1997 Toyota Toyota Truck: common problems

Owners of the 1997 Toyota Toyota Truck filed 5 complaints with NHTSA, most often about seat belts and tires. Details by component below, with sources.

Key figures

Owner complaints: 5
involving a crash: 1

What fails most often

1 Seat belts 40% of all complaints
2 Tires 40% of all complaints
3 Suspension 20% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Seat belts: 2 complaints (40% of all).
Tires: 2 complaints (40% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Suspension: 1 complaints (20% of all).

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 5 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

seat belts1 · 20%
tires: bulges, blowouts1 · 20%
vibration1 · 20%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash
Seat belts	2	0
Tires	2	1
Suspension	1	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

I was driving a 1997 toyota tacoma going about 65 mph on I-45 north in houston texas when I had a tire blowout just before the airline exit. I lost control of my truck smashing into the concrete barricade on the freeway and doing a complete [address], luckily I didn't hit any one else.
Tires · crash · 2004-10-31 · NHTSA complaint #10098046
1997 toyota tacoma driver's side seat belt is does not work.
Seat belts · 2007-06-06 · NHTSA complaint #10192526
My 97 4 runner v6 (3.4l)was diagnosed with vibration at high speed approximately +60 mph and local quality toyota dealer at city of corona suggest for tires balancing and rotate. I agreed to pay for and it turned out the bill was $ 289.00 and the same problem still existed.
Suspension · 2006-12-12 · NHTSA complaint #10175918
Tire blew out losing its tread and shredded the whole thing. I hope it is recalled before another tragedy.( dot number: w2hy tire size: p215/70r14 )
Tires · 2000-09-05 · NHTSA complaint #729095

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

19981
20001
20041
20061
20071

Comparison

By complaint count this model year ranks 14,282 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 39% most complained about).

On average one model year of the Toyota Truck has 8 complaints (20 years in the data). This year has 5, below average.

What to check before buying

Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.

Other years of this model

Questions and answers

What are the most common problems with the 1997 Toyota Toyota Truck?

Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: seat belts, tires, suspension. Total complaints: 5. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (20%), tires: bulges, blowouts (20%), vibration (20%).

How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1997 Toyota Toyota Truck?

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 1997 Toyota Toyota Truck 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 1997 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.