Problems · NHTSA complaints

1997 Toyota Corolla problems

Owners filed 138 complaints about the 1997 Toyota Corolla with NHTSA between Dec 1996 and Jan 2019. The most-cited component is seat belts (38).

Complaints
138
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
22
Reported by owners
Fires
5
Reported by owners
Injuries
23
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Seat belts38
  2. Air bags29
  3. Tires9
  4. Vehicle speed control9
  5. Service brakes, hydraulic8
  6. Electrical system7
  7. Structure6
  8. Power train6
  9. Steering5
  10. Engine and engine cooling5
  11. Visibility4
  12. Fuel system, gasoline3
  13. Latches/locks/linkages3
  14. Suspension2

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 10, 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
19961
199714
199819
199927
200016
200112
20028
20035
20045
20055
20065
20070
20081
20093
20104
20115
20120
20131
20141
20153
20161
20170
20181
20191

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

Seat belts

38 reports1 fire
“MY DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT COME OUT. I HAVE ACTUALLY HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE AND GOT IT FIXED ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO AGO. I PAID OVER 300.00 FOR A MECHANIC SHOP TO COMPLETELY REPLACE MY SEAT BELT. NOW IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN TO THE REPLACEMENT SEAT BELT. I REALLY DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE MY RESPONSIBILITY TO GET THIS SEAT BELT THING FIXED EVERY TWO YEARS BECAUSE OF FAULTY/DEFECTIVE ENGINEERING.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 3, 2015Seat beltsODI 10731876

Air bags

29 reports15 crashes1 related recall
“I WAS SCANNING MY VEHICLE WITH AN OBD2 SCANNER AND LEARNED THAT MY CAR, WHICH I'M NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER, HAS HAD RECALLS AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE BEEN RECTIFIED. ATTACHED ARE SCREENSHOTS OF THE RECALL INFORMATION. THE FIRST ONE HAS ME MORE WORRIED THAN THE OTHER....INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS. PLEASE READ THE DETAILS. THE SECOND (FRONT STRUTS) IS SOMETHING THAT ALSO CONCERNS ME BECAUSE OF ITS LACK OF SHOCK ABSORPTION. MY VIN# [XXX] (ALSO ON THE SCREENSHOTS) IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY OF MY VEHICLE AND WHETHER OR NOT THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN RESOLVED, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 24, 2018Suspension, Air bagsODI 11097722

Tires

9 reports1 crash
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA EQUIPPED WITH COOPER RESPONSE TOURING TIRES, SIZE: 175/65/R14. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE CONTACT FELT A VIBRATION COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT. IN ADDITION, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY FORCE TO THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT PREVIOUSLY NOTICED BUBBLES ON THE SIDEWALLS OF BOTH FRONT AND REAR PASSENGER TIRES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,000 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 25, 2015Steering, TiresODI 10777736

Vehicle speed control

9 reports3 crashes
“I EXPERIENCE SUDDEN ACCELERATION ON MY TOYOTA COROLLA 1997 WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ACTIVE AND SET ON SPEED. IT HAPPENED ABOUT 4 TIMES OVERT HE LAST THREE YEARS AND I CAN CORRECT IT BY TURNING OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL. SOMETIMES IT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN I SET THE SPEED AND SOMETIMES WOULD HAPPEN WHEN I ACCELERATE WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL SET ON SPEED. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 13, 2010Vehicle speed controlODI 10319446

Service brakes, hydraulic

8 reports1 crash
“REAR BRAKES HAVE WORN OUT TWICE ALREADY AND I AM STILL ON THE ORIGINAL FRONT BRAKES PADS. DEALER IS NOT ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHY. REPLACING ALL REAR BRAKE COMPONENTS.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 24, 2002Service brakes, hydraulicODI 764687

Electrical system

7 reports3 fires
“I AM EXPERIENCING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS W/MY DASH AND SPOILER(DOESN'T LIGHT UP FULLY, CAUSING DIFFICULTY TO SEE GRAPHICS DURING NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING DRIVING.) ALL FUSES HAVE BEEN CHECKED/REPLACED, HOWEVER THIS PROBLEM STILL PERSIST. ADVISED PER DEALERSHIP TO DISCONNECT SPOILER LIGHT DUE TO IT "ONLY BEING COSMETIC". ALSO EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS W/ODORS FROM AIR CONDITIONING COMING INSIDE THE VEHICLE. I WAS ADVISED THESE ODORS WOULD SUBSIDE, DUE TO SERVICE MAINTENANCE OF AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. THESE EXPENSES HAVE PROVEN TO BE COSTLY. NEVER HAVE I BEEN ADVISED/NOTIFIED OF ANY RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE. EVEN DURING REPAIR FROM DEALERSHIP,I WASN'T ADVISED THE ABOVE ITEMS WERE BEING QUESTIONED.*JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 5, 2006Electrical systemODI 10151826
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

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