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2021 Toyota Corolla

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Toyota Corolla do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 129.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 25 of 185 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 52 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 40 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports2 fire reports10 injury reports

What owners actually said

185 reports
Mileage unknown · Oct 13, 2023
Tires

Primewell PS830 205/55/R16 - These tires were discontinued by the manufacturer one or two years ago and replaced with an upgraded tire because of tread skid and wear issues. The tires were on a Certified Used Toyota Corolla I purchased on September 29, 2023 from Toyota of Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL. I mentioned on the test driv…

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Primewell PS830 205/55/R16 - These tires were discontinued by the manufacturer one or two years ago and replaced with an upgraded tire because of tread skid and wear issues. The tires were on a Certified Used Toyota Corolla I purchased on September 29, 2023 from Toyota of Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL. I mentioned on the test drive that the brakes were making noise at every stop, with an occasional thud sound. The salesman, Dustin Dolan, first told me the noise was because the car hadn't been driven recently, then that the noise was normal and then that he agreed the sound wasn't right. He said he'd have the brakes "looked at." They weren't. The car consistently made skidding noises when braking. The dealer continued to tell me the brakes were fine and the tires were fine because they would never sell at car with unsafe tires. I also found a slit in the rear passenger sidewall. Took car to a reputable dealer. They found the tires with uneven wear and choppy condition. They also discovered rusted rotors. They repaired the brakes and replaced the unsafe, discontinued tires with new tires.

NHTSA ODI #11549845

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2023
Electrical SystemExterior LightingWheels

I am making a complaint about my 2021 corolla SE because I am constantly running into issues that cost and are not my fault as to why these issues have come about. I bought my car in March 2021, in May 2021 my car hit a bump in the highway and cracked my rim and bust my tire. Luckily I have alloy and tire coverage so I did not h…

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I am making a complaint about my 2021 corolla SE because I am constantly running into issues that cost and are not my fault as to why these issues have come about. I bought my car in March 2021, in May 2021 my car hit a bump in the highway and cracked my rim and bust my tire. Luckily I have alloy and tire coverage so I did not have to come out of my pocket. Next, my two front tires are constantly wearing down on the inside of the tread making the wires be exposed and causing me to have a blow out or needing to replace my tires at least 4 to 5 times since I have had my car. My car only has 71,000 on it to need that many tires replaced. I go and get my car serviced where I purchased my car at the toyota dealer so If I needed and alignment or tires rotated they would have let me know that and the only time I was informed I needed an alignment was when I got all new tires. Then, in November of 2022 my front lighting sytem when completely out ( signals lights, blinkers, brake lights, etc. I went to get it checked on and the dealer made me feel as if I had an entire electrical issue going on with my car and I would have to pay $160 x2 in order for them to just figure out what was wrong with my practically new vehicle. They came back and explained it was only a fuse and the fuse is $5 but still attempted to charge me for diagnostics. After this encounter I had to be ugly just to not come out of pocket for a large sum. At that visit there was an "engine malfunction" light on as well that they did not mend and continues to blink to this date. Prior to my last servicing appointment last week my entire radio system went out ( backup camera, radio, gps system, bluetooth). I was told at the dealer that I would have to pay $160 for them to diagnose my issue and and then pay for the repair. I asked my service manager if there were any recalls on my car for these issues and he stated no but as for the 2022-2023 models there are recalls. I need help with this.

NHTSA ODI #11544433

Mileage unknown · Aug 25, 2023
Engine

I went in after my vehicle displayed a check engine code after my recent visit to the dealer which included a regular oil change plus multi point inspection. At 51k miles the check engine went on and said immediately to go to the dealer. After paying for the dealer inspection, which was extra money, the issue was the engine cool…

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I went in after my vehicle displayed a check engine code after my recent visit to the dealer which included a regular oil change plus multi point inspection. At 51k miles the check engine went on and said immediately to go to the dealer. After paying for the dealer inspection, which was extra money, the issue was the engine coolant bypass valve for my vehicle that failed and leaked. I asked if this was common and the dealer said yes since they've been replacing them. I checked online forums and hundreds of people have had this issue at random miles. This costed me over $900 dollars to repair and could of damaged my cars engine leaving me without a vehicle or cause a safety accident. I paid a hefty bill for a faulty item that should have been recalled since it's quite "common" according to the toyota dealership. I regularly maintain my vehicle with the recommended maintenance and this should have not occurred.

NHTSA ODI #11540850

55,000 miles · Jul 10, 2023
Air BagsFire

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, upon approaching it, he observed flames emanating from both the driver's and passenger's side air bags, overtaking the entire dashboard. The local fire department arrived and was able to extinguish the flames. Both police and fire repor…

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The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, upon approaching it, he observed flames emanating from both the driver's and passenger's side air bags, overtaking the entire dashboard. The local fire department arrived and was able to extinguish the flames. Both police and fire reports were filed following the fire, but no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic but instead towed to a tow yard. The vehicle was not repaired pending an insurance claim. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

NHTSA ODI #11531363

5,000 miles · May 9, 2023
Air BagsSeat BeltsCrashInjury

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while at a stop light in the turning lane, another vehicle rear-ended the contact, causing minor damages to the rear bumper of the vehicle. The contact was unsure of the damages to the other vehicle. No air bags deploy. The contact stated that the front driver side and f…

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The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while at a stop light in the turning lane, another vehicle rear-ended the contact, causing minor damages to the rear bumper of the vehicle. The contact was unsure of the damages to the other vehicle. No air bags deploy. The contact stated that the front driver side and front passenger side seat belts did not restrain causing both the contact and the passenger to strike their head. The contact noise was broken along with other head, eyes, and face injuries and the passenger also head and eyes injuries, both the contact and passenger sought medical attention and were transported to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not towed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided and advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 5,000.

NHTSA ODI #11521142

Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2023
Unknown Or OtherCrash

I was parked in my parking space I reversed into the space. I left the car running in park to dispose of trash. When I come back to my car to retrieve my cell phone and key out of the ignition. When the car turned off, the car began to roll down as my space is at a slight decline and the result of this was me bumping into a moto…

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I was parked in my parking space I reversed into the space. I left the car running in park to dispose of trash. When I come back to my car to retrieve my cell phone and key out of the ignition. When the car turned off, the car began to roll down as my space is at a slight decline and the result of this was me bumping into a motorcycle who is parked directly across from my spot. I attempted to brake and I wasn’t able to steer as I had vehicles to my left and right and this happened in a distance of maybe 20-25 ft. The other party was notified no one was hurt but both my vehicle and his bike took damage. I have damage to my front grill because of this malfunction. This has never happened before but as this is a new car, this concerns me greatly and has been brought to Toyota’s attention. I wanted to file a complaint as I know others have my same vehicle and they may have had or might end up in the same situation as I was in. I believe it is the parking brake that was the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11507148

7,000 miles · Jan 24, 2023
Air BagsCrashInjury

The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into the front passenger's side door. The contact stated that the air bags deployed, except for the driver's side steering wheel air bag. The impact caused her chest to lunge forward…

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The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into the front passenger's side door. The contact stated that the air bags deployed, except for the driver's side steering wheel air bag. The impact caused her chest to lunge forward, and the contact fractured her neck. A passenger seated in the passenger's side front seat sustained bruising from her neck, her waist, and a fractured collarbone. Medical attention was received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.

NHTSA ODI #11503491

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2023
Air BagsSeatsSteeringCrashInjury

I was rear ended. During the impact, which was enough to accelerate my vehicle from 9 mph to 36 mph, the steering wheel came completely off of the car and hit me in the head. The steering wheel was in the back seat immediately following the impact and my vehicle was traveling at 36 mph with no way to steer out control it and no …

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I was rear ended. During the impact, which was enough to accelerate my vehicle from 9 mph to 36 mph, the steering wheel came completely off of the car and hit me in the head. The steering wheel was in the back seat immediately following the impact and my vehicle was traveling at 36 mph with no way to steer out control it and no airbags in front of me in case of a secondary collision. This happened on a busy interstate with dozens of drivers endangered by my out of control vehicle. Traffic had slowed for construction and it was a miracle I wasn't further injured or caused injury to anyone else. Toyota sent an inspector to look over the vehicle, and it may still be available on the wrecker lot.

NHTSA ODI #11502288

Mileage unknown · Dec 23, 2022
Visibility/wiper

came out and windshield was cracked. Toyota makes defective cheap windshields

NHTSA ODI #11498697

Mileage unknown · Dec 21, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceLane Departure

I purchased my Toyota corolla SE 2021 in May 2021 with 11 miles on it. I received safety connect trial for one year. It was so unsafe. I believe there was an invasion of privacy because after requesting my data held at Toyota Corp., I read of times of install/deactivation that were not proper in accordance of my purchase and my …

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I purchased my Toyota corolla SE 2021 in May 2021 with 11 miles on it. I received safety connect trial for one year. It was so unsafe. I believe there was an invasion of privacy because after requesting my data held at Toyota Corp., I read of times of install/deactivation that were not proper in accordance of my purchase and my understanding of the set up at time of purchase. It appears this safety connect was already connected before my purchase, which is a safety issue and is a violation of privacy and lead to data breach. With my connected device, iPhone, acting crazy and miss reading my locations and redirecting, etc., I was on my way to Apple in December 2021 with 2016 miles on my car. I believe the remote connect was being controlled by others as up to five devices are allowed on the module. GPS worked accordingly obviously, because when I exited the interstate, immediately my engine stalled out at 50 miles an hour in the rain. I was scared to death and found the closest gas station to pull over and stop my engine. About 30 minutes later, I continued to apple, 1 mile away. After restarting my car, I was alerted to be safe and contact my provider. I found out that that meant that my control module was blown. This has affected me in a few ways. Maps have read I am in China, South Florida, north, Florida, Georgia, California. I also went to the local Toyota for an oil change and tire rotation in October 2022 and learned that I needed a tire replacement and the pressure was down to 15 pounds. No light appeared. If the communication module is destroyed, then all of the safety features are, as well. No lights alert, no Blindspot warning days, automatic emergency, braking has failed as well, as I recall when it worked and it is not even sensing a vehicle or anything in front of it. Also the red signs that display, stop, certain miles per hour, etc. are reading incorrectly. Furthermore, Toyota wants to disclaim all warranties associated.

NHTSA ODI #11498348

Official recalls

1

23V865000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Dec 20, 2023

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

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