KnownCarProblemsHome › Toyota › Corolla › 2004
2004 Toyota Corolla Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 477 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Toyota Corolla, most often about the air bags (50% of complaints, typically around 97,500 miles). It is 8th of 27 Corolla model years by number of complaints and has 9 recalls.
Most common 2004 Toyota Corolla problems
Air bags
236 complaints · 50%Half of these problems showed up before 97,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
I received a safety recall letter from Toyota motor sales, torrance, ca on 28nov14. The letter strongly recommended that I immediately take my 2004 Toyota Corolla to any authorized dealer where the front passenger inflator assembly would be replaced at no charge to me. I contacted the service department at valley hi…
My vehicle has been recalled due to the passenger front air bag since june 10, 2014, and a remedy is still not available. I have spoken with Toyota twice over the past 3 weeks and they are unable to give me any timeline on when a remedy may be available. This is unacceptable to leave a customer without a safety remedy…
Speed control
60 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 43,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Corolla. The contact was driving 5 MPH attempting to park when there was an unusual increase in engine rpms and the vehicle then accelerated abnormally. She then crashed into a tree while depressing the brakes. The police were called and a report was filed. The contact did not sustain…
Rear end collision involving 2004 Toyota Corolla and nissan xterra. Upon collision the car's engine was revving and the ignition had to be turned off to get the car to stop moving. The entire front end of the Corolla was damaged and the air bags did not deploy. Not sure if the accelerator stuck. Definitely think the…
Engine
55 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 23,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, engine, cooling system.
My 2004 Toyota corrolla seems to be steering improperly. Upon turning the steering wheel to a straight position the whole car seems to swerve and become almost uncontrollable. I have just barely avoided serveral accidents and in wet condtions the problem is worse. I replaced the tires and had them check the alignment…
My 2004 Toyota Corolla suddenly had engine problems while driving, making a horrible metallic clanking as the car stalled. After having it towed to the nearest repair facility, the diagnosis was that pieces of the engine literally broke apart as if the metal was fatigued. The mechanic could not explain how this…
Visibility and wipers
29 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, glass, side/rear, sun/moon roof assembly, rearview mirrors/devices.
June 24 I took my 2004 Toyota Corolla -- VIN [] --- in for the recall ssc # 80a 03-04 front door glass bolts safety recall. The window appeared to be in working order, when I picked it up. The window came to a tight seal at the upper part of the window. June 25, the window is off track again leaving a gap at the upper…
For the recall ssc # 80a 2003-2004 front door glass bolts safety recall. Because of the glass bolts defect, the window is off track and leave a gap at the upper portion. It makes the rubber around a window loose and shrink because a window does not line up in the right position. The window moves to the outer side of…
Fuel system
24 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 33,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, fuel injection system, delivery.
I pulled into handicapped parking space at a local restaurant and when I took my foot off the accelerator, my 2004 Toyota Corolla unexpectedly accelerated, causing my car to jump curb and proceed forward approximately 30 feet where it crashed into side of restaurant. I am fairly certain I did not have my foot on the…
The 2004 Toyota Corolla has a defective fuel filler neck. The metal used by Toyota for this fuel filler neck is corroding, causing leakage of gas vapors at the gas cap. The leakage causes the "check engine light" to come on, and people are forced to pay Toyota $400 for repairs in order to pass epa mandated emissions…
Electrical
24 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 86,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
I was driving at 70 MPH on the interstate when the car stalled out. We were able to pull to the side of the road luckily. It did start again but stalled again if I went over 40 MPH. I had replaced the transmission the week before and had a transmission place check it out. They said the transmission is fine and that…
Electrical problems engine light on poor gas mileage took to various auto repair locations to determine problems numerous codes confirmed by state vehicle emission testing facility had to take a waiver paid thousands of dollars to various auto service locations to have parts replaced often the same parts being…
Other or unspecified
16 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 49,000 miles.
My driver side window lowers only part way when the temperature is lower than 70o and the window rattles when the window is raised. Vin [VIN] I contacted the Toyota customer service center, and spoke with mr. Karin knan, under Toyota case # [phone], who instructed he would be contact you with my issue; the parts were…
I brought my car to Toyota due to a recall (sra, ecu). After Toyota performed work the seat belt audible alarm does not function and is therefore dangerous. Toyota could not find problem after spending six hours. Driving without functioning seat belt alarm is dangerous. I have copies of Toyota dealer work orders.…
Transmission
16 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 90,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
I have a 2004 Toyota Corolla s 5-speed with 91,000 miles on it. While driving the other day, the transmission locked up on the interstate. I had never had a problem with the car and have maintained it well since I purchased it. I had the car towed to the local Toyota dealership and was told the clutch was bad and they…
Tl contact owns a 2004 Toyota Corolla. While driving 75 MPH he noticed a sharp sound coming from outside of the vehicle. After a few minutes, the vehicle suddenly stopped on its own. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The current and failure…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Toyota Corolla recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began november 20, 2019. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are j0a, j0b, and j0c. Lexus' numbers for this recall are jli, jlj, and jlk.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4runner, 2003-2006 tundra, 2003-2013 corolla, 2009-2010 corolla matrix, 2004-2005 rav4, 2002-2007 sequoia, 2011-2013 sienna, 2008-2012 scion xb, 2008-2009 lexus is-f, 2007-2012 yaris and lexus es350, 2010-2017 lexus gx460, 2002-2010 lexus sc430, 2006-2012 lexus is250 and is350 and 2010-2015 lexus is250c and is350c vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac vibe owners will be notified by gm. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly or sub-assembly, free of charge. Toyota owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are k1q and k0q. Pontiac owners may contact gm customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Gm's number for this recall is n192273760.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2003-2008 corolla, 2005-2008 corolla matrix, and pontiac vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation under high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Toyota will notify the toyota and lexus owners. General motors will notify the pontiac vibe owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, or replace the air bag assembly that includes an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began january 23, 2019. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371, lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987 or pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for these recalls are j0a (zone a toyota), j0b (zone b toyota), j0c (zone c toyota), jli (zone
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2002-2005 lexus sc and toyota sequoia, 2003-2005 toyota corolla and tundra, and 2003-2007 pontiac vibe vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 2003-2004 corolla and corolla matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15v-043 and 15v-285 are under a do not drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac vibe owners will be notified by gm. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag. The recall began on july 13, 2015. Toyota owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-762-2737. Note: this recall supersedes recall 14v-312 in its entirety.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) notified the agency on may 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 sequoia vehicles manufactured august 18, 2003, to august 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 tundra vehicles manufactured march 18, 2003, to august 25, 2004. On june 16, 2015, toyota expanded the recall to include an additional 1,270,468 vehicles, including model year 2002-2003 and 2005-2007 sequoia, 2005-2006 tundra, 2003-2007 corolla, 2003-2007 corolla matrix, 2003-2007 pontiac vibe and 2002-2007 lexus sc vehicles. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been ins
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 2003-2004 corolla and corolla matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15v-043 and 15v-286 are under a do not drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac vibe owners will be notified by gm. Dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota began the recall on july 13, 2015. Pontiac vibe owners may contact gm at 1-800-762-2737. Gm began the recall on june 29, 2015. Note: this recacl
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) notified the agency on may 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 lexus sc, toyota corolla, corolla matrix, sequoia, and pontiac vibe, and 2005-2006 toyota tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in florida, along the gulf coast, puerto rico, hawaii, the u.s. Virgin islands, guam, saipan and american samoa. On june 16, 2015 toyota expanded the recall to cover an additional 769,055 vehicles, including certain model year 2002-2004 lexus sc, toyota sequoia, 2003-2004 toyota corolla matrix, toyota corolla, pontiac vibe, and toyota tundra vehicles, as well the vehicles covered by the may 13, 2015 notification in the portions of georgia, alabama, louisiana, mississippi and texas that were not previously included. The inflators in the front passenger air bags are susceptible to rupture in the event of a crash necessit
Air bags: frontal
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac vibe owners will be notified by gm. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on august 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Gm issued an interim notification to owners on march 27, 2015. The recall began on august 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: this recall supersedes recalls 13v-029 and 14v-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 toyota corolla vehicles manufactured december 28, 2001, to may 2, 2004, 2003-2004 toyota corolla matrix vehicles manufactured january 6, 2002, to april 29, 2004, 2003-2004 avalon vehicles manufactured june 5, 2002, to december 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 pontiac vibe vehicles manufactured january 18, 2002, to april 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Air bags
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the airbags or the seat belt pretensioners may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Toyota will re-notify their owners who have already had their vehicles repaired with a noise filter, but did not receive a new airbag control module, and general motors will re-notify theirs. Dealers previously installed a supplemental harness containing an electrical filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness, free of charge. Dealers will replace the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on march 13, 2013. The manufacturer has not yet provided a schedule for second notices. For more information, toyota owners may call 1-800-331-4331 and pontiac owners may
Full defect summary
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 corolla and corolla matrix vehicles and 2003-2004 pontiac vibe vehicles. The supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits are susceptible to internal shorting. The electrical short may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat which can damage the circuits. This could result in an inadvertent deployment of the front airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
Visibility and wipers: glass, side/rear
Risk: The door glass may separate from the window regulator, bind and shatter during operation of the power windows, causing driver distraction and/or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger door glass bolts with newly designed bolts free of charge. The recall began on april 16, 2008 to toyota owners. The recall began on may 21, 2008, for pontiac owners. Owners may contact toyota at 1-888-270-9371 or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.
Full defect summary
Toyota is recalling 662,178 my 2003-2004 corolla, corolla matrix and pontiac vibe vehicles equipped with power windows. The driver and front passenger door glass bolts may loosen and come off, causing the door glass to separate from the window regulator. Due to the components becoming loose and possibly rattling, an abnormal noise may be heard from the driver and /or front passenger door when operating the power windows.
Wheels and tires: wheels
Risk: In the worst case, the stud bolt(s) may fracture, which may result in the separation of the wheel from the hub assembly and lead to a loss of vehicle control.
Fix: Dealers will inspect all four factory aluminum alloy wheels and, if necessary, replace any found to be out of specifications. Owner notification began october 27, 2003. Owners should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with factory aluminum alloy wheels, the lug nut(s) may not secure the wheel properly to the hub assembly due to over-drilling of one or more of the five lug nut holes on the alloy wheel. If the vehicle is driven for an extended period in this condition, the lug nut(s) could potentially loosen.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Side front power window shatters
Summary
For the subject vehicles, there is a possibility that the retention force of the regulator bolts which attach the front side window glass to the power window regulator may not be sufficient due to an interference of the retention nut and the bolt shoulder radius.in this condition the bolt may become loose, causing a loud noise to be generated when the window is raised or lowered.if the vehicle and the power window are continuously operated in this condition, the bolt may completely separate, causing the glass to become misaligned, and in the worse case, the glass may shatter during operation of the power window.general motors corporation (gm) and toyota north america, inc. (toyota) will cond
Questions about the 2004 Toyota Corolla
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Toyota Corolla?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (236 complaints, typically around 97,500 miles); speed control (60 complaints, typically around 43,000 miles); engine (55 complaints, typically around 23,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Toyota Corolla have?
- 9 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 17, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Toyota Corolla?
- It is 8th of 27 Corolla model years by number of complaints, with 477 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.