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2010 Toyota CorollaProblems, recalls & complaints

NHTSA has logged 1,244 owner complaints about the 2010 Toyota Corolla, most often about the air bags. It is covered by 17 safety recalls, and for recall 16V-396 the manufacturer reports only 24% of affected cars repaired.

2010 Toyota Corolla
17
CarFlaw IndexYear to avoid4.8× the Corolla median · #2 of 38 years by complaints
Safety recalls17Lowest repair rate 24%Owner complaints1,244240 with a crash, fire or injuryTypical failure mileage62kAir bags, median miles

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports, through August 15, 2026. Updated daily. Photo: Elise240SX, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Complaints by system

Where the 2010 Toyota Corolla has problems

1,244 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.
Complaints by system
SystemComplaintsCrash, fire or injury
Air bags42452
Steering37120
Vehicle speed control19860
Service brakes, hydraulic10120
Electrical system7510
Power train499
Service brakes4515
Suspension391
Engine335
20 other systems20450

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Complaints are submitted by the public and are not verified by NHTSA.

17 recalls

2010 Toyota Corolla recalls and how many were fixed

Each ring shows the share of affected cars repaired, from the manufacturer’s latest quarterly report to NHTSA. Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.

65%repaired · 2021 Q3

Driver side: inflator module

Recall 19V-741 · Oct 17, 2019 · 928,220 vehicles · 600,429 repaired

Risk. An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

83%repaired · 2021 Q3

Passenger side: inflator module

Recall 19V-005 · Jan 9, 2019 · 1,299,448 vehicles · 1,083,567 repaired

Risk. An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

77%repaired · 2021 Q3

Passenger side: inflator module

Recall 18V-024 · Jan 9, 2018 · 628,018 vehicles · 481,268 repaired

Risk. An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

24%repaired · 2017 Q4

Front assembly: seat heater/cooler

Recall 16V-396 · Jun 2, 2016 · 7,749 vehicles · 1,831 repaired

Risk. If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

Show 13 more recalls
72%repaired · 2021 Q3

Passenger side: inflator module

Recall 16V-340 · May 23, 2016 · 1,754,517 vehicles · 1,269,624 repaired

Risk. An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

46%repaired · 2017 Q1

Visibility: power window devices and controls

Recall 15V-689 · Oct 22, 2015 · 1,814,284 vehicles · 828,698 repaired

Risk. If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch…

Problem, fix and repair progress →

27%repaired · 2016 Q2

Front assembly: seat heater/cooler

Recall 14V-743 · Nov 19, 2014 · 3,233 vehicles · 871 repaired

Risk. Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

58%repaired · 2016 Q3

Driver side: inflator module

Recall 14V-168 · Apr 9, 2014 · 1,486,413 vehicles · 859,161 repaired

Risk. If the FFC is damaged, connectivity to the driver's air bag module could be lost and the air bag deactivated.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

–no report yet

Frontal: sensor/control module-inactive

Recall 13V-014 · Jan 16, 2013 · 3,235 vehicles

Risk. 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…

Problem, fix and repair progress →

–no report yet

Body: roof and pillars

Recall 11V-566 · Nov 22, 2011 · 518 vehicles

Risk. A DAMAGED A-PILLAR TRIM PANEL RETENTION CLIP MAY ALLOW THE TRIM PANEL TO COME LOOSE AND INJURE AN OCCUPANT IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

–no report yet

Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal

Recall 10V-023 · Jan 27, 2010 · 1,126,915 vehicles

Risk. A STUCK OPEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN VERY HIGH VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH, SERIOUS INJURY OR…

Problem, fix and repair progress →

–no report yet

Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal

Recall 10V-017 · Jan 21, 2010 · 2,230,661 vehicles

Risk. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY BECOME HARD TO DEPRESS, SLOW TO RETURN TO IDLE, OR, IN THE WORST CASE, MECHANICALLY STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION,…

Problem, fix and repair progress →

Recalls apply to specific cars. To see whether a recall is still open on yours, enter the 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with Toyota.

Mileage at failure

When do air bags problems start?

62kmiles, median

Based on the odometer reading in 91 air bags complaints. 81% were reported before 100,000 miles.

median0k50k100k150k200k+
21under 30k miles74under 100k miles17100k miles or more
Best & worst years

2010 vs. every other Corolla year

Bars show complaints per model year. Colors show the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the Corolla median. How we score

'69'70'71'73'76'77'78'79'80'81'82'83'84'85'86'87'88'89'90'91'92'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26'27
  • Avoid
  • Caution
  • Solid
  • Best
  • Not rated
NHTSA crash tests

2010 Toyota Corolla safety ratings

2010 Toyota Corolla 4-DR. w/SAB in NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program. Photos are from NHTSA's crash tests.

2010 Toyota Corolla frontal crash test, NHTSA
Frontal crashNot rated
2010 Toyota Corolla side barrier test, NHTSA
Side barrierNot rated
  • Stability control: Standard
  • Forward collision warning: No
  • Lane departure warning: No
3 investigations

NHTSA defect investigations

Federal investigations that included the 2010 Toyota Corolla, and the recalls they led to.

  1. Low-speed surgingDP14003 · closed Apr 29, 2015
    No recall
  2. Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA21002 · still open
    Open
  3. Steering Wander or DriftPE10008 · closed May 4, 2011
    No recall
In owners' words

What Corolla owners report

Recent air bags complaints filed with NHTSA, shortened. Personal details are removed.

While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle suffered a sudden, simultaneous failure of multiple electrical and safety systems. Without warning, the Check Engine light, VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) light, Traction Control light, and SRS Airbag light all illuminated simultaneously on the…
Complaint 11752255 · Jul 22, 2026
On XXX we have went to we buy any car.com in the car was inspected as a structural damage and it was found that there was no airbags at all so five years ago we have bought the car from John’s. great cars we didn’t know about this. They didn’t tell us that there was no bags. Technically they’re not…
Complaint 11750015 · Jul 13, 2026
The car that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replace Ac don’t blow any cool air To be driving with a minor child it put he’s health in a bad risky situation
Complaint 11741585 · Jun 2, 2026

Own a 2010 Corolla?

Decode your VIN to see the recalls for your exact car, then confirm open recalls with NHTSA.