2020 Toyota Corolla Brakes Problems

I am having a problem with my 2020 Toyota Corolla's brakes. I live in [XXX] . In the winter when the car is cold the brakes work normally. When the car has been driven for a while, the car has warmed up, and the brake fluid has thinned, the brakes behave abnormally. When I stop at a red light, after 20 to 40 seconds, the brake pedal slowly drops towards the floor. My understanding is that this could indicate a problem with the master brake cylinder. My fear is that there could be a sudden failure of the cylinder causing an accident. I brought the car to Rudy Luther Toyota in Golden Valley. When I brought the car in, it was warm and the brakes were malfunctioning. Unfortunately, they let the car sit for several hours, the brake fluid cooled, and the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11719920

Incident

Jan 5, 2026

Clutch slave cylinder started leaking leading to a sticking clutch pedal, making it difficult to engage the transmission with the engine, and a lower brake/clutch fluid level which could have caused braking issues if the fluid got too low.

NHTSA ID

11711259

Incident

Dec 21, 2025

Beginning on April 18, 2025, my 2020 Toyota Corolla LE began experiencing repeated failures involving multiple safety systems while driving. Without warning, several lights illuminate at the same time, including: Brake System Malfunction, Pre-Collision System, Parking Brake System, Vehicle Stability Control, Check Engine, and Secondary Collision Brake System. These warnings appear suddenly during normal driving, then sometimes disappear, then return again unpredictably. These failures disable several integrated safety systems and create a serious safety risk due to changes in braking performance, loss of stability control, and disabled collision-avoidance functions. Diagnostic scans from both the dealership and an independent mechanic repeatedly show: P1578 — Brake System Malfunction P265B — Rocker Arm Actuator Position Sensor Circuit Range/Performance (Bank 1) Both codes reappear even after being cleared. The vehicle was with Loving Toyota Lufkin, TX multiple times over seven months. They received over $7,100 in insurance payments for repairs, $463 towing cost (due to the negligence of Loving Toyota) and almost $1,500 in rental cars (Paid by State Farm) but were unable to diagnose or fix the underlying failure. Loving Toyota also provided a courtesy rental for 7+ weeks while they did no repairs to the car. The safety warnings continue to occur. Toyota Corporate is now involved but the vehicle remains unsafe to drive. The same code P265B is present that was present back in April 2025. This car is not safe! The problem has been reproduced by me, the dealership, and an independent shop. The vehicle is available for inspection. All scans, photos, videos, and documentation are available upon request. Date first occurred: April 18, 2025 Issue continues intermittently to present day

NHTSA ID

11700972

Incident

Apr 18, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH and making a left turn, the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated ad the vehicle stopped independently. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the braking function resumed, and the contact was able to continue driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the Forward Collision Avoidance was functioning correctly and there were no failure found with the brakes. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact reported that the vehicle had started to shake abnormally while driving at speeds under 40 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle back to a dealer or mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.

NHTSA ID

11675119

Incident

Jul 14, 2025

Mileage

116,000 mi

The anti-lock brake system (ABS) malfunctioned when the vehicle was still very new, with only 25,000 miles. Diagnostics from two independent service centers confirmed that the ABS electronic control unit is failing due to an external failure. Both specialists stated that such a failure is highly uncommon and is a clear quality issue related to the electronic components. A critical system like ABS should not fail this early, raising serious concerns about the durability and reliability of the vehicle’s braking system.

NHTSA ID

11650642

Incident

May 31, 2024

At 4 years and 1/2 old car 2020 Corolla XSE an Engine Maintenance Required SEE DEALER light turned on. Did diagnostic with OBD 2 scanner at two locations auto body shop and Uto zone. Nothing appears. It is in fact a NEEDED future recall since thousands if not more people have encountered the same. It is a Coolant By Pass Valve. Cost is only $99.53 + tax at dealer. Problem is that should be under warranty or extended warranty or recall. Dealer likes to charge $800 (180-200 for diagnostic, $110 part, $400 labor. Part only takes 30 minutes to install. I should be able to buy at dealer for $110 and have them install for free or pay 30 minutes of work time = $85. 1 hour is about $175. So instead of trying to be billed $800 I should only be billed for $85 labor (30 minutes) + $110 part = Brand total of $105 USD. My daughter [XXX] and I, [XXX] (dad) bought the car at Longo Toyota El Monte, CA 91731. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11586995

Incident

May 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter was shifted to drive and then reverse, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The vehicle was diagnosed with a locked cylinder. The dealer stated that there was recall for the failure however, the vehicle had exceeded the mileage limitation. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V544000 (Electronic Stability Control, Service Brakes) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,249.

NHTSA ID

11568792

Incident

Jan 27, 2024

Mileage

90,249 mi

I had to replace all four tires before reaching 40k miles. Brakes needed to be fully replaced with only two years of driving it. AND Engine Maintenance Light on for an issue with the coolant bypass valve, not covered under warranty. This is causing issues with the engine, when driving even at 25 miles per hour or at 65 the car sounds like its dragging or forcing itself, the wheel shake & car feels unbalanced even with a tire alignment. Overall i give the car a 2.5 out 5 star in performance. The body of the car is so fragile and made by very cheap materials. Spending a fortune on this vehicle and it hasnt even reached 60k miles yet.

NHTSA ID

11546144

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

I was going to work on 12/15/2022. There was a stop sign and I needed to take a right turn in order to join the freeway-10 east highway to head on to work. it was about 6: 40 am approximate time. There were too many cars ahead of me at the stop sign. My brakes failed to hold on while I waited for my turn. There were at least 3-4 cars ahead of me. Therefore I did not want to hurt anyone or any other car ahead of me. Therefore I veered off to my right-hand side where there was some space and tried to stop the car but it did not do so. Therefore, My car had to hit the high-way pole to come to a stop. The airbags deployed and hit me more to my right side. The car got totaled as per California casualty insurance information. I am glad to be alive. I went later to the hospital as there were no direct visible injuries.

NHTSA ID

11512454

Incident

Dec 15, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and making a right turn, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that she shifted to park(P) and heard an abnormal noise. The contact stated that the vehicle continued to move forward until reaching the curb. The contact stated she had experienced the failure two times. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

NHTSA ID

11509245

Incident

Feb 25, 2023

Mileage

36,000 mi

While operating our 2020 Toyota Corolla hybrid at a slow speed in a parking lot, we began to apply the brakes as we pulled into a parking stall. As the brakes were applied , the vehicle suddenly lunged forward with abrupt force. Both tires left acceleration marks on the painted concrete curb and the vehicle struck a large concrete pillar with such force that the pillar was partially dislodged from the ground. The vehicle was brought to a Toyota dealership and the sales management was notified of the incident. We also filed complaint with the Toyota Corporation. We were contacted by a Toyota Corporation representative and were told that they would conduct the vehicle inspection. Several weeks later we received a letter from the Toyota Corporation legal department which informed us of their findings. The letter conveyed that no defect was discovered and the incident had not been captured in the vehicle's computer. We informed the Toyota dealership of the results. The only assistance offered was their willingness to sell the vehicle at auction, which we adamantly declined. At this time we are making arrangements to have the vehicle towed to a recycling lot for destruction.

NHTSA ID

11502761

Incident

Nov 30, 2022

Front passenger side brake caliper was rusted and seized. At the time of this issue the car is two years old and had 40k miles. The car has lived its entire life in western North Carolina with me being its only owner. It has never been driven in salty conditions other than twice to the beach. The dealership refused to fix this safety issue under the platinum warranty I purchased because it is "Enviromental". This is a major safety concern. I have a 1997 suburban which gets drove in salty conditions every winter and has never one had an issue with its calipers or any operational part rusting.

NHTSA ID

11489911

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

2020 Toyota Corolla EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) Issue. The message "EPB Shift Interlock Function Activated" is being shown since last few months. This message never appeared in the past 2.5 yrs since I purchased the car, started showing up up only now. I took it to the dealership and they asked to keep brakes pressed while starting the car. I now keep my brakes pressed and start the car, and still I keep getting this error message. I have documented this issue and is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTXosvPffMo Please help Toyota help address this issue. Not sure something is not working as expected in the car or if something is started to fail in the car with EPB and so it's showing up the message. The message looks like information message and looks like harmless message, but why its showing up now, i.e after 2.5 yrs of use and never before. So, that's needs to be investigated, if there is any long term impact.

NHTSA ID

11478757

Incident

Jun 1, 2022

While driving my car it turned off and it was hard for me to turn and all my lights was hard to steer and all the lights on the dash board turned on and they was not turning off and I got in. A wreck by me not being able to turn and hit a bush and my car got total

NHTSA ID

11444560

Incident

Sep 4, 2021

WAS ON A HEAD ON COLLISION THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO OPEN NO BREAKS OR INDICATION THAT THE BREAKS WERE FAILING.ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE SHOP SHORTLY AFTER THE BATTERY EXPLODED SED .NOW THE CARE IS TOTALLY FOR ALL THE FROND END DAMAGE AND THE COST OF THE BATTER WOULD BE TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.I WAS DRIVING INTERSTATE 15 IN RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA REAR END THE CAR IN FRONT.

NHTSA ID

11383548

Incident

Nov 23, 2020

HAS TWO ISSUES ONE WHEN BREAKING FROM 45PH OR SO IT SKIDS AND BRAKES SKIP BAD SECOND ISSUE WHEN THE AUTO BREAKING IS ON, AND WHEN CAR BREAKS IN FRONT OF YOU IT STOPS NO PROBLEM, BUT THEN IT JUST STARTS MOVING AGAIN AND WHEN YOU TRY TO STOP IT WON'T LET YOU.

NHTSA ID

11365299

Incident

Oct 12, 2020

Mileage

7,000 mi

ON SLOW BRAKING AT SPEEDS LIKE 1-2MPH, THE PEDAL VIBRATES WITH SPRING EFFECT. THE ISSUE IS WITH BRAKE PEDAL SPRING WHICH TOYOTA IS NOT READY TO FIX. SHOWN TO DEALERSHIP, AND SERVICE DIRECTOR AT DEALERSHIP SAID THEY CANNOT REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AND SENT ME AWAY. SECOND TIME, I FILED COMPLAINT AND HAD TOYOTA TECH HAD A LOOK ON IT, THE DEALERSHIP DIRECTOR THEN UPDATED ME SAYING THAT TOYOTA TECH WAS ABLE TO FEEL THE SPRING VIBRATION AND THEY DON'T HAVE A FIX FOR IT NOW AND THE SPRINT VIBRATION EXISTS ON ALL NEW 2020 MODEL TOYOTA COROLLA'S. REQUEST TOYOTA TO ISSUE A FIX FOR THIS AND ADDRESS THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11355681

Incident

May 31, 2020

Mileage

3,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A HILL APPROACHING A STOP SIGN WHEN MY BRAKES GAVE OUT AND STOPPED WORKING THE ROAD WAS DAMP AND IT WAS SLIGHT RAIN. I PRESSED DOWN ON MY BRAKES 5 TIMES AND NOTHING HAPPENED TO MAKE THE CAR STOP SO MY CAR KEPT DRIVING TOWARDS A DITCH AND I ALMOST FELL OFF A HILL INTO MORE TREES.

NHTSA ID

11350781

Incident

Aug 21, 2020

Mileage

3,000 mi

I'VE BEEN BEGINNING TO HEAR A NOISE IN MY BREAKS I ASKED A MECHANIC AND HE SAID IT'S TOO SOON FOR MY NEW CAR TO HAVE BREAK PROBLEMS HE SAID HE'S NEVER HEARD SUCH THE WEIRD NOISE BEFORE ESPECIALLY ON A NEW CAR

NHTSA ID

11321589

Incident

Apr 2, 2020

Mileage

16,000 mi

WILL DRIVING THE CAR DECELERATED AND WOULD NOT GO PASS 20MPH. BREAK,ENGINE,ECT. LIGHTS TURNED ON. THE CAR HAS ONLY 1345 MILES. SO FAR IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE. SECOND TIME GOING TO THE DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA ID

11288777

Incident

Nov 19, 2019

Mileage

1,345 mi

EXITING FREEWAY. MADE A LEFT. SLOWED DOWN AT RED LIGHT. REALIZED THE CAR WASN'T STOPPING. SLAMMED BRAKE PEDAL TO FLOOR. CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE AND HIT ANOTHER CAR. POLICE REPORT MADE. COLLISION LOCATION AT 3520 MASSACHUSETTS AVE, LEMON GROVE, CA 91945. THIS IS A NEW CAR AND NO REASON FOR BRAKES TO NOT BE WORKING.

NHTSA ID

11266950

Incident

Oct 6, 2019

Mileage

2,093 mi

WE BOUGHT THE CAR ON 07-29-19 AND ON 08-04-19 WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM MARYLAND THE CAR SENSOR LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING AFTER ONLY 250 MILES ON THE CAR. THE FLASHING LIGHTS WERE FOR BRAKES AND PARKING BRAKE, LANE DEPARTURE AND ASSIST, BACK UP AND FRONT CAMERA, CHECK ENGINE, TIRE PRESSURE, HEAD LIGHTS, AND RSA MALFUNCTIONS. BASICALLY THE ENTIRE SAFETY SYSTEM OF THE CAR MALFUNCTIONED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THIS HAPPENED ON FIVE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING IT. 7-29-19, 8-2, 5, 9-19 AND THE CAR WAS IN MOTION EACH TIME WHILE ON A HIGHWAY. I HAD IT TO THE DEALER TWICE AND THEY ARE STILL WORKING ON IT. THE FIRST TIME THEY SAID THE CAR NEEDED TO BE REPROGRAMMED AND THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THE SECOND TIME THE SERVICE MANAGER IS CLAIMING IT IS A WIRE WHICH I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE SINCE THERE ARE MULTIPLE CODES AND I DON'T THINK THEY ALL GO THROUGH ONE WIRE. OUR FAMILY DOES NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR WHEN ALL OF THESE LIGHTS ARE FLASHING AND NOT KNOWING IF THE CAR IS SAFE TO DRIVE AND IF THE SAFETY FEATURES IN THE CAR WILL OPERATE PROPERLY. I HAVE VIDEO AND PICTURES OF THE CODES THAT WERE FLASHING IF NEEDED. I COULD NOT UPLOAD THEM DUE TO THE SIZE OF THE FILES.

NHTSA ID

11243453

Incident

Aug 2, 2019

Mileage

250 mi