RoadVitals

2023 Toyota Corolla Exterior lighting Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Exterior lighting reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
11
Latest Nov 11, 2025
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
15%
of 72 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2023 Toyota Corolla submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming exterior lighting

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistanceExterior lighting
Filed Nov 11, 2025

Moisture and water got into the front head light causing it to go out . The blinker , low light and bright light on front driver went out while I was on the highway.

NHTSA ID
11698825
Incident
Oct 16, 2025
Exterior lighting
Filed Dec 31, 2024

When driving at night, there is a shadow in the headlight, that shines onto the road and makes driving at night difficult. This shadow looks like it comes from a tall screw or bolt in both headlights. The lights work correctly, but the shadow causes the driver to have a dark "spot" in the beam of light, which then makes it hard to see clearly while driving in dusk, or darkening circumstances. I took the vehicle in to the Toyota Dealer where I bought it and had them investigate this. They said they couldn't repair it, as it was part of the construction of the headlight itself. The Toyota repair people did see the shadow when the lights were turned on to face a wall in a darkened garage bay.

NHTSA ID
11633441
Incident
Dec 19, 2022
Exterior lighting
Filed Sep 12, 2024

I would like to raise a concern regarding the headlight shadow issue in the 2023 Toyota Corolla. Specifically, there are noticeable dark spots or shadows when using the low beams, which significantly obscure portions of the road during night driving. I believe this is a design flaw in the vehicle’s lighting system. My parents, aged [XXX] and [XXX] , have found this shadow effect to be particularly challenging, making it difficult and unsafe for them to drive at night. Additionally, I understand that many other 2023 Toyota Corolla owners have expressed similar complaints, which further suggests this issue is widespread and deserves attention. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11614122
Incident
Sep 11, 2024
Exterior lighting
Filed Jan 5, 2024

I purchased this car new from Toyota. The first time I drove it at night the lights were not bright enough. You don't test drive them at night. They are OK if you are driving in the city where it is all lit up. On darker freeways and roads, the lights are horrible, even if the bright lights are on. I live in East San Diego, Blossom Valley, it is dangerous! I paid cash for this car, I took it to the dealership right away. They were rude to me, They said they were new led lights, bulbs can't be changed. When I'm turning it is dark. I've had a new car every 3 years, and never had horrible lighting. Toyota doesn't care.

NHTSA ID
11563853
Incident
Jan 5, 2024
Exterior lighting
Filed Oct 5, 2023

Low beam lights have a shadow that moves as car turns or goes up/down hills. When driving in dark back roads I see a line of shadow about 30’ ahead of me blacking out entire view. When high beams are on the shadow disappears. Bought car yesterday. Advised salesman. Will make appt to have it looked at. I have a video but it is failing to download.

NHTSA ID
11548513
Incident
Oct 4, 2023
Driver assistanceExterior lightingVisibility
Filed Oct 4, 2023

Low beam headlights have shadows that prevent me from seeing all roadway at night. vehicle has presented at the dealership in 6/07/23, but they failed to correct this potentially safety hazard issue. The issue did cause me to hit a piece of wood in the HYW causing an accident with a result of 2 damage tires and 1ring. I will present the vehicle again in 10-11 -23, but in advance one of the guys told me. is something that they don't have nothing to do because is something normal in some corolla. that alert me to start my investigation. Now I can see, I don't are the only one with this problem. Is a new car.

NHTSA ID
11548293
Incident
May 23, 2023
Exterior lighting
Filed Sep 13, 2023

Low beam headlights have shadows that prevent me from seeing all of the roadway at night. Vehicle has been presented to multiple dealerships that have failed to correct this potentially dangerous issue. The last dealership stated it was "normal" and no fix is available. The issue did cause me to hit a tire on the interstate earlier this year and continues to make night driving hazardous. I will continue to present the issue to my Toyota dealer to have the issue fixed. Future updates will be provided on this issue.

NHTSA ID
11544225
Incident
Sep 13, 2023
Exterior lightingPowertrain (other)Visibility
Filed Aug 7, 2023

Problem 1 there is insufficient visibility of the road at night to drive the car safely. The local police officer helped me measure the distance of road visibility from the front of the car and it was 78 feet. At night with the lights on the top 3/4 of the windshield appears black (opaque) - cannot be seen through. I can only see through the bottom 1/4 of the windshield (left to right, the whole width). Problem 2 the transmission had to be replaced. Problem 3 the computer console only connects to the cell phone 25% of the time. This prevents the ability to use GPS and emergency phone calling while driving. Toyota said there is no problem with the visibility, that the police is incorrect, and there is a known defect with the computer connecting to android phones (after they insisted it was fine). I've been a wreck over this - I don't feel safe driving the car, and can't drive it at night. Toyota has said there's nothing they are planning to do to address these issues, except perphaps there will be software fix for the console/phone connection problem someday. FYI I have all the repair documents but didn't know how to scan/upload them here. So let me know if you need these, and perhaps some other way I could get them to you. If there is an email address I could send pictures of them. Or you could obtain these from Lexington Toyota (Lexington MA). There was also a driving video at nighttime, and I have a video/audio of the transmission womp womp noise, but didn't know how to get those to you either.

NHTSA ID
11536926
Incident
May 24, 2023
Exterior lighting
Filed Jun 16, 2023

The low beam headlights have dark shadows which prevent me from seeing the left side of the roadway. I took the vehicle to the dealer and had low beams adjusted. After the adjustment I was constantly flashed by on coming drivers to lower my headlight beams which were already on low beams. Due to blinding oncoming drivers the lights were adjusted back down and the dark shadows returned. I have already hit a tire in the road on the interstate due to not seeing it because of the shadows. The low beam headlights make driving at night DANGEROUS. An acceptable resolution would be to adjust low beams so I can see without blinding oncoming drivers like in all other cars I've owned. I hit the tire approximately around the beginning of June.

NHTSA ID
11527314
Incident
Jun 1, 2023
Exterior lighting
Filed May 21, 2023

The shadows are serious issue. They are distractive, annoying, irritating and dangerous. It is a safety issue. As car go up and down on the road, they are longer or shorter (because of the light angle) . They are tiring and fatiguing. Eyes are drawn to it at night. Constant distraction. Not acceptable on a new car. Problem reported to the dealer. Dealer won't do anything. Went to 2nd dealer. They told me that all the 2023 Corollas have this problem and won't do anything. Case filed with Toyota. Case # 2304 11000333. No reply for 2 months. After talking to other 2023 Corolla owners, they don't have that problem. Also, the car still have the same problem with blind spot since 2019 (according to Toyota "by design"). However shadows are problem.

NHTSA ID
11523079
Incident
Mar 25, 2023
Exterior lighting
Filed Mar 8, 2023

2023 corolla is having some issue with headlights [Low Beams]. I understood from Toyota that this is an safety feature which is designed as per the rules. This is an good idea and i am not denying it. The issue which i have is the person who is driving this car is not having clear view on the Road. The shadow's is completely hiding the left lane. If we are driving in full dark road, and towards left there is an divider, we are not able to get an clear view of the road where the divider is starting / ending. This is going to be an serious issue. I have not seen this kind of shadow in any other cars so far driven. The shadow is also much distractive.

NHTSA ID
11510792
Incident
Mar 8, 2023

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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