IllustrationMY ENGINE FAILED WHILE DRIVING ON I 95. LACK OF OIL TO THE ENGINE BECAUSE OF A BROKEN TIMING CHAIN WAS THE STATED CAUSE. OIL HAD BEEN RECENTLY CHANGED AND WHEN CHECKED WAS FULL ON THE DIPSTICK. MILAGE 64,000. MANUAL RECOMENDS CHECKING THE TIMING CHAIN AT 80,000 MILES.*AK
1999 Toyota Corolla
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1999 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
1125–50K
1250–75K
1275–100K
9100–150K
3150K+
53 reports with mileage · 102 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.
- Tires. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
24 crash reports5 fire reports16 injury reports
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
20 reportsTENSION RETAINER BOLT BROKE. *AK
WE BOUGHT A 1999 TOYOTA COROLLA WITH 19,509 MILES ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 FROM AN INDEPENDENT USED CAR DEALER. THE CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THE SAME DAY WE BOUGHT THE CAR SO WE TOOK THE COROLLA TO THE NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, JAY TOYOTA OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA TO HAVE THE ENGINE INSPECTED THE DAY AFTER WE BOUGHT THE CAR. ON OUR…
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WE BOUGHT A 1999 TOYOTA COROLLA WITH 19,509 MILES ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 FROM AN INDEPENDENT USED CAR DEALER. THE CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THE SAME DAY WE BOUGHT THE CAR SO WE TOOK THE COROLLA TO THE NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, JAY TOYOTA OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA TO HAVE THE ENGINE INSPECTED THE DAY AFTER WE BOUGHT THE CAR. ON OUR WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, WE NOTICED EXCESSIVE SMOKE FROM THE TAIL PIPE AND "JERKY" ACCELERATION. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD US THAT THE ENGINE WAS IN POOR CONDITION DUE TO SLUDGE DAMAGE AND EVEN ADMITTED THAT TOYOTA CO. HAS BEEN HAVING SLUDGE PROBLEMS IN TOYOTA ENGINES. HOWEVER, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD US THAT TOYOTA MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY DOES NOT HONOR ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO SLUDGE DAMAGE. THEIR ESTIMATE FOR REPAIR WAS $2500-$5800. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDED THAT WE NOT DRIVE THE COROLLA ANYMORE THAN NECESSARY BEFORE WE HAVE THE ENGINE REPAIRED BECAUSE THEY SAID THE ENGINE MAY FAIL DUE TO THE SLUDGE. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ENGINE REPAIRED, BUT WE DID SEND AN OIL SAMPLE IN FOR OIL ANALYSIS. ALTHOUGH THE OIL WE SENT IN ONLY HAD 314 MILES ON IT, THE LEVELS OF FUEL AND IRON IN THE OIL WERE CONSIDERED HIGH. ACCORDING TO THE ANALYSIS AN OIL SAMPLE FROM A GASOLINE ENGINE SHOULD CONTAIN LESS THAN 2% FUEL, OUR SAMPLE WITH ONLY 314 MILES ON IT ALREADY HAD FUEL PERCENTAGE OF 2.8. THE UNIVERSAL AVERAGE FOR IRON IS 9 PARTS PER MILLION, OUR OIL HAD 34 PARTS PER MILLION OF IRON. IT SEEMS TO US THAT OUR COROLLA IS HAVING THE SAME TYPE OF PROBLEM AS THE MODELS THAT TOYOTA COMPANY HAS AGREED TO INCLUDE IN ITS PROGRAM IN WHICH CERTAIN ENGINE MODELS WITH SLUDGE DAMAGE CAN BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED BY TOYOTA AT NO COST. AFTER VISITING SOME CAR REVIEW AND CAR SURVEY SITES AND PERFORMING SOME SEARCHES ON THE WEB, WE FOUND THAT WE WERE NOT THE ONLY COROLLA OWNERS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH ENGINE SLUDGE. WE BELIEVE COROLLA SHOULD NOT BE EXCLUDED FROM TOYOTA'S SLUDGE PROGRAM. *NLM
WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING AND BECAME DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *NLM
MY ENGINE MAKES RATTLING NOISE SINCE IT REACHED 30,000 MILES. THE NOISE ONLY COMES FOR FIRST 10 MINUTES WHEN THE CAR IS COLD. I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO CAROUSEL TOYOTA, PA DURING WARRANTY PERIOD. SINCE AT THAT TIME THE NOISE DID NOT COME THEY COULD FIX IT AS NOISE ONLY COMES WHEN CAR IS COLD. NOW MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND E…
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MY ENGINE MAKES RATTLING NOISE SINCE IT REACHED 30,000 MILES. THE NOISE ONLY COMES FOR FIRST 10 MINUTES WHEN THE CAR IS COLD. I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO CAROUSEL TOYOTA, PA DURING WARRANTY PERIOD. SINCE AT THAT TIME THE NOISE DID NOT COME THEY COULD FIX IT AS NOISE ONLY COMES WHEN CAR IS COLD. NOW MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND ENGINE STILL MAKES RATTLING NOISE. *JB
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
THE MAKES TO MUCH NOISE DRIVING AT 65MPS CANT DRIVE OVER 60MPS
THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE CAR WAS A COMPLETE LOSS. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING AND TRYING TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE AT THE SPEED 65 MPH. VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT INDICATION. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
ENGINECYLINDERS WAS RECEIVING INADEQUATE AMOUNT OF OIL DUE TO A DEFECTIVE CAMSHAFT, CAUSING LOSS OF COMPRESSION WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *AK
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.