Toyota Previa 1996–1997

Summary

2 model years in 1 generation, 20 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 121,500 miles (5 of them give one).
Owners reported 4 crashes, 1 fire, 5 injuries and 0 deaths across these model years.
1 recall 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 Previa year clears that bar: the highest count is 11 complaints, in 1996. Rather than publish a thin page for each year, everything known about this model is on this page.

1996–1997

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
1996	11	8	Brakes	not compared
1997	9	2	Engine	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	Recalls	Investigations	Bulletins	Combined MPG	Page
1996	11	0	0	33	17	listed here
1997	9	1	0	38	17	listed here

What owners report across all years

System	Complaints	Share	Median mileage
Accelerator & Cruise Control	7	35%	140,000 mi
Brakes	4	20%	200,000 mi
Engine	4	20%	121,500 mi
Fuel & Propulsion	2	10%	—
Windows, Wipers & Visibility	2	10%	—

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

Accelerator & Cruise Control

Owner report TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 TOYOTA PREVIA. THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING TO PARK THE VEHICLE. SHE PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND PROCEEDED TO SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, WHEN THE VEHICLE ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A BUILDING. THE CONTACT WAS NOT INJURED. THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT PASSENGER …

Owner report I WAS A FEW BLOCKS FROM WORK IN MY 1997 TOYOTA PREVIA WITH MY DAUGHTER. WE STARTED UP A STEEP HILL WHEN AT THE CREST MY VAN SUDDENLY ACCELERATED TO 50 MPH AND INCREASING. I STOOD ON THE BRAKE BUT IT HAD NO EFFECT AT ALL. THEN I TRIED TO SHIFT INTO PARK. I SUCCEEDED ONLY IN SHIFTING INTO REVERSE WHICH SENT US CAREEN…

Brakes

Owner report WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY OR FLAT SURFACE ROADS ABOUT 30 MPH AND UP, WHEN STEPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, IS HARD TO STOP AND FEELS A BIG VIBRATION LIKE A KICK BACK. *AK

Owner report APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THERE WERE NO BRAKES, HAS ABS ANTI-LOCK BRAKES . *AK CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN A VEHICLE STOPPED IN FRONT OF HIS CAR, CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKE AND THE BRAKE DID NOT RESPOND AT ALL, THEN CONSUMER HAD TO MANEUVER TO AVOID HITTING OTHER VEHICLE CONSUMER CONTINUED TO APPLY BRAKE BUT…

Engine

Owner report MY TOYOTA PREVIA HAD A INCIDENT WITH A STUCK ACCELERATOR. I WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO CONTROL AND STOP VEHICLE WITH MAXIMUM FOOT BRAKE PRESSURE TO THE POINT OF GRINDING BRAKES AND TURNING IGNITION OFF WHEN AWAY FROM OTHER TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAY. I BELIEVE THIS INCIDENT WITH THE STUCK ACCELERATOR AND RED-LINING OF RPM'S LED…

Owner report ON OCT 2002, OIL IN THE ENGINE SLUDGED CAUSING CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. THE MECHANICS WERE ABLE TO REPAIR THE ENGINE TO PARTIAL WORKING ORDER. HOWEVER, THE ENGINE LEAKED EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL AND THE POWER OF THE ENGINE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. ON 8 JAN 2004, THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT INDICATED A LOW OIL PRES…

Largest recalls

Campaign	Component	Filed	Vehicles
97V056000	POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT	1997-04-04	707

Whether a recall has been done on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Open investigations

None open.

Service bulletins

Toyota issued 71 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
2023-08-17	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	TSB: Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN plates (the metal plate riveted to dashboard) (see Figure 1) for most 1979 ? 2023 model year vehicles may be available provided the re…
2022-01-12	WHEELS	POL: This consolidated Tire Warranty Guide contains the complete warranty terms for all brands of ground and spare tires currently in use by Toyota. This information must be kept near the point of vehicle sale and be available to any custom…
2021-03-17	AIR BAGS	Toyota Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements
2021-02-03	EQUIPMENT	TSB: Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN plates (the metal plate riveted to dashboard) (see Figure 1) for most 1979 ? 2021 model year vehicles may be available provided the re…
2020-04-07	EQUIPMENT	TSB: OBSOLETE NOTICE April 07, 2020: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0032-20. Replacement Certification Labels and VIN Plates
2020-04-06	EQUIPMENT	TSB: SUPERSESSION NOTICE The information contained in this bulletin supersedes Service Bulletin Nos. PG021-88, PG015-89, PG0015-90, PG002-91, PG002-93, PG005-97, PG007-01, PG007-07, PG006-01, PG004-97, T-SB-0144-08, and T-SB-0304-17. The a…
2018-08-31	EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS	Technical Service Bulletin: OBSOLETE NOTICE: July 31, 2018: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0304-17.
2018-07-31	EQUIPMENT	TSB: REVISION NOTICE July 31, 2018 Rev2: ? The Supersession Notice has been updated. January 11, 2018 Rev1: ? The Supersession Notice has been updated. Any previous printed versions of this bulletin should be discarded. SUPERSESSION NOTICE …
2018-01-11	EQUIPMENT	TSB: SUPERSESSION NOTICE The information contained in this bulletin supersedes Service Bulletin Nos. PG021-88, PG015-89, PG0015-90, PG002-91, PG002-93, PG005-97, PG007-01, PG007-07, and T-SB-0144-08. Service Bulletin Nos. PG021-88, PG015-89…
2017-11-21	EQUIPMENT	TSB: OBSOLETE NOTICE November 21, 2017: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0304-17.

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.