AI DamageToyota MR2 Spyder: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Toyota MR2 Spyder across 5 model years: 29 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Engine and cooling 34% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 21% of all complaints
- 3 Electrical system 14% of all complaints
- 4 Equipment 10% of all complaints
- 5 Vehicle speed control 10% of all complaints
- 6 Engine 7% of all complaints
- 7 Service brakes 7% of all complaints
- 8 Steering 7% of all complaints
- Engine and cooling: 10 complaints (34% of all).
- Powertrain: 6 complaints (21% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 4 complaints (14% of all).
- Equipment: 3 complaints (10% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 3 complaints (10% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 29 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and cooling | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Steering | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
The car will then not have power steering making it difficult to control. This has happened four times while driving in traffic twice causing a near serious accident. It has left my wife stranded and requiring the dealer to tow the vehicle as it would not re-start.
- new toyota camry le purchased january 2004 - on february 25th key would not turn (took 10 - 15 minutes to start it) - later while parking, the car the steering locked turning the car to the right - the car accelerated and surged despite depressing the brake (same as odi peo4021) - though the car broke a metal flag…
Parked vehicle with emergency brake, without warning, vehicle shifted out of gear and rolled back.
Upon impact, both air bags failed to deploy. Dealer notified. Feel free to provide further details.
While I am driving on i65 in mobile my car was hit by some kind of strong thing because of that my car engine is broken. Who's going to take responsibility for this . I need justification ..
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.