Modern cars are equipped with a bunch of systems, sensors, and technologies in general, thus increasing the risk of problems. However, in the largest car market in Europe, in Germany, cars were not increased. «sensitivity» damage, according to the results of ADAC statistical damage for 2026, after evaluation in 158 different models from 27 car manufacturers.
Reduction of problems
For example, 2015, the probability of damage to vehicles five years old was 3.6% and 2025 was 2.1%. For ten-year-old cars, it decreased from 6.5% to 3.1% – therefore, the sensitivity to defects has decreased to half in the ten-year period. At the same time the average age of all registered cars (in Germany) has steadily increased between 2014 and 2025 – from just over 8 years in 2014 to about 11 years in 2025. Information in Greece reaches 18 years, most of all EU countries. At the same time, the average age of road assistance vehicles, i.e. those actually receiving assistance from the ADAC road assistance service, has also increased: from about 11 years in 2014 to nearly 14 years in 2025. The average age of road damage increases therefore continuously and remains stable above the overall age of the vehicle.
What causes most problems?
The Start battery consistently causes most problems: in 2015, for example, 35.7% of the damage was due to the 12 volt battery. In the current year 2025, 45.4% of the damage was attributed to a licensed battery (compared to 44.9% last year). Thus, a weak or defective vehicle battery remains the most frequent cause of damage compared to all other groups of components, both then and now. The second most common cause of damage is engine problems or failures in engine electronics (21.8%). Far behind are the malfunctions associated with the starter, alternator, electrical system or lighting (10.4%). The investigation included all damage incurred during the year 2025 involving vehicles aged between 2 and 9 (i.e., first classified between 2016 and 2023).
High damage Toyota
What caused more impression in ADAC's damage statistics is low performance of Toyota models over the last three years. This applies to almost all years of construction of Toyota C-HR and RAV4 The Commission's proposal for a Directive on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes Yaris and Yaris Cross, are mainly affected in the most recent years of construction. These damage rates are amazing, because the Toyota brand has, in the past, rightly earned its reputation for building cars that have excellent reliability. The cause of damage to all models is one defective start batteryToyota has implemented corrective measures since February 2024. However, the new damage statistics confirm no improvement – the damage rates for affected Yaris, Yaris Cross, RAV4 and C-HR models remain very high in 2025, indicating a very high probability of damage.
What Toyota stated about:
«Starting with Toyota Yaris and Toyota Yaris Cross in November 2024, we have gradually introduced larger batteries in all vehicles, which are particularly suitable for drivers who make a few kilometers. Since February 2026, this also applies to models Toyota Corolla and Toyota C-HR». Unfortunately, the current ADAC report does not yet reflect this, as the most recent vehicles included in damage statistics were classified in 2023. However, guarantee data already show a significant decrease of over 90% for Yaris and Yaris Cross models built from November 2024 onwards.
We continue to work to reduce the problem and in February 2025 we started a Software update for Toyota RAV4, which will soon be available for ex post placement in Toyota's workshops. Similar software updates are already planned for other models. For all models monitoring the 12V battery through the MyToyota application has been further improved and has been available online since October 2025. The first warning recommends either driving the vehicle or charging the battery using an external charger. If this warning appears repeatedly, we recommend that the customer check his battery to a dealer. It will then be replaced free of charge within the three-year warranty period of a new car. In addition to the warranty period, we will make clemency decisions for our customers on a case-by-case basis.
