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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,210 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Toyota Tacoma electrical problems

electrical problem

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2012 Toyota Tacoma Owner Comments

problem #18

Jan 232021

Tacoma

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Horn will not work with the steering wheel centered. If you turn the steering wheel 90% to the left or right the horn has worked sometimes. Toyota issued a recall for this problem on other Tacoma but not for the 2012. The Toyota dealership is saying that its most likely the clock spring.

- Stockton, NJ, USA

problem #17

Jan 042021

Tacoma

  • 97,000 miles
Horn will not work with the steering wheel centered. If you turn the steering wheel to the left or right and pushing the horn it will work. Toyota issued a recall for this problem on 2005-2009 Tacoma but not for the 2012. Toyota has known that they have a problem with the clock spring that they won't address on the 2012's.

- Wilmington, NC, USA

problem #16

Jan 012018

Tacoma

  • 80,000 miles
Sun visor, spring inside visor breaks. Making the visor hang down. Wire harness from ac blower motor, so somewhere in the engine compartment overheats and melts wiring so the air conditioning stops working.

- Laplace, LA, USA

problem #15

Sep 212020

Tacoma

  • 55,125 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Toyota has know that the clock spring has been failing for years. They issued a recall for model years 2005-2009. Trucks in the model years 2010-2012 are also affected. Problems - loss of horn, loss of airbag. Optional if equipped - loss of cruise control and/or loss of radio controls. This is a major safety hazard! loss or horn and loss of air bags are a very, very dangerous situation!!! the clock spring fails randomly so you might not be aware until it is too late!!!

- East Meadow, NY, USA

problem #14

Jun 052019

Tacoma

  • 105,000 miles
Defective clock spring. Open circuit.

- Carlisle, PA, USA

problem #13

Jan 032018

Tacoma

  • 78,000 miles
The check engine light and the trac off light came on as I was merging onto the interstate. I immediately stopped the vehicle, pulled over, and took my 2012 Toyota Tacoma with 78,000 miles to the mechanic where I left it overnight for them to look at it in the morning. Running a diagnostic they found code P2443 - secondary air injection switching valve stuck. I asked if they had dealt with this before and they said this is a common problem for Toyota and they have done recalls on both the Tundra and sequoia models that have had these issues, but the Tacoma hasn't had a recall yet, even though it seems to be just as common with the same parts. They said the cost of parts and labor would be around $2,000. When I asked them if the vehicle was safe to drive off their lot they said these codes can cause the Tacoma to go into "limp mode" where you can loose power, acceleration, and won't be able to go over 45mph. I hate to think what could have happened if I had kept merging onto the interstate and tried to get up to speed only to "limp" into traffic or if this had happened a minute later on the interstate! every thread I read online from multiple sources show people having similar issues from as low as 1,000 miles on the truck. The issues with the secondary air injection pump and switching valves seems most common between 50,000-80,000 miles, but eventually does happen in the 2012-2015 tocoma models.

- Columbia, MO, USA

problem #12

Jul 282017

Tacoma

  • 62,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Horn quit working, only works when the wheel is turned to the left, fuses are good and so are the relays.

- Burlington, WA, USA

problem #11

Jul 102017

Tacoma

  • 85,000 miles
Driving at high way speed; the ABS light, parking brake light, traction light, lost power to windows, A/C, radio, power steering, engine was running rough, then the check engine light came on. Could be a safety issue of control of vehicle for drivers not paying attention. Toyota dealer said the root cause was a bad cell in battery that caused the ign#2 fuse to be blown. These batteries have known issues to be bad from the factory. Reported earlier about 30000 miles the factory battery would not start vehicle and dealer said they replaced because of a bad cell. I own a 2008 Toyota Tacoma also, same model and make as being reported and that battery has been replaced 2 times for same reason.

- Jenkinsburg, GA, USA

problem #10

Nov 012016

Tacoma

  • 84,000 miles
My 2012 Tacoma has a spiral wire issue that dealer refuses to fix even though this part is associated with the takata recall in previous year models wondering why the recall stopped at 2011 and does not cover the issue with my truck. Currently only affectin the use of my horn but as seen in previous recalls could affect more lthings later on.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #9

Mar 122014

Tacoma

  • miles
Horn stopped working a couple of years ago. My research showed it was same problem with 2010 Tacoma's, and they were recalled! read there was a recall to replace a defective spiral cable in steering wheel. Called Toyota was told to take to dealer, but would have to pay, and maybe be reimbursed. Don't have the money been unemployed for 4 years.

- Yuma, AZ, USA

problem #8

Nov 282016

Tacoma

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Secondary air injection valve stuck open causing limp mode. Happened near very dangerous intersection and lost all power in truck. As others have stated, truck only has 50K miles and required a $500+ repair (part only) for a component of the emission system which is only used on startup and includes a warranty of only 2 years.

- Wadsworth, OH, USA

problem #7

Nov 282016

Tacoma

  • 31,000 miles
Engine/all power is lost when engine has reached a certain RPM. Code reader states "crankshaft position sensor "a" circuit malfunction".

- Yigo, GU, USA

problem #6

Dec 142016

Tacoma

  • 53,000 miles
Secondary air injection valve stuck codes P2440, P2442. Truck goes into limp mode and you can only go a max of 40 mph.Toyota knows about these issues and does nothing about

- Georgetown Ky, KY, USA

problem #5

Dec 132016

Tacoma

  • 122,000 miles
When I was leaving work the other night my 2012 Tacoma went into limp mode and presented the cel and trac off lights on the dash. After reviewing the many blogs on the subject and taking the vehicle to the mechanics, I have found out that the secondary air valve is likely stuck in the open position. The mechanic has quoted me a price of $1,142 ($780 for the part) to replace the whole system (valve not sold separately). I understand that this is a common problem with Tundra/sequoias and 2012 tacos. However, only the Tundra are under any type of warranty. I bought a Tacoma because the last two Toyota's have run 300K miles + with regular maintenance. This type of expensive repair due to poor engineering is ludicrous and should be a warranty issue. I guess Toyota wants to be terrible like everyone else. Great.

- El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

problem #4

May 312016

Tacoma

  • 70,650 miles
The secondary air injection systems seems to fail quite frequently on these 2012 Tacoma with little to no help from Toyota to take care of this issue as a recall. These are known to fail right after your out of warranty and to charge it's loyal customers over $1000 for a part that should not fail or a part that should be covered is absurd. I have been a loyal Toyota customer my whole life but the issues of the Tacoma are making me rethink my decisions as an automotive consumer

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #3

Aug 012012

Tacoma

  • 3,000 miles
Fuel system can be heard hours after the truck is parked, few times a week and sometimes daily.and runs 2 to 15 minutes. Contacted dealer and says it normal for fuel evap to do a system check. Ongoing started before 3000 miles

- Jenkinsburg, GA, USA

problem #2

May 122015

Tacoma

  • 39,000 miles
Dealer has determined that rodents are thru the wiring for the knock sensor. Cel & trac lights came on. Engine went into limp mode. Has been at the dealer now for one week. Probably be another week before I get it back.

- Camillus, NY, USA

problem #1

Feb 172015

Tacoma 4WD 6-cyl

  • 51,000 miles
Driving my Toyota Tacoma, I was approaching a steep decline. I tapped on the brakes and continued driving at approximately 27 mph when I down shifted to accommodate for the snowy road. As I was down shifting the truck lost control and slid sideways causing the front passenger side to hit a snow bank. Once the truck struck the snow bank it flipped over on its driver side. The side air bags on both sides came out but did not inflate. The driver side bags were torn. I found evidence of this with shredded pieces of the air bag found in the vehicle. Additionally the driver side front air bags never deployed..updated 03-02/15.....updated 03-11-15 updated 9/22/2017

- Adams, MA, USA

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