2012 Toyota Corolla: Reliability Data
Source: NHTSA — 496 complaints
496
Total Complaints
34,415mi
Median Mileage
Air Bags
Top Issue
54
Crash Reports
When Do Complaints Happen?
Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.
8,100
25th Percentile
34,415
Median Mileage
56,500
75th Percentile
What Fails?
Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.
Air Bags
370
Steering
18
Vehicle Speed Control
15
Electrical System
13
Service Brakes
11
Unknown Or Other
10
Body
9
Power Train
7
Seat Belts
7
Seats
5
Severity Assessment
54
Crashes
1
Fires
37
Injuries
0
Deaths
Sample Complaint Reports
"THE COMPONENT/SYSTEM IS KNOWN IN THE INDUSTRY AS ELECTRIC POWER STERRING(EPS). I PURCHASED MY NEW COROLLA S ON 26 MARCH 2012. I TRADED IN MY 2009 TOYOTA COROLLA BASE THAT DID NOT HAVE EPS. MY COROLLA S WAS ORDERED AND I WAITED APPROX 2 MONTHS BEFORE IT ARRIVED. I DID NOT TEST DRIVE THE 2012 MODEL(I..."
"THE COMPONENT/SYSTEM IS KNOWN IN THE INDUSTRY AS ELECTRIC POWER STERRING(EPS). I PURCHASED MY NEW COROLLA S ON 26 MARCH 2012. I TRADED IN MY 2009 TOYOTA COROLLA BASE THAT DID NOT HAVE EPS. MY COROLLA S WAS ORDERED AND I WAITED APPROX 2 MONTHS BEFORE IT ARRIVED. I DID NOT TEST DRIVE THE 2012 MODEL(I..."
"I TEST DROVE A NEW 2012 TOYOTA COROLLA LE TODAY AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT, AT FREEWAY SPEEDS (65 MPH), THE STEERING DID NOT TRACK WELL (LIKES TO DRIFT SIDEWAYS, BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY) AND MY CONSTANT STEERING CORRECTIONS SEEMED TO JERK THE VEHICLE (AND DRIVER) SIDE TO SIDE SLIGHTLY. THE SLIGHTEST ..."
Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.
When Were Complaints Filed?
Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.
When Does Each Component Fail?
Median mileage at complaint for top components.
Air Bags
370 complaints
25th: 25,680 mi
Median: 45,000 mi
75th: 73,500 mi
Steering
18 complaints
25th: 305 mi
Median: 4,025 mi
75th: 24,195 mi
Vehicle Speed Control
15 complaints
25th: 6,384 mi
Median: 25,513 mi
75th: 38,152 mi
Electrical System
13 complaints
25th: 9,275 mi
Median: 41,000 mi
75th: 83,500 mi
Service Brakes
11 complaints
25th: 2,400 mi
Median: 21,711 mi
75th: 36,509 mi
Where Are Complaints Coming From?
Top states by complaint count.
CA: 108
FL: 99
TX: 49
GA: 24
NC: 23
NY: 21
PA: 20
AL: 10
NJ: 9
LA: 8
Who Files Complaints?
2.8%
Original Owners
97.2%
Second+ Owners
Toyota Corolla — Other Years
See how this model compares across different model years.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 31 | 3 |
| 1991 | 96 | 22 |
| 1992 | 115 | 8 |
| 1993 | 154 | 46 |
| 1994 | 199 | 78 |
| 1995 | 226 | 63 |
| 1996 | 151 | 34 |
| 1997 | 149 | 22 |
| 1998 | 278 | 45 |
| 1999 | 188 | 30 |
| 2000 | 176 | 35 |
| 2001 | 163 | 39 |
| 2002 | 141 | 38 |
| 2003 | 857 | 142 |
| 2004 | 558 | 85 |
| 2005 | 969 | 144 |
| 2006 | 970 | 163 |
| 2007 | 983 | 165 |
| 2008 | 378 | 95 |
| 2009 | 1769 | 276 |
| 2010 | 1567 | 210 |
| 2011 | 689 | 71 |
| 2013 | 269 | 62 |
| 2014 | 379 | 104 |
| 2015 | 303 | 104 |
| 2016 | 306 | 104 |
| 2017 | 271 | 67 |
| 2018 | 193 | 33 |
| 2019 | 281 | 39 |
| 2020 | 380 | 35 |
| 2021 | 234 | 28 |
| 2022 | 111 | 17 |
| 2023 | 108 | 16 |
| 2024 | 89 | 19 |
| 2025 | 28 | 6 |
Active Recalls (5)
Federal safety recalls issued for this vehicle.
Inflator Module
Campaign 19V005000 | 09/01/2019
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began February 15, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" To
Inflator Module
Campaign 19V741000 | 17/10/2019
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service
Inflator Module
Campaign 17V006000 | 09/01/2017
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 1, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota cust
Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
Campaign 13V014000 | 16/01/2013
If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag de
Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Air Bag/Restraint Control Module
Campaign 20V024000 | 17/01/2020
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.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will
Airbag Safety
Based on the most common issues reported for this vehicle.
- Check for open airbag recalls at NHTSA.gov using your VIN
- Never ignore the airbag warning light — get it diagnosed immediately
- Don't install aftermarket steering wheel covers that block the airbag
- Keep the area around airbag deployment zones clear of accessories
Compare Toyota Corolla
Vehicle Rankings
Looking for a replacement?
Based on the data above, here are relevant options.
Affiliate link
Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.
Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.
Data through: 2026-03-28