2003 Toyota Corolla problems
The 2003 Toyota Corolla has 860 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (39%) concerns air bags. Next are engine (13%) and cruise control (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 860 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 39% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 143 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 124 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 464 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 | 92 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 50 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 41 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 22 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 65 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 44 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 42 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 29 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 17 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 25 |
| 200k+ miles | 37 |
What the data shows
Of the 464 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 85,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 120,000 miles (120 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 143 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 124 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 84% 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 2003 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 37 model years of the Toyota Corolla with enough data (287 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 safety recall campaigns.
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.
1. Our son was in an end-over-end rollover crash, with his seat belt fastened. 2. The driver's seat bent, ejecting him into the back seat, where his neck was broken. 3. The car was totaled, and he died 20 days later.
Right after the car was hit,the passenger airbag exploded,breaking the front windshield and hitting the driver in the head causing a cut of 7 stitches ,and catching on fire. Airbag never inflated.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota corolla. While driving at speeds of 45 MPH, the cruise control light illuminated. She was unable to deactivate the cruise control since the rpms began increasing excessively. The vehicle abnormally accelerated and would not stop despite her attempts to apply the brakes. The contact was able to shift into neutral gear and continue to apply the brakes. There was smoke present in the vehicle as it began to decrease in speed to 15 MPH.
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 toyota corolla s. The contact was in a crash. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle, after driving approximately 30 MPH, the brake pedal and steering wheel seized. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the vehicle in front. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 153,000.
2003- toyota corolla - check engine light came on about 2 years ago and was reset, just recently came on in april 2009 and not the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. Currently has 119,000 miles on it and needs to have the catalytic converter replaced.