IllustrationI WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN AUGUST, AND THE AIRBAG SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED, BECAUSE I WAS HIT VERY HARD. IT DIDN'T, AND CAUSED ME SEVERE PAIN. *TR
1997 Toyota Corolla
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Toyota Corolla do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 129.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Corolla years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 21 of 135 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Seat Belts. Review the 38 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
22 crash reports5 fire reports16 injury reports
What owners actually said
135 reportsFRONT SEAT BELTS LOCK AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO PULL OUT THE SEAT BELT IT FINALLY LOCKS. HAD SEAT BELT REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES AND KEEPS REPEATING. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AFTER READING THE NUMEROUS LOGS ABOUT THIS VERY PROBLEM. *JB
SAFETY BELTS IN TOYOTA COROLLA LOCK SO WE ARE UNABLE TO USE THEM. TOYOTA SAYS SINCE THE CAR IS A 97 AND OUT OF WARRANTY IT IS NOT TOYOTA'S RESPONSIBILITY. WRONG IT IS A DEFECT THAT WE REPLACED ALREADY ONCE. *NM
DOUGLAS P185/65R14BL XTRAC TIRE - TREAD SEPARATED FROM TIRE ON THE INSIDE OF RIGHT FRONT DRIVERS SIDE. TIRES PURCHASED AT WALMART, ALTHOUGH UNDER WARRANTY, WALMART CLAIMS THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. *NM
I AM EXPERIENCING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS W/MY DASH AND SPOILER(DOESN'T LIGHT UP FULLY, CAUSING DIFFICULTY TO SEE GRAPHICS DURING NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING DRIVING.) ALL FUSES HAVE BEEN CHECKED/REPLACED, HOWEVER THIS PROBLEM STILL PERSIST. ADVISED PER DEALERSHIP TO DISCONNECT SPOILER LIGHT DUE TO IT "ONLY BEING COSMETIC". ALSO EXPERI…
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I AM EXPERIENCING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS W/MY DASH AND SPOILER(DOESN'T LIGHT UP FULLY, CAUSING DIFFICULTY TO SEE GRAPHICS DURING NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING DRIVING.) ALL FUSES HAVE BEEN CHECKED/REPLACED, HOWEVER THIS PROBLEM STILL PERSIST. ADVISED PER DEALERSHIP TO DISCONNECT SPOILER LIGHT DUE TO IT "ONLY BEING COSMETIC". ALSO EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS W/ODORS FROM AIR CONDITIONING COMING INSIDE THE VEHICLE. I WAS ADVISED THESE ODORS WOULD SUBSIDE, DUE TO SERVICE MAINTENANCE OF AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. THESE EXPENSES HAVE PROVEN TO BE COSTLY. NEVER HAVE I BEEN ADVISED/NOTIFIED OF ANY RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE. EVEN DURING REPAIR FROM DEALERSHIP,I WASN'T ADVISED THE ABOVE ITEMS WERE BEING QUESTIONED.*JB
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT RETRACTOR LOCKS PREVENTING USE OF SEAT BELT. *NM
MY SEAT BELTS IN MY TOYOTA COROLLA HAS AN DEFECT, DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT IS HUNG AND I CANT GET IT ON I HAVE TO PULL HARD JUST TO GET IT ON, AND IT GET HUNG AGAIN, PASSENGER BELT IN THE REAR IS ALL THE WAY OUT AND WANT RETRACT, I HAVE 3 KIDS UNDER THE AGE 6 AND ITS A BIG CONCERN FOR ME. *JB
BOUGHT NEW TIRES AT SEARS. HAD TIRES BALANCED AND FRONT-END ALIGNMENT. SERVICE DEPT. STATED AND SHOWED ME THAT THE INNER W/POWER STEERING TIE ROD (FRONT LEFT SIDE)WAS LOOSE AND SHOULD BE REPLACED. *JB
REAR DOOR LOCKS (RR,RL) HAVE INEXPLICABLY SEIZED AND DO NOT OPERATE IN EITHER A LOCKING OR UNLOCKING CAPACITY. MECHANICAL SEIZURE WITHIN THE LOCK ASSEMBLIES MAKES OPERATION OF LOCKS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT CONSIDERING THE MINIMAL TEXTURE AFFORDED ON THE LOCK LEVER. OUT OF FEAR OF BLOWING A FUSE OR RELAY, I HAVE DISCONNECTED THE ASSE…
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REAR DOOR LOCKS (RR,RL) HAVE INEXPLICABLY SEIZED AND DO NOT OPERATE IN EITHER A LOCKING OR UNLOCKING CAPACITY. MECHANICAL SEIZURE WITHIN THE LOCK ASSEMBLIES MAKES OPERATION OF LOCKS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT CONSIDERING THE MINIMAL TEXTURE AFFORDED ON THE LOCK LEVER. OUT OF FEAR OF BLOWING A FUSE OR RELAY, I HAVE DISCONNECTED THE ASSEMBLIES MANUALLY AND NOW HAVE MINIMAL POWER LOCKING CAPABILITY.
MY DAUGHTER WENT OUT IN THE MORNING TO START HER 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA AND IT WAS VERY NOISY, SHE TRIED TO TURN CAR OFF AND IT WOULD NOT STOP. THE ENGINE KEPT RUNNING AND THE STARTER WAS STUCK IN THE STARTER POSITION. SHE PULLED THE FUSE FOR THE IGNITION AND THE ENGINE STOPPED BUT THE STARTER WAS STILL IN A HIGH WHINE AND WAS TR…
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MY DAUGHTER WENT OUT IN THE MORNING TO START HER 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA AND IT WAS VERY NOISY, SHE TRIED TO TURN CAR OFF AND IT WOULD NOT STOP. THE ENGINE KEPT RUNNING AND THE STARTER WAS STUCK IN THE STARTER POSITION. SHE PULLED THE FUSE FOR THE IGNITION AND THE ENGINE STOPPED BUT THE STARTER WAS STILL IN A HIGH WHINE AND WAS TRYING TO START THE CAR. (OBVIOUSLY STUCK) IT WAS GETTING VERY HOT AND SMELLING. SMOKE STARTED TO COME OUT OF ENGINE AND SHE WAS ABOUT TO TRY TO UNHOOK THE BATTERY CABLE WHEN THE STARTER QUIT. SHE WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY THERE WAS NO FIRE, IT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THAT. SHE HAD NO PREVIOUS INDICATIONS ON STARTER PROBLEMS BEFORE THAT. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP. STARTER IS BEING REPLACED, BATTERY CABLES AND A NEW WIRING HARNESS DUE TO THE FACT EVERYTHING GOT TOO HOT AND MELTED. (OVER $1000)
Official recalls
197V043001 · Air Bags
Mar 20, 1997
IF THE AIR BAG COMPUTER IN A SUBJECT VEHICLE EXPERIENCES A MECHANICAL SHOCK (I.E., RAPIDLY MOVING THE FRONT SEAT BACK AGAINST THE STOPS OR A SUDDEN RELEASE OF THE PARKING BRAKE) WITHIN A VERY SHORT TIME AFTER THE ENGINE IS STARTED, THE AIR BAG CAN DEPLOY INADVERTENTLY.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT CAN RESULT IN OCCUPANT INJURY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE AIR BAG COMPUTER.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.