2007 Toyota Yaris Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2007 Yaris most often report an airbag warning light traced to a failed spiral cable in the steering column, and ABS or brake warning lights that shops link to corroded rear wheel speed sensors. A separate group of complaints, mostly on higher-mileage cars in cold-weather or road-salt areas, describes corrosion and breakage of front suspension and crossmember bolts and of the rear axle beam.

1. 1
   Brakes

   ABS light and corroded rear wheel speed sensors

   • 32 complaints (12%)
   • median 62,643 mi at 4.2 yrs old (28 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $650 (median of 7 quotes)
   • filed 2007–2019

   Complaints describe the ABS and brake warning lights coming on together, sometimes intermittently at first and then staying on, with the ABS then disabled. Shops commonly find a rear wheel speed sensor and its wiring harness corroded or shorted, often with the connector packed with dirt, and replace the sensor and harness. Some owners note the problem returned on the other side, and several mention that the lights appeared during or after wet, snowy or salty weather. Reported from about 24,000 to 100,000 miles, frequently after winter driving with road salt.

   What to check: Check that the ABS light is off with the engine running, and look at the rear wheel speed sensor connectors and wiring for corrosion or cracked insulation before buying.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Thirteen months have passed and now I have a failure of the left rear wheel speed sensor to match the failed right rear wheel speed sensor that was replaced. The repair action will be to replace the sensor and wiring harness. Due to excessive corrosion, the dealer is recommending replacement of both the left and right rear wheel speed sensor wiring. This will be the third rear wheel speed sensor failure on two Yaris that I have had to deal with in 14 months. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10310350, filed 2010-02, 92,507 miles

   “In december 2010, our '07 Yaris' ABS light started to turn on intermittently. As days passed, it remained on longer and longer until it just stayed on all the time. Would have lived with no ABS except for the fact that we had a newborn on the way. Also, the brake system sporadically shuttered and malfunctioned oddly under normal driving conditions. So we bit the bullet and got it fixed in may 2011. Turns out, the right rear speed sensor malfunctioned due to water infiltration. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10425356, filed 2011-09, 85,000 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbag warning light from failed spiral cable

   • 31 complaints (12%)
   • median 102,750 mi at 6.5 yrs old (26 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2007–2021

   Owners describe the airbag warning light coming on, sometimes the passenger airbag-off light as well, with no crash involved. Dealers typically diagnose the spiral cable assembly in the steering column as failed or shorted and quote several hundred dollars to replace it; some owners were told the airbag may not deploy in a crash if it is not repaired. Several complaints note a recall covering the same part on other vehicles and ask why the Yaris was not included the same way. Mostly reported between roughly 50,000 and 110,000 miles, often on cars driven for several years.

   Recall 14V168000Recall 19V741000

   What to check: Turn the key to on and confirm the airbag light goes out after the bulb check; have a scan tool read stored airbag codes. Ask whether the spiral cable has already been replaced and keep the receipt.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was driving home from work and I noticed the light came on for my airbag. I checked the manual and it said to bring it in to the service center immediately. I called and made an appointment and I was told the spiral cable was bad. I noticed other people have the same problem so I think this is a part that should be recalled.”

   NHTSA complaint #10500669, filed 2013-02, 107,500 miles

   “I purchased my Yaris new in 2007. It now has 107,000 miles on it and the airbag warning light has come on. Dealer is telling me the spiral cable for airbag is shorted and needs repair - which will be about $500+ to fix, to ensure deployment if needed. Looking online I see other Yaris owners with this issue, and other Toyota vehicles with this same issue, and some recalls. I am very concerned as this is a safety issue and I feel a defect in engineering that should have a recall for Yaris also. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10574748, filed 2014-03, 107,000 miles
3. 3
   Suspension

   Corroded front suspension and cradle bolts

   Mentioned in 6 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners report clunking or grinding from the front end over bumps or when braking, and sometimes a lurch when stopping. On inspection, dealers and shops find a front lower control arm or crossmember bolt that has corroded and sheared off, with the opposite side also corroded; the repair usually involves dropping the subframe to replace the bolt, and in some cases the whole crossmember. One complaint notes a service bulletin describing replacement of the crossmember with a revised design. Mostly reported between about 40,000 and 110,000 miles, often on cars driven in wet or salted-road conditions.

   What to check: Have the car put on a lift and inspect the front lower control arm and cradle bolts and surrounding metal for rust; ask whether any of them have been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “During rolling bumper to bumper traffic, heard a loud pop from the front end. Afterwards the front end kept making a odd grind sound when I put on the brakes or went over a slight bump. Took some time to figure out that one of the bolts that holds the passenger side a-arm was gone, looks like the bolt head just sheared off so now all the weight that was carried by 3 bolts is being managed by 2. I had just got off the highway too, glad that did not pop at 65 MPH.”

   NHTSA complaint #10504554, filed 2013-03, 170,000 miles

   “I brought my 2007 Toyota Yaris into the dealership to get the brakes looked at as I was hearing a clunking noise going over uneven roads at slow speeds and I was feeling a sticking with the brakes. The dealership notified me that the brakes were fine but that a bolt in the front cross arm of the suspension had rusted and broken off. I was told that this was a design flaw in the 2007-2011 Yaris and that there was a technical service bulletin that advised on replacing the whole crossmember with a new design. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10445074, filed 2012-01, 53,000 miles
4. 4
   Seat belts

   Seat belts slow to retract or not latching

   • 20 complaints (8%)
   • median 66,500 mi at 6.4 yrs old (18 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2007–2022

   Owners report that a seat belt will not retract and stays slack until fed back in by hand, or that the front belts will not latch securely; one complaint describes a rear belt that detached while being fastened and another a belt that pulled tight and had to be cut. Dealers generally responded that the belt was worn and needed replacement. A separate recall covers the front seat belt pretensioners on this model year, which is a different part from the retractor and buckle complaints described here. Reported from roughly 10,000 up to very high mileage, with several complaints well past 100,000 miles.

   Recall 09V031000

   What to check: Pull each belt out fully and let it retract on its own, and latch and release every buckle, including the rear ones, before buying.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Rear left seat belt became so tight under normal driving conditions we were unable to release my child. She was under a great deal of pain and the seat belt had to be cut. Apx a week later she became stuck in the same manner in the right seat belt and was able to release the seat belt to release her”

   NHTSA complaint #10203303, filed 2007-09, 10,000 miles

   “Vehicle parked, seat belt will not retract, will stay out until I feed it back to the slot. I have a couple of years with this problem hoping that there was going to be a recall. Plese help, I don't feel safe. Sometimes the seat belt gets caught on the door since it will not retract.”

   NHTSA complaint #11142488, filed 2018-10, 175,000 miles
5. 5
   Suspension

   Rusted rear axle beam

   • 16 complaints (6%)
   • median 133,250 mi at 11.9 yrs old (12 state mileage)
   • filed 2010–2024

   Complaints describe the rear of the car feeling unstable, a strange noise from the rear, or a rear tire visibly leaning inward at the top. Shops then find the rear axle beam rusted through or cracked at a weld, in one case after the wheel tilted in while driving. Owners often report that the rust began at the side skirt or wheel arch area years earlier. Reported at high mileage, generally from about 175,000 to 216,000 miles and mostly on older cars in rust-prone areas.

   What to check: Inspect the rear axle beam and its welds for flaking rust or cracks, and check the side skirts and wheel arches behind the rear wheels for bubbling paint.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I bought a 2007 Toyota Yaris brand new. It's a one owner car with 216000 miles. 5 years ago, I noticed that the side skirt was rusty near the back wheel. Over time, they rusted out. One month ago, while pulling in at the gas station, I heard a crunch. I felt the drivers side of my car go down as well. Got out and drivers rear wheel was tilted in at the top. The passenger rear wheel was also leaning in at the top. The rear axle was rusted out on the welds. The car was about to crumple up in two. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11487403, filed 2022-10, 216,000 miles

   “Strange sound comming from rear area. Looked and rear passanger side tire leanning inward toward car. Took to repair shop. The rear axle beam was rusted enough that the tire was getting ready to come off. The repair shop had never seen anything like this. I am the only owner of this vehicle. Had about 214,000 miles when this occured. No, longer own car.”

   NHTSA complaint #11240453, filed 2019-07, 214,000 miles

Buying note. Check the airbag and ABS warning lights and have any stored codes read, since those two systems account for the largest share of complaints on this model year. On an older or high-mileage example, put the car on a lift and look closely at the front suspension bolts and the rear axle beam for rust before agreeing on a price.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.