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.
The worst 2002 Toyota Corolla problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine24
- Airbags23
- Acceleration11
- Brakes8
- Visibility8
- Fuel system7
- Seats7
- Tires7
- Lights6
- Suspension6
- Body5
- Seat belts5
- Transmission5
- Steering4
- Locks3
- Wheels3
- Electrical1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Toyota Corolla
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
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 insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016, four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016, four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The PE is now closed/upgraded to an Engineering Evaluation (EA15-001) to include all manufacturersand vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's EA investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The recalls related to this PE are: 14V343, 14V344, 14V348, 14V351, 14V353, 14V655, 14V700, 14V701, 14V752, 14V763, 14V770, 14V773, 14V787, 14V802 and 14V817.The number of vehicles affected are an estimate since some vehicles may have both the driver and passenger side inflators recalled. The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492
PE14016
Technical service bulletins for the 2002 Toyota Corolla 96
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical...
- To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used...
- The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix...
- Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal...
- Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad...
- Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal...
- This is to advise of various price adjustments that will affect Toyota Genuine Motor Oil and Long Life...
- Obsolete notice
- Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN...
- TT: Some Toyota vehicles installed with Toyota Complete Maintenance Care (TCMC) brake pads may exhibit a...
2002 Toyota Corolla fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8L 4‑cyl | FWD | 25-28 | 30-37 | 27-31 |
What 2002 Toyota Corolla owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
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 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 the federal safety agency 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.
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.
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.
Compare the 2002 Toyota Corolla
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Other model years
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Questions about the 2002 Toyota Corolla
Is the 2002 Toyota Corolla reliable?
Owners have filed 117 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Corolla, fewer than a typical Corolla model year.
What is the 2002 Toyota Corolla year score?
The 2002 Toyota Corolla scores 85 out of 100 (good). The score compares it with the other model years of the Toyota Corolla: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2002 Toyota Corolla?
Engine and cooling, with 24 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles. Next is airbags (23).
How many recalls does the 2002 Toyota Corolla have?
No recalls on record.
What year does the Toyota Corolla have bad engine?
The Toyota Corolla model years with the most engine complaints are 2009 (133 complaints), 2006 (128 complaints) and 2005 (120 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 2002 Toyota Corolla get?
Official estimates for the 2002 Toyota Corolla range from 27 to 31 mpg combined. The most efficient version (1.8L 4-cyl, FWD) gets 25-28 city and 30-37 highway.
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