- The problem
- Ride control is recalling certain front strut mounts branded as gabriel ride control or arvinmeritor, p/nos. 142435, 142193, 142305, 142303, Sold as replacement equipment for the vehicles listed above. The affected front strut mounts did not contain a weld joint between the bearing housing and the rate plate.
- The risk
- The absence of the weld can allow the strut to come out of its mounting position under certain extreme driving conditions which could cause damage to surrounding vehicle components increasing the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Ride control will notify owners of record and replace the affected parts free of charge. The safety recall began on march 15, 2010. Owners may contact ride control at 1-248-458-1396.
Vehicle safety record
2002 Toyota Corolla Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 144 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Corolla with NHTSA, most often about the engine & cooling (25) and the airbags (24). Those complaints describe 30 crashes, 1 fire and 23 injuries. It is covered by 5 recalls, the latest in February 2010 for the suspension. For comparison, the 2001 has 138 and the 2003 has 769.
NHTSA data checked
CAbout as many problems as a typical Corolla year, for its age
#82 most complained-about 2002 vehicle
- Complaints
- 144
- Recalls
- 5
- Crashes
- 30
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 23
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 2002 Toyota Corolla problems
Share of all 144 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
2002 Toyota Corolla recalls 5
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- Dope, inc. Is recalling 42,540 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." These lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
- The risk
- Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
- The fix
- Dope, inc. Will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on july 28, 2009. Owners may contact dope, inc. At 1-626-272-1798.
- The problem
- Sabersport is recalling 16,270 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." These lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
- The risk
- Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
- The fix
- Sabersport will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on may 11, 2009. Owners may contact sabersport at 1-909-598-7589.
- The problem
- Certain ck motorsports combination headlights, clear corner, bumper, and side marker lights sold as replacement lamps for use on the passenger vehicles listed above. Some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
- The risk
- Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
- The fix
- Ck motorsport will notify owners and replace the noncompliant lamps free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2006. Owners may contact ck motorsport at 1-909-610-7211.
- The problem
- Certain poli-auto combination headlamp assemblies, p/nos. 11-728, 11-728D, 11-710, 11-419, 11-713, 11-703, 11-704, 11-708p, 11-735, 11-725, 11-726, 11-716 (p&c), 11-721-1, 11-733, 11-729, 11-730, and 11-732, sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles. Some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
- The risk
- Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
- The fix
- Poli-auto will notify owners and offer to repurchase the headlamps at its original purchase price. The recall is expected to begin during april 2006. Owners may contact poli-auto at 305-477-1356.
What owners say
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144 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Corolla
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 6.
Tire size: TM-1 185/65R14 86 T Tire. I bought 4 tires in Sept 2022. I just found out that, after 11 months of normal city driving (which added bout 10K miles to the mileage) and normal maintenance, the tires already showing belt. They have become a safety hazard so I have to buy 4 new tires of another brand.
Ive owned this car for 3 weeks and have had to put 2 quarts of oil in every week because every morning I start my car lot of blue smoke is coming out my exhaust. This is because the design temperature for the pistons in this engine was 120 degrees celsius and the actual temperatures reached are 160 degrees celsius, which causes the petroleum oil to sludge up and carbon to accumulate in the piston oil holes that allow oil to flow to the piston rings. This blocks those oil holes, preventing oil from getting to the...
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piston rings and subsequently the piston rings wear very, very quickly, then allowing oil to be able to slip past the piston rings, into the combustion chamber and out the exhaust. This will lead to replacing the pistons which is an extremely expensive and labor intensive job just because toyota made a mistake with the way they built the engine. It's a shame that toyota hasn't recalled this vehicle because there are countless amounts of records on these cars having that problem. The car can break down after so much oil has been burned and that could happen un expectedly. It's drivable but not safe.
The engine is using excessive oil. Need to add 1 quart every 300 miles to keep filled. The car has 120,000 miles. Notice blue smoke upon acceleration. Car has been regularly serviced according to toyota owner's manual.
My toyota corolla 2002 ce has a design flaw with the pistons. There are not enough holes in the pistons to allow enough oil to go through and as a result, the vehicle is burning a lot of oil, up to 1 quart of oil every 250 miles. Please! Can you help me with this situation? Thank you.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. While driving 65 mph, there was a low rumbling sound coming from the engine. There was also a strong exhaust odor inside the vehicle and it burned more oil than normal. The contact had to place approximately five quarts of oil into the vehicle after driving 150 to 200 miles. The service engine light remained illuminated and the vehicle failed to accelerate normally. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and diagnosed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The dash light indicating a problem with my air bag is on. Toyota states that a safety recall is pending that might affect my car. Until then, they are unable or unwilling to repair my car. They state that the airbag may go off on it's own. They cannot tell me how long it may be before the recall is announced. This seems highly dangerous to me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v043000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Air bags did not deploy during the crash. The crash was serious; it totoled the car. *Tr
I was driving home from working 12 hour graveyard shift. I fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the right hand side of our blacktop road 1 mile from home. My 2002 corolla was traveling around 50mph I awoke and attempted to correct the car's path and hit a tree head on destroying the right grill bumper hood, windshield, right fender, inner upper frame work and headlamp assembly and wiring. My dash light came on that said my airbag deployed. My steering wheel airbag was still intact it failed to deploy or inflate. I was saved by god and my seat belt. *Tr
Toyota told us not to put anyone in passenger side because airbag is dangerous. We have four adults in our family and need to use the passenger front seat. Toyota (johnson city tn) say they have no idea when they can fix the air bag because they have no idea when parts will be available. "It could be months". We need to have it fixed soon. *Tr
I was in the "slow " lane on the interstate headed to school. I received a speeding ticket the day before so I made sure to on be in slow lane going speed limit. The car in front of me a red cadiliac brake and kind of hard so I brake traveling at 60 to 65 mph. I brake quick not real hard and with in seconds I realized the car was loosing control. I quickly jumped into the passenger seat as soon as I realized it was in gods hands. I then did a 360 and a 180 across all three lanes never hitting another car or truck...
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hit the center of the interstate and rolled three times. I know that this is what happened because the women traveling behind me said she had to stop bc she didn't know how I was alive. I told them that I thought a tire had blown but really I had no clue I knew I was pissed bc my 6 month old car gone. It was the first thing I was actually buying on my own and bam. I had a sprained ankle and cut on shoulder road rash and whip lash bad. Recently I have researched and saw my car is in fact on the list. The year and model but how would you know if my exact car was defective? Its been in the impound since april 2002. I feel this needs to be addressed and I should be compensated accordingly. *Tr
While driving on bumpy roads I would hear a loud clunking noise from under the car. I asked a mechanic what it was and he said it was the struts. There is a recall on this vehicle, 2002 toyota corolla for that very thing. One dealer said he wouldn't fix it. *Tr
Toyota central downtown los angeles has failed to remedy the recall of the electronic control module(ecm),i've been to central toyota service department two times and they turned me away by giving me excuse of parts unavailability. Therefore please advice me what to do next?. Thank you. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact stated that another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of his vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact mentioned that the air bag warning lamp illuminated. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was 165,000. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact stated while accelerating, the vehicle lost power and within a few minutes it suddenly accelerated. The brake pedal had to be depressed in order to control the speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. A diagnostic test was performed that was unable to display a failure code. The 02 sensor and the catalytic converter were replaced; however, the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vin was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000 and the current mileage was 147,000.
The problem is and has been excess oil usuage. It uses a quart about every 400 hundred miles. I bought the car used at a local honda dealer may, 2010. It had 102,000 miles on it. It now has 117,000. It's been using oil every since I've had it. I took it back to the dealer and they couldn't find any thing wrong. They said the engine was clean and there were no oil leaks anywhere. I've searched the internet and there are alot of complaints posted about this car. The problem is the engine put in the car in 2002. A...
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1.6L was replaced with a new 1.8L engine and evidently the 1.8L didn't seat properly causing oil usuage. My son drove this car while he was at college. The problem is, with this kind of oil usage, you can run the car out of oil. We tried to keep up with it, but if you run it high speeds it will use more oil. If the car runs out of oil on an interstate and the engine locks up, well you could have a serious safety problem. I keep the car at home now because of the safety concerns. We drive it locally only. *Tt
Steering suddenly became very stiff and difficult. Took to local toyota dealer who diagnosed a failed rack, at 75,000 miles. Repaired at cost of $1060. Three weeks later experienced same problem. Returned to dealer and was told the intermediate shaft joint was corroded and stuck. Claims they have fixed it. This issue needs to be looked into and a recall ordered. This is a dangerous and sudden failure! *Tt
About a week ago, driver seat could not return to upright position after adjusting angle. Then we noticed large piece of seat back frame was protruding on the left-hand side. Upon removal of covering and cushion to uncover the back frame, we discovered that, of the two solid-steel arms attaching the back frame to the bottom part of the bucket seat (the adjuster mechanism), the arm on the left-hand side has been split into two separate pieces, along a horizontal break in the steel itself. In short, the left half of...
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the seat back frame is not attached anymore. Initially we suspected vandalism, but the break is definitely not a saw cut (even if were possible); and we also discovered that the steel arm on the right-hand side has a half-inch long crack in almost exactly the same spot, and also horizontal. This led us to conclude that the break on the left arm was due to a developing crack in the steel, and the right arm is clearly headed towards an identical fracture -- which would completely separate the seat back frame from the bucket seat altogether! The two steel arms are clearly made of sub-standard material. Without considering the significant cost of replacing the bucket seat, this is clearly a serious safety hazard, since at any moment the seat back could collapse completely due to sub-standard steel parts tearing apart. It is fortunate this was discovered while the vehicle was not in motion. This is definitely a safety recall issue. We have several photos of these defects, including close-ups, ready to send you upon request. *Tr
I purchased this vehicle used from a dealer on october 17, 2007. After purchasing the car I noticed that sometimes when I pull out the seal belt, it locks and can not be pulled out any further. The belt can only be pulled out further only after a drive and start to apply the brakes. After an argument with the salesman the manager agreed to replace the front seat belts. A day later, I watched the mechanic install the pair of seat belts that came from the dealer in sealed boxes. After installation the problem is...
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still there. Management told me I was lucky they replaced the seat belts because used cars are all sold "as in". They refused to do any further repairs. Toyota dealership says that I would have to pay a diagnostic to find out what the problem is and then pay for repairs. A gentleman from toyota's parts department tried to buckle himself in and had the belt locked as he was pulling the belt out. He tried again slowly but same results. He claims he never experienced anything like this and don't know what could be wrong. Can anyone help me?
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, when the brake pedal was depressed while driving around a curve, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and lost power steering. The vehicle spun around and crashed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 75,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact noticed that when applying pressure to the accelerator pedal, it remained stuck in the full throttle position. The contact turned the vehicle off and applied extreme pressure to the pedal in order to release it. The dealer inspected the vehicle and verified that the throttle was sticking but did not provide a diagnosis nor did they repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified and a complaint was filed. The current mileage was 95,217. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000. Updated 2/23/11 *cn updated 05/09/11
2002 Toyota sienna minivan. When I try to open the driver side sliding door, I can hear it unlatch but remains shut. You have to push the rear part of the door back in until you hear a click, then you have to violently pull the handle and the door will open. *Tr
My toyota corolla 2002 keeps wanting to stall. I've taken it in several times and mechanics says there is no problem. Not sure what to do. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. While traveling at 25 mph, the contact was struck from the front end by another vehicle. The contact's vehicle was destroyed. The air bags did not deploy. The contact suffered injuries to her head and chest. A police report was available. The vehicle was not further investigated for the failure of the air bags. The current and failure mileages were 106,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota corolla. The contact stated that after starting his vehicle, he forgot to put on his safety belt, and when he drove away he crashed into a concrete foundation while driving approximately 15 mph. His head hit the windshield causing it to crack. The contact stated that he suffered a concussion and briefly lost consciousness. The air bags did not deploy. He drove the vehicle to his residence and called the insurance company. The vehicle was taken to an auto body shop where the...
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mechanic stated that the vehicle was destroyed. Toyota was contacted and a case manager informed him that under the circumstances of the crash the air bags were not designed to deploy. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Toyota Corolla: every year compared
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 904 | 10 | F |
| 2005 | 944 | 10 | F |
| 2004 | 506 | 13 | F |
| 2003 | 769 | 13 | F |
| 2002 | 144 | 5 | C |
| 2001 | 138 | 4 | C |
| 2000 | 156 | 5 | C |
| 1999 | 157 | 4 | C |
| 1998 | 233 | 4 | D |
2002 Toyota Corolla vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 Toyota Corolla | 144 | 5 | C | |
| 2002 Honda Civic | 715 | 24 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Volkswagen Jetta | 711 | 7 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Hyundai Elantra | 348 | 6 | D | Compare |
| 2002 Nissan Sentra | 333 | 14 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Subaru Impreza | 296 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Toyota Prius | 193 | 2 | C | Compare |
| 2002 Volkswagen Golf | 81 | 7 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Ford Focus | 0 | 8 | C | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2002 Toyota Corolla
Does the 2002 Toyota Corolla have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 5 recalls for the 2002 Toyota Corolla: suspension (February 2010); headlights (May 2009); exterior lighting (April 2009); exterior lighting (May 2006) and more. Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 Toyota Corolla?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the engine & cooling (25), airbags (24), brakes (15).
How many complaints has the 2002 Toyota Corolla had?
144 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on July 10, 2001 and the latest on August 22, 2023. Of these, 30 describe a crash and 1 a fire, and together they report 23 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 2002 Toyota Corolla a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 53 out of 100 (grade C: about as many problems as a typical Toyota Corolla year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Toyota Corolla years have the most complaints?
2009 (1,533), 2010 (1,264), 2005 (944). See every Toyota Corolla year compared.
What should I do if my 2002 Toyota Corolla has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data