1997 Toyota Corolla problems
The 1997 Toyota Corolla has 149 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (26%) concerns seat belts. Next are air bags (21%) and brakes (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 149 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 22 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 23 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 23 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 22 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 88% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 32nd most-complained-about out of 37 model years of the Toyota Corolla with enough data (69 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Father was driving hit a rough spot and the air bag inflated. Driver then hit a bridge and the passager's side air bag inflated as well.
In rain braking system malfunctioned, causing extended stopping distance which resulted in a crash. Will be taking vehicle to dealer.
Air bags failed to deploy upon impact with another vehicle at 45MPH. 17 year old hit steering wheel. Other vehicle in front came to a sudden stop at the time. Front end was crushed backwards towards driver & passenger. Had emergency room treatment.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 toyota corolla. The contact stated that the check engine indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. While driving less than 30 MPH, she depressed the brake pedal with much force and the frontal air bags deployed without warning. She sustained minor lacerations to her arm. The dealer stated that the repair would approximately cost over $1,000 just for the driver's side air bag. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 135,000.
On march 23, 2013, I purchased four new cooper tires from sears auto center in lima, ohio, for my 1997 toyota corolla. The specific tires installed were cooper response touring m+s 175/65r14, DOT u9ex lrc 4110, a08. Since that time, I have driven less than 30,000 miles on the tires and maintained appropriate tire pressure, maintenance, and alignment.