2015 Toyota Corolla

No clear pattern

22.3% of complaints about the 2015 Toyota Corolla arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2015 vehicle, but with only 309 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is air bags (56 complaints), typically at 4.6 yr or about 43,000 miles.

Complaints: 309
Median age at failure: 3.7 yr
Median mileage: 27,000 n=194
Crash / fire / tow: 36.2% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Air bags

56 reports · 43,000 mi

4.6 yr

73.2%

Other

33 reports · 16,000 mi

3.1 yr

12.1%

Structure

32 reports · 30,000 mi

4.8 yr

43.8%

Power train

30 reports · 60,000 mi

4.5 yr

16.7%

Speed control

18 reports · 22,000 mi

2.0 yr

44.4%

Electrical system

18 reports · 29,000 mi

3.3 yr

27.8%

Service brakes

17 reports · 12,900 mi

2.6 yr

52.9%

Engine

17 reports · 12,211 mi

2.3 yr

17.6%

Steering

15 reports · 6,500 mi

2.3 yr

40%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

20V024000 2020-01-17

Air bags: air bag/restraint control module

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.

In owners’ own words

Speed control mileage not reported 4 mo in service

THIS IS AN ENTERPRISE RENTAL VEHICLE WHICH I HAD JUST PICKED UP FROM ENTERPRISE IN MECHANICSBURG, PA. AS I WAS PULLING INTO MY GARAGE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT HAD NOT YET PRESSED DOWN ON IT TO APPLY THE BRAKE. SUDDENLY, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND RACED FORWARD. I QUICKLY APPLIED THE BRAKES AND IT STOPPED SHORT OF HITTING ITEMS INSIDE THE GARAGE. *TR

Speed control mileage not reported 4 mo in service

THIS IS AN ENTERPRISE RENTAL VEHICLE WHICH, FOR THE SECOND TIME, ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE, GEAR IN REVERSE AND FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT NOT APPLYING THE BRAKE YET WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED IN REVERSE. I IMMEDIATELY APPLIED THE BRAKE AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED AFTER SEVERAL FEET. THERE WAS NOTHING BEHIND THE VEHICLE SO NOTHING WAS DAMAGED. *TR

Speed control mileage not reported 10 mo in service crash / fire / tow

FILING A COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF OUR INSURED/POLICYHOLDER. SHE WAS BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY IN REVERSE AND FOOT APPLIED ON BRAKE, AT THIS TIME THE ACCELERATOR BEGAN SURGING AND THE VEHICLE WHILE IN REVERSE AND BRAKE BEING PRESSED WENT UP IN SPEED TO POSSIBLY 35 MILES PER HOUR AND ACROSS THE STREET, HIT CURB AND JUMPED CURB, AND THE REAR END ULTIMATELY STRUCK A TREE AND CAME TO A REST IN THE OPPOSING HOME'S YARD. RESEARCH ONLINE SUCH AS THE LATIMES.COM SHOWS THAT THIS YEAR/MAKE/MODEL HAS HAD NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF ACCELERATOR SURGING OCCURRING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN DRIVE OR REVERSE.

Air bags 2,008 mi 4 mo in service crash / fire / tow

STOPPED AT STOP LIGHT TO MAKE LEFT HAD TURN. WAS WAVED ON BY DRIVER IN OPPOSITE LANE AS I STARTED TO MAKE THE TURN I WAS HIT BY ON COMING CAR. UPON IMPACT ALL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, INCLUDING SIDE AIR BAGS WHICH SHOULDN'T OF HAPPENED SINCE THE IMPACT OF THE CAR WAS IN THE FRONT. THE SIDE AIR BAG HIT THE PASSENGER WHICH CAUSED HIM TO BE INJURED. *TR

Other Corolla model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.