AI Damage1985 Toyota Pickup: common problems
Owners of the 1985 Toyota Pickup filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about tires and parking brake. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 9
- involving a crash
- 4
What fails most often
- 1 Tires 33% of all complaints
- 2 Parking brake 22% of all complaints
- 3 Steering 11% of all complaints
- 4 Structure 11% of all complaints
- 5 Suspension 11% of all complaints
- 6 Vehicle speed control 11% of all complaints
- 7 Wheels 11% of all complaints
- Tires: 3 complaints (33% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Parking brake: 2 complaints (22% of all).
- Steering: 1 complaints (11% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 1 complaints (11% of all).
- Suspension: 1 complaints (11% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 9 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Parking brake | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wheels | 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.
1985 toyota 4x4. Consumer writes in regards to accident and snow tires the consumer would like other detailed information, such as crash test, defects and statistics information.
Upon placing into reverse gear expeienced engine surge, then vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control, overpowering brakes, finally hit an other rv due to thottle sticking.
Vehicle modified with larger tires which, caused death when vehicle flipped over due to the change in the center of gravity. (attorney for client)
Vehicle lost control/rollover, resulting in injury. (attorney for client)
The contact was able to pull over and noticed that 3/4 lug nuts had sheared off. The contact drove to a local mechanic where it was repaired but continues to experience the same failure.
Consumer noticed vibration from the rear of vehicle, after inspection the entire frame of the truck was found to be corroded badly especially in the right rear section where the rear springs are shackled to the frame.
Bellcrank and bracket frozen rendering parking brake inoperative. Dissimilar metals with heavy corrosion of components at contact area in evidence.
Vehicle has too many problems to lists. Please inform of any investigations into this vehicle make and model.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 11,366 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 31% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Pickup has 17 complaints (24 years in the data). This year has 9, below average.
What to check before buying
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Parking brake. Electric parking brake, codes, calipers.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
Other years of this model
- Pickup 19813 sources
- Pickup 19843 sources
- Pickup 198618 sources
- Pickup 19878 sources
- Pickup 19887 sources
- Pickup 198921 sources
- Pickup 199025 sources
- Pickup 199129 sources
- Pickup 199256 sources
- Pickup 199359 sources
- Pickup 199491 sources
- Pickup 199535 sources
- Pickup 19966 sources
- Pickup 19975 sources
- Pickup 19985 sources
- Pickup 20004 sources
- Pickup 20017 sources
- Pickup 99993 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1985 Toyota Pickup?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: tires, parking brake, steering. Total complaints: 9. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: rust, corrosion (22%), rollaway, parking brake (11%), unintended acceleration (11%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1985 Toyota Pickup?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1985 Toyota Pickup from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1985 models
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 2026-11-05.