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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2016 Toyota Corolla — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 215 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

215
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
66
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
57
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

312 complaints

186 complaints

101 complaints

73 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 65 reports
Service Brakes 30 reports
Seat Belts 26 reports
Unknown Or Other 24 reports
Power Train 22 reports
Steering 22 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 22 reports
Structure 15 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11707349 12/28/2025

In 2024, my 2016 Toyota Corolla was involved in a collision. The airbags did not deploy. I went to the emergency room following the crash and later required additional medical treatment, including rehabilitation.

Power Train ODI 11290973 12/23/2019

RECEIVED A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT THE CVT NEEDED A SOFTWARE UPDATE. WE HAD THIS DONE AT INVER GROVE TOYOTA. HOWEVER, THE RPM'S CONTINUED TO FLUCTUATE WHILE DRIVING AT LOWER SPEEDS. TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEN TOLD THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $6000. CAR HAS JUST OVER 62000 MILES AND TOYOTA WOULD NOT GRANT AN EXCEPTION TO THE WARRANTY TO COVER T…

Visibility ODI 10936072 12/18/2016

MY HUSBAND AND I WERE DRIVING HOME FROM A CONCERT AT 10:30 PM ON THE 110 FREEWAY IN SAN PEDRO, CA WHEN WE HEARD A LOUD CRASH ON THE ROOF OF THE CAR. WE HADN'T JUST DRIVEN UNDER AN OVERPASS. THERE WAS NO DEBRIS BEHIND US. NO ONE WAS SWERVING OUT OF THE WAY TO AVOID ANYTHING. NO ONE WHO DROVE PASSED US REACTED AT ALL. WE COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT HAD HIT US AND KEPT HEARING…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11055024 12/16/2017

I WAS PULLING IN TO PARKING SPACE AT A VERY LOW SPEED. MY CAR STARTED TO ACCELERATE AND LUNGED INTO PARED CAR IN FRONT OF ME. CAUSING DAMAGE TO OTHER CAR AND MINE. I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE BUT IT DIDINT STOP THE CAR. A COUPLE IF DAYS BEFORE THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO MY HUSBAND WHEN HE WAS PULLING INTO PARKING PLACE AND CAR STARTED TO ACCELERATE AND LUNGED FORWARD. WE GOT BA…

Exterior Lighting ODI 10935848 12/16/2016

WHEN DRIVING THIS MODEL, WHICH I OWN, I BELIEVE THE LED LIGHTING MAKES THESE CARS UNSAFE AT NIGHT. WHAT I WILL CALL THE LED HORIZON WHICH FLUCTUATES GREATLY ON HILLY OR UNEVEN ROADS, CAUSES LOSS OF NEEDED VISION. FLUCTUATION IN PAVEMENT REDUCES FORWARD VISION TO AS LITTLE AS A CAR LENGTH GOING DOWNHILL & PUTS IT INTO THE CLOUDS GOING UPHILL. & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN ON SLIGHTLY…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2016 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 2016 Toyota Corolla reliable?
Owners have filed 215 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2016 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.