Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1995 Toyota Tacoma owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Yes I was driving my Toyota Tacoma on the highway doing 55mph when the driver side lower ball joint broke. This caused my shut to snap in half also caused the control arm to break. Wouldn't have been so bad had the truck not been so rusty. Now facing issues with the fuel system being covered in rust. And the leaf springs are on the verge of breaking off the frame due to rust. The person I purchased the truck from said he had never received any kind of notice of the rust recall. Seems kinda funny to me only 25% of the owners of toyotas were notified to do something about the rust issue. Thank god im still alive. He is the only thing that saved me. I will dig out all of my receipts and ulad them very soon.
Yes I wrote awhile back about my ball joint snapping in half going 55. It was the lower one but it wasn't where the ball joint was it was the metal part about an inch and a half from where the ball joint was. Due to rust. The man whom I finally found who bought it new said he never received any kind of notice about the rust on the vehicle.
Going slowly over pitted road noticed squeaking on rear end and brought to a mechanic. Was told frame cracked through due to frame rust. Vehicle is unable to be repaired. Toyota had a service bullitin but I was never notified and it expired in May of 2000. They will not honor their warranty extension despite the vehicle being serviced at dealership.
Tl* the contact owns a 1994 (na) Toyota Tacoma. While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed corrosion where the spare tire was located, on the rear leaf springs, and on the subframe of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.
Approximately 5 years ago 125K miles lower ball joint failure front driver's side separation. 11/11/18 approximately 250K miles left driver's side ball joint separation. Total loss of control. If I had been at high spped serious injury or death might have occurred.
1. Truck primarily used as a passenger vehicle. Only infrequent use truly as a truck. 2. While carrying a moderate load on the highway, a grating noise was heard from the driver's side spring. The lower long leaf (2 leaf + helper) had broken off forward of the differential and dislodged itself from the assembly such that it was rubbing against gas tank seam. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the passenger side rear leaf spring was also broken but only slightly dislodged. Both had been broken for an undetermined amount of time since the broken ends were well rusted. 3. Was approx. 200 miles from home and fortunately had a hammer to free the broken spring from the tank. Stopped every 30 miles to check it. The problem is not yet corrected and still installed on vehicle. This could have potentially caused a fire if the tank was ruptured. …
I purchased a 1995 Toyota Tacoma new and have owned it since. I had it serviced last week and the mechanic told me the frame and suspension was heavily rotted and the vehicle was unsafe. It had major structure damage on the welds at the front,middle,and rear of the frame on both sides. He also stated that the suspension was heavily rotted to the point where he asked me if I had a boat and used the truck in salt water which I don't. At this point, I had the truck towed to my house and contacted Toyota customer care case number 1308142650. The representative told me there was nothing they could do about my issue. I paid 30K for this truck and wish I never purchased it due to the shoddy manufacturing process Toyota used making this vehicle. …
So there has been a recall for my fruck for the frame and all undercariage veing rotten because of the bad steal used the year and or years of my truck was supposed to be pulled off the road and gotten a new truck to its equal or money or ( not sure but if u reallyliked the truck reeframed and underworkd )other years not sure about 99 above to certain years 2nd or 3rd or originalowner(which went for my same years) they took the whole truck in and redid all the undercarage frame rotten break lines. So I am the second owner when first bought frame was painted black so I did not see any rot. About a year or so later the rot started showing worse and worse ive have to weld plates on it already replace the rearend and suspension and breakline the rotted (and almost made me get killed driving when they went out. …
My son heard from a co worker that Toyota had purchased his vehicle back due to frame rust. My son called Toyota and was informed that Toyota is no longer doing anything to check or fix bad frames.I looked under my vehicle and the frame seemed OK,so I continued using the vehicle.while driving the vehicle approximately nine months latter,I heard a banging noise like two pieces of metal were hitting.I got out of the vehicle and started looking around.I found the frame above the rear passenger wheel had broke thru due to rust.I called Toyota to find out why I was never sent a recall about this rusty frame problem.if I had received this notice ,my self and other people's lives would not have been jeopardized. …
Tl* the contact owns a 1995 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the air bag light continuously flashed while the vehicle was unoccupied. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cable sub-assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact received another recall notification regarding the leaf spring possibly rusting and puncturing the fuel tank; however, the parts were not available for the repair. The NHTSA campaign number was unavailable. The failure mileage was unknown. ...updated 02/19/16
Related recalls
Suspension › Front
Under certain driving conditions, the front suspension support can crack leading to failure of the support.
Remedy: Dealers will repair the suspension support.
Suspension complaints in other Tacoma years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1995 Toyota Tacoma?
NHTSA has 90 complaints about the suspension of the 1995 Toyota Tacoma, 51% of the model year's 177 complaints. The component named most often is rear › springs › leaf spring assembly (38 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1995 Toyota Tacoma suspension problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 96V-129 (front, Jul 10, 1996). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1995 Toyota Tacoma suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 180,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.