2002 Toyota Corolla problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (13) · Vehicle Speed Control (8) · Exterior Lighting:headlights (6)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Toyota Corolla model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
61 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Suspension 2010-02-11 · campaign 10E002000 · 12,657 vehicles
Defect: RIDE CONTROL IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONT STRUT MOUNTS BRANDED AS GABRIEL RIDE CONTROL OR ARVINMERITOR, P/NOS. 142435, 142193, 142305, 142303, SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE AFFECTED FRONT STRUT MOUNTS DID NOT CONTAIN A WELD JOINT BETWEEN THE BEARING HOUSING AND THE RATE PLATE.
Risk: THE ABSENCE OF THE WELD CAN ALLOW THE STRUT TO COME OUT OF ITS MOUNTING POSITION UNDER CERTAIN EXTREME DRIVING CONDITIONS WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO SURROUNDING VEHICLE COMPONENTS INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: RIDE CONTROL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND REPLACE THE AFFECTED PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RIDE CONTROL AT 1-248-458-1396.
Service bulletins (96)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. if these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0038-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
to prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. the purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and initial rust before the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0035-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. if these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa
Structure:body 2024-12-05 · T-SB-0061-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
toyota vehicles are currently protected with rapgardtm protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. this material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. follow the removal procedure in this bulletin to remove the rapgardtm protective film wi
Structure:body 2024-12-03 · T-SB-0062-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. this type of contamination can be identified by the presence of small, red or brown particles on the paint surfa
Structure:body 2024-07-12 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. if these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Showing the 6 most recent of 96 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-08-22 · Tires:tread/Belt“tire size: tm-1 185/65r14 86 t tire. i bought 4 tires in sept 2022. i just found out that, after 11 months of normal city driving (which added bout 10k miles to the mileage) and normal maintenance, the tires already showing belt. they have become a safety hazard so i have to buy 4 new tires of another brand.…”
2021-04-23 · Engine · 74,047 mi“ive owned this car for 3 weeks and have had to put 2 quarts of oil in every week because every morning i start my car lot of blue smoke is coming out my exhaust. this is because the design temperature for the pistons in this engine was 120 degrees celsius and the actual temperatures reached are 160 degrees celsius, which causes the petroleum oil to…”
2019-12-03 · Engine“the engine is using excessive oil. need to add 1 quart every 300 miles to keep filled. the car has 120,000 miles. notice blue smoke upon acceleration. car has been regularly serviced according to toyota owner's manual.…”
2019-10-18 · Engine“my toyota corolla 2002 ce has a design flaw with the pistons. there are not enough holes in the pistons to allow enough oil to go through and as a result, the vehicle is burning a lot of oil, up to 1 quart of oil every 250 miles. please! can you help me with this situation? thank you.…”
2015-11-30 · Engine · 50,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. while driving 65 mph, there was a low rumbling sound coming from the engine. there was also a strong exhaust odor inside the vehicle and it burned more oil than normal. the contact had to place approximately five quarts of oil into the vehicle after driving 150 to 200 miles. the service engine light remai…”
2015-10-13 · Air Bags“the dash light indicating a problem with my air bag is on. toyota states that a safety recall is pending that might affect my car. until then, they are unable or unwilling to repair my car. they state that the airbag may go off on it's own. they cannot tell me how long it may be before the recall is announced. this seems highly dangerous to me.…”
2015-05-05 · Air Bags“tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v043000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the contact had not exper…”
2015-04-06 · Air Bags · 54,500 mi · 💥 crash“air bags did not deploy during the crash. the crash was serious; it totoled the car. *tr…”
2015-03-10 · Air Bags · 300,000 mi · 💥 crash“i was driving home from working 12 hour graveyard shift. i fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the right hand side of our blacktop road 1 mile from home. my 2002 corolla was traveling around 50mph i awoke and attempted to correct the car's path and hit a tree head on destroying the right grill bumper hood, windshield, right fender, inner upper fra…”
2015-01-31 · Air Bags“toyota told us not to put anyone in passenger side because airbag is dangerous. we have four adults in our family and need to use the passenger front seat. toyota (johnson city tn) say they have no idea when they can fix the air bag because they have no idea when parts will be available. "it could be months". we need to have it fixed soon. *tr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.