Check a VIN

2012 Toyota Tacoma engine complaints

Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 124, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2012 Toyota Tacoma engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Apr 29, 2019 · Engine · 103,000 miles · MS

Cil and trac illumination with codes p2440 and p2442 caused the engine to go to limp mode with loss of power

Filed Apr 5, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 144,000 miles · AL

During normal driving, the check engine light and traction control off light came on and truck immediately went in to limp-home mode. I had it scanned for codes at the local auto parts store and it came back with p2440 and p2442 which seems like a common issue with a valve in the secondary air injection system. I quick google search showed that some 2012 tacoma owners are getting this covered under a special warranty extension, so I puttered over to the toyota dealership expecting to hear the same story, but they are telling me the ECM computer is bad. Which I am trying to get clarification on since I can't find any ECM failure issues for this make and model year.

Filed Mar 1, 2019 · Engine · GA

Known issue with the secondary air valve. Throws the code p2442 vehicle goes into safe mode. Dealerships want about $2,000 to fix it. Recommending the fan-blower as will to double the amount. This is known issue from all that I have read and the dealership that I purchased it from in va last year didn't mention this at all or offer any kind of warranty to cover potential issues.

Filed Feb 20, 2019 · Engine · 50,000 miles · VA

Check engine light and trac off light came on. Truck will not exceed over 2500 RPM and/or reach a speed over 25 MPH. No torque/power when gas pedal is pressed, espesicially when traveling up steep terrain. Toyota needs to issue a recall on this issue.

Filed Dec 9, 2018 · Engine · 80,000 miles · ID

The check eng & trac off light came on while I was on the interstate and almost got struck from the vehicle behind me. My truck went into limp mode & slowed down to 2500 rpms & wouldn't go any faster than 25 MPH!! This is a hazard as I have read other complaints about this happening to others, it is a known issue to toyota, they have repaired the tundra's but so far am not showing any recall on the tacoma's. Error p2442 secondary air injector failure. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me. Scary! Please beware 2012 tacoma owners! Merry christmas to me! $2000 repair!

Filed Nov 16, 2018 · Engine · 83,000 miles · ID

83k miles. Eng light and trac lights comes on, while driving truck goes into limp mode and will not excelerate past 2500 rpms and will not go any faster than 35 MPH. Error code p2442 secondary air injection system switching valve problem. Very dangerous problem

Filed Nov 1, 2018 · Engine · 115,200 miles · TX

While driving the vehicle in a suburban area it lost power, slowing to 25 MPH maximum, I was almost rear ended. I swerved off the road into the grass to avoid being hit. There is a problem with the emission system. It is the secondary air injection system. Toyota has been aware of this problem for some time. Some of the 2012 toyota tacoma's have a customer support / warranty extension for this problem, not mine.

Filed Aug 22, 2018 · Engine · 65,000 miles · TN

Went on vacation to texas, stopped to gas up and when I went back on interstate I had a dramatic loss of power. Could not keep up enough speed to go speed limit. Air conditioner did not work. At destination a local told me about a repair shop. Cost me a hundred dollars to reset to factory specs. This has happened again four other times. I disconnected battery and reset myself. Now it`s a daily thing.

Filed Jul 17, 2018 · Engine · 75,000 miles · CO

75k miles. Cel light and trac off lights come on, truck goes into limp mode and will not accelerate past 2500 rpms, and will not reach speeds above 35 MPH. Very very dangerous and endangers not only the trucks drivers, but other drivers on the road. This is due to a faulty diverter valve that is a known issue that toyota has issued recalls on for other models with the same problem.

Filed Jun 28, 2018 · Engine · 102,000 miles · VT

Air injector pump causing engine light and trac light to come on and sudden loss of power. Vehicle in motion when occurring.

Filed May 11, 2018 · Engine · 55,343 miles · GU

Secondary air injector system switching valve problem at 55000+ odometer

Filed Mar 12, 2018 · Driver assistance, Engine · 164,000 miles · MS

The secondary air injection system went out

Filed Mar 2, 2018 · Engine · 123,500 miles · AZ

Secondary air injection problems (valves and/or pump) causes a check engine light to come on, and puts the engine in "limp home" mode, without warning, which limits top speed to ~40mph. This is not only ridiculous, but dangerous, especially if it happens while on a freeway. The "limp home" mode persists until the code is cleared, by using an odb tool, or clearing the ecu by other means. This has happened to me 3 times where, with no warning, the truck suddenly lost power, and I had to find the nearest "safe spot" to get out of traffic and pull over. Toyota has acknowledged this issue in a tsb, but provides no recall, despite this being a potentially dangerous situation when it happens.

Filed Feb 20, 2018 · Engine · 98,000 miles · GA

Vehicle was in motion and check engine light came on. Car immeditely lost power. Computer codes p2440 and p2442 indicated issues that would not effect normal operation of the vehicle- just emmision control issues. 98,000 mi. On vehicle when it occurred. Vehicle would not go over 40 MPH.

Filed Feb 14, 2018 · Driver assistance, Engine · 45,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota tacoma. While driving various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate. Also, the traction control and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the secondary air injection valve failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

Filed Feb 11, 2018 · Engine · 62,000 miles · TN

Secondary air pump and switching valves failed on the highway with only 62,000 miles. Truck forced into limp mode and I was not able to travel over 20mph. The truck had a check engine light and trac control light appear. Toyota attempted to charge me over $2100 to fix. After reading about the error codes this is a common problem for all 2012 tacoma owners and toyota warranty refuses to cover any of the cost or recall the part (the same issue on toyota tundras was recalled).

Filed Feb 7, 2018 · Engine · 61,236 miles · OH

Driving vehicle and all of a sudden engine looses power. Truck did not die and would slowly accelerate. I had traffic behind me honking and cutting me off until I could get to a pull off spot. I had the vehicle towed to a mechanic and discovered the secondary air pump and valves were the cause causing the lots of acceleration. This is a very dangerous and known issue for toyota owners after researching. I do have repair receipt which is very costly

Filed Jan 31, 2018 · Acceleration, Engine · 133,472 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota tacoma. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power and then immediately regained power. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred twice. The contact coasted the vehicle to a service station, restarted it, and was able to drive. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not accelerate past 25 MPH. The vehicle was taken to toyota of poway (13631 power rd, poway, ca 92064) where it was diagnosed that the air system valve needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the air injection pump may eventually need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency. The approximate failure mileage was 133,472.

Filed Jan 23, 2018 · Engine · 60,000 miles · MA

At 60,000 miles check engine light and trac off lights come on when starting up truck in morning. This put the truck into limp mode. My mechanic cleared the codes but did not want to get involved in repairing as he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again down the road and said toyota will not warranty the replacement parts. Dealer advised approximately $2,000 to repair. After seeing all the other complaints from 2012 tacoma owners, I can not believe toyota will not cover this under a recall since they covered the exact same problem with the tundra and sequoia.

Filed Jan 8, 2018 · Engine · 43,000 miles · TX

Vacumme switching valve and air injection pump failure at 43,000 miles, cost to repair is $2052.32. This part is part of the emission control system and should be covered by toyota but is not. When this valve throws a check engine light the truck goes into limp mode and is very dangerous to drive as it has reduced power.

Filed Jan 5, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 78,000 miles · MO

The check engine light and the trac off light came on as I was merging onto the interstate. I immediately stopped the vehicle, pulled over, and took my 2012 toyota tacoma with 78,000 miles to the mechanic where I left it overnight for them to look at it in the morning. Running a diagnostic they found code p2443 - secondary air injection switching valve stuck. I asked if they had dealt with this before and they said this is a common problem for toyota and they have done recalls on both the tundra and sequoia models that have had these issues, but the tacoma hasn't had a recall yet, even though it seems to be just as common with the same parts. They said the cost of parts and labor would be around $2,000. When I asked them if the vehicle was safe to drive off their lot they said these codes can cause the tacoma to go into "limp mode" where you can loose power, acceleration, and won't be able to go over 45mph. I hate to think what could have happened if I had kept merging onto the interstate and tried to get up to speed only to "limp" into traffic or if this had happened a minute later on the interstate! Every thread I read online from multiple sources show people having similar issues from as low as 1,000 miles on the truck. The issues with the secondary air injection pump and switching valves seems most common between 50,000-80,000 miles, but eventually does happen in the 2012-2015 tocoma models.

Filed Dec 26, 2017 · Engine · 49,442 miles · FL

At less then 50k miles on the odometer and 900 miles from home my truck decided to get a check engine light and trac off light caused by codes p2440 and p2442 and p2445. Merry christmas to me. These codes put me into limp mode while on the freeway in snowy and icy conditions. I could not maintain speed with the flow of traffic as I was trying to get to the shoulder with traffic zooming all around me, dangerous and scary! Toyota wants $2000 to repair it. Internet research has shown me that it is a common problem that toyota fails to recognize for tacomas but has issued a tsb and extended warranties for tundras. Shame on toyota. Now I get to endure the cost of repair after the holiday seasons and I'm sure my boss will love to hear I wont be returning to work on time.

Filed Dec 22, 2017 · Acceleration, Engine · 87,000 miles · AL

Almost lost control of vehicle when the trucks performance jumped into limp mode "trac off" as I was driving. Loss of speed and performance caused me to be a driving hazard. 2 vendors today found the codes p2440 and p2442, which appear to have triggered my truck into "trac off" and "check engine" light on. Mode causes my truck to only drive about 45 significantly impacts performance and dangerous to drive. This is a safety hazard,I had no warning that the loss of performance was going to happen initially when I was traveling.there is another problem that appears to be on a larger scale.I have briefly scanned the internet in the last hour and spoke with various vendors about the problem & I have called my dealership & even the main toyota line and everyone is aware of the issue. The codes are p2440 & p2442. After finding out the codes I looked at the air injection pump & I was astonished to see that the pump was completely full of what, like someone literally took a waterhose & filled it up. Logically, this is why the air injection switching valves 1 and 2 are both stuck open one code for each of the valves. The next thing that is unusual is that there are an incredible amount of people having this same problem but no recall..then I found the tundra recall for the exact same pump issue! It is peculiar, that a different model truck with the same pump has this problem & no recall or remedy. Fact-tundra is a more expensive truck than tacoma, is toyota fixing public relation issues for those more well off because they know how to complain to the right folks or cause a big stir and they will hold off on pulling the trigger on a "warranty fix or recall" on the working mans tacoma? This is just an opinion but my intuition tells me this is intentional. The fix is approx $2000 I am stuck driving 45 MPH till then with shady steering & performance. #accountability #me too

Filed Dec 3, 2017 · Engine · CA

39k miles throws codes relating to secondary air injection pump. $2100 quote to fix. Many other owners with the same problem

Filed Nov 18, 2017 · Engine · 63,000 miles · NJ

Check engine light and trac off light came on and next thing the car would not accelerate properly while pulling out on to a highway heading up hill I had no power. Fortunately I was not killed by the 50 plus mile per hour traffic. After making down the highway was able to get into a pep boys where they coded the secondary air system. This is a serious issue that could have killed me or someone else. I plan to contact an attorney after finding out they only cover their most expensive vehicles with they exact same system. I guess 35k on a truck wasn't enough. The part cost me $770 dollars and I'm not sure if its safe because I had to do job myself because I could not afford $2000.00 for 2 hours work.

Filed Nov 8, 2017 · Engine · 60,000 miles · PA

Oem parts failure due to manufacturers defect. This exact issue prompted recall of the toyota tundra. Dealership reports numerous customers with same issue. Repair is over $2,000. This is serious issue. Air injection pumps and switching valves are faulty allowing water into the system and causing the engine to seize up and decrease engine speed. This happened on I-90 in heavy traffic causing other motorists to apply breaks quickly. Contacted toyota and they are aware of the issue but have no plans to initiate a recall.

Filed Nov 5, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 69,000 miles · OH

Recently I was driving my 2012 toyota tacoma on the highway at a sustained speed of 70 MPH. A check engine light came on and my car instantly dropped in speed to less than 40 MPH while in fast moving traffic. I was almost rear ended by a large truck and was forced to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to the berm and ascertain the situation. As I could find no issues upon inspection, I precariously drove the vehicle to a service store to read the error codes. The vehicle showed p2440 p2442 error codes indicating secondary air injection failures. Apparently, the vehicle went into limp mode upon throwing these codes which limits speed and engine RPM. This almost caused a huge accident and put me into a a very dangerous situation. Additionally upon researching these issues, it seems this is a well documented issue caused by manufacturing defects isolated to the 2012 model year. Apparently, the system is defective in multiple ways. First, a piece of foam is inside the secondary air pump which degrades and is sucked into the fan which not only causes stoppage and burning out the fan motor but also allows for stinky residue and debris to enter the valves causing them to jam open or closed. Additionally, the system allows moisture to be sucked into the valves adding to corrosion and degradation of the valves leading to them to be stuck. This is a roughly 1500.00-2000.00 repair. It is a quite frequent problem with this model yet is not covered under recall or service bulletin. Toyota has acknowledged the issue yet not taken any action. Additionally, they have had similar problems with the tundra/sequoia and offered remedy to owners via extended warranty. This is not only a quality control issue but more importantly a severe safety issue with the automatic reduction to a slow speed in fast heavy traffic.

Filed Oct 30, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 51,000 miles · AZ

I start up the truck and pull out in to the street. Whether at an intersection or making a turn, I push on the accelerator and nothing happens. The rpms don't increase, engine makes no sound - and I am left sitting in the middle of the road. I push the accelerator to the floor and eventually the engine comes to life and the truck moves forward. Happens more often than not when the vehicle is "cold" - within the first 20-30 minutes of operation. The accelerator is not linked directly to the engine through a cable but is a drive by wire. I have maintained my tacoma meticulously since purchase including tune ups, oil changes, etc. I have cleaned the mass air flow sensor with no change. The problem still persists. It is very dangerous to be in the middle of an intersection with a vehicle that has lost power.

Filed Oct 24, 2017 · Engine · 64,000 miles · WI

My 2012 tacoma is throwing lights on for a new secondary air injector valve , parts p2440 and p2442. The toyota mechanic said this is a common problem with these over the past few years as the 2012's hold moisture after shut down and the valves break down. I see this is a common problem online and a very expensive fix for us all. This should be covered fix, just because it doesn't cause in imminent health hazard doesn't mean it's not a problem that toyota should cover. The issue with the vehicle once a sensor detects this problem is that it puts it in a limp mode, and makes the vehicle very sluggish even difficult to achieve 45 MPH.

Filed Sep 28, 2017 · Engine · 48,000 miles · PA

I was pulling out on to the highway and my truck failed to exceed 30 MPH with oncoming traffic which nearly caused an accident. Upon inspection by my toyota dealership, they explained that my secondary air injection valves were stuck open (p2440, p2442) which caused the truck to lose all power. I was then told that since I am no longer under warranty (my truck is only 5 years old with 48,000 miles on it) that toyota would not cover the 2,000 dollar cost to have the part replaced. Upon further research, countless others were having the same issue. The toyota tundra also had this issue and an extended warranty was offered for those vehicles. Since toyota knows this is an issue it is my belief that they should stand by their product and fix the defective part which is a huge safety issue as I found out. Furthermore, there is no reason this emissions part should ever shut down the power to the truck while driving. Thank you for your time.

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2012 Toyota Tacoma?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history