Selling a tired or dead Toyota Previa

A van with the engine under the seats

Toyota sold the Previa here from March 1990, as a 1991 model, through 1997. Every one was imported from Japan, built by Toyota Auto Body at its Fujimatsu plant in Kariya, Aichi. In Japan it was called the Estima.

The layout is what sets it apart. The engine lies under the front seats, driving the rear wheels or all four in All-Trac vans. Toyota dropped that underfloor layout after this generation; later models put the engine up front.

The supercharger is a Roots-type unit with an intercooler. When it arrived for 1994, the manual gearbox left, so no Previa has both. The Camry-based Sienna replaced it after 1997.

The recall work

1991 wipers, 93V113. Some wiper parts were not strong enough for heavy loads and could fail early, leaving the wipers stopped. The fix was new wiper motors, new parts in the wiper arms and a retorqued arm pivot. The campaign counted 75,863 vehicles. Visibility is the top complaint area on the 1991, with 16 of its 74.

1991 radio, 93V147. A part inside the radio could fail and short out, and NHTSA's notice says that could start a fire in the cabin. The radio was repaired. That campaign's 155,809 vehicles are its full count; NHTSA's listing does not split it by model. Owners reported 7 fires on the 1991, the most of any year, but we have not read those reports and can't tie them to the radio.

1997 front differential, 97V056. On 707 vans, a gap between an oil separator plate and the front differential housing let oil escape at the breather plug when the van ran above 75 mph for long stretches. Low oil can ruin the bearings and seize the differential. Dealers fitted a modified breather plug. The front differential is part of the All-Trac system.

What else owners filed

With no recall behind them, the biggest complaint areas across all years are hydraulic brakes (21), engine and engine cooling (18) and air bags (17). Air bags top the 1993 and the 1995 lists. The 1994 is led by seat belts, with 6 of its 19. These are small numbers spread across seven model years, so treat them as hints, not patterns.

Previa complaints and recalls by model year

Tallied from NHTSA records on October 10, 2026. A single complaint is filed under 1998, a year the Previa was not sold here; we leave it out.

Keep it running, or let it go?

Get a written quote and set it beside what a running Previa of the same year brings in your area. On a van this old, one large repair often tips the balance.

1. Check the 1991 and 1997 recalls by VIN with a Toyota dealer if you aren't sure the work was done.
2. Parked for years? Our guide to a car sitting for years covers what sitting does to a car and to its paperwork.
3. Title missing? Old vans lose paperwork. Start with selling a junk car with no title.

We have no sourced Previa repair costs, so none are listed here.

Selling your Previa whole

1. Jot down the VIN, what the odometer shows (if it works) and the faults you know of.
2. Get an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Tell us where it sits and what's around it: a side yard, a carport, a gravel drive. Flat tires or brakes that have seized matter to the driver.
4. Leave it in one piece. Don't pull the engine, seats or wheels. Let us know about anything already gone.
5. Pickup day: the driver needs the title and your photo ID. Plates are handled differently from state to state; after you sell has them.

Looking at other Toyota vans? See the Sienna and the earlier Van.