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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
65,630 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Toyota Corolla electrical problems

electrical problem

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2003 Toyota Corolla Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #28

Sep 222021

Corolla

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car is accelerating when my foot is off of the pedal and when in park, it is revving like I am pressing down on the gas pedal. I put it in reverse to test it to make sure I was experiencing what I just thought had happened. As soon as I put the gear in reverse, and released my foot from the break, the car spead down my driveway. I breaked, put gear in drive, and when I released my foot from the break pedal, again it sped up almost crashing into my house. When I put the car in park, the engine became louder as if I was pressing down on the gas pedal. I checked the pedals below. The rug or nothing else was near the pedal, as can happen at times. This morning I tested it out again on my way to work. It was a repeat of yesterday. The car is speeding up without me putting my foot on the drive pedal, by me simply lifting my foot of of the break. And when I park, it gets loud as if I am pressing on the gas pedal. This is very dangerous and I am afraid to drive my car until I can get it to a mechanic.

- Hollywood, FL, USA

problem #27

Sep 112016

Corolla

  • 90,000 miles
I've tried to report both items to tysons Toyota in the past. The driver side window has "exploded" in, once while I was in the car. I'm on my third window and it rattles when the window is partially open. I fear another explosion. Second, the paint on this blue car has rusted and peeled on the roof and trunk. When I googled the year, make, model, and color, there are thousands of 2003-04 cars experiencing the same defect. Despite being an older car, there are many still on the road. Toyota claims there was no problem. However, with so many occurances, one would think Toyota would look into the quality of blue paint used. It would cost over $900 just to have the roof and trunk repaired and repainted. The side back panels are now beginning to rust. I saw where sequoia white SUVS were afforded free repainting because of a similar issue. (if someone can afford a sequoia, they could probably afford to get their cars repainted!)

- Falls Church, VA, USA

problem #26

Jul 112016

Corolla

  • 163,000 miles
My smog light keeps going on even after I have it repaired. I know someone who has the same exact car that I have and she got the recall on the ECM and they replaced it and she did not have to replace the catalytic converter to pass the ca smog. I replaced it already and it is super expensive...1,600!! last year I had my car service for the check engine light and it cost me 1,000. Afterwards the check engine light went on again. They are saying I have to have the catalytic converter replaced again. I feel this is unfair if my friend had that control module replaced and no longer had the check engine light problem like I am having. I believe it could be the mechanism is faulty. It is hard to believe I have to replace the catalytic converter all over again. I did not drive that many miles. Plus in ca they said they would give us money towards the repair but it was very difficult and I was led to believe I could get 500 plus 800 so I thought I would be paying the balance after 1300 which would have still been 300 plus but I was only able to get 500 towards the repair so I still had to pay 1,100! it really bothers me because my friend who has the same make and model had the same problem with the check engine light going on and they recalled it and replaced it she has never had to replace her catalytic converter yet but I am now having to do it twice! she has high mileage perhaps more than I have. Please look into this for me.

- Laguna Woods, CA, USA

problem #25

Apr 012017

Corolla

  • 180,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Instrument display panel fails to light up in the stationary position for approx. 15 seconds. When driving at night and vehicle is moving instrument display may not come on.

- Livermore, CA, USA

problem #24

Jan 012017

Corolla

  • 178,000 miles
Vehicle ignition switch engages starter on an intermittent basis when turning the key. After a unspecified period of time has lapsed, the vehicle will engage starter and start. Vehicle has been stranded numerous times around town.

- Livermore, CA, USA

problem #23

Dec 012015

Corolla 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100,000 miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While driving various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V043000 (air bags); however, the parts for the recall repair were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was 100,000. Parts distribution disconnect. Updated 09/08/16 the consumer stated the airbags were repaired, but some electrical does not work.

- Kapaa, HI, USA

problem #22

Mar 182016

Corolla

  • 135,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving the car, noticed bad smell. Stopped and came out from the vechicle and it started on fire from the engine compartment.

- Sparks, NV, USA

problem #21

Dec 062005

Corolla

  • 80,000 miles
Takata recall.the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While driving various speeds, the air bag warning indicator and the check engine light remained illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the vcu needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V043000 (air bags). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

- New Caney, TX, USA

problem #20

Nov 152015

Corolla

  • 126,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While the vehicle was parked, the engine burst into flames. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated the day prior to the fire. A fire report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #19

Oct 262013

Corolla

  • miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V043000 (electrical system), and 15V286000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Updated 02/12/16

- Hamilton, OH, USA

problem #18

Feb 022015

Corolla

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This form required I enter an incident date. There has been no incident.I entered the incident date of the date of my recall notification.after 6 months and several telephone calls to my dealer, Toyota has still not corrected the issues addressed in their recall notification. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ safety recall NHTSA #15V043. Manuf.recall #D3B recall date Jan. 27 2015. I received the recall letter from Toyota in approx Feb 2015( I am medically disabled) and then called in Feb 2015 my local stadium Toyota to schedule the recall maintenance.always they have been exceedingly courteous and competent when I've used them for oil changes and another recall service.they took my name/tele number and said they will call me back when the specific parts come in......which is generally what the letter does say.("..we will send another notification once preparations are complete") I called back stadium Toyota May 18 2015.they said they"will call me to schedule.... I called back again June 22 2105.they said they"will call me to schedule.... I was called by a gal from stadium Toyota do general maintenance the week of July 23 2015 & told her I was only interested in this particular recall issue.( I service my car elsewhere because, unfortunately, stadium is too expensive for my ssdi budget) she told me she would have the service department call me concerning this issue. July 27,2015, I did try to leave a complaint via the telephone complaint number but hung up after "heavy volume".now I am leaving this complaint on your intranet.I did verify that this particular recall is the only open recall for my vehicle.what a great web site this is !!!

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #17

May 112015

Corolla

  • miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact received a notice for NHTSA campaign number: 15V403000 (air bags, electrical system); however, the part needed was not available. The contact believed that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Clifton, NJ, USA

problem #16

Feb 272015

Corolla

  • miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number:15V043000 (electronic control unit) and stated that the part needed was unavailable to perform the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Rapid City, SD, USA

problem #15

Mar 162012

Corolla

  • 81,766 miles
Camelback Toyota took care of a recall on the wiring harness and since that date I have had numerous problems - lost my keyless entry, lost my speedometer, lost my horn. D & B auto found some problems at the tune of $428.70 (got my horn, speedometer and keyless entry working again - this was 8/12/13). Then approximately September or October, my car would start lurching and felt like it went into neutral and I would loose my speedometer - no engine light would come one - we tried several time to find out what was wrong - D & B auto checked out my speed sensors and found them to be okay and suggested it was my instrument panel and told me to call dick's speed-0-tech - I did and was informed that it could not be the instrument panel on a 2003 Toyota Corolla - suggested I call sam's compu -tech - I did and he said he could not help me until an engine light came on. In the meantime I found [xxx] the tech and he found the ecd connector (E8) not fully seated (locked) - not this is after the recall by camelback Toyota and then I still had the problems of the car lurching, going into neutral and loosing my speedometer so [xxx] the tech came back and we spend approximately 8 hours checking out the instrument channel and guess what we found (done by camelback Toyota) - first he looked at the wiring under my dash and said "this is not factory" and then we found 6 zip ties holding the wires going into the instrument panel box and again he stated this is not factory. We found the wires would not stay in the box because it had obviously been twisted - so we fixed them and the car has been okay since - this was 10-20-14. Now you are telling me I have another recall on this - I cannot go through all this crap again so what are you going to do about it? information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #14

Jan 282014

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 108,010 miles
I have received 3 safety recalled notices applied to my car. On January, 2014 I went to a local Toyota dealer. They took my information, but did not give me an appointment because of not a computer system. They told me they would call back. I called them 10 times and they never had computer system or people to receive my calls.I called Toyota puerto rico, I gave my phone number and a short description of my problem. I never received a call back. On July, 2014, I visited another Toyota dealer with the same result: No massage nor call back. There is enough time and opportunities to fulfill with this car recall, the reason to submit respectfully this complaint.

- Ponce, PR, USA

problem #13

Jun 192014

Corolla 4-cyl

  • miles
Vehicle mileage does not match carfax report. Likely odometer tampering.

- Tolleson, AZ, USA

problem #12

Feb 172011

Corolla

  • 50,000 miles
1. electrical: Driver & passenger side electric windows would not roll up after rolling them down. Drivers side window button was not broke...& physically worked when pushed down or pulled up but did not roll the window up. Passenger side window button actually broke/caved in when pushed to roll window down. Once rolled down...it would not roll up. 2. unknown or other: Air conditioner barely blows any air out of vents. When set on "highest fan option"...U can hear it working & can feel cool air but U have to have your face 2 inches in front of vent to feel it. 3. seat belts: Passenger side seat belt will not click/lock into locking device to keep seatbelt on. Don't know of anything breaking it...just wouldn't "click" into locking device one day.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #11

Jun 252013

Corolla

  • miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the contact noticed a burning smell emitting from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate the problem. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

- Baker, LA, USA

problem #10

May 242008

Corolla

  • 59,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the entire instrument panel illuminated. In addition, the dome light would not function. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The manufacturer issued a voluntary recall related to the electrical system. The technician advised that the vehicle be taken to the location where the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.

- Remsen, NY, USA

problem #9

Apr 042013

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
Took my car into Toyota dealer jim coleman Toyota - because of the 2003 supplemental restraint system (SRS) electronic control module (ECM) safety recall notice that I received 2 weeks ago, made an appointment 2 days ago with the dealer for this recall - said to come in today at 2:00 pm for the repair. One hour and 45 minutes later - fix was not completed because they said that Toyota corporation only allows for 12 sub-wire harness (filters) to be installed each day at each dealer through out the United States of America. They did not that the part and told me at the beginning of the service that they didn't have the part - but still needed to check my car to see if it needed to be repaired. They will have the part tomorrow and will fix tomorrow - hopefully. So my complaint is why does Toyota not send the parts to the dealers to fix this safety recall and what will the NHTSA do about this problem with no parts from Toyota to fix the problem - only 12 per day per dealer" also I don't no if this is related but the passenger door lock doesn't work - when it rains it might or not work - problem occurred in 2005 and until this day - right after warranty ended on the car? like an electrical short in the right passenger door - not sure if it is related"

- Kensington, MD, USA

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