Buyer Research

2010 Toyota Yaris — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $4,000–$7,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 11 Toyota Yaris years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Half of the 2010 Yaris's 90 complaints are one word: Takata. Three separate passenger-inflator recalls plus a driver-airbag cable recall, and years of owners writing in that the parts never came. Add a power-window switch that can short and catch fire (one owner watched flames come out of the driver's door on the road), and a driver's seat rail spring that can break and let the seat slide in a crash, and you have a car whose entire buying checklist is nine recall campaigns on a VIN lookup. The car under them is the simplest thing Toyota sold that year — a 1.5L four with a timing chain and a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual, cheap to fuel, cheap to fix, and hard to hurt. Buy one only when every airbag, window-switch and seat recall shows complete; with those done it is an honest $5,000 commuter, and the record backs that up as far as a small, recall-dominated record can.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 90 owner complaints for the 2010 Toyota Yaris, and 9 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 50% of them are about one thing — airbags. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

9 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2010 Toyota Yaris

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Takata passenger airbag inflators and a driver airbag cable that can go dead — four recalls, years of waitingHigh — wallet impact

The 2010 Yaris sits inside three Takata passenger-inflator campaigns — 16V340, then 18V025 for cars ever registered in the humid Zone B states, then 19V741 as the last wave — each one replacing an inflator that can rupture and throw metal into the cabin. Separately, 14V168 covers the flat cable in the steering column that feeds the driver's airbag; it can wear through and silently disable the bag. Almost all 45 airbag complaints are owners told in 2016 and 2017 that no part was available, some for over a year. Eight of the complaints involve a crash. Everything is free at any Toyota dealer. Run the VIN on NHTSA's site and do not accept the car with any of the four open — and if the airbag light is on, the column cable is the first suspect.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (45); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Power window master switch can short and start a fire in the driver's door (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 15V689 covers 2006–2010 Yaris: the driver's door master window switch was built without enough grease on its sliding contacts, so moisture and debris can short it, melt the switch, and in the worst case set the door trim burning. One 2010 owner on this record started the car, smelled burning, saw smoke and then flames from the driver's door while already moving. Most of the ten visibility complaints are owners who could not get the recall part in 2015–2017, plus two whose window switches simply stopped working. The dealer inspects and greases the switch or replaces the circuit board, free. Check the VIN, then work every window from the driver's door and sniff the switch for a hot-plastic smell.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (10); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Doors unlocking themselves, a starter that keeps cranking, random lighting glitches, rodent-chewed wiringMedium

The electrical cluster is small and scattered but the items are real. One owner finds the doors unlocked after locking them, and locking themselves off the button intermittently — a failing lock actuator or the door switch. Another's starter kept spinning after the key was released and did not engage the engine, which on a 1NZ-FE is usually the starter solenoid. One early car had exterior and interior lights cutting out at random that Toyota could not trace. And one owner lost two computers, both blower motors and the ABS to mice eating the soy-based wiring insulation — a $5,000 bill. Cycle the locks a dozen times, listen to the starter engage cleanly, and look for chewed insulation and nesting under the hood on a car that has sat outdoors.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$600 for a lock actuator or starter; far more for rodent damage

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (9).

Driver's seat rail spring can break so the seat will not lock in place (recall)Medium

Recall 14V169 covers 2006–2010 Yaris built through May 12, 2010: the springs in the driver's seat adjuster rails can break, and a seat that will not lock can slide in a crash. Dealers inspect the rail and replace it if needed, free. On the lot, slide the driver's seat fully back and forward, lock it in the middle, and rock it hard by hand; any play or a seat that creeps under braking is the fault. Eight seat complaints on the record, all consistent with this recall.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under seats (8); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Any of the nine recalls still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup — the airbag, window switch and seat rail ones most of all
✗Airbag warning light on at startup
✗Hot-plastic smell or a melted-looking driver's window switch
✗Driver's seat that rocks on its rails or creeps under braking
✗Chewed insulation, nesting or droppings under the hood

Good Signs

✓All airbag campaigns (16V340, 18V025, 19V741, 14V168) shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Window switch recall 15V689 and seat rail recall 14V169 shown complete
✓Seat locks firmly in place with the lever released and stays put under braking
✓Starter engages instantly and releases cleanly on every start
✓Timing-chain engine with oil changes on schedule and receipts