Problems · by component

2003 Toyota Tacoma structure problems

182 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Tacoma cite structure, 49% of all 372 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
182
49% of all complaints
Crashes
5
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the structure

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“While driving at both high speeds (highway) and local road speed limits, Toyota Tacoma's rear passenger side frame split completely in half. While performing maneuvers such as right turns, vehicle wobbled and I, driver, lost temporary control of vehicle. Upon further inspection, rear driver side frame also contains stress fractures which are symmetric to the rear passenger side of truck. Potential for accident has increased exponentially. Pictures provided. Brought evidence of clear safety hazard to local Metro Detroit dealership at 773 S Rochester Rd Unit B, Rochester Hills, MI 48307 on 04NOV25, and called Toyota Corporate on 05NOV25. Toyota Corporate neglected my concerns about safety hazard and potential harm to myself and family. Safety recall needs to be issued immediately. This issue stems from a well known recall from Toyota of Toyota Tacoma's, 1996-2004, which contained an OEM defect of excessive corrasion to the frames, causing premature failure of the frames due to excessive rust build up which impacts frame integrity and increases probability of failures such as observed in my case.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 5, 2025Suspension, StructureODI 11697609
“The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the rear subframe of the vehicle was corroded and the subframe had detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 260,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 21, 2025StructureODI 11644198
“The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the rear sub frame on the driver's and passenger's side were corroded. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 345,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 1, 2024StructureODI 11623181
“The frame rusted through and there are holes in the frame The frame broke while my wife was driving home from work. Had to get it towed to the house No No No, no symptoms”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 23, 2024StructureODI 11621638
“Hello I Just wanted to check if my vehicle was ever in a crash. 2/29/24 VIN. [XXX] 03 Toyota Tacoma 2WD 4 cyl. EMail is [XXX] Thanks [XXX]”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 27, 2024StructureODI 11574200
“This truck was sprayed for frame rust at Kern Toyota Winchester, Va 10/07/2010 a problem Toyota was very aware of and tried to put a band-aid on a known issue that would rust out and not pass inspection or worse yet cause a terrible accident or cause harm to driver/passengers or other drivers. We have had another vehicle in the family by Toyota that they replaced the entire frame and now they state that is not true. However, we had a rental for over a month while they did replace entire frame for same issue. Now our above truck that is in wonderful shape nothing else wrong but frame that is rusted did not pass inspection requiring parts that need welded. So we have a good truck that only thing wrong is the issue Toyota knew they used faulty equipment/parts for.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 2, 2023StructureODI 11553236

Showing 6 of 182 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.