2012 Toyota Venza problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (7) · Visibility/Wiper (6) · Structure:body (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Toyota Venza model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:side/Window:curtain 2021-04-13 · campaign 21V257000 · 279,040 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2009-2015 Venza vehicles. The Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) wiring may become damaged with regular use of the driver-side door.
Risk: Damaged wires may cause the air bag sensor to become inoperable, preventing the deployment of the side and curtain air bags on the driver side and increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the driver-side front door wire harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2021. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 21TB01/21TA01.
Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner 2013-10-17 · campaign 13V442000 · 802,769 vehicles
Defect: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
Risk: A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Equipment:other:labels 2013-04-09 · campaign 13V123000 · 7,525 vehicles
Defect: Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicl
Risk: An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Seats 2013-01-16 · campaign 13V014000 · 3,235 vehicles
Defect: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Service bulletins (253)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-07 · T-SB-0055-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0038-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 weather elements and initial rust before the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0035-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa
Structure:body 2024-12-05 · T-SB-0061-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 the removal procedure in this bulletin to remove the rapgardtm protective film wi
Structure:body 2024-12-03 · T-SB-0062-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 be identified by the presence of small, red or brown particles on the paint surfa
Showing the 6 most recent of 253 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-08-31 · Unknown Or Other · 💥 crash“on dec. 17, 2023, shortly after 12:00 p.m.,i was driving my toyota venza on the highway under normal when the steering knuckle suddenly fractured. this unexpected failure caused the vehicle to lose steering control, leading to a serious traffic accident. i inspected that part and found that the steerin knuckle had broken abnormally, as the break s…”
2022-01-03 · Air Bags · 100,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 toyota venza. the contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the airbags warning light illuminated. the contact continued to drive the vehicle. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 21v257000 (air bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. the dealer advised the c…”
2021-11-10 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2012 toyota venza. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 21v257000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the dealer and the manufacturer were not notified o…”
2021-06-15 · Air Bags · 104,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owned a 2012 toyota venza. the contact stated while her husband was driving at 15 mph, the vehicle traveling in front of them came to an abrupt stop. in an effort to avoid the vehicle, the contact's husband jumped a curb and hit a light post. the front driver and passenger airbags deployed upon impact; however, the side curtain airbags…”
2021-06-08 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2012 toyota venza. the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign number: 21v257000 (air bags) however, the part for the repair was unavailable. the dealer had been notified of the issue and confirmed that the part was not yet available. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the contact stated that the manufactur…”
2021-04-26 · Visibility/Wiper · 150,000 mi“sun visors, (driver and passenger sides) have broken and will not hold the visors in place.they both fall at random causing distractions. the visors have not been abused in any way and seems to be a common problem for the owners of these vehicles.…”
2021-01-15 · Air Bags · 98,466 mi“the passenger side warning light indicates that air bag is off when an adult passenger is seated in it when the vehicle is stationary and in motion with the seat in the upright position. this may prevent the airbag from deploying properly in an accident. there is a 2013 recall for this issue, but it does not show up under the vehicle identificati…”
2020-07-15 · Visibility/Wiper · 90,871 mi“the drivers side sun visor will not stay up. it keeps falling down making it hard to see.…”
2020-04-28 · Visibility/Wiper“visor flip down spontaneously and hinge breaks after some time even after dealer replaced within warranty now they wont replace. visor will hang down and block view of road. this occurs while in motion or stationary. this causes a blocked view and is unsafe as it does not allow for visibility.…”
2020-01-02 · Engine · 90,000 mi“brief engine knock/rattle noise at cold startup. when in motion vehicle will make rattling noise.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.