1999 TOYOTA CELICA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 8 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (2 complaints · 25.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1998 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 2 of 8 owner complaints (25.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 25.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 25.0% AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 12.5% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 12.5% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 12.5% STRUCTURE: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports STRUCTURE 1 · 12.5% TIRES: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports TIRES 1 · 12.5% VISIBILITY: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports VISIBILITY 1 · 12.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 5 complaints, 62.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 · 62.5% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 2 25.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 62.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2020. 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 1999 Apr 2020 Recall campaign 20V033000 ◆ Recall campaign 20V033000 Investigation DP02004 ● Investigation DP02004
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 20V033000
Defect investigation 1 DP02004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 20V033000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag may not properly protect the occupant, and increases the risk of serious injury or death.
    Remedy:
    Toyota will notify owners, and owners will have the option to self-inspect, or have a dealer inspect the steering wheel on their vehicle to determine if their vehicle may be equipped with an affected inflator. Potentially affected steering wheel serial numbers will be inspected by a dealer. Based on the inspection, dealers will replace the front driver air bag inflator with an alternate one, as necessary. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began August 28, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall is 20TB01 and 20TA01.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 8 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources