Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.
Fuel economy
29 mpgcombined; city 27, highway 31; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$11,200U.S. average; Ohio $10,010 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
Owners have filed 35 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 C-HR. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.
Complaints by part of the car
Part
Complaints
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Power train
16
0
0
0
Unknown or other
7
0
0
0
Electrical system
5
0
0
0
Forward collision avoidance
4
1
0
2
Seat belts
3
1
0
1
Air bags
2
2
0
1
Engine
2
0
0
0
Fuel/propulsion system
2
0
0
0
Lane departure
2
0
0
0
Service brakes
2
1
0
1
Back over prevention
1
1
0
0
Seats
1
0
0
0
3 more parts
Steering
1
0
0
0
Vehicle speed control
1
1
0
0
Visibility
1
0
0
0
Complaints by model year
Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2021 C-HR over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021 C-HR vehicles. The radar sensor may not have been activated during production, making the pre-collision system (PCS) inoperative.
Risk: An inoperative PCS that does not provide a malfunction indicator to the driver, or braking assist as expected, can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and activate the radar sensor as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2022. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 22TA02.
Carmakers sent NHTSA 106 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2021 C-HR, the latest on Jan 30, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.
The parts they mention most: equipment (36), electrical system (31), structure (26), seat belts (7), unknown or other (7).
NHTSA hasn't opened a defect investigation that covers this model year.
Maintenance
Oil
The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2021 C-HR.
These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.
Specs
EPA class: compact cars. EPA greenhouse gas score: 6 out of 10. Each version EPA tested:
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Version
Engine
Transmission
Fuel
City / hwy / comb
C-HR Front-Wheel Drive
2.0 L, 4 cyl
Automatic (AV-S7)
Regular Gasoline
27 / 31 / 29
Sources and dates
U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026
Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data