Toyota MR2 2000–2005

Summary

6 model years in 1 generation, 34 owner complaints in total.
No model year holds enough complaints in its first three years to be compared with the others.
These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
Half of the complaints that give a mileage were filed by 47,000 miles (25 of them give one).
Owners reported 4 crashes, 1 fire, 0 injuries and 0 deaths across these model years.
0 recalls and 0 federal investigations cover these model years.

Why there is no page per model year

A model year earns its own page when four sources cover it, it holds at least 50 complaints, and it can either be compared with the other years of its generation or shows one system in 40% or more of the complaints that name a component. No MR2 year clears that bar: the highest count is 18 complaints, in 2003. Rather than publish a thin page for each year, everything known about this model is on this page.

2000–2005

Each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints. Fewer than three years of this generation are comparable, so no year is named.

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system	Note
2000	5	0	Engine	not compared
2001	2	0	Engine	not compared
2002	6	0	Powertrain	not compared
2003	18	4	Powertrain	not compared
2004	2	0	Powertrain	not compared
2005	1	0	Powertrain	not compared

Every model year

A model year gets its own page when four sources cover it, it holds at least 50 complaints, and it either compares with the other years of its generation or shows one system in 40% or more of the complaints that name a component. The rest are listed here with their figures.

Model year	Complaints	Bulletins	Combined MPG	Page
2000	5	101	24	listed here
2001	2	43	24	listed here
2002	6	43	24	listed here
2003	18	122	25	listed here
2004	2	94	25–26	listed here
2005	1	45	25–26	listed here

What owners report across all years

System	Complaints	Share	Median mileage
Powertrain	14	41%	47,000 mi
Engine	12	35%	65,618 mi
Accelerator & Cruise Control	5	15%	55,000 mi
Electrical System	5	15%	41,500 mi
Airbags	2	6%	21,500 mi

Shares are over complaints that name a component; a complaint naming several systems is counted under each.

Powertrain

Owner report Within the first two weeks after purchasing the vehicle, I noticed a transmission issue where the vehicle would not properly shift gears. I sometimes would try to up or downshift but there would be no change in the display on the gear indicator. Later there became an issue where the vehicle would put itself into neutra…

Owner report Thanks for reading this - the Sequential Manual Transmission failed on the car - the warning light was on but it failed 3 times within 15 mins. Not sure if you are aware of this car and the transmission issues when the car was made new from 2003 to 2005. I have the parts to fix it but was there ever a recall on these…

Engine

Owner report TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA MR2 SPYDER. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BEING DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE SPUN OUT OF CONTROL AND CRASHED INTO A CURB. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND NO INJURIES…

Owner report 2003 TOYOTA MR2 SPYDER 6-SPEED TRANSMISSION/ SHIFTING MALFUNCTION - WHILE AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CAR JERKED FORCEFULLY FORWARD WHEN ATTEMPTING TO PROCEED FROM STOPPED POSITION, THEN TURNED ITSELF OFF. THE CAR BECAME INCAPABLE OF SHIFTING AND HAD TO BE TOWED. ECU WAS REPLACED. SIMILAR PROBLEMS RESURFACED. *TR

Accelerator & Cruise Control

Owner report WHILE DRIVING, THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH BECAME INTERMITTENT IN OPERATION, WITH POTENTIAL OF BEING UNABLE TO DISENGAGE IT. *TR

Owner report TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA MR2. THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVING 35 MPH OFF OF AN ON RAMP AND STARTING TO ACCELERATE, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE EVEN AFTER TAKING HIS FOOT OFF OF THE GAS PEDAL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,0…

Largest recalls

None on file.

Open investigations

None open.

Service bulletins

Toyota issued 448 service bulletins covering these model years, most often about equipment.

A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so a bulletin listed here may not be specific to one year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.

Date	Component	Summary
2024-12-06	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…
2024-12-06	STRUCTURE:BODY	The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicl…
2024-12-05	STRUCTURE:BODY	Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. Follow the Removal Procedure …
2024-12-03	STRUCTURE:BODY	Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can be identified by the …
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and in…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicl…
2024-05-17	STRUCTURE:BODY	Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination.
2024-05-15	STRUCTURE:BODY	Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can be identified by the …
2024-04-19	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…

How to read this page

Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more after news coverage or a recall. That is why years are compared only with other years of the same generation, over the same span, and never with other models.

Sources

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications (data as of 2026-10-28).
U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines and fuel economy.

This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection.