in danger if it completely detaches!”Owner report · Structure · Jul 2017
“My passenger side seat manual track has broken. I cannot adjust it forward or backwards. There is a spring that fell off underneath. I put it back correctly just as it is supposed to go, but it did not fix the issue. The entire latching mechanism has failed. My 2007 yaris had a recall for this same issue for the driver seat. The chassis for all model year yaris' are the same. I believe the seat mechanisms we're continued to be built with a known issue. My car only has 63,000 miles and this seat is barely used.”Owner report · Seats · Jun 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota yaris. While driving 65 mph, the horn failed to sound. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to toyota of santa barbara (5611 hollister ave, goleta, ca 93117) where it was diagnosed that the spiral cable failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jun 2017
When filing, owners marked a crash in 12 of these complaints and injuries in 11 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 5 campaigns
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430, 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 and 2010-2015 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 31, 2011, to February 9, 2015, and sold or registered in Puerto Rico. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with a roof headliner that does not provide the proper occupant protection in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 201, " Occupant Protection in Interior Impact."
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the headliner, free of charge. The recall began on June 22, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 21, 2011, through August 31, 2011. A relay in the Power Steering Control Module of the electronic power steering system could experience a short circuit due to insufficient distance between terminals in the relay and moisture contamination of relay coil windings. A short circuit in the relay could disable power steering assistance.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering control module. The recall began on July 31, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
On January 9, 2018, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified NHTSA that they are recalling 14,585 model year 2010-2012 Yaris vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of January 30, 2018, Toyota is additionally recalling 3,347 model year 2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles located in states listed above. Also included in this recall filing is 98,194 model year 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles, located throughout the U.S., that previously received a "like-for-like" interim air bag inflator replacement. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assemblies with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0R (Zone B), and H0A (Zone C), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A).
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota 4Runner, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, Yaris, Scion xB, Lexus ES350, GX460, IS-F, IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, and Lexus LFA vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2009 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Yaris HB, Scion xB, Pontiac Vibe, Lexus, ES350, IS250, IS350, and IS-F vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and IS350, 2007-2008 Lexus ES350, Toyota Yaris, Yaris HB, and 2008 Lexus IS-F and Scion xB vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 1, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), H0A (Toyota Zone C), GLG (Lexus Zone A), GLH (Lexus Zone B) and HLA (Lexus Zone C).
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2012 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Yaris by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2012 Toyota Yaris reliable?
NHTSA has 35 owner complaints and 5 recall campaigns on record for the 2012 Toyota Yaris. The most complained-about area is air bags (48% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2012 Toyota Yaris problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 72,100 miles or less.
Does the 2012 Toyota Yaris have open recalls?
5 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.