Problems · NHTSA complaints

2025 Toyota Corolla Cross problems

Owners filed 21 complaints about the 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross with NHTSA between Jan 2025 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is forward collision avoidance (4).

Complaints
21
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Forward collision avoidance4
  2. Power train4
  3. Service brakes4
  4. Steering3
  5. Exterior lighting3
  6. Electrical system3
  7. Vehicle speed control2
  8. Engine2
  9. Visibility/wiper1
  10. Back over prevention1
  11. Lane departure1
  12. Other / unknown5

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 6, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
202514
20267

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Forward collision avoidance

4 reports
“The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds with the adaptive cruise control activated and activating the left turn signal to overtake another vehicle, the vehicle immediately accelerated to the set speed before the contact could steer to the left to overtake the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had occurred consistently and primarily while driving on the highway since purchasing the vehicle. During the recent failure the vehicle nearly rear-ended another vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that whenever the brake lights of the vehicle ahead illuminated and the vehicle was in the process of exiting the highway, the automatic emergency braking engaged, nearly causing the vehicle to be rear-ended. The failure mileage was approximately 5.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 29, 2026Forward collision avoidanceODI 11767759

Power train

4 reports
“I turned on the car after it had been sitting in the hot sun for about 4 hours (after a 180 mile trip). When I turned on the vehicle, about a minute into driving (on a gravel driveway), the car started blaring multiple lights and the steering wheel locked. Notifications were “System Failure" & "Electric Power Steering Malfunction - please contact dealer.” The steering wheel completely locked/uncontrollable - 3 others tried to help me. I was going ~5 mph when it happened. I was able to put the car into park & turned it off for 10min. On restart, the car acted normal again. If this happened while driving at a high speed I believe it would result in serious injury or death. This is the second episode. The first time it happened (XXX), Toyota did a full inspection/scan of the car but couldn't reproduce the issue despite confirming it was documented in the car's system log. This time, I emailed toyota same day. The car has now been at dealer for 4 days. They haven’t been able to reproduce the issue despite acknowledging both times that the events are documented in the car's log. The dealer recommended replacing the ECU. Unfortunately, toyota corporate claims they…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 14, 2026Steering, Power train, Unknown or otherODI 11757009

Service brakes

4 reports
“The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle accelerated inadvertently. Additionally, the contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the brakes were inadvertently activated. The contact stated that the driver needed to remain alert while driving the vehicle. The contact no longer feels safe driving the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,600.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 22, 2025Vehicle speed control, Service brakesODI 11682460

Steering

3 reports
“At around 4:20 pm I was turning left at a stop sign (did not put on turning signal) and then about 30 feet later, turning right at a light. This is the same location I have driven for the past month. The car had been on for about 3 minutes after sitting in a hot parking lot all day (104 degrees). All of a sudden (after turning left) but before/during was turning right, the car’s steering wheel locked and transmission just started beeping. I could not turn the steering wheel more than about 5 degrees in either direction, so instead of turning right I had to go straight. No matter what I did the steering wheel would not turn. - I simultaneously got a notification on my dashboard that said “System failure” “system malfunction” [something along those lines]. Multiple lights on my dashboard illuminated in yellow [auto steering symbol, can’t remember what else] and lots of extremely loud beeping. - I to confirm I was not in neutral (I was not, I was still in drive) but I could not do anything besides brake. - I panicked, slammed brakes. Turned car off/stopped. The location was where 2 roads diverged and I had part of the car sticking out into a lane because there was…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 5, 2026Steering, Power trainODI 11748341

Exterior lighting

3 reports
“The tail lights on the SE version are way too small. We have had numerous instances on near rear end collisions due to the size and placement of the SE model tail lights. They are tiny and they only offer much larger, safe taillights on the XSE model. Really do not even understand how the SE taillight configuration is legal.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 13, 2025Exterior lightingODI 11699082

Electrical system

3 reports
“While in park, when vehicle switches from electric idle to engine idle the car lurches forward. This has happened on multiple occasions”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 18, 2025Electrical system, Unknown or other, Service brakesODI 11694235
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 6, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.