2023 Toyota Corolla
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 73 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 24th highest complaint count among 26 Corolla model years with reports.
Of the 2023 reports, 8 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 4 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Steering, columnJan 29, 2025
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, Lexus RX350, 2023-2024 NX250, and NX350 vehicles that may have been incorrectly repaired under previous NHTSA recall number 23V-480. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
A deactivated driver's air bag will not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 17, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 25TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 25LA02.
Campaign 25V040000 on NHTSA.gov
SteeringNov 21, 2024
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Corolla and Corolla Hybrid vehicles. Due to cracks developed during the manufacturing process, the steering intermediate shaft assembly may fracture and possibly result in the shaft detaching from the steering column.
A steering shaft that detaches can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the intermediate steering shaft, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 24TB13/24TA13.
Campaign 24V878000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, columnJul 12, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, 2023 Lexus RX350, RX350 Hybrid, RX500 Hybrid, 2023-2024 Lexus NX250, NX350, and NX350 Hybrid vehicles. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
A deactivated driver's air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 8, 2023. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TA08. Lexus' number for this recall is 23LA02.
Campaign 23V480000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
73 reports, newest first.
Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Lane departure, Oct 4, 2023
Low beam headlights have shadows that prevent me from seeing all roadway at night. vehicle has presented at the dealership in 6/07/23, but they failed to correct this potentially safety hazard issue. The issue did cause me to hit a piece of wood in the HYW causing an accident with a result of 2 damage tires and 1ring. I will present the vehicle again in 10-11 -23, but in advance one of the guys told me. is something that they don't have nothing to do because is something normal in some corolla. that alert me to start my investigation. Now I can see, I don't are the only one with this problem. Is a new car.
Steering, Sep 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V480000 (Steering) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Air bags, Sep 14, 2023, crash
My wife & I were involved in a 4 vehicle accident on Tuesday September 12, 2023 at approximately 4:30pm. We were traveling north on Highway 17 ( Ogeechee road ) toward Savannah Georgia. We had stopped at the 2nd red light at Highway 204 & 17. The light turned green and the vehicles in front of me started moving, we proceeded north and went through the green traffic light at Little Neck road about 500 feet beyond the intersection all of the sudden everyone was stopped, before I could react to it I was rear ended by a 2013 Toyota Venza which in turn made me hit a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck which in turn caused him to hit the vehicle that was stopped a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado. I couldn't see why the Silverado was stopped because the Dodge Ram was blocking my view.. I would estimate my speed at the time of impact between 30mph to 40 mph.. The airbags in my car did not deploy, fortunately we were wearing our seatbelts. Luckily no one was seriously injured in this accident. So our main question is " why " didn't our airbags deploy??
Engine, Sep 13, 2023
Intermittently and without warning for the past few months the vehicle will at times fail to accelerate properly when pulling out in heavy traffic. The RPMs go past 5000 RPMs and the vehicle barely moves. When I let off the gas and reapply gas the vehicle will go. Vehicle also jerks and hesitates at speeds between 0 -. 30 mph. Disengaging the vehicles traction control helps to alleviate issue. Vehicle and issue will be presented to my Toyota dealer.
Exterior lighting, Sep 13, 2023
Low beam headlights have shadows that prevent me from seeing all of the roadway at night. Vehicle has been presented to multiple dealerships that have failed to correct this potentially dangerous issue. The last dealership stated it was "normal" and no fix is available. The issue did cause me to hit a tire on the interstate earlier this year and continues to make night driving hazardous. I will continue to present the issue to my Toyota dealer to have the issue fixed. Future updates will be provided on this issue.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 18, 2023
It said power steering low and it shut off on me
Power train, Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Aug 7, 2023
Problem 1 there is insufficient visibility of the road at night to drive the car safely. The local police officer helped me measure the distance of road visibility from the front of the car and it was 78 feet. At night with the lights on the top 3/4 of the windshield appears black (opaque) - cannot be seen through. I can only see through the bottom 1/4 of the windshield (left to right, the whole width). Problem 2 the transmission had to be replaced. Problem 3 the computer console only connects to the cell phone 25% of the time. This prevents the ability to use GPS and emergency phone calling while driving. Toyota said there is no problem with the visibility, that the police is incorrect, and there is a known defect with the computer connecting to android phones (after they insisted it was fine). I've been a wreck over this - I don't feel safe driving the car, and can't drive it at night. Toyota has said there's nothing they are planning to do to address these issues, except perphaps there will be software fix for the console/phone connection problem someday. FYI I have all the repair documents but didn't know how to scan/upload them here. So let me know if you need these, and perhaps some other way I could get them to you. If there is an email address I could send pictures of them. Or you could obtain these from Lexington Toyota (Lexington MA). There was also a driving video at nighttime, and I have a video/audio of the transmission womp womp noise, but didn't know how to get those to you either.
Power train, Jun 16, 2023
Some times the car turns off by itself When put on reverse Or when getting to a complete stop No check engine light turns on Dealer will not take care of it if the check engine light does not turns on This could lead to an accident!
Exterior lighting, Jun 16, 2023
The low beam headlights have dark shadows which prevent me from seeing the left side of the roadway. I took the vehicle to the dealer and had low beams adjusted. After the adjustment I was constantly flashed by on coming drivers to lower my headlight beams which were already on low beams. Due to blinding oncoming drivers the lights were adjusted back down and the dark shadows returned. I have already hit a tire in the road on the interstate due to not seeing it because of the shadows. The low beam headlights make driving at night DANGEROUS. An acceptable resolution would be to adjust low beams so I can see without blinding oncoming drivers like in all other cars I've owned. I hit the tire approximately around the beginning of June.
Exterior lighting, May 21, 2023
The shadows are serious issue. They are distractive, annoying, irritating and dangerous. It is a safety issue. As car go up and down on the road, they are longer or shorter (because of the light angle) . They are tiring and fatiguing. Eyes are drawn to it at night. Constant distraction. Not acceptable on a new car. Problem reported to the dealer. Dealer won't do anything. Went to 2nd dealer. They told me that all the 2023 Corollas have this problem and won't do anything. Case filed with Toyota. Case # 2304 11000333. No reply for 2 months. After talking to other 2023 Corolla owners, they don't have that problem. Also, the car still have the same problem with blind spot since 2019 (according to Toyota "by design"). However shadows are problem.
Visibility/wiper, May 15, 2023
The windshield on the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE cracked with no outside forces causing the crack. The vehicle was inspected by Toyota and they assumed that it was caused by a point of impact, but the crack appeared overnight, randomly, while my car was parked in my garage, and it split across half the windshield. There is a small point in the windshield that The vehicle is available for inspection by the NTHSA as needed, but this is a problem that should be assessed to consider a recall because of the danger of weak windshields.
Back over prevention, Apr 6, 2023, crash
Just today, I was driving my 2023 corolla when I accidentally rear ended someone. We were getting off the highway and they were taking a right turn and second guessed themselves while I was focusing on the oncoming traffic. Usually my car would notify me of there being an obstacle in front of me as it is equipped with a pre-collision system. This time however, it did not brake or notify me resulting in me rear ending the car in front of me and causing damage to my car.
Other or unspecified, Mar 30, 2023
Headlights on the left side especially have dark shadows. I took it back to dealership to get adjusted. To my surprise they layed a towel over my lights and said yes they could see dark lines but there were no way to correct the dark shadows, that's the way the 2023 Corollas were designed. I've seen videos on you tube showing the problem on a 2022 Corolla. To me it's a safety hazard. Driving in the city at night is very upsetting when turning left because it appears like something is there because of the dark lines, it's so bad my wife will not drive the car at night. If I had know the lights were this bad I never would have bought the car. I wish I could sell this car without taking a $5000.00 loss. It also has a new style radio or intertainment system ( in a word TERRIBLE) no buttons except for one - on- off and volume up and down . To listen to the radio you have to go through two to three menus at lease you have to take your eyes off the road for long periods of time. It's the worst radio when navigating . I can't believe toyota made a car like this Corolla. I always thought Toyota made the best cars up until now. Next year I plan on trading it in and getting a Honda Civic. I'll never buy another Toyota.
Exterior lighting, Mar 8, 2023
2023 corolla is having some issue with headlights [Low Beams]. I understood from Toyota that this is an safety feature which is designed as per the rules. This is an good idea and i am not denying it. The issue which i have is the person who is driving this car is not having clear view on the Road. The shadow's is completely hiding the left lane. If we are driving in full dark road, and towards left there is an divider, we are not able to get an clear view of the road where the divider is starting / ending. This is going to be an serious issue. I have not seen this kind of shadow in any other cars so far driven. The shadow is also much distractive.
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Feb 27, 2023
Two weeks and three days after picking up my 2023 Corolla Cross from the dealership, I was in stop and go traffic on a busy road. I came to a stop at a red light and my car started making a continuous beeping noise. The display alternated between "Engine Stopped Steering Power Low" and "Engine Stopped Press Brake Firmly to Restart." I pressed the brake VERY firmly multiple times, with no effect. When the light turned green, I tried to move my car to the side of the road, but it did not move. The cars behind me -- including the semi truck directly behind me -- started cutting into traffic in an attempt to get around. I finally put it in park and tried to turn it off, which finally turned the engine back on. (I only had to press the start/stop button once.) Once the engine came on, the car worked normally. The dealership has not been able to reproduce the problem, but an internet search shows that this is not an isolated incident.
Steering, Feb 24, 2023
Steering wheel is not centered! While driving straight steering wheel tilts to the right. When steering wheel is straight car drives to the left.
Steering, Electrical system, Feb 23, 2023
Engine stopped at a red light and I had an indicator saying that the power steering was low and to press the brake to reset. Try to once it happened yesterday two 222/2023
Other or unspecified, Feb 21, 2023
My 2023 Corolla cross awd remains at the dealership due to the safety issue of it turning off, as everyone else is complaining / reporting. My concern is when I type 2023 Toyota Corolla cross awd into the NHTSA website it says there are zero complaints which leads consumers to believe this is a safe vehicle. However, there are multiple of the same complaints but they are being filed under the 2023 Toyota Corolla 4d fwd?
Power train, Electrical system, Feb 20, 2023
At a stop, the engine shuts off. This is normal. In two instances, the vehicle threw up multiple warning lights (Press Brake Firmly to Restart) and would not start on the release of the brake. The second incident happened on a hill and the vehicle began to roll backwards. The vehicle then needs to be put in park, shut off and restarted. On the restart it moves again. The dealer was called about this, but said they didn't know it was a problem. They cannot replicate. The safety issue is that the car needs to restart to drive again. At a green light, the car is at risk of being hit since it won't be moving, as expected. It is also a problem that when the brake is released and the issue happens the car can roll backward.
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Feb 16, 2023
I was at a stoplight and the car cut off. Not the normal auto power down feature, there was no power. A message saying press the brake down to restart appeared. Then a message saying steering power low appeared. The check engine light came on. I pressed the break down, and the vehicle did not restart. I put the car in park then restarted it and was able to drive again. But at the very next light, the same thing happened.
Steering, Service brakes, Engine, Feb 15, 2023
The automatic engine shut off failed. Normally when stopped the engine shuts off and restarts when pressing the gas. It did not do that and instead turned the vehicle completely off. I was waiting for traffic at an intersection to make a left hand turn when my vehicles engine shut off. Interior lights flashed and alarm sounded. Dashboard said engine was off and to press break firmly to restart. It did not work. Also had a power steering warning. I had to put the car in park and restart the vehicle. In the mean time the light had turned red and I was in the middle of the intersection at night, in the rain with a stalled vehicle that I bought last week and has less than 500 miles. A car nearly hit us as I put my hazard lights on and restarted the vehicle. My kids were in the car, it put not only ourselves in danger but also other vehicles on the road. I have not been able to reproduce the incident but it is at the dealership now. There were no symptoms of the incident prior to. I just went to turn and the car went nuts with lights and warnings and the engine was completely off and had to be restarted… IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION. I see several other complaints and even videos where it did the exact same thing. This is for sure a safety issue.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 15, 2023
This is the 3rd time it’s happened. It seems to happen after it’s rained and it’s wet and humid outside. I was at a red light waiting for it to change. The car starts making a buzzer noise and shows “ignition on” with “Engine stopped power steering low” and flashes to “press break firmly to restart.” Pressing the break does nothing and I cannot move the vehicle at all. This whole time the engine is off and I have to go into park to restart the car by pressing the start/stop button. It’s very dangerous when the light turns green because I cannot go anywhere.
Vehicle speed control, Dec 17, 2022
Potential Safety Issue regarding the Cruise Control for ALL 2023 Toyota Corollas and possibly all Toyota's with the Safety Sense 3.0 System. On these vehicles the cruise control is turned on automatically when the vehicle is started. There is a white indicator icon illuminated on the drivers display to inform the driver. However the owners manual says you have to turn the system on by pressing the Driving Assist Mode Switch inferring the cruise control should not automatically be turned on. Pressing this switch only allows you to switch modes from Dynamic Radar Cruise Control to Standard Cruise Control. My dealer advised that this is normal for my vehicle and the cruise control system is working as designed. I agree all functions of the system work, except there is no way to turn off the cruise control. Nothing about turning off the cruise control is stated in the owners manual either. Every Toyota from 2022 and older, and some 2023's, have an on off switch. The issue is once the cruise control is set (now a green illuminated icon), the set speed is always on the display until the vehicle is turned off. Even if you "Cancel" the set speed, the speed is always there (white icon) so you can "Resume" (green icon). If you no longer have use for the cruise control there is no way to just turn it off. Example: You have just exited the interstate highway onto a city street that is 25 MPH. The cancelled set speed is still displaying 70 MPH and while driving you accidentally hit the resume button on the steering wheel and the vehicle accelerates and hits the car in front of you. I know there are anti-collision features that might help, but a startled/panic driver can react in a very negative way and still cause an accident or injury. Even Toyota says not to depend on these safety features alone that it is the drivers responsibility to operate the vehicle safely. I did notify Toyota Brand Engagement Center, who filed a case, but said I would not be informed unless a recall.