10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2001 Toyota Corolla:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #12

May 082007

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Corolla. The contact was attempting to park the vehicle. A sudden acceleration occurred and the vehicle crashed into a building. The front end of the vehicle bumper sustained damages, and no personal injuries. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop with repairs performed. There was no mention of a police report filing. The failure mileage was 60,000. According to the letter the consumer sent in, she crashed into a parked vehicle, when her vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control and then crashed into the restaurant building. The consumer also stated she owns a 2006 Toyota Corolla and her husband was driving the vehicle when it accelerated out of control and hit five parked cars. Updated 06/17/10

- Maineville, OH, USA

problem #11

Nov 122001

Corolla

  • miles
2001 Toyota Corolla would not stop was going backwards and crashed into house. Nov 12. 2009. I turned the engine off halfway through the travel from point a to point B.

- Jeffersonville, IN, USA

problem #10

Jun 222005

Corolla

  • miles
Entered freeway driving 2001 Toyota Corolla. Accelerated to 70 mph and while moving into the left-hand lane, gas pedal would not release and tried braking but they would not engage and steering wouldn't release. Went into the median and rolled over three times. Completely totaled the car and I was taken by ambulance to nearby hospital when I was evaluated and released. Have had 10 surgeries since accident including a total hip replacement and now a 3rd total knee replacement. I also suffered a concussion. Police documentation on traffic crash report verifies that gas pedal/brake not engaging was cause of accident.

- Hudsonville, MI, USA

problem #9

Mar 012009

Corolla

  • miles
I am a slow driver and obey speed limits. I knew I was coming up to a stop sign on a 25 mph road, and I always do a real stop, not a slow down and creep forward. A block or two prior to the accident, I passed several police cars and even an unsafe driver would have carefully obeyed the traffic laws. I have no memory of the couple of seconds immediately prior to and during the accident, and my first moment I saw what was happening, I had my foot already on the brake pushing down hard on it but heading to the curb anyway. I think the curb stopped the car. My air bags did not deploy and the officer at the scene was surprised. I believe this fits the complaints about sudden acceleration. My car was totaled and I had to get a new car. I've asked my insurance company to investigate, but they have not gotten back to me.

- Cupertino, CA, USA

problem #8

Sep 012004

Corolla

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving down an incline, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but they were unable determine the cause.

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #7

Jan 042004

Corolla

  • miles
2001 Toyota Corolla - regarding sudden surge. I have noticed on many occasions that my Corolla will surge forward(from a stop). I just equated it with the defroster turning on(ac pump). Maybe there is more to it?

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #6

Jul 012003

Corolla 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle gradually became less responsive to depression of the accelerator over a period of a couple months and has now died several times. It was not noticeable at first to the usual driver of the vehicle but was immediately noticed by another driver. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they did not try very hard to fix the problem. It's currently, and has been for 2 months now, at a shop but still cannot determine the problem. It is unsafe in my opinion to drive in the city because of stop and go conditions and highway on-ramp necessities.

- Longwood, FL, USA

problem #5

Mar 312002

Corolla

  • miles
I had been driving North on the Maine turnpike with my cruise control on. It was a clear night and the roads were dry. As I approached the toll both I tried to turn my cruise control off, the car did not respond. I then turned the cruise control system off and the car was still not responding. I hit the brakes and was still unable to slow the car down. I then put the car in neutral and slammed on the brakes and was still unable to get the car to respond. At that point I was too close to the toll both to try to switch lanes and was unable to stop the car and hit the car in the toll plaza in front of me. After the impact, the car eventually coasted to a stop. Until this happened, I had no problem with anything on the car. The car has not been used since the accident, in fact has not been repaired until now. There were some injuries in this case. I have a shoulder injury, which I am still tring to get resolved. I want the incident to be reported due to the seriousness of being unable to disengage the cruise control system. An accident report was filed with the Maine state police bureau of motor vehicles accident section.

- Bar Harbor, ME, USA

problem #4

Mar 112002

(reported on)

Corolla

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
When traveling down hill with the dealer installed cruise control on, vehicle will chug as if it is losing power or out of gas. Also, when it's raining. When vehicle is traveling on an incline, tires will spin. Cruise control will decelerate. Consumer states headlights are adjusted too low, hesistation feeling when traveling slightly down hill, dealer adjusted throttle cable but condition still exsists.

- Cambria, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 152001

Corolla

  • miles
Driver was trying to park the car, thus the car was travelling at very low speed. Car suddenly surged after the driver applied the brake. Car went over the cement tire stopper, up a small hill, hit a wall, and stopped. This cannot possibly have been caused by the driver hitting the accelerator pedal. This is a serious safety problem. We will contact the dealer and the manufacturer on July 16, 2001.

- Fremont, CA, USA

problem #2

Jun 222001

Corolla

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While backing out of a parking space consumer noticed a noise. Depressed brakes and noise got louder. Then vehicle acclerated, causing vehicle to run into wall. Consumer states that the acceleration took place while she was switching into drive from reverse, even though brake was pressed, vehicle continued to move, airbags deployed causing the windshield to break, consumer was slightly bruised and bumped due to deployment of the airbags.

- Severn, MD, USA

problem #1

Feb 152001

(reported on)

Corolla

  • miles
The "cruise" light appears in the instrument panel when the cruise control is turned on, but not activated. When the control is activated, and controling the speed of the vehicle, there is no change in the information in the instrument panel. I believe it should be clear to the driver when the control is active, controling the speed of the vehicle. Perhaps the "cruise" light should only be on when the system is active. Or, an additional light to tell the driver the system is active.

- San Diego, CA, USA