2023 Toyota Tacoma — Known Issues & Recalls

Your engine is making an abnormal ticking noise coming from the passenger side. When inspected, pieces of the camshaft were found breaking off and causing the noise. This appears to be a manufacturing defect, and your dealer has seen this problem before on other vehicles. If left unrepaired, this could lead to complete engine failure and loss of power while driving.

Your engine's oil cap came loose and fell off after just a few hundred miles of driving. This appears to be a recurring issue reported on 2023 Toyota Tacomas. The fix would likely involve inspecting the oil cap assembly and either replacing it with a new one or ensuring it's properly seated and tightened.

Your engine is making a deep knocking noise (known as the "taco tick") that's caused by a problem with the valve train, timing chain, tensioners, and pulleys. Toyota has indicated this is normal engine sound rather than a defect, and is not covering repairs under manufacturer or powertrain warranty. This issue may eventually require professional engine repair involving the timing chain and related components.

Your thermostat and temperature sensor failed within 18 months of ownership, causing your engine to overheat. Multiple Toyota dealers confirmed they've seen this issue across 2020 and newer model years. The repair was expensive and fell outside your powertrain warranty coverage due to high mileage. Fixing this typically involves replacing the thermostat assembly and engine temperature sensor.

Your truck is missing the catalytic converter cover on the driver's side, while the passenger side has one. The owner is concerned this could create a fire hazard in dry, grassy areas since the exposed catalytic converter gets very hot during operation. The dealer confirmed the truck came from the factory this way. The fix would involve installing a replacement catalytic converter heat shield on the driver's side.

Your airbags failed to deploy during a head-on collision at 45-50 mph with a concrete median after skidding on black ice. Toyota corporate only retrieved crash data without inspecting the airbag sensors themselves to determine why they didn't activate. Your safety was at risk since no airbags deployed and no warning systems alerted you before the crash. This will require a thorough inspection and likely replacement of the airbag sensors, control module, and possibly the entire airbag system.

Your side curtain airbags deployed unexpectedly while driving in heavy rain on the highway, even though police found no evidence of a collision or impact damage to your vehicle. The airbag deployment caused you to lose steering control, and your vehicle left the road and stopped on an embankment, resulting in minor injuries. This suggests a possible malfunction with the airbag system or its sensors that needs to be investigated.

My 2023 Toyota Tacoma creates an error message on my console screen "A Malfunction in the SRS Airbag System has been detected. Contact your Toyota dealer to have your vehicle inspected." In 2024, the first error message appeared. Same as above.

Your sunroof suddenly shattered and exploded without any visible impact or debris hitting it, despite clear weather and no other vehicles nearby. The dealer suggested something must have hit it and recommended using your comprehensive insurance coverage. During attempts to clear the glass, the sunroof assembly and slide mechanism were damaged, and the dealer is also recommending windshield replacement and recalibration even though your windshield shows no damage, which seems unusual given the upward break pattern suggests an internal failure rather than external impact.

Your engine shut off unexpectedly and a warning appeared indicating your transmission fluid was running hot. The Toyota dealer couldn't find any fault codes when they checked the vehicle. The problem didn't occur again for about a month after the initial incident.

Your 6.5-inch dashboard screen went blank when you started the car and didn't display anything until you stopped and restarted the engine at home. You've also noticed that the tire pressure information sometimes doesn't appear on the screen when you check it. This is likely an electrical or software issue with the infotainment system that may need a software update or display module replacement.

While driving on the highway, you noticed white smoke and ashes coming from your steering column. When you pulled over to check under the hood, you didn't see any smoke or fire, but when you returned to the cabin, the smoke turned black and fire was visible coming from the steering column. Fire investigators found electrical arcing and melted components in the steering column area, ruling out other causes. This will likely require complete replacement of the steering column electrical harness and related components.

Your fuel gauge is displaying incorrectly—after filling up your tank completely, the gauge shows only 1/8 tank full instead of a full tank. No warning lights are coming on, so the electrical system isn't alerting you to the problem. Your dealer checked the vehicle but didn't find a recall or perform any repairs. The issue started around 4,700 miles. Fixing this typically involves diagnosing and potentially replacing the fuel gauge sender unit or the gauge cluster itself.

Your vehicle shut down while you were driving after throwing multiple error codes, and it wouldn't start again—this happened twice within 11 days despite a dealership repair attempt. Both times your truck had to be towed back to the dealer. The underlying cause of these repeated shutdowns needs to be properly diagnosed and fixed to prevent future stalling while driving.

Your 2023 Tacoma experienced a sudden loss of braking power while slowing for a turn on a dry road, even though the driver continuously pressed the brake pedal for about 5 seconds. At the same time, warning lights appeared for the Pre-Collision System and Vehicle Stability Control, and the steering became less responsive. The vehicle only slowed down due to the change in direction and friction from the tires, not from the brakes working properly. The dealership confirmed the brakes were not functioning when the truck arrived. A potential fix might involve diagnosing and repairing the electronically controlled brake system and its integration with the stability control modules.

Your 2023 Tacoma was brought in for a recall repair (Campaign 24V152000) on the powertrain, but the dealer's initial work was incomplete. When you returned, the dealer replaced rusted nuts and bolts but applied the wrong torque specification. The dealer acknowledged that rust can develop on these fasteners, and Toyota was unable to provide additional assistance. The issue was first noticed around 21,300 miles.

Your brake booster is making a buzzing or clicking noise when you press and hold the brake pedal. This is similar to a known issue with Toyota Prius brake boosters that were recalled. Toyota has indicated this may be normal operation, but you're concerned about the similarity to that recall.

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being serviced, the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced due to an oil leak. The vehicle was repaired.

Your passenger side windshield washer nozzle is spraying mostly onto the hood instead of the windshield, leaving only a small amount of spray to actually clean the glass. This causes dust and grime to smear across the passenger side of your windshield, reducing your visibility. Unlike some other vehicles, the nozzle can't be simply bent to aim it correctly. Fixing this will likely require replacing the nozzle with one that has a different spray angle, or installing an adjustable nozzle assembly.

Driver's door unlatched during the winter (January 2025) while stopping at an intersection. The incident repeated yesterday April 19, 2025, while driving on the freeway and turning right. The door partially opened and a warning light appeared on the dashboard.