RoadVitals

2021 Toyota Venza Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
20
Latest Apr 30, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
11%
of 182 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
6
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
5

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 Toyota Venza submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 20 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistance
Filed Apr 30, 2026

This just showed in my 2021 Toyota Venza. I heard that this is is common issue for all Toyota but was not corrected .

NHTSA ID
11734838
Incident
Apr 18, 2026
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Apr 7, 2026
Crash reported

While driving under normal conditions and driving into my driveway on Thursday, March 19, I experienced a sudden and temporary loss of braking ability. When I applied the brake pedal, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected. This resulted in a collision with a residential fence at low speed. There were no warning lights or prior indications of a braking issue before the incident. The loss of braking appeared to be momentary, but significant enough to prevent me from stopping the vehicle in time. The vehicle has been regularly maintained and had no known prior brake issues although there are times when the brakes skip when traction is involved. There are also sudden issues with the acceleration. Given the safety risk, I believe this incident may be related to a potential defect in the braking system or electronic control systems.

NHTSA ID
11729686
Incident
Mar 19, 2026
Driver assistanceElectricalVisibility
Filed Nov 11, 2025

The infotainment system is not consistently working. It is the 12.5 screen-based system that enables the control of numerous features including air conditioning/heating, audio (all radio and satellite radio), backup camera feed, and map/gps display. I see that there is a recall for this system for some Toyota models, however I have not yet received a notification, and I am assuming that it is because my car is a 2021 model. Not having this display makes navigation difficult (as the screen will just turn off suddenly) and control of the cabin environment impossible (i.e. I struggle turning on the AC/Heat as I don't know what the temperature is set to). Why would my vehicle not be included in the recall? What can be done to get this fixed? I view this as a safey concern as all vehicle safety notifications are posted on the screen (which won't work), all of the systems that are controlled from the screen are not available, and the back up camera display won't work at times.

NHTSA ID
11698720
Incident
Feb 3, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Oct 19, 2025

As I attempted to park in a stall in the parking garage, I turned the steering wheel to the right and aligned the vehicle in preparation to back into the stall. In the split second that I took my foot off the accelerator to put it on the brake pedal in preparation to switch gears, the vehicle surged forward rapidly. I slammed on the brake as hard as I could, fearful that it would hit the car in the stall ahead. Maybe that's an indication that the Emergency Braking System failed, too. I don't know whether it stopped me or me slamming on the brake, but I was within 18 inches of the vehicle in the stall ahead of me. It truly scared me, which is what caused me to search for whether this was a known issue for 2021 Venzas and found that others have had this issue occur.

NHTSA ID
11694412
Incident
Oct 16, 2025
Driver assistanceEnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Jan 7, 2025

Vehicle at operating temperature, running, in gear and at a stop. Making a left turn into traffic. I release the brake and apply the accelerator, the car rolls out into traffic but no power, I press more and more until it is 100% throttle, all the way to the floor. Then after about 5 seconds the vehicle moves forward. Complete loss of response/power for 5 seconds. Thankfully no traffic coming. This happens a second time with the same circumstances, different location. Press the accelerator, no response, sudden loss of all power, then after 5 seconds it responds. This time there is traffic coming to my driver's side at 50 MPH, I was trying to press harder but it wouldn't respond. There were no warning lights, MIL, sounds or messages. Toyota wants $169.99/hr plus tax to investigate.

NHTSA ID
11634640
Incident
Jan 7, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 12, 2024

Seems like, This is common problems for all the Toyota Venza Car. After stopping at redlight, If we push the accelerator, It doesn't have a pickup speed as mentioned 7.1 sec from 0-60 miles. If, car is take on the 45/55 mile from the local road, it may hit by back side of the car. This is really concerning. Working with the dealer to solve the issue.

NHTSA ID
11593834
Incident
Jun 11, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed May 20, 2024

Intermittently my 2021 Toyota Venza will not accelerate. It feels like it loses power and will not accelerate. It started in March and has progressively gotten worse. It happens from a stop and from rolling acceleration. Toyota dealer Fred Haas Toyota said "they cannot duplicate the problem" even though I told them to go look online since this seems to be an ongoing problem. I do not feel safe in this vehicle since I cannot depend on it accelerating when I engage the fuel pedal.

NHTSA ID
11589614
Incident
Mar 16, 2024
Driver assistanceElectricalSeat belts
Filed Mar 11, 2024
Crash reported2 injuries reported

The crash occurred at 2:50 PM on January 10, 2024 while pulling our 2021 Toyota Venza into a diagonal parking space on a slight upgrade. The vehicle surged over the curb, across the sidewalk and into a brick wall with gas pipelines attached to it. As this was happening, the driver yelled, “I don’t know what’s happening.” The car then rebounded onto the sidewalk and was turned off quickly because of a gas smell. We exited the vehicle and tried to keep people away from the scene because of the smell. The passenger had great difficulty getting out of the car because the passenger side door was blocked by a tree in the median. The Fire Department cleared the area, the police interviewed both the driver and the passenger and the gas company arrived to repair the meters and pipes. No citation was issued. During a call on January 12, 2024 to cancel a pre-paid service agreement, we were referred to the Toyota Brand Engagement Center who interviewed us before forwarding information on to the Toyota Liability Team. Toyota sent a contractual employee to download the information from the vehicle’s computer modules for further analysis by Toyota. On February 20, 2024, Toyota issued a report that stated the vehicle had no defects related to the accident and that the accelerator pedal had been fully depressed prior to impact. The report did not address other information that was provided to individuals investigating the incident, including information about the incident itself, information about a delayed acceleration event several days prior to the incident and notification from the local Toyota dealer the next day that a check engine light had come on around 2:50 the day of the incident followed a minute later by alarms indicating “airbag failure to deploy” and “hybrid system failure.” The report also did not address the possibility of a problem with the throttle system, specifically the accelerator sensor.

NHTSA ID
11576503
Incident
Jan 10, 2024
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jan 5, 2024

It's its been about 4 times for myself and twice for my husband. When pulling out of parking lot onto busy street making a right hand turn, the car failed to accelerate so that I can merge onto the street. I almost got reareded twice because of this not being able to get up to speed. I have taken it to the dealer twice. The first time they told me there was a computer recall so he would do the update and it if it happened after that to bring it in. We'll it's happened many more times. And the dealer can't tell me what it is.

NHTSA ID
11563852
Incident
Nov 24, 2023
Driver assistanceVisibility
Filed Nov 21, 2023

A small crack appeared on the windshield driver side of vehicle. I have no recollection of any items or debris hitting the car and damaging it. I then searched online and found there have been many registered instances of this specific car model windshield (2021 and newer) either easily cracking or seemingly cracking under no impact.

NHTSA ID
11556181
Incident
Nov 19, 2023
Driver assistanceFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Oct 20, 2023

- Vehicle was operating as normal. Slowed down to a complete stop as normal. When attempting to accelerate from stop, vehicle had no throttle response and slowly idled into the intersection. Would press pedal down and nothing would happen. About 5 seconds later, vehicle gained throttle response and took off quickly. Unable to duplicate issue at this time, appears to be intermittent. - Safety was risked due to inability to take off from a stop and being stuck in the intersection for a brief period of time. - Unable to duplicate problem for dealer to confirm. - Called the dealer and they stated they needed to do a diagnostic, but it needed to be in a failed state. It is not currently in a failed state. If it was in a failed state, I’m unsure how I would get it to the dealer for inspection as the issue is lack of throttle. - No warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID
11551085
Incident
Oct 20, 2023
BrakesDriver assistanceSteering
Filed Feb 27, 2023
Crash reported

Forward collision avoidance; automatic emergency braking; adaptive cruise control; I pulled into a straight-ahead handicapped parking slot to park, going about 1-3mph . There was a handicapped sign in front of me on a newly installed steel pole. I pulled in within inches of the pole. When I tried to engage the brakes, the braking system failed to engage the brakes and slow down the car. The car instead accelerated and would have broken through a store front had the pole not stopped it. I also pushed on the brakes, but nothing happened, the car did not seem to slow down at all, like I had no brakes. It's like the brakes did not work and the automatic braking did not work either. There was a complete system brake failure. Also, the air bags did not deploy, which I'm surprised with so much front end damage to my car. So, in a panic to stop the forward acceleration, I put the car in reverse; after which the vehicle accelerated in reverse out of my control and crashed into a 3-foot concrete wall and another vehicle next to the wall. This crash stopped the vehicle. I had no control over speed of the acceleration, steering of the vehicle, or stopping. I am concerned about a defect in the brakes and the PKBS braking system. I could have been killed or backed into another person or car killing someone else. The car has been repaired. I did receive a msg about the raider cruise system being on days prior; I didn't know what it meant; it went away and I did not pursue why cruise control was on because I didn't engage it. I am seeking inspection by Toyota and my AAA Insurance rep.

NHTSA ID
11509304
Incident
Jan 19, 2023
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Feb 16, 2023
Crash reported

I was on the highway, no ice on the road, in a construction zone, going about 50mph. The cars in front of me stopped completely, and the light to warn me to "Brake" came on the dashboard to engage the brakes, but the emergency braking system failed to engage the brakes and slow down the car. I also pushed on the brakes, but nothing happened, the car did not seem to slow down at all, like I had no brakes. I kept going and crashed into the vehicle in front of me. It's like the brakes did not work and the automatic braking did not work either. There was a complete system brake failure. Also, the air bags did not deploy, which I'm surprised with so much front end damage to my car. The brakes also did this last year, and I collided with a vehicle the same way, but there was ice on the road, so at that time, I attributed it to the icy road. Now since these two accidents are so similar, I am concerned about a defect in the brakes and automatic emergency braking system. I am also worried to own a vehicle with the Automatic Emergency Braking System. I am having the vehicle towed to the dealership to have the brakes looked at.

NHTSA ID
11507719
Incident
Feb 13, 2023
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Sep 16, 2022

2021 Toyota Venza while being driven while merging onto the highway, the vehicle lost all braking power causing my wife to almost cash into the car in front of her. The vehicle was moving between 50 to 55 miles per hour. Once the vehicle was pulled over, the dash was displaying these error messages: Pre-Collision System Malfunction; Braking Power Low/Visit your Dealer; Check Engine; and Secondary Collision Brake System Malfunction. This caused my wife to be stranded on the side of the highway. The vehicle has 24,811 miles on it. The vehicle had to be towed to the Toyota dealership. This is the second time this happened. The first time this happened was about 20 months ago when I had just bought the vehicle new and put about 400 miles on it. The first time the dealership said they could not find anything wrong with it.

NHTSA ID
11484848
Incident
Sep 16, 2022
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Sep 1, 2022

The contact's mother owns a 2021 Toyota Venza. The contact stated that while she was driving in traffic and slowing down to 10 MPH with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated with a jolt. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The unintended acceleration had occurred on several occasions. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the failure was caused by driver error. The dealer stated that the vehicle information showed that both the brake pedal and accelerator pedal had been depressed simultaneously. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ID
11482440
Incident
Aug 19, 2022
Mileage
15,000 mi
AirbagsBrakesDriver assistance
Filed Aug 14, 2022
Crash reported1 injury reported

As I was pulling in slowly (going about 2 miles or less) to a perpendicular parking spot at my apartment complex, I took my foot off the accelerator to brake. And all the sudden my car lunged forward and rapidly accelerated forward on its own. It was completely terrifying to have the car take over. The car jumped the curb and went over a hill. I couldn't stop the car and I crashed head on into a two story garage. I saw a "MALFUNCTION" on the dashboard and the air bags did not deploy. I injured my back, neck and right arm. My new car that only has 9K miles on it was completely totaled. Vehicle is scheduled to be inspected by Toyota's Product Liability Department - 3rd Party Engineer. The only other time I was concerned about the vehicle was about 5 months ago, I was at a stop sign and when I pushed on the gas, the car felt like it lost acceleration power, but then it was fine after that so I didn't think anything of it. Vehicle is available for inspection for a very limited time (probably within 1-2 weeks of this post), after Toyota inspects it, it will be going to the salvage yard. If you want to inspect it, please contact me ASAP.

NHTSA ID
11479261
Incident
Jul 28, 2022
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Jul 16, 2022
Crash reported2 injuries reported

as I attempted to turn left in the parking lot of a strip mall with several restaurants, my engine suddenly revved and accelerated and despite pumping the brakes several times I could not slow it down or stop it. As a result I slammed into a concrete berm, kept going and crashed through the glass doors of a coffee shop/restaurant, continued on and the car did not stop until it hit a metal counter. Fortunately I was not hurt, nor did I kill anyone, although I was told two workers went to the hospital with bruises and lacerations on their legs. Since I was unable to stop the car, not only was my life at risk, but anyone who crossed my path or who was in the coffee shop could have been crushed. The police came, made a report and had my car towed to their impound lot. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center as of yet. . My insurer will have the car towed to a preferred repairer and they will inspect the car to determine whether it's repairable. I have asked them to check what made the car suddenly accelerate. I was informed at the police lot that they expect the car will be towed and inspected on Monday, 7/18/22. The accident occurred on 7/14/22. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representative or others. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID
11474269
Incident
Jul 14, 2022
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 25, 2022

I was pulling out from a stop sign to cross a four lane intersection. I attempted to pass between two cars, but the emergency brake system activated, presumably because the first car was still in front of me, even though it would have well passed by the time I got there. Because of the emergency braking, I was left stuck across two lanes of traffic with cars coming toward me and no way to get out of the way. This has happened twice in 800 miles on the car. I live on a very busy intersection and it took me a couple of months to get comfortable driving in this congestion. I think the car simply isn't designed for that level of traffic, but the way that it's reacting is terrifying. Consumer stated issue continues to occur even when the pre-collision system is disabled.

NHTSA ID
11454131
Incident
Feb 17, 2022
Driver assistanceSteering
Filed Oct 17, 2021

2021 Toyota Venza Steering assist feature creates a safety hazard. The steering assist works with the cruise control and lane departure. When on, it appears that the steering assist picks up its position or centers the vehicle in the lane from the nearest white line on the right side. It positions the vehicle approximately 12 to 18 inches from the right line position thus positioning the vehicle slightly right of the center of the lane. One is forced to fight the pull of the wheel to maintain a center lane position. This Steering Assist function creates the following problems: 1.Off-center to the right can make it too close for vehicles traveling to the vehicles right. Also, it does not adjust for vehicles traveling too close or possibly swerve on your right side. It will maintain its position regardless of events alongside of you. It receives its bearings from only the white line. This condition is more severe when traveling in a left lane on a multiple lane road with a dotted line. 2.Because the steering assist picks up its orientation from a right-side line; when the line is out of position or not available, the car will automatically move right until it finds something to coordinate the cars position. Without something fixed like a line or curb it will take the car off of the road. When approaching an off-ramp, the right solid road barrier line, usually veers right off the highway and will follow the direction of the off-ramp. Under this condition I have discovered that the steering assist feature will actually take me off of the highway onto the off-ramp and alongside the right-most solid line wherever it goes. I feel that NHTSA still should examine any issue on a car that could make its operation unsafe. Furthermore, it appears that NHTSA has not performed any crash-worthiness testing including weight and roll-over. Why has safety testing and crash worthiness not been performed on this vehicle? Lastly; why doesn’t it have a standard NHTSA door label?

NHTSA ID
11437077
Incident
Oct 17, 2021
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 20, 2021

multiple times PCS (pre-collision warning system) would go off only in city driving when i was passing a car that had turned right (and just completing turn)-approximately 45 degrees to from right of my car. The dealer said my car needed front wheel alignment and said that had been the problem. Using the computer analysis system and since i was not getting a warning light saying PCS was not working, i was told it was fine. On a recently completed road trip out of town, at 70 miles an hour, PCS through us into hard break due to a car that had just entered exit ramp-45 degrees to my car. Almost caused multicar incident. Can not get further help from dealership since computer analysis not showing issue and no response from Toyoto NA. Have since just turned system fully off.

NHTSA ID
11433683
Incident
Sep 17, 2021

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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