2003 Toyota Corolla problems and complaints

Owners have filed 768 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Corolla. The most-reported areas: Air Bags (359), Engine And Engine Cooling (95), Vehicle Speed Control (81).

Key takeaways

  • 768 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 104 involve a crash, 9 a fire, 96 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Air Bags35947%
Engine And Engine Cooling9512%
Vehicle Speed Control8111%
Power Train669%
Seat Belts385%
Electrical System385%
Service Brakes334%
Structure334%
Visibility263%
Hydraulic233%
Engine182%
Unknown Or Other152%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2003 Toyota Corolla 4-DR.Not ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Unknown Or Other - filed 2026-06-27

Airbags did not deploy in at crash where we were hit head on and car is totaled. I do not know the rate of speed the gentleman was driving, but the speed limit in the area was 45 mph and the gentleman ran the red light and hit us as we were waiting to make a left turn. Every responder, police, wrecker, medical person...

Visibility - filed 2026-03-12

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact lowered the front passenger’s side window; however, while attempting to raise the window, the window failed to respond. The contact researched online and associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V162000 (Visibility). The contact called a local dealer and w...

Wheels,service Brakes,engine - filed 2026-02-01

Many things are happening to my truck that’s why I am contacting you people to see if I got any callback thank you so much

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More for the 2003 Toyota Corolla

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.