LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Toyota Corolla — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 186 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

186
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
18
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
13
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.

269 complaints

220 complaints

215 complaints

189 complaints

135 complaints

205 complaints

312 complaints

186 complaints

101 complaints

73 complaints

65 complaints

31 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 52 reports
Engine 41 reports
Unknown Or Other 32 reports
Electrical System 23 reports
Power Train 19 reports
Visibility/wiper 15 reports
Seat Belts 8 reports
Exterior Lighting 8 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11633202 12/30/2024

Our car in used for a TURO rental car. The TURO system has unlisted our income making vehicle until this is fixed. It's been over a year and we are losing money every day. We are considering legal action. Hope this submission helps. Thank for your help

Exterior Lighting ODI 11445594 12/30/2021

I purchased this vehicle new in June 2021. It is the hatchback model. Prior to that I drove a motorcycle since 2015. I noticed right at the beginning that the headlights don't illuminate far enough ahead at night for what I consider safe. My ability to see off into the distance ahead of the vehicle is far less than what I would get from my motorcycle, which doesn't make a…

Power Train ODI 11445388 12/29/2021

Car was in dealership twice in one week for jerking while driving dealership said it was abc and was so called “fixed” both times only had my car for a little bit back before I had to take it back . 3rd time in the same week my transmission went out on me while on the highway with young kids in the car and almost caused a wreck. Car got towed in was confirmed it was my transmi…

Air Bags ODI 11632814 12/28/2024

On December 20, 2023, a safety recall was officially generated for my 2021 Toyota Corolla. It has been over a year, and there is currently no remedy for this recall. I was originally notified that there would be an option to fix this by the third quarter of 2024. However, that was not the case. On December 26, 2024, I contacted the service center at Sam Leman Toyota in Blo…

Electrical System ODI 11707212 12/27/2025

On December 12, 2025, I was in a head on car accident in my 2021 Toyota Corolla nightshade. I was slammed into the steering wheel which caused injury. My car has over $14,000 worth of damage to the front yet my airbags did not deploy. I have taken my car to Toyota several times over the past few years and every time I’ve asked about a remedy for this recall I’ve been told ther…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 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 2021 Toyota Corolla reliable?
Owners have filed 186 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 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.