1998 TOYOTA COROLLA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 218 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (55 complaints · 25.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 34
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 26
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 55 of 218 owner complaints (25.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 55 complaints, 25.2% of reports AIR BAGS 55 · 25.2% · 20 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 20 complaints, 9.2% of reports STRUCTURE 20 · 9.2% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 18 complaints, 8.3% of reports ENGINE 18 · 8.3% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 17 complaints, 7.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 17 · 7.8% · 5 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 14 complaints, 6.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 14 · 6.4% · 3 crash reports SUSPENSION: 14 complaints, 6.4% of reports SUSPENSION 14 · 6.4% STEERING: 13 complaints, 6.0% of reports STEERING 13 · 6.0% · 2 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 5.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 11 · 5.0% · 3 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 4.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 · 4.6% · 4 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 136 complaints, 62.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 136 · 62.4% · 20 crash reports 7 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 55 25.2% 20 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 20 9.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 18 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 17 7.8% 5 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 14 6.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 14 6.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 13 6.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 11 5.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 4.6% 0 crashes · 4 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 136 62.4% 20 crashes · 7 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2006. 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 26 owner reports 26 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 1999-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2000-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1998 Apr 2022 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 06E065000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E065000 Recall campaign 08E050000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E050000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000
  • Campaign 08E050000 was reported 3,513 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 5
1998-Q3 Owner reports 8
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 26
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 14
1999-Q4 Owner reports 9
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 4
2000-Q3 Owner reports 17
2000-Q4 Owner reports 3
2001-Q2 Owner reports 4
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 4
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 4
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 5
2003-Q3 Owner reports 8
2003-Q4 Owner reports 5
2004-Q1 Owner reports 10
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 4
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2010-Q1 Owner reports 9
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 06E065000
Recall campaign 1 08E050000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E065000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    AJ MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 31, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AJ MOTORSPORT AT 626-618-2026.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E050000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTORS, THE LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY BE AFFECTED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    K2 MOTOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMEBER 17, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT K2 MOTOR AT 1-909-839-2992.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 218 complaints · page 1 of 9

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources