Total Complaints
30 filings
Toyota Corolla · model year
30 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The verdict
The 1989 Toyota Corolla posts below-average complaint volume among its own model-year siblings.
The 1989ToyotaCorolla carries 30 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 9 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1989 Corolla is engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline with 3 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:exhaust system:manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe (2) and seats (2). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 1989 Corolla. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.
Total Complaints
30 filings
Crashes Reported
3 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 3 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | 2 |
| SEATS | 2 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 2 |
| TIRES:TREAD/BELT | 2 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DRUM:WHEEL CYLINDERS | 1 |
IN 1991, DRIVING ON HWY 5 IN CAL, SUDDEN MY CAR TACKED OUT, ACCELERATING BEYOND ANYTHING I'VE EXPERIENCE. THIS CAR IS BEFORE THE CURRENT RECALL. I BRING THIS UP, BECAUSE, AT THE TIME, I KNEW IT WAS NOT THE PEDAL. IT SEEMED TO ME AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS IN THE WIRING OR COMPUTER. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, IT COMPLETELY TACKED OUT, RISKING THAT IT WOULD THROW A ROD. THEN I TURNED THE KEY, AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AS I DRIFTED OFF THE HIGHWAY. PLEASE DON'T LET TOYOTA GET AWAY WITH SAYING THIS IS JUST PEDALS, IT WAS NOT FOR ME. *TR
CONSUMER WANTS NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE PROBLEM WITH THE ADJUSTABLE FOOT PEDAL. THE CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT. THE CONSUMER READ ABOUT A PROBLEM WITH THE ADJUSTABLE PEDAL IN WHICH DRIVERS COULD HIT THE WRONG PEDAL DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING. *NM
CONSUMER WANTS NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE PROBLEM WITH THE ADJUSTABLE FOOT PEDAL. THE CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT. THE CONSUMER READ ABOUT A PROBLEM WITH THE ADJUSTABLE PEDAL IN WHICH DRIVERS COULD HIT THE WRONG PEDAL DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING. *NM
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AND NO WARNING THE BRAKES ARE GRINDING CAUSING EXTEND STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALER NOTIFIED
ON 7-9-02, 65 MPH, THE TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM TIRE (I HAVE THE ORIGINAL TIRE AND SEPERATED TREAD) TIRE MAINTAINED PRESSURE WITHOUT THE TREAD. THE SEPARATING TREAD DENTED THE DRIVERS FENDER, DOOR, AND BROKE OFF A PLASTIC SUPPORT TO THE FRONT BUMPER. THE CARE HAD BEEN INSPECTED 4 DAYS PRIOR AND THE TIRES PASSED. (16 Y/O SON WAS DRIVING AT THE TIME) 3 OTHER WITNESS WERE IN VEHICLE.*AK
THERE WASN'T A WARNING OF LOW FLUID IN THE DIFFERENTIAL UNIT AND IT BROKE AND LOCKED UP THE FRONT TIRES MAKING THE VEHICLE COME TO A DEAD STOP. THIS IS NOT A PART THAT IS CHECKED FOR SAFETY.*AK
VEHICLE WAS REARENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHICH CAUSED DRIVER'S SEAT TO DISCONNECT FROM SEAT TRACKS/ANCHORS. DEALER/MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED AT THIS TIME. *AK *YH
TREAD SEPARATION WAS FOUND BY MECHANIC WHEN ROTATING TIRES. *AK (DOT NUMBER: 1B EV GD TIRESIZE: P175/70R13)
I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROX 35 MPH ENROUTE TO THE FREEWAY WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SIEZED LOCKING UP THE FRONT END, BRINGING THE CAR TO A SCREECHING HAULT. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT THE DRIVER BEHIND ME WAS ABLE TO REACT AND AVOID A COLLISION. DEALER CONFIRMED A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. VEHICLE HAS NOT YET BEEN REPAIRED AS I PLAN TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION MYSELF WITH A USED OR REBUILT COMPONENT. I DON'T EXPECT ANY REIBURSEMENT, BUT THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE REPORTED AS IT DID CREATE A HAZARDOUS SITUATION.
NO TIME TO BRAKE, SEATBELTS FAILED TO CONTRACT SO DRIVER & PASSENGER HIT THE DASHBOARD WITH INJURIES.
TOYOTA WAS BEING DRIVEN THROUGH A PARKING LOT WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60-65 MPH HEARD RATTLING NOISE LIKE LOOSE FAN BELT IN THE FRONT OF CAR UNDERHOOD, SOMETHING DROPPED OFF THE CAR, THEN SMOKE OCCURRED, FLAMES CAME OUT, PART OF THE ENGINE BLOCK MISSING AND THERE IS A BIG HOLE IN THE ENGINE. DEALER NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
AFTER TURNING ENGINE OFF, AFTER RUNNING FOR ABOUT 25 MINUTES, THE CAR WENT INTO POST- IGNITION, AND ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER THE CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD AND WAS TOTALLED. NOT SURE OF THE EXACT CAUSE OF FIRE. *AK
AUTOMACTIC TRANSMISSION, CAN REMOVE THE KEY IN ANY GEAR. REMOVED THE KEY IN REVERSE AND VEHICLE ROLLED BACKWARDS, IMPACT 6:00 POSITION, HIT A PARKED VEHICLE. *AK
AXLE SHAFT FELL OFF.
BRAKE DRUM FELL OFF.
VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT FIRE WHEN STRUCK FROM REAR.
CENTER SUPPORT FOR DRIVER'S DOOR BENT IN ACCIDENT, PREVENTING DOOR FROM OPENING.
DRIVER'S SEAT SLID FROM ITS ORIGINAL POSITION UPON IMPACT.
CATALYTIC CONVERTER NOISE.
Data vintage: August 2026. 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.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1989 Toyota Corolla; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.