2025 Toyota Tacoma

The numbers

Complaints

53

Received Oct 2025 to Oct 2026

Last 3 months

33

About 7.1 expected from this vehicle's own history

Compared with other vehicles

33.8×

How much more often this vehicle's complaints from the last 24 months are about this problem than other vehicles' complaints are

Estimated recall chance

17%

Model's estimate that a recall covering this problem follows within 24 months (rank 7 of 37,834 vehicle-problem pairs)

Reported in these complaints: 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, 0 deaths. An AI check found 35 of the 53 recent complaints are about this problem on this vehicle.

What owners report

There are 53 complaints about the 2025 Tacoma in this group, filed from October 2025 to October 2026. The monthly count rose steadily, from 1 or 2 a month in spring 2026 to 12 in October 2026. All but one of the 53 describe the same failure. An internal part of the interior door handle assembly breaks during ordinary use. Owners name a plastic piece where the release cable attaches, a hinge pin or bell-crank, the cable itself, or the return springs. Once it breaks, the handle goes loose or limp and no longer releases the latch. The door then opens only from outside, so occupants have to roll down the window and reach the exterior handle, or climb out through another door. Most reports involve the front driver's door, but front passenger and rear doors are also affected. Where mileage is given, it is low (about 3,400 to 13,000 miles). Many owners say a dealer confirmed the failure and told them the replacement part is on national backorder, sometimes for months. Some owners report the handle failing twice, or failing on more than one door. No crashes, fires or injuries are reported. Two Tacoma model years nearby show a few similar reports (2024: 4 complaints and rising; 2026: 1). No existing recall for the 2025 Tacoma covers door handles or latches. The statistical theme is labelled 'rear door latch', but the problem in these complaints is the interior door handle release mechanism on any door.

How it fails

The interior door handle sub-assembly fails without warning during normal opening. An internal plastic part breaks, the cable comes loose at the handle, or the return springs come off their retainers. The handle then hangs loose and no longer releases the latch, while the exterior handle usually still works. The driver's door is the one most often reported, with front passenger and rear doors also involved. Failures occur at low mileage, often within the first year of ownership. Repairs are delayed by parts backorders, and some owners report repeat failures or failures on several doors of the same truck.

Safety risk

Occupants cannot open the affected door from inside. To get out, they must lower the window and use the exterior handle, which needs power to the window and enough reach and mobility, or climb out through another door. Rear-seat passengers, children and people with disabilities may not be able to get out on their own. One owner with a disability had to call for help to get out of the truck. After a crash, a fire, a loss of power or a water entry, this could delay escape or rescue. Because of parts backorders, owners report driving for weeks or months with a door that cannot be opened from inside. No crashes, fires or injuries are reported.

Findings and the complaints behind them

1. Owners describe a specific internal part of the interior handle breaking during normal use: a plastic piece or housing where the release cable attaches, a hinge pin or bell-crank, or the cable at the handle.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11692976, 11761560, 11761814, 11752358, 11745636, 11757037, 11767229, 11771154, 11760254

2. One dealer repair order states that the right-rear inner handle's internal return springs had come off their retention points, and cites insufficient spring retention and improper factory fitment.

   NHTSA complaint number: 11747995

3. Where mileage is reported, failures happen at low mileage, from about 3,429 to 13,000 miles.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11761560, 11750131, 11763181, 11757966, 11771458, 11733188, 11747995, 11745636, 11740765, 11753474, 11772388, 11771822

4. Many owners say a Toyota dealer confirmed the failed handle assembly and told them replacement parts are on national backorder, in some cases with no estimated arrival date or an arrival months away.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11764169, 11753584, 11753474, 11752124, 11772388, 11746592, 11742223, 11773218, 11772319, 11756582

5. Some trucks have had the failure repeat or spread to several doors. In one case a swapped-in handle broke again, and in another the handle failed again right after repair. One owner had both front doors fail, another had the driver and passenger handles break, and another had failures on the front and rear doors on the driver's side. A further owner reports that the interior handles keep breaking at random.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11761814, 11754110, 11745636, 11749659, 11728582, 11772799

6. The failure affects rear and front passenger doors as well as the driver's door.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11769590, 11757037, 11747995, 11728582, 11757314, 11752358, 11742223

7. Owners report being trapped, including one with a disability who could not reach the outside handle and had to call for help in a parking lot.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11771763, 11770160, 11761503

8. A few complaints describe other problems: one reports smart-key and door-lock electrical faults rather than a broken handle, and two report that the outside handle also stopped working.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11725346, 11757331, 11759280

Recalls checked

• 26V514000Looked at, unrelated

  2024-2025 Tacoma recall for corroded shock absorber flanges; it does not involve door handles.

• 25V656000Looked at, unrelated

  2025 Tacoma recall for the front driveshaft CV joint.

• 25V058000Looked at, unrelated

  2024-2025 Tacoma 4WD recall for rear brake hose damage.

• 25V595000Looked at, unrelated

  Multi-model Toyota recall for instrument panel software.

• 26V179000Looked at, unrelated

  Multi-model Toyota recall for incorrect load capacity labels.

• 26V049000Looked at, unrelated

  Prius recall in which water in the rear door switch can let a door open unexpectedly. It is a different part and the opposite failure.

Open questions

• Which internal part of the handle assembly fails first: the plastic cable attachment or bell-crank, the cable, or the return springs? Is it one part or several?
• Does the replacement part supplied under warranty use a revised design, given the reports of repeat failures after repair?
• How many 2024 and 2026 Tacomas, and other vehicles that may share the handle design, are affected? Some owners mention the 4Runner and Tundra.
• Are the few reports of the outside handle also failing caused by the same part, or by a separate latch problem?