1986 Toyota Tercel Problems: Seat belts (6 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 1986 Toyota Tercel is Seat belts (50% of 6 owner reports). There are 1 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Seat belts — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 6 complaints · 1 recalls

What problems show up on the 1986 Toyota Tercel?

3 of 6 filings named Seat belts (50% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Fuel system (1 reports).

There are 1 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Fuel system. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 1985 has 2 reports on file; this year has 6. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 1986 Toyota Tercel

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 1 campaigns on file below.
  2. Seat belts. Check that every belt latches, retracts and that related recalls are closed.
  3. Fuel system. Check for fuel smell, leaks and whether it starts and idles cleanly.
  4. Brakes. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Seat belts. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Seat belts 3 complaints · 50.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
All Toyota Tercel years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 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.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) appears in 3 of 6 owner complaints (50.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 3 complaints, 50.0% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 3 · 50.0% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 1 complaints, 16.7% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 · 16.7% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 1 complaints, 16.7% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 · 16.7% Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL): 1 complaints, 16.7% of reports Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 1 · 16.7% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 5 complaints, 83.3% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 5 · 83.3% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 3 50.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 1 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 5 83.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2007. 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1987 Jan 2010 Recall campaign 07E064000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E064000 Investigation PE87057 ● Investigation PE87057 Investigation PE89134 ● Investigation PE89134
  • Campaign 07E064000 was reported 3,651 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 07E064000
Defect investigation 1 PE87057
Defect investigation 1 PE89134
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (1)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Fuel system.

  1. Recall campaign 07E064000

    Fuel system

    Report date
    Component:
    Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
    Consequence:
    A LEAKING FUEL PUMP COULD CREATE A VEHICLE FIRE HAZARD.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL-MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 15, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL-MOGUL AT 248-354-7700.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 6 of 6 complaints · page 1 of 1
2010-02-27Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL)
NHTSA ODI 10314752
CrashFireInjuryDeath
IN 2006-2007, MY 20 YEAR-OLD 1986 TOYOTA TERCEL STATION WAGON BEGAN EXHIBITING SUDDEN ACCELERATION AND/OR FAILURE TO DECELERATE, CAUSED BY A STICKING ACCELERATOR PEDAL -- CAUSING NO INJURIES BUT REQUIRING ME TO BRAKE, SHIFT TO NEUTRAL, AND/OR STOMP REPEATEDLY ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO LOOSEN IT AND ALLOW IT TO RISE BACK UP. THERE WERE AT LEAST 4-5 OCCASIONS WHEN THIS OCCURRED OVER 6 MONTHS -- WITH NONE OF THE INCIDENTS INVOLVING A FLOOR MAT. THE ACCELERATOR PROBLEM WAS CONFIRMED ON A TEST DRIVE BY MY LOCAL (NON-TOYOTA) CAR MECHANIC, WHO COULD FIND NO APPARENT CAUSE (SUCH AS RUST) OR FIX FOR THE STICKING GAS PEDAL. WE CONSEQUENTLY SIMPLY ATTRIBUTED THE PROBLEM TO THE "OLD AGE" OF THE AUTO -- WHICH I IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUED DRIVING AND LATER JUNKED BECAUSE IT HAD BECOME UNSAFE FOR DRIVING. IN LIGHT OF THE RECENTLY-REPORTED SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEMS WITH LATER TOYOTA MODELS, I'D ADVISE LOOKING INTO WHETHER THE 1980'S TOYOTA TERCEL GAS PEDAL USED THE SAME, OR A SIMILARLY SUSCEPTIBLE, TYPE OF PEDAL ASSEMBLY AS THOSE OF THESE LATER TOYOTA MODELS; IF SO, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT THE PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA'S PEDAL ASSEMBLIES GOES BACK FURTHER THAN CURRENTLY PRESUMED. *TR
1999-03-01Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 703895
CrashFireInjuryDeath
BELT FAILED TO RETRACT AND CLOSING DOOR HAS CRACKED BUCKLE. THE SAFETY RELATED DEFECT CONSISTS OF THE RETRACTING MECHANISM FAILING TO FULLY RETRACT THE BELT, AND THE PLASTIC BUCKLE CRACKING WHEN THE DOOR CLOSED ON IT. THERE APPEARS TO BE NO WAY TO REMEDIATE THIS OTHER THAN TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE BELT ASSEMBLY -- BELT, RETRACTOR, BUCKLE -- AT A COST OF $160.
1999-02-18Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 834992
CrashFireInjuryDeath
DRIVER SIDE SHOULDER BELT AND TRACK FAILS TO RETRACT PROPERLY. AS A RESULT SEAT BELT BUCKLE GETS CAUGHT IN THE DOOR, AND BUCKLE IS BROKEN, CAUSING THE SEAT BELT TO MALFUNCTION. DEALER WILL ONLY REPAIR AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. *AK
1997-08-28Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 815818
CrashFireInjuryDeath
VEHICLE LEAKS FUEL , AND IT LEAKS ALL THE TIME. OWNER HAS TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND WAS TOLD THAT FUEL TANK HAD RUSTED OUT. OWNER ALSO NOTES THAT DEALER NOTED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. OWNER IS VERY CONCERNED FOR SAFETY. *AK
1995-10-03Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 972841
CrashFireInjuryDeath
ABS: RIGHT SIDE CALIPER BROKE INTO PIECES, BRAKE PEDAL WENT STRAIGHT TO FLOOR WITH NO BRAKING EFFECT; BRAKE PAD WAS LYING ON GROUND;PRIOR, HEARD SQUEAKING NOISE
1995-09-11Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 971839
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE DRIVERS SEATBELT BUCKLE WILL NOT RELEASE. PLEASE DESCRIBBE. TT

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 1986 Toyota Tercel?

Owners named Seat belts most often — 3 of 6 reports (50%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 1986 Toyota Tercel?

NHTSA lists 1 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Fuel system. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 1986 Toyota Tercel?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Check that every belt latches, retracts and that related recalls are closed. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

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 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources