2025 Toyota Tacoma Body & structure Problems

I own a 2025 Toyota Tacoma, and the interior driver’s door handle assembly has failed, preventing me from opening the driver’s door normally from inside the vehicle. The failure occurred at around 11000 miles during normal use without any accident, impact, or unusual force. The Tacoma had routine maintenance done at dealership at around 10682 miles. The handle became suddenly inoperable, leaving me unable to open the driver’s door from inside the cabin using the interior door handle. I must roll down the window and operate the exterior handle to exit through that door. This presents a potential safety hazard because, in an emergency such as a vehicle fire or collision, I may be unable to exit promptly through the driver’s door. The failure occurred suddenly without adequate warning. I contacted an authorized Toyota dealership, which determined that the handle sub-assembly needed replacement under warranty. However, the replacement part has been on backorder, and I have been informed that the estimated arrival date is December 7, 2026. This leaves me waiting months for a repair to a component that is essential to exiting the vehicle safely. I am concerned that this may represent a recurring defect affecting other Toyota Tacoma owners. I am requesting that NHTSA review reports of interior door handle failures in 2024–2026 Toyota Tacoma vehicles to determine whether a broader safety defect exists and whether further investigation is warranted.

NHTSA ID

11772388

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

Inner door handle broke under normal use and toyota cant replace this due to mass failures across the country in all 4th generation tacomas. Mass backorders. I have been driving for at least 2 months with no way to exit my vehicle in case of emergency.

NHTSA ID

11772319

Incident

Aug 11, 2026

The driver door handle internal mechanism broke under normal operation, preventing exit from the vehicle. This is a serious safety issue because the driver is literally trapped in the vehicle, unless they roll the window down and engage the handle from the outside, or crawl over the center console to the passenger door. This is a potentially life-threatening issue. This problem has been identified, confirmed, and documented by my local official Toyota dealership. Neither the police nor my insurance company have inspected the door. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem were evident before the failure. My door worked perfectly fine one day, and the next I found myself trapped without warning.

NHTSA ID

11770160

Incident

Oct 8, 2026

Indoor door handles, and latch breaking over normal use due to cheap manufacturing. Major safety hazard on the inability of exiting a vehicle from inside. It happens unexpectedly and has been reported on many new trucks.

NHTSA ID

11769321

Incident

Oct 5, 2026

Inside drivers door handle cable was broke inside of door Door handle cannot be opened from inside Confirmed by dealer verbally Inspected by dealer and new cable replaced No warning lamps or any symptoms prior to breaking

NHTSA ID

11767229

Incident

Sep 16, 2026

Interior door handles malfunction - they do not open the door from the inside. To open the door, one must open the window or have someone else open the door from the outside. This is a known issue with 2025 Toyota Tacoma / 2025 Toyota 4 Runner models. Dealer ship is indicating not a warranty, though the issue began with less than a year on the truck.

NHTSA ID

11765632

Incident

Aug 18, 2026

The interior door handle snapped and failed completely under normal operation, causing an immediate loss of driver egress. The handle went limp, leaving the door impossible to open from inside the cabin and creating an entrapment hazard in the event of an emergency. Exiting the vehicle requires the window to be rolled down to access the exterior handle. The failure occurred suddenly with no prior warning or indication of potential failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Toyota dealership, which confirmed internal component failure and ordered a replacement assembly under warranty. The dealership noted the replacement part is currently on national backorder due to high replacement volume.

NHTSA ID

11764169

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

Both the inside and outside front door handles on the driver side stopped working. This blocks the driver from exiting from the front door. The dealer has ordered a new part, but it is on back order. The dealer has not inspected the vehicle, but they seem aware of this issue. The vehicle has not been inspected by others and there were no indicators that the part was going to fail. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID

11757331

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

The door handle mechanism which is made of plastic broke on the inside of the door. It was the piece the cable connects to which pulls to release the door latch for opening. Only way to get out of door is to roll window down and open from outside the vehicle. Truck has 7k miles currently and no heavy use. Under proper circumstances this could be very dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11692976

Incident

Oct 12, 2025

This complaint is about the rear passenger side window on the vehicle. It is available for inspection upon request. This was a huge safety risk for me today. I had the rear passenger side door open (with the window rolled all the way up) gathering my things from the back seat. I closed the door with a normal amount of force and the window completely shattered causing me to be covered in glass shards. Luckily, no one was sitting in the back seat and at least I didn't get glass in my eyes. However, this is quite concerning. I don't believe the glass was under any stress or pressure. The temperature was 78 degrees and cloudy outside today, which doesn't seem extreme to me. The window was in perfect condition as I just bought the truck 2 months ago. After the window broke, I went directly to the dealership I bought it from, where they inspected it, and taped a trash bag over it. They told me there was a recall on windows for the new Toyota Tundra models, however, not yet the Tacoma. I believe this is a potential danger to many people and it should investigated.

NHTSA ID

11666856

Incident

Jun 13, 2025

Hood bounces up and down while driving and gets worse at highway speeds. I am concerned that the hood will open up and block visibility which would be dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11652246

Incident

Mar 15, 2025