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2013 Toyota CorollaProblems, recalls & complaints

NHTSA has logged 201 owner complaints about the 2013 Toyota Corolla, most often about the air bags. It is covered by 5 safety recalls, and for recall 20V-024 the manufacturer reports only 58% of affected cars repaired.

2013 Toyota Corolla
50
CarFlaw IndexSolid year1.0× the Corolla median · #18 of 38 years by complaints
Safety recalls5Lowest repair rate 58%Owner complaints20181 with a crash, fire or injuryTypical failure mileage39kAir bags, median miles

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports, through January 22, 2026. Updated daily. Photo: Elise240SX, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Complaints by system

Where the 2013 Toyota Corolla has problems

201 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 bags7231
Steering392
Service brakes235
Vehicle speed control189
Engine164
Seat belts123
Electrical system112
Structure105
Power train91
15 other systems416

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

5 recalls

2013 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.

58%repaired · 2022 Q1

Air bags: air bag/restraint control module

Recall 20V-024 · Jan 17, 2020 · 2,891,976 vehicles · 1,672,902 repaired

Risk. 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.

Problem, fix and repair progress →

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 →

Show 1 more recall
–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 →

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?

39kmiles, median

Based on the odometer reading in 40 air bags complaints. 93% were reported before 100,000 miles.

median0k50k100k150k200k+
17under 30k miles37under 100k miles3100k miles or more
Best & worst years

2013 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

2013 Toyota Corolla safety ratings

2013 Toyota Corolla 4 DR FWD in NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program. Photos are from NHTSA's crash tests.

★★★★★Overall rating
2013 Toyota Corolla frontal crash test, NHTSA
Frontal crash★★★★★
2013 Toyota Corolla side barrier test, NHTSA
Side barrier★★★★★
2013 Toyota Corolla side pole test, NHTSA
Side pole★★★★★
  • Rollover: 4 stars (12.1% risk)
  • Stability control: Standard
  • Forward collision warning: No
  • Lane departure warning: No
2 investigations

NHTSA defect investigations

Federal investigations that included the 2013 Toyota Corolla, and the recalls they led to.

  1. Electrical overstressEA19001 · closed Sep 19, 2024
    Led to recall 20V-024
  2. Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA21002 · still open
    Open
In owners' words

What Corolla owners report

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

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V024000 (AIR BAGS) and 19V005000 (AIR BAGS) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.
Complaint 11640478 · Feb 3, 2025
On Monday, [XXX], I was at the CVS pharmacy drive through when the failure occurred. There was no accident and otherwise no warning before it happened. I attempted to pull out when I noticed the car was drifting and the steering was extremely stiff. I looked down to see that the airbag light and…
Complaint 11615296 · Sep 18, 2024
I WENT TO A TOYOTA DEALER TO GET THE RECALL WORK DONE(DEALER AT 2610 FOREST LANE'DALLAS,TX) THEY NEVER DID THE REPAIR AND GAVE ME A PHONE CALL TRYING TO SELL ME WITH $1000+ OF BOGUS REPAIRS. THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR,I HAVE A 21POINT INSPECRTION DONE TWICE A YEAR BY GOOD MECHANICS--EXCEPT…
Complaint 11387319 · Jan 9, 2021 · 109,000 miles

Own a 2013 Corolla?

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