2021 TOYOTA VENZA Electrical System Problems

Primary Control/Head Unit Failure - I can no longer access any of the electronic functions of the vehicle due to the computer screen failure. The back up camera works, but when the vehicle is in drive, it's nothing but a strobing light trying to connect. It's a safety concern most at night due to the constant strobe effect coming across the screen every 3 seconds. It draws your attention from the road and/or gives you the impression that something is coming to hit you from the passenger side. Yes, the vehicle has been inspected and diagnosed by Toyota. Toyota is unwilling to admit their head unit is faulty and want me, the consumer, to pay out of pocket for the parts and the labor. No, the failure happened without warning. One day it was working fine and the next it was frozen and then "dead" with this strobe effect.

The infotainment system is not consistently working. It is the 12.5 screen-based system that enables the control of numerous features including air conditioning/heating, audio (all radio and satellite radio), backup camera feed, and map/gps display. I see that there is a recall for this system for some Toyota models, however I have not yet received a notification, and I am assuming that it is because my car is a 2021 model. Not having this display makes navigation difficult (as the screen will just turn off suddenly) and control of the cabin environment impossible (i.e. I struggle turning on the AC/Heat as I don't know what the temperature is set to). Why would my vehicle not be included in the recall? What can be done to get this fixed? I view this as a safey concern as all vehicle safety notifications are posted on the screen (which won't work), all of the systems that are controlled from the screen are not available, and the back up camera display won't work at times.

The infotainment system has failed. It is the 12.5 screen-based system that enables the control of numerous features including air conditioning/heating, audio (all radio and satellite radio) and map/gps display. This system is the focus of a recall on this model car (newer versions) but the issue is the same for this year. Not having this display make navigation difficult, control of the cabin environment impossible. I wonder why this year vehicle was not included in the recall. I have ordered a replacement at a cost of $3,300. This began in May of 2025.

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Venza. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The contact stated that during the first failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed, however the diagnosis was unknown. The contact stated that during the second failure, the steering wheel warning light illuminated, the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the accelerator and brake pedals seized. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and thirty seconds later, the vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that during the third failure, the contact became aware that the fuel gauge was not operating properly. After refueling the vehicle, the fuel gauge warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the buttons on her steering wheel and the infotainment system also failed to function as designed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 57,346.

Mileage: 57,346

The Door lock actuators have all systematically failed on the car, so I can lock the doors manually, but anytime an electrical signal is sent to the lock (key fob, putting the car in drive, etc), the door locks do not operate. It is my understanding this is a known problem by Toyota across many SUV models. I have left my car unlocked on many occassions "thinking" it is locked, and I don't like driving with passengers in the car due to the safety issue of being able to open a door while the car is in motion when I "think" it is locked

The crash occurred at 2:50 PM on January 10, 2024 while pulling our 2021 Toyota Venza into a diagonal parking space on a slight upgrade. The vehicle surged over the curb, across the sidewalk and into a brick wall with gas pipelines attached to it. As this was happening, the driver yelled, “I don’t know what’s happening.” The car then rebounded onto the sidewalk and was turned off quickly because of a gas smell. We exited the vehicle and tried to keep people away from the scene because of the smell. The passenger had great difficulty getting out of the car because the passenger side door was blocked by a tree in the median. The Fire Department cleared the area, the police interviewed both the driver and the passenger and the gas company arrived to repair the meters and pipes. No citation was issued. During a call on January 12, 2024 to cancel a pre-paid service agreement, we were referred to the Toyota Brand Engagement Center who interviewed us before forwarding information on to the Toyota Liability Team. Toyota sent a contractual employee to download the information from the vehicle’s computer modules for further analysis by Toyota. On February 20, 2024, Toyota issued a report that stated the vehicle had no defects related to the accident and that the accelerator pedal had been fully depressed prior to impact. The report did not address other information that was provided to individuals investigating the incident, including information about the incident itself, information about a delayed acceleration event several days prior to the incident and notification from the local Toyota dealer the next day that a check engine light had come on around 2:50 the day of the incident followed a minute later by alarms indicating “airbag failure to deploy” and “hybrid system failure.” The report also did not address the possibility of a problem with the throttle system, specifically the accelerator sensor.

It's its been about 4 times for myself and twice for my husband. When pulling out of parking lot onto busy street making a right hand turn, the car failed to accelerate so that I can merge onto the street. I almost got reareded twice because of this not being able to get up to speed. I have taken it to the dealer twice. The first time they told me there was a computer recall so he would do the update and it if it happened after that to bring it in. We'll it's happened many more times. And the dealer can't tell me what it is.

On three separate occassions, when applying the gas pedal, the car did not immediately accelerate. One time I was pulling out across two lanes of traffic and the accelerator was to the floor and nothing happened for about 5 seconds. The last time happened today, 11/3/23, leaving a gas station entering traffic. I hit the gas pedal and it was 3/4 the way down before the car moved which, once again, could have caused a accident pulling out into traffic. I took the car into Jones Junction with the complaint and they could not find any issues after allegedly checking the fuel pump. Online other individuals are having the same problem.

The car has a new type of sunroof (Stargaze) that turns clear or dark. It is operated by the electrical system. Mine shorted out and makes a buzzing sound if turned on. This same problem has been reported by many others with this sunroof. It is a design defect that is prevalent in the Venza. The Toyota Venza is a low volume vehicle and a very small percentage are equipped with this sunroof, but l have read about many others experiencing this issue in Toyota forums online. The pictures show the roof in clear mode and frosted mode with the shorted out burnt portion.

While driving, vehicle suddenly lost all engine and electrical power and steering locked up. Fortunately I was stopped at a light at the time. Car restarted after I shifted into park and started in normal manner.

The connection to the starter is loose, makes ticking sounds on start. Bad connection to the battery car won't start.

Twice in the (almost a)year I’ve had the Venza I have gone to accelerate from a stop sign and the car started to go then the gas pedal went all the way to floor and nothing happened - then when I tried again the car accelerated as expected. The first time (@ approx 4000 miles) I was turning left with oncoming traffic (of semi truck plus others) coming and had it happened a few seconds later - I would have been in a serious accident. Second time was just over 10000 miles on 1/12/2021

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Venza. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to open or start. The contact was able to jumpstart the vehicle with some assistance and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that there was an error in the firmware of the vehicle that caused the vehicle to constantly communicate the status to the manufacturer leading to the battery failure. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was related to a TSB. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the owner needed to report the failure to the dealer for the TSB to be accessed. The approximate failure mileage was 5,500.

Mileage: 5,500