2021 Toyota Venza Hybrid

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

I was stopped at an intersection. When I pressed the accelerator to try to pull across the intersection, the vehicle initially began to move forward but almost immediately all acceleration power was lost. The accelerator pedal could be pushed to the floor with no response from the vehicle. It took several seconds of feathering the accelerator for the vehicle to regain the ability to move forward and I was able to clear the intersection. This is the fourth time that I have experienced the same issue with this vehicle over the past two years. The problem cannot be replicated by the dealer. There are no warning lights on in the vehicle. I don’t know if warnings appear during this few seconds of power failure because it happens very quickly and my focus is trying to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. This is a serious safety concern because it has occurred while trying to move through an intersection or pull onto the road. The vehicle losing power and stopping in these moments could result in a collision with an oncoming vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11696721

Incident

Oct 30, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Venza Hybrid. The contact stated that the windshield had developed a crack that formed from the front passenger’s side corner to approximately 2-feet towards the front driver’s side. An undisclosed dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

NHTSA ID

11552234

Incident

Oct 26, 2023

Mileage

18,000 mi

JUST PURCHASED NEW 2021 TOYOTA VENZA HYBRID. WITH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ON, HAVE BLACK "SHADOWS" IN TOP PORTION OF ILLUMINATED FIELD ON BOTH SIDES. VERY DISTRACTING ESP. ON DARK, CURVY ROAD. THESE SHADOWS DO NOT APPEAR WITH HIGH BEAMS ON...NOTHING ON HEADLIGHT LENS TO CAUSE THESE BLACK AREAS. LOW BEAM SHADOWS APPARENT WHEN VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AS WELL AS MOVING. PREVIOUSLY HAD A 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID WITHOUT THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11414986

Incident

May 1, 2021

Mileage

40 mi

LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHTS, IN 'LOW BEAM' SETTING, HAVE A VISIBLE 'DARK SHADOW' THAT PROJECTS SLIGHTLY OFF TO THE LEFT OF THE FIELD OF VIEW. WHEN DRIVING ON DARK FREEWAYS, YOU ARE CONSTANTLY DISTRACTED, THINKING THERE IS A MOVING OBJECT APPROACHING FROM THE LEFT. HIGH BEAM SETTING DOES NOT HAVE THIS SITUATION.

NHTSA ID

11414886

Incident

Feb 20, 2021

Mileage

3,000 mi

OUR CAR IMPACTED WITH ANOTHER AS WE TRIED TO ENTER THE HIGHWAY FROM A SHORT MERGE LANE. THE OTHER CAR ENTERED IN FRONT OF US FROM THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AFTER WE PASSED A STOP SIGN IN THE MERGE LANE; THE OTHER CAR THEN STOPPED SHORT BEFORE ENTERING THE HIGHWAY, JUST AS WE WERE SPEEDING UP THE ENTER THE HIGHWAY. A SENSOR SOUNDED IN OUR CAR, WE SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES, AND THE TWO CARES COLLIDED. THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT OF OUR VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED; THE REAR DRIVE SIDE OF THE OTHER CAR WAS DAMAGED. DRIVER SIDE SEATBELT IN OUR CAR OPERATED NORMALLY. PASSENGER SIDE SEATBELT IN OUR CAR LOOSENED INSTEAD OF TIGHTENED; PASSENGER HIT HEAD ON DASHBOARD AS BRAKES WERE HIT OR IMPACT HAPPENED (WE WERE GOING APPROX. 15 MPH. UPON IMPACT). SAID PASSENGER OBSERVED UPON IMPACT OF HEAD ON DASH THAT HER SEAT BELT WAS HANGING SLACK AWAY FROM HER CHEST BY APPROX. SIX TO EIGHT INCHES. TOYOTA PRODUCT LIABILITY DEPT. WAS INFORMED (CASE NUMBER 210409002008) BETWEEN 6:15 AND 7:30 PM ON FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2021. THEY SAY THEY WILL DOWNLOAD THE "BLACK BOX" INFORMATION, BUT THEY HAVEN'T COMMITTED TO A PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF THE SEATBELT, WHICH SEEMS CRITICAL (I.E., THAT A SEATBELT ENGINEER PHYSICALLY INVESTIGATE).*DT

NHTSA ID

11407404

Incident

Apr 1, 2021

Mileage

15 mi

FUEL GAUGE AND FUEL TANK DO NOT OPERATE PROPERLY, LIKE THE 2020 RAV 4 GAS TANK PROBLEM. ON 2/8/21 WHEN THE GAUGE INDICATED 1/2 TANK, I PUT IN 9.997 GAL OF GAS, SINCE THIS CAR ONLY HAS A 14 1/2 GAL TANK THE TANK MUST NOT HAVE BEEN 1/2 FULL. ON 2/14/21 THE GAUGE READ 2/3 , I PUMPED GAS AND THE PUMP SHUT OFF AT 1.1 GAL, I SLOWLY ADDED GAS AS THE PUMP KEPT CLINKING OFF TILL I GOT A TOTAL OF 1.743 GAL OF GAS INTO THE TANK. I STARTED THE ENGINE AND THE GAS GAUGE STILL READ 2/3, SO I STARTED THE GAS PUMP AGAIN SLOWLY ADDED ANOTHER 1.287 GAL OF GAS. I STARTED THE CAR AGAIN AND THE GAUGE STILL READ 2/3 FULL. I LEFT THE GAS STATION AND AFTER DRIVING APPROX 4 MILES THE GAUGE SUDDENLY WENT UP ABOVE THE FULL MARK. I TALKED TO ONE PERSON AT THE LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE GAS TANK WAS THE SAME PART NUMBER AS THE ONES BEING REPLACED ON THE RAV4 HYBRIDS FOR THE PROBLEM OF THE TANKS NOT FILLING PROPERLY AND THE GAS GAUGE NOT OPERATING PROPERLY, BUT NOTHING CAN BE DONE UNTIL TOYOTA FINDS THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM AND SENDS OUT INSTRUCTIONS TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PARTS. I THEN TALKED TO ANOTHER SUPERVISOR AT ANOTHER TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT THE 2021 VENZA HAS A BLADDER IN THE FUEL TANK AND THE ONLY WAY FOR IT TO FILL PROPERLY AND THE GAUGE TO WORK PROPERLY IS TO WAIT UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 1/4 TANK OF GAS BEFORE FILLING WITH GAS. AFTER SPENDING OVER $42,000 FOR A NEW VEHICLE THIS SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM CUSTOMERS SHOULD HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. THE OTHER PROBLEM IS DUE TO THE GAUGE AND TANK PROBLEM THE MILES REMAINING DISPLAY IS ALWAYS WRONG.

NHTSA ID

11399703

Incident

Feb 14, 2021

Mileage

2,504 mi

MY 2021 TOYOTA VENZA HYBRID LE CLAIMS TO HAVE A 14.5 FUEL TANK CAPACITY BY TOYOTA BUT MINE WILL ONLY FILL UP TO AROUND 11 GALLONS WHEN IT GETS TO EMPTY. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TWICE TO TOYOTA'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY CONFIRMED MY VEHICLE WAS ONLY FILING UP TO 11 GALLONS BUT THAT THIS WAS 'NORMAL AND PART OF THE DESIGN SINCE IT HAS A RESERVE OF GAS.' HOWEVER, THE NEW TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRIDS ARE REPORTING THE SAME EXACT ISSUE WHICH TOYOTA HAS ACKNOWLEDGED. BOTH VEHICLES SHARE THE SAME ENGINE, HYBRID SYSTEM, AND SAME 14.5 FUEL TANK AND ARE ALMOST IDENTICAL MECHANICALLY. HOW COME IT'S AN ISSUE FOR THE RAV4 HYBRID AND NOT MY 2021 TOYOTA VENZA? EITHER WAY, MY TOYOTA IS NOT GETTING ANYWHERE NEAR THE RANGE THAT TOYOTA ADVERTISES ON A FULL TANK AND IS ONLY FILING UP TO 11 GALLONS. I UNDERSTAND MOST CARS WILL LET YOU GET TO A GAS STATION IF YOU EVER GET TO EMPTY, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT MOST CARS WILL FILL UP VERY CLOSE TO WHAT THE TANK CAPACITY IS ADVERTISED TO BE. SO EITHER THE VEHICLE'S COMPUTER IS LYING BECAUSE IT WILL TELL ME 11 MILES DISTANCE TO EMPTY WHEN THE LOW FUEL LIGHT COMES ON OR TOYOTA LIED TO ME, BOTH ARE TELLING ME TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. THIS CAN BE UNSAFE FOR SOMEONE WHO PURCHASES THE VEHICLE AND BELIEVES THAT THEY HAVE A 14.5 FUEL TANK AND ARE LEFT STRANDED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS ONLY FILLING UP TO 11 GALLONS. I'M GETTING 42 MILES PER GALLON SO THOSE EXTRA 3.5 GALLONS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IF YOU AREN'T SURE IF YOU'LL GET TO YOUR DESTINATION OR BE LEFT ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WHICH CAN BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE TOYOTA ISN'T ADDRESSING THIS FOR MY VENZA.

NHTSA ID

11376424

Incident

Nov 24, 2020

Mileage

1,192 mi

Although the HV Floor Under Wire Harness and Rear Traction Motor Cable is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customers’ ownership experience. Toyota is providing extended coverage under this Customer Support Program for repairs related to excessive corrosion to the wire harness connections at the Rear Motor Generator. Excessive corrosion can cause AM Radio Static during certain drive cycles, or the vehicle may not start.

OBSOLETE NOTICE February 27, 2026: This bulletin is no longer applicable and is now obsolete.

OBSOLETE NOTICE January 30, 2026: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0001-26.

Some 2018 – 2024 model year Toyota vehicles equipped with a Premium Audio with Dynamic Navigation System require a Special Service Tool (SST) USB flash drive to update the map, points of interest, and system software.

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 for odor remediation. This Service Bulletin provides a guide on how to prepare and treat the interior of the vehicle for odor remediation. Refer to the applicable model and model year Repair Manual and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website for the most up-to-date safety and precautionary guidelines.

Although the HV Floor Under Wire Harness and Rear Traction Motor Cable is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customers’ ownership experience. Toyota is providing extended coverage under this Customer Support Program for repairs related to excessive corrosion to the wire harness connections at the Rear Motor Generator. Excessive corrosion can cause AM Radio Static during certain drive cycles, or the vehicle may not start.