2023 Toyota Corolla Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2023 Corolla most often report problems with the steering system, which include both recall-related steering column/spiral cable work and complaints about the lane-keeping assist moving the wheel unexpectedly. A second cluster involves the engine shutting off at stops — during the auto stop-start function — with warnings asking the driver to press the brake and restart, sometimes forcing a shift into park at a light. Night-time lighting, infotainment behavior, and brake noises make up most of the rest.

1. 1
   Steering

   Steering wheel assist or alignment pulling

   • 10 complaints (14%)
   • median 35,000 mi at 1.0 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2023–2025

   Owners describe the lane departure and steering assist system unexpectedly turning or jerking the wheel, in some cases toward an opposing lane or off the road when lane markings are faded. Others report the car drifting left or right on level roads with the wheel centered, and that no adjustment at the dealer corrected it. Several complaints about steering column and spiral cable recalls note parts were not yet available. Mileage varies widely; complaints begin at low mileage on new and recently purchased vehicles.

   Recall 24V878000Recall 23V480000Recall 25V040000

   What to check: Confirm both steering recalls (23V480000 and 24V878000) were completed, and drive at highway speed on a level road to see whether the wheel stays centered.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Description of problem/issue: Dear Reader: I recently purchased a new (certified preowned) vehicle and ever since then I have been experiencing some concerns with its handling on the road. This letter seeks to communicate this matter to the proper establishment for some possible recourse. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11645890, filed 2025-03

   “I was Useing the lane keeping assist and steering assist. i was driving down the hyw and parts of the solid white line to the right of me was faded or missing with no sholders. a wide truck that was about to pass me going the opposite direction had crossed over the center lane line and the stearing assist jolted me to the right where there was no visible line as i tryed to turn the steerting wheel to the left the assist jolted me to the right as the line became visible again causing us to go in to a big ditch”

   NHTSA complaint #11581787, filed 2024-04
2. 2
   Engine

   Engine shuts off at stops with restart warning

   • 7 complaints (9%)
   • typically at 0.4 yrs old
   • filed 2023–2025

   Owners report that while stopped at a light the engine shuts down as usual for the stop-start feature but then does not restart, with the display showing a message to press the brake firmly along with a low power steering warning. Pressing the brake has no effect, so drivers shift into park and restart by button; some describe the car rolling or being stuck in traffic. Dealers reportedly could not duplicate the condition. Reported on vehicles with very low mileage, often shortly after purchase, and several owners note it happens in wet or humid weather.

   What to check: During a test drive, stop fully several times with the engine warm and confirm it restarts smoothly from the stop-start function; ask whether any software updates have been applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was at a stoplight and the car cut off. Not the normal auto power down feature, there was no power. A message saying press the brake down to restart appeared. Then a message saying steering power low appeared. The check engine light came on. I pressed the break down, and the vehicle did not restart. I put the car in park then restarted it and was able to drive again. But at the very next light, the same thing happened.”

   NHTSA complaint #11507634, filed 2023-02

   “This is the 3rd time it’s happened. It seems to happen after it’s rained and it’s wet and humid outside. I was at a red light waiting for it to change. The car starts making a buzzer noise and shows “ignition on” with “Engine stopped power steering low” and flashes to “press break firmly to restart.” Pressing the break does nothing and I cannot move the vehicle at all. This whole time the engine is off and I have to go into park to restart the car by pressing the start/stop button. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11507367, filed 2023-02
3. 3
   Exterior lighting

   Dark shadows from low-beam headlights

   • 11 complaints (15%)
   • typically at 0.7 yrs old
   • filed 2023–2025

   Owners describe dark bands or shadows in the low-beam pattern, most noticeable on the left side of the road and moving as the car goes over hills or turns. Several say dealer adjustments either did not remove the shadows or left oncoming drivers flashing their high beams. Some report reduced night-time visibility on unlit roads. Usually noticed soon after purchase, on the first night drives; mileage is not consistently reported.

   What to check: Drive the car on an unlit road at night before buying and look at the low-beam pattern on the road surface; ask the dealer to show the headlight aim reading.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Low beam lights have a shadow that moves as car turns or goes up/down hills. When driving in dark back roads I see a line of shadow about 30’ ahead of me blacking out entire view. When high beams are on the shadow disappears. Bought car yesterday. Advised salesman. Will make appt to have it looked at. I have a video but it is failing to download.”

   NHTSA complaint #11548513, filed 2023-10

   “When driving at night, there is a shadow in the headlight, that shines onto the road and makes driving at night difficult. This shadow looks like it comes from a tall screw or bolt in both headlights. The lights work correctly, but the shadow causes the driver to have a dark spot in the beam of light, which then makes it hard to see clearly while driving in dusk, or darkening circumstances. I took the vehicle in to the Toyota Dealer where I bought it and had them investigate this. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11633441, filed 2024-12
4. 4
   Electrical system

   Infotainment screen and navigation faults

   • 10 complaints (14%)
   • median 70,000 mi at 2.6 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2023–2026

   Complaints describe the center screen going blank, rebooting repeatedly, or CarPlay navigation drifting off the road and rerouting. Owners also report settings being lost after restart and volume controls behaving unexpectedly. Dealers are described as either unable to reproduce the problem or recommending replacement of the unit. Reported across a range of mileages, from nearly new cars to those with roughly 70,000 miles.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Test the screen through a full start-up cycle, connect a phone to CarPlay or Android Auto, and confirm settings are retained after switching the car off and on.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When using built in carplay navigation the gps will start drifting 10-20 feet from the highway into field or other highways causing it to reroute constantly. When phone is disconnected from CarPlay during the gps drifting current location will go back to right location on the phone. We tried connecting different phone to Corolla all had the same issues. My other two cars Don’t have this issue using the phones. Dealers won’t address the issue”

   NHTSA complaint #11616991, filed 2024-09

   “I am experiencing persistent and unresolved issues with the infotainment and display system in my Toyota Corolla, primarily involving Apple CarPlay overriding the driver display. Even when I manually disable the setting that allows CarPlay/navigation to take over the display behind the steering wheel, the system does not retain this setting. After turning the car off and restarting it, the navigation/map interface reappears and overrides the driver display again. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11728956, filed 2026-04
5. 5
   Brakes

   Brake noise when cold and brake booster concerns

   • 5 complaints (7%)
   • median 55,000 mi at 3.1 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2023–2026

   Owners report clicking or knocking noises from the brakes when the car is first started cold, fading as it warms up, with the rate changing with speed. One complaint describes a brake booster replacement along with a battery replacement after the car failed to start and lost power. Others mention rough or delayed braking feel associated with other symptoms. Noise is described on cold starts; one booster report occurred around 10,700 miles.

   What to check: Listen for brake clicking on a cold start before the test drive, and ask for service records showing whether the brake booster or battery has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a Hybrid version of the 2023 Corolla in the SE trim. Everytime the car is cold (engine just started), and I'm pressing the brake, I can hear some clicking noises similar to a CV Axle noise when they are bad. That braking noise goes away as the car heat up. The noise is sensitive to speed, it changes frequency with it. I haven't experience loss of brakes but I'm concerned with the noise and the possibility of it.”

   NHTSA complaint #11719548, filed 2026-02

   “Multiple malfunctions causing the engine to misfire and eventually seize completely. Toyota never found out the issue but the engine failed. The suspect poor build quality. The engine, brake collision system, fuel pump all went out. Car was rough idling for about two weeks before the engine completely failed. Toyota has lemoned it.”

   NHTSA complaint #11626243, filed 2024-11

Buying note. Check that the steering recalls have been performed and that the stop-start system restarts reliably from a stop, since these are the two most common themes in owner reports. A night drive and a thorough test of the infotainment screen will surface the other frequently reported items before purchase.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.