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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Toyota Corolla — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 446 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

446
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
41
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
1
Involved Fire
owner-reported
28
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Toyota Corolla — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

1,264 complaints

590 complaints

446 complaints

201 complaints

269 complaints

220 complaints

215 complaints

189 complaints

135 complaints

205 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 370 reports
Steering 18 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 16 reports
Structure 14 reports
Electrical System 13 reports
Unknown Or Other 11 reports
Service Brakes 11 reports
Power Train 8 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 10816708 12/29/2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA COROLLA. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVING IN REVERSE AT 5 MPH, IT BEGAN TO ACCELERATE FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 22,633. …

Air Bags ODI 11057049 12/28/2017

TAKATA RECALL-DESPITE NUMEROUS CALLS AND CONVERSATIONS WITH STONE MOUNTAIN TOYOTA, I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET MY VEHICLE 'S AIRBAGS REPLACED. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN APPOINTMENTS ON NOVEMBER 2 AND DECEMBER 28 FOR THIS WORK TO BE PERFORMED, AND HAVE BEEN TOLD FOR THE NOVEMBER DATE THAT THE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE WHEN THEY WERE NOT AND THE DECEMBER DATE THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TECHN…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 10490200 12/27/2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING A LOW PARKING SPEED, SHE DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY, CAUSING HER TO CRASH INTO A FENCE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TOTALED AND THAT THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THERE WA…

Air Bags ODI 10937125 12/22/2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA COROLLA. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLOCK SPRING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

Air Bags ODI 11055923 12/21/2017

TAKATA RECALL THIS COMPLAINT IS RELATED TO THE FACT THAT I WAS NOTIFIED MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AGO REGARDING THE PASSENGER AIRBAG RECALL AND WAS INITIALLY TOLD BY A TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE THAT THE AIRBAG WOULD BE REPLACED BEGINNING IN SPRING. IT IS NOW DECEMBER AND THEY FINALLY GOT THE PARTS IN. THIS WAS NOT FIXED IN A TIMELY MANNER, CAUSING UNDUE STRESS.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Toyota Corolla, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Toyota Corolla reliable?
Owners have filed 446 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Toyota Corolla, most often about air bags. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Toyota Corolla years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.