RoadVitals

2023 Toyota Corolla Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
72
Latest Aug 5, 2026
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
12
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
9

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2023 Toyota Corolla, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

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

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Steering

Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage.

16
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while attempting to adjust the steering wheel, the steering column failed to lock into place. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the steering column was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 35,000.

NHTSA ID 11657176 · filed Apr 28, 2025

Description of problem/issue: Dear Reader: I recently purchased a new (certified preowned) vehicle and ever since then I have been experiencing some concerns with its handling on the road. This letter seeks to communicate this matter to the proper establishment for some possible recourse. On level roads while the steering wheel is centered straight up (near/over 40mph), the car tends to automatically glide to the left of the lane or coast quickly to the right and won’t stay centered in the lane very long without driver input to steer the car back to the center of the lane. Then when re-centering the car it roams in the other direction, and so forth (an oscillating effect). The issue is that the car diverts from the center of the lane and to maintain the center of the lane the driver has to constantly work at pulling the vehicle back to center. This is not the type of driving performance that I would expect on a new or certified new vehicle. It is both a nuisance and a hazard having to constantly steer the vehicle to center up in the lane. The car’s auto Lane Assist and Departure Assist and auto Steering Assist features are turned off during this time. And even when all these Driver Assist Features are turned back on the drifting/pulling pattern is quite pronounced or seems to be compensating in my opinion. A Google search of the term “2023 Toyota corolla pulls to both sides” produces some great results as to the possible cause and effect. I have never driven a vehicle that diverts so quickly from its own lane so shortly after the driver’s hand is removed from the steering wheel. Nevertheless, the issues that I pointed out remains very alarming and nerve-racking for me! For safety reasons I’m still not pleased with how the car handles on the road. I wonder if there are any Safety Recalls, current or pending, concerning any of the steering or alignment components/features that would help resolve this problem?

NHTSA ID 11645890 · filed Mar 2, 2025
All 16 reports naming steering

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

15
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

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 · filed Nov 11, 2025

There's an electrical problem going on with all Toyota vehicles coming out with the new navigation system where goes out and keeps rebooting. Multiple times on cars a year have reported this issue. Causes a distraction as screen goes on and off randomly as you drive and backing up. Also without it you can't see your GPS and find routes. Just simple search and there's many complaints about this issue from consumers being affected as fast as 10 miles into owning car to month or six. Not worth repairing as goes out every other month and don't even last a year before goes out.

NHTSA ID 11690127 · filed Sep 27, 2025
All 15 reports naming driver assistance

Electrical

Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.

13
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the infotainment screen unexpectedly turned on and off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the infotainment system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ID 11733654 · filed Apr 24, 2026

I am experiencing persistent and unresolved issues with the infotainment and display system in my Toyota Corolla, primarily involving Apple CarPlay overriding the driver display. Even when I manually disable the setting that allows CarPlay/navigation to take over the display behind the steering wheel, the system does not retain this setting. After turning the car off and restarting it, the navigation/map interface reappears and overrides the driver display again. This behavior is extremely distracting while driving and interferes with my ability to safely view normal vehicle information. It has created multiple situations where I felt at risk of a collision due to unexpected display changes and distraction. In addition, there are ongoing system malfunctions including: •Volume controls becoming unresponsive (the slider does not adjust sound), requiring the system to be restarted to function again. •Intermittent failure of the phone connection/charging port, where the device does not connect properly to the system. A prior software update temporarily addressed one issue, but the core problems persist. I have been attempting to resolve this through Ardmore Toyota dealership in PA for approximately one year without a meaningful fix or access to a qualified technician. This appears to be a recurring software or system defect that affects driver attention and vehicle operation. I am concerned this creates a significant safety risk for myself and others on the road. No one has taken me seriously even after I’ve gone to several Toyota dealerships over and over and I explained my concerns and they promise that I’ll be on a list of waitlist to be seen by a field tech technician however that has never happened and they are refusing to provide assistance.

NHTSA ID 11728956 · filed Apr 2, 2026
All 13 reports naming electrical

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

13
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

after fueling strong fuel smell in vehicle within 100 miles check fuel cap light came on. next day check engine light came on. made appointment at dealership . dealership performed evap smoke test which found smoke coming from top of fuel cell. installed fuel pump ring and evap hose clip. performed evap test and smoke test -passed cleared codes. got car back next day less than 50 miles later ck engine code and fuel cap and fuel odor back.

NHTSA ID 11706705 · filed Dec 23, 2025

I got a message that the engine needs maintenance and I should go to the dealership and have the coolant bypass valve repaired. I see there's a lawsuit against Toyota for a manufacturing defect in that component on 2019-2023 Corollas. I'd like to know if I'll get a refund.

NHTSA ID 11695545 · filed Oct 25, 2025
All 13 reports naming engine

Exterior lighting

Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.

11
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

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 · filed Nov 11, 2025

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 · filed Dec 31, 2024
All 11 reports naming exterior lighting

Brakes

Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.

7
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

On Monday, January 5, 2026 at approximately 3:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, in the middle of stopped traffic (leftmost lane, southbound on Van Nuys Boulevard near the Saticoy Street intersection in Los Angeles, California), the vehicle, a 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE, suddenly started slowly moving backward. The driver pressed on the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. In a panic, the driver removed the key from the ignition, which immobilized the vehicle. While in the middle of traffic, the driver contacted a family member for assistance and the vehicle was towed to the driver's residence. On the following day, January 6, 2026, the vehicle was towed to a service center for inspection. It is unknown if the warning messages observed January 6, 2026 were due to the vehicle being towed. At the service center, a tire was replaced and the brake system was flushed, at the owner's expense. Afterward, the driver continued to operate the vehicle. As of August 5, 2026, this incident had not recurred.

NHTSA ID 11755140 · filed Aug 5, 2026

I have a Hybrid version of the 2023 Corolla in the SE trim. Everytime the car is cold (engine just started), and I'm pressing the brake, I can hear some clicking noises similar to a CV Axle noise when they are bad. That braking noise goes away as the car heat up. The noise is sensitive to speed, it changes frequency with it. I haven't experience loss of brakes but I'm concerned with the noise and the possibility of it.

NHTSA ID 11719548 · filed Feb 21, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Airbags

Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.

6
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

On10/19/2024, the driver was driving down a road that was coming down from a slope and the road curves to the left. As the driver was braking to decrease the speed down to 30mph or below (she was going around 35mph from what she remembers) and turning the steering wheel left, all the curtain air bags deployed, the seatbelt locked and she was unable to turn the steering wheel. She couldn't see due to the airbags and the seatbelt locking her back so when she felt/heard scraping on the right she feared she was going to crash into trees so she yanked as hard as possible to the left and the car then stopped. She remembers that the screen flashed something like an SOS but then it faded. Bystanders helped her out of the car as she was still in the car (she was very shaken) and they tried to put the car in neutral as it was blocking the road to push it but they were unsuccessful as the wheels had locked. The police and a tow truck was called by a bystander. Other than a small scrape on the right fender of the bumper, there was no damage to the car. Nothing was in the road. The bystanders asked her if she had a stroke or some medical issue since there was no collision, no damage notable on the car and the car just stopped on the road. Inside all the curtain bags are deployed. The police officer and the tow truck driver thought that the sensor for rolling might have gotten triggered but there was nothing that they could see that would have triggered it. Toyota was contacted and the insurance company was unsure if this was considered a collision. Toyota wanted to investigate the car themselves and we signed a letter giving them permission to download data and information from the car. We were told they would be sending someone to physically look at the car.

NHTSA ID 11622720 · filed Oct 30, 2024

Recall fixed 8/10/24. Please update NHTSA system.

NHTSA ID 11608092 · filed Aug 12, 2024

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Powertrain (other)

Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.

6
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

On Monday, January 5, 2026 at approximately 3:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, in the middle of stopped traffic (leftmost lane, southbound on Van Nuys Boulevard near the Saticoy Street intersection in Los Angeles, California), the vehicle, a 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE, suddenly started slowly moving backward. The driver pressed on the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. In a panic, the driver removed the key from the ignition, which immobilized the vehicle. While in the middle of traffic, the driver contacted a family member for assistance and the vehicle was towed to the driver's residence. On the following day, January 6, 2026, the vehicle was towed to a service center for inspection. It is unknown if the warning messages observed January 6, 2026 were due to the vehicle being towed. At the service center, a tire was replaced and the brake system was flushed, at the owner's expense. Afterward, the driver continued to operate the vehicle. As of August 5, 2026, this incident had not recurred.

NHTSA ID 11755140 · filed Aug 5, 2026

I purchased a 2023 Toyota Corolla LE as a Toyota Gold Certified Pre-Owned vehicle on March 8, 2026 at 61,387 miles. Within 30 days of purchase I began experiencing the following safety concerns: •Vehicle revs to 5,000-6,000 RPM unexpectedly •Violent jerking while driving •Vehicle stalls On April 7, 2026 I brought the vehicle to the selling dealership. The technician confirmed experiencing the jerking and stalling personally during a test drive but documented it as “common operation” and “operating as designed.” I disagreed with this assessment in writing on their service document. A second Toyota dealership subsequently found cracked motor mounts and transmission mounts in multiple locations on a 3 year old vehicle. Replacement of these components did not resolve the issue. Transmission fluid drained at service was nearly black in color on a Gold Certified vehicle that supposedly passed a 160-point inspection including transmission health check. The vehicle is currently at the dealership unresolved after nearly two weeks. The stalling and RPM surging present a serious safety hazard particularly at highway speeds. I am requesting this be investigated as a potential safety defect.

NHTSA ID 11736927 · filed May 11, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Visibility

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors.

5
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

Component: VISIBILITY / SUN VISOR Vehicle: 2023 Toyota Corolla Both the driver-side and passenger-side sun visors in my 2023 Toyota Corolla have failed within approximately two years of normal use. The visors no longer remain in their intended position and instead fall downward unexpectedly. When this occurs, the visor drops directly into the driver’s field of vision, creating a significant safety hazard by obstructing forward visibility while driving. This condition can happen without warning and requires the driver to physically move the visor out of the way, causing distraction and increasing the risk of an accident. The vehicle has not been modified, damaged, or subjected to abnormal conditions. The visors were used only as intended. Sun exposure is a normal and expected condition for this component, and failure under these circumstances indicates a potential defect in materials or workmanship. Both visors failing in the same manner suggests a systemic issue rather than isolated wear and tear. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealership, where I was initially told the repair would be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. However, the claim was later denied and classified as “wear and tear” due to sun exposure. Given the function of sun visors, this explanation is not reasonable. This issue presents an ongoing safety concern due to impaired driver visibility. I am submitting this complaint so that this defect can be reviewed and tracked for potential broader impact.

NHTSA ID 11729300 · filed Apr 5, 2026

Volume of media from certain apps can't be adjusted. The vehicle says that if media is not playing, the volume can't be adjusted. This can cause distraction while driving and increase risk of a crash. Specific application where this is the case: Youtube audio through an Android Auto connection. Yes it is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of others is at risk, because all Toyota models with this infotainment system function the same way. Drivers may choose to become distracted by their mobile device while trying to adjust the media volume, risking a crash. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealer, however it would be very easy for me to do so. The vehicle has not been inspected by any party outside of the Toyota dealership. When attempting to adjust the volume, the volume level will appear as a numerical value in the infotainment screen ONLY IF there is currently "audio" playing. If there is no "audio" playing, an error message will appear telling the occupant to begin playing audio to adjust the volume. This becomes an issue when using an app like YouTube to play audio. With YouTube Premium, you can set a playlist of music, videos, or podcasts to listen to with the screen of your mobile device off. However, the infotainment system will not detect the audio the speakers is playing AS AUDIO, and will not adjust the volume. This leaves the driver with no choice but to pay for a Spotify, Sirius XM or Youtube Music subscription in order to listen to music or media and adjust the volume safely. Reproduction: Start vehicle. Start Android Auto. Start playing media through YouTube. Attempt to adjust media volume using the dial or buttons in the vehicle. Error message should appear. Only way to adjust volume is to switch to FM/AM Radio, play Spotify or other app to adjust volume and then resume YouTube media (REQUIRES TOUCHING PHONE), or don't use Android Auto and pay for Toyota GPS. HOW TO FIX: Allow volume adjustment at all times.

NHTSA ID 11607954 · filed Aug 12, 2024

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Fuel system

Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

after fueling strong fuel smell in vehicle within 100 miles check fuel cap light came on. next day check engine light came on. made appointment at dealership . dealership performed evap smoke test which found smoke coming from top of fuel cell. installed fuel pump ring and evap hose clip. performed evap test and smoke test -passed cleared codes. got car back next day less than 50 miles later ck engine code and fuel cap and fuel odor back.

NHTSA ID 11706705 · filed Dec 23, 2025

Fuel Injector failed, causing the engine to run extremely rich, misfire, and cause severe drivability issues. Issue occurred just outside vehicle base warranty. Problem was verified and confirmed by vehicle dealership. MIL was illuminated when drivability issue and malfunction started.

NHTSA ID 11603375 · filed Jul 19, 2024

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Seat belts

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

Coming home from work at 9:40pm a deer hit my car. I got no notification from my car about an object near my vehicle. I stopped my car lights were flashing and the operator on my car assist came on about detecting an accident. My cab filled with smoke and a funny smell. I thought the car was on fire. So I jumped out ambulance and cops showed up. My car got towed to Clifton collision in Clifton Texas. Later I found out that the air bags should have deployed . All my seat belts are locked up in the front and back. But no air bag deployment. The air bag light is on. After 4 months of my vehicle in the shop with me making payments and insurance payments still no vehicle back for me. My car sits at Toyota in Waco. Jeff hunter toyota waiting on emcu for the air bags with no eta. All the seatbelts had to be cut out of the car and the air bags replaced. I have called Toyota advocate to try to resolve my problem and still no help from them. This is a major safety concern that could take someone’s life.

NHTSA ID 11550591 · filed Oct 18, 2023

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Body & structure

Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

Component: VISIBILITY / SUN VISOR Vehicle: 2023 Toyota Corolla Both the driver-side and passenger-side sun visors in my 2023 Toyota Corolla have failed within approximately two years of normal use. The visors no longer remain in their intended position and instead fall downward unexpectedly. When this occurs, the visor drops directly into the driver’s field of vision, creating a significant safety hazard by obstructing forward visibility while driving. This condition can happen without warning and requires the driver to physically move the visor out of the way, causing distraction and increasing the risk of an accident. The vehicle has not been modified, damaged, or subjected to abnormal conditions. The visors were used only as intended. Sun exposure is a normal and expected condition for this component, and failure under these circumstances indicates a potential defect in materials or workmanship. Both visors failing in the same manner suggests a systemic issue rather than isolated wear and tear. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealership, where I was initially told the repair would be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. However, the claim was later denied and classified as “wear and tear” due to sun exposure. Given the function of sun visors, this explanation is not reasonable. This issue presents an ongoing safety concern due to impaired driver visibility. I am submitting this complaint so that this defect can be reviewed and tracked for potential broader impact.

NHTSA ID 11729300 · filed Apr 5, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

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.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .