Total Complaints
18 filings
TOYOTA CELICA · model year
1993 TOYOTA CELICA
18 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1993TOYOTACELICA carries 18 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1993 CELICA is seat belts:front:retractor with 5 filings, followed by air bags:frontal (2) and engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 51 investigation files overlapping the 1993 CELICA, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
18
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | 5 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 2 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 1 |
| AIR BAGS | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR | 1 |
| EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| SUSPENSION:FRONT | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 |
| VISIBILITY | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20111218SEAT BELTS
THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT OR IF THEY DO, SLOWLY AND NOT FULLY. LEAVING BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER TO MORE BODILY INJURY IN CASE OF ACCIDENT. HAS BEEN LIKE THIS SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. I CALLED TOYOTA BUT WAS TOLD I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. NOT CHEAP! THE WIPERS ARE ALSO PRONE TO RUST... THE METAL RODS THAT HOLD WIPERS ARMS IN PLACE TEND TO COME LOOSE MAKING THE WIPER ARMS FALL OFF. HAVE TRIED TO CONVERT ARMS TO ACCEPT NEWER BLADES BUT THEY ARE TOO THICK FOR THE RETROFIT ATTACHMENTS FOUND IN ANSCO WIPERS. TOYOTA CHARGES ALMOST $200 A PIECE FOR NEW OEM WIPER ARMS FOR THIS MODEL. REMEDIED THIS USING CRAZY GLUE AND ELECTRICAL TAPE TO KEEP NEW ARMS IN PLACE. *TR
20111218VISIBILITY
THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT OR IF THEY DO, SLOWLY AND NOT FULLY. LEAVING BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER TO MORE BODILY INJURY IN CASE OF ACCIDENT. HAS BEEN LIKE THIS SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. I CALLED TOYOTA BUT WAS TOLD I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. NOT CHEAP! THE WIPERS ARE ALSO PRONE TO RUST... THE METAL RODS THAT HOLD WIPERS ARMS IN PLACE TEND TO COME LOOSE MAKING THE WIPER ARMS FALL OFF. HAVE TRIED TO CONVERT ARMS TO ACCEPT NEWER BLADES BUT THEY ARE TOO THICK FOR THE RETROFIT ATTACHMENTS FOUND IN ANSCO WIPERS. TOYOTA CHARGES ALMOST $200 A PIECE FOR NEW OEM WIPER ARMS FOR THIS MODEL. REMEDIED THIS USING CRAZY GLUE AND ELECTRICAL TAPE TO KEEP NEW ARMS IN PLACE. *TR
20101109SUSPENSION:FRONT
I HAVE HAD TWO FRONT END SHAFTS SHEER OFF THE RETAINING NUT ON MY CAR. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS LAST SUMMER (2009) AND THE LATEST INCIDENT OCCURRED LAST NIGHT. AT THE OUTBOARD END OF THE DRIVE SHAFT, THERE IS A THREADED SHAFT THAT ACCEPTS A (I BELIEVE) 22 OR 24MM NUT. IN BOTH CASES, THE SHAFT SNAPPED AND THE RETAINING NUT FELL TOTALLY OFF THE SHAFT, LEAVING ONLY THE DISC BRAKE CALIPER TO KEEP THE TIRE FROM FALLING OFF. YESTERDAYS INCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING PLACE, SO THIS WAS NOT A HIGH SPEED INCIDENT, BUT ONE THAT OCCURRED WHEN MINIMUM FORCES WERE AT PLAY ON THE CAR. ONCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A FLUKE, BUT TWICE ON THE SAME VEHICLE? *TR
Mileage: 230,791
20101109POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE
I HAVE HAD TWO FRONT END SHAFTS SHEER OFF THE RETAINING NUT ON MY CAR. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS LAST SUMMER (2009) AND THE LATEST INCIDENT OCCURRED LAST NIGHT. AT THE OUTBOARD END OF THE DRIVE SHAFT, THERE IS A THREADED SHAFT THAT ACCEPTS A (I BELIEVE) 22 OR 24MM NUT. IN BOTH CASES, THE SHAFT SNAPPED AND THE RETAINING NUT FELL TOTALLY OFF THE SHAFT, LEAVING ONLY THE DISC BRAKE CALIPER TO KEEP THE TIRE FROM FALLING OFF. YESTERDAYS INCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING PLACE, SO THIS WAS NOT A HIGH SPEED INCIDENT, BUT ONE THAT OCCURRED WHEN MINIMUM FORCES WERE AT PLAY ON THE CAR. ONCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A FLUKE, BUT TWICE ON THE SAME VEHICLE? *TR
Mileage: 230,791
20040309EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
WHEN USING THE AIR CONDITIONER AIR COMPRESSOR ENGAGES, AND CAUSES VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY ACCELERATE. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, WHO COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
20040309VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
WHEN USING THE AIR CONDITIONER AIR COMPRESSOR ENGAGES, AND CAUSES VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY ACCELERATE. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, WHO COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
20040119SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
BOTH OF MY FRONT SEAT BELTS DO NOT LOCK OR RETRACT PROPERLY ON MY 1993 CELICA GT AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YEAR. IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE ON THE CELICA ENTHUSIAST WEB BOARD THAT I REQUEST AND I'VE FOUND COMPLAINTS LOGGED ON THE DOT'S WEBSITES. WAS THERE A RECALL FOR THESE SEAT BELTS AND CAN I GET THEM REPLACED? *CB
20031110SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES ROTORS PRODUCED A GRINDING NOISE. AS RESULT, AN ODOR SEEPED THROUGH THE VENTS. *AK
Mileage: 92,000
20010410SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT WILL NO LONGER PULL OUT. *AK *SLC
20010131SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
PASSENGER SIDE SEATBELT IS LOOSE. *SLC
20001023SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
OWN 2 TOYOTA VEHICLES THAT HAVE SEATBELT RETRACTORS THAT LOCK UP/WON'T RELEASE OR WONT RETRACT CAUSING LOOSE FIT. I SEE THAT NHTSA HAS LOGGED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT SEATBELTS ON TOYOTA.
19990414SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEATBELT SYSTEM DOES NOT RETRACT WHICH WON'T PROTECT THE OCCUPANT IN EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. DEALER SAID THE SEATBELT SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION AND VIN#. *AK
19990402AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVERS AIRBAG IN A VEHICLE COLLISION, ONLY PASSENGERS AIRBAG DEPLOYED, FRONT END DAMAGE WAS ON PASSENGERS SIDE, HOWEVER CONSUMER FEELS DAMAGE WAS EXTENSIVE ENOUGH TO WARRANT BOTH AIRBAGS DEPLOYMENT.
19980420AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
DRIVERS AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER $5214.19 WORTH OF DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE.
19980323AIR BAGS
NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAGS DURING ACCIDENT.
19980323TIRES
VEHICLE TWO DAYS OLD WHEN RADIAL XMTS TIRE BLEW OUT.
19970122FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
VEHICLE FIRE.
19961230SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT BACK INTO PLACE. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT THE SEAT BELT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
Compare 1993TOYOTACELICA to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 1 Open
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1993 TOYOTA CELICA have?▼
The 1993 TOYOTA CELICA has 18 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1993 TOYOTA CELICA?▼
The most-complained component for the 1993 TOYOTA CELICA is SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR with 5 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include AIR BAGS:FRONTAL and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE.
Is the 1993 TOYOTA CELICA safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.