IllustrationVEHICLE INVOLVED IN A FRONT END CRASH. THE SEAT/SHOULDER BELT DID NOT LOCK AND THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY
1998 Toyota Corolla
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 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
60–25K
825–50K
1450–75K
1875–100K
11100–150K
7150K+
64 reports with mileage · 161 unknown
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.
- Air Bags. Review the 61 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Structure. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
36 crash reports8 fire reports24 injury reports
Seat Belts complaints
17 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT RETRACT AFTER BEING UTILIZED. IN ADDITION, THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT AT ALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILUR…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT RETRACT AFTER BEING UTILIZED. IN ADDITION, THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT AT ALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 185,000. UPDATED 4/30/15*CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE SEAT BELTS WERE REPLACED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE REASON THE SEAT BELT FAILURE, WAS BECAUSE PRIOR TO PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, IT WAS IN AN ACCIDENT; UPDATED 05/07/15*JB
THE SEAT BELT WILL NOT STAY LOCKED INTO THE SEAT BELT LATCH. *TR
1998 TOYOTA COROLLA. CONSUMER STATES SEAT BELT DEFECTIVE. *TGW SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE SEAT BELT BEGAN FRAYING AS A RESULT OF BEING SCRAPED BY THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE MECHANISM AS IT SLID THROUGH THE SLOT. THE SEAT BELT HAS LOST ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF ITS WIDTH. THE DEFECT APPEARS TO BE THE SLOT IN THE SEAT BELT MECHANISM. SO, MERELY R…
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1998 TOYOTA COROLLA. CONSUMER STATES SEAT BELT DEFECTIVE. *TGW SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE SEAT BELT BEGAN FRAYING AS A RESULT OF BEING SCRAPED BY THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE MECHANISM AS IT SLID THROUGH THE SLOT. THE SEAT BELT HAS LOST ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF ITS WIDTH. THE DEFECT APPEARS TO BE THE SLOT IN THE SEAT BELT MECHANISM. SO, MERELY REPLACING THE SEAT BELT WOULDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *JB
ON 11/7/2006 I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE MY VEHICLE 98 TOYOTA COROLLA REAR ENDED A CEMENT TRUCK. THE SPEED AT WHICH MY CAR WAS TRAVELING WAS 25-35 MPH. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, MY SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK AND BECAUSE OF THIS MY CHEST HIT THE STEERING WHEEL. I VISITED THE URGENT CARE THE SAME DAY AND AS A RESULT OF THE …
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ON 11/7/2006 I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE MY VEHICLE 98 TOYOTA COROLLA REAR ENDED A CEMENT TRUCK. THE SPEED AT WHICH MY CAR WAS TRAVELING WAS 25-35 MPH. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, MY SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK AND BECAUSE OF THIS MY CHEST HIT THE STEERING WHEEL. I VISITED THE URGENT CARE THE SAME DAY AND AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT I SUFFERED STRAINED LIGAMENTS AND MUSCLES IN MY NECK AND BACK AND A BRUISE AND SCRAPE ON MY CHEST. I AM STILL SUFFERING. *NM
1998 TOYOTA COROLLA'S DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED AT THE LATCH AREA WHERE IT HOOKS IN . THE TRUNK LOCK BROKE INSIDE THE CYLINDER AND THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR HANDLE BROKE INSIDE. *TS THE SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND FLASHED ALTHOUGH ALL THE OCCUPANTS HAD THEIR SEAT BELTS BUCKLED. *NM
THE SEAT BELT INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE SEAT BELT SENSOR MAY HAVE MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUSED THE LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE. *NM *NM
THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT FASTENER LATCH IS DEFECTIVE. IT IS NO LONGER LATCHES, ENABLING THE DRIVER TO USE THE SEAT BELT. *CB
DEFECTIVE SEAT BELTS IN MY 1998 TOYOTA COROLLA. IN MAY 03 AND JULY 03 I HAD 2 OF MY 5 SEATBELT BREAK. BOTH APPEAR TO HAVE BROKEN IN THE SAME FASHION. *AK
THE AIR BAG AND SEAT BELT LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH BOARD, ALSO WHEN A SUDDEN STOP WAS MADE, THE SEAT BELT DID NOT RESTRAIN THE CONSUMER PROPERLY. *JB
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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.