2015 Toyota Corolla: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Mar 30, 2026 · CA

After the car is warmed up after driving for a few minutes, I stop at a red light and the car's RPMS dip from 700 rpm idle to 500ish rpm, when it starts shaking. Then the RPM would go back up to 700 rpm. This only ever happens when in Drive and foot is on the brake. If I shift to neutral or park it goes away and idles normally at 700 or higher RPM. A/C on or off has no effect on this. Oddly enough, if I turn on the DRLs or full headlights, the RPMs don't dip. I feel like it will only be a matter of time before the RPM will dip low enough to the point where the engine will die on me. This is a safety concern. No check engine lights. I have cleaned the MAF sensor, changed engine air filter, cleaned throttle body, changed PCV valve, cleaned injectors, run fuel injector cleaner through the gas tank, replaced my engine mounts. Still, the issue persists. I have no idea why.

Filed Nov 6, 2018 · Lights · 48,000 miles · NC

Low beam headlight went out at 48,000 miles. The low beam headlight is sealed which does not allow for bulb replacement. You have to replace the entire headlight assembly. Every other bulb in the assembly can be replaced. Will we begin seeing vehicles with no headlights due to the prohibitive cost and no option for bulb replacement.

Filed Dec 31, 2016 · Lights · 8,000 miles · TX

1. This form assumes I own the vehicle. A better form should be available where I can report issues with other vehicles. So most of incident data is not relevant in this complaint. 2 actual complaint is regarding 2015 and newer toyota corollas. Their low beam head lights are blinding and a danger. A recall must be issued to fix the low beams

Filed Aug 25, 2016 · Lights · 40,000 miles · MD

Possible problems in lighting. Car by design has LED headlights which are also the daytime running lights. The daytime running lights are so bright that the operator could drive in the dark failing to notice that the real headlight are not on. The main problem is when just the daytime running lights are on, there is no tailights, thus a person could drive without taillights and be hit from behind on a dark road.

Filed Apr 20, 2016 · Brakes, Engine · 1,562 miles · OR

Bought may 2015, warm day, firm brakes. Wet, cold fall months brakes became soft w/ excessive travel & erratic during 40mph & under. Took to dealer sept 2015 at 1,562 miles. Tech performed road test. Couldn't duplicate contions. Checked for codes. Stated 'found normal braking conitions'. I started driving again & noticed during warm days around 70 deg brakes changed hardness with A/C on. More firm. During colder days brakes would go within 2 inches of floor before working. Took to dealer on 'walk in' basis when car was acting up. Drove w/ tech 1 hr tried to get him to notice difference in brakes. Tech stated brakes were acting 'normal' & that I just wasn't familiar w/ how the systems operated. I instisted it wasn't normal. Tech contacted manufacturer. They said replace master cylinder and bleed system. Returned car & stated 'driving correctly now'. I started driving again & noticed whisteling sound coming from engine compt when driving under 30mph between bdlgs w/ window down. Brakes go all the way to the floor at times & they grab & stop the car abruptly. Especially in stop-&-go traffic. Took to dealer march 2016 at 4,800 miles. I suggested checking entire vacuum system for leaks. Tech only checked line to brake booster. Tech made 'little' adjustment to e-brake & rear brakes. Tech stated brakes 'feels similar to new corolla' & no whistling sound. I can still hear whistling sound & brakes still have same issues! I think it's a design flaw related to the entire vacuum system & should be recalled! Told dealer. Test drove 2016 honda civic w/ similar braking systems it performed like a new car should! Other issues w/this corolla are the suspension is too 'loose' when traveling above 55mph & changing lanes, the engine is way to loud when accel & often knocks during accel & idling (changed gas stations & checked fuel type, still same problem), & headlights r 2 bright...

Filed Apr 20, 2016 · Brakes, Engine · 1,562 miles · OR

Bought may 2015, warm day, firm brakes. Wet, cold fall months brakes became soft w/ excessive travel & erratic during 40mph & under. Took to dealer sept 2015 at 1,562 miles. Tech performed road test. Couldn't duplicate conditions. Checked for codes. Stated 'found normal braking conditions'. I started driving again & noticed during warm days around 70 deg brakes changed hardness with A/C on. More firm. During colder days brakes would go within 2 inches of floor before working. Took to dealer on 'walk-in' basis when car was acting up. Drove w/ tech 1 hr tried to get him to notice difference in brakes. Tech stated brakes were acting 'normal' & that I just wasn't familiar w/ how the systems operated. I insisted it wasn't normal. Tech contacted manufacturer. They said replace master cylinder and bleed system. Returned car & stated 'driving correctly now'. I started driving again & noticed whistling sound coming from engine compt when driving under 30mph between bdlgs w/ window down. Brakes go all the way to the floor at times & they grab & the car stops abruptly. Especially in stop-&-go traffic. Took to dealer march 2016 at 4,800 miles. I suggested checking entire vacuum system for leaks. Tech only checked line to brake booster. Tech made 'little' adjustment to e-brake & rear brakes. Tech stated brakes 'feels similar to new corolla' & no whistling sound. I can still hear whistling sound & brakes still have same issues! I think it's a design flaw related to the entire vacuum system & should be recalled! Told dealer. Test drove 2016 honda civic w/ similar braking systems it performed like a new car should! Other issues w/this corolla are the suspension is too 'loose' when traveling above 55mph & changing lanes, the engine is way too loud when accel & often knocks during accel & idling (changed gas stations & checked fuel type, still same problem), & headlights r 2 bright...

Filed Apr 16, 2016 · Lights · OH

The main front LED low-beam is a problem on all trims of this current generation. It is too bright and blinds oncoming drivers, there is also a hard cutoff line in which you can't see anything above it. They also poorly light the road. The beam goes everywhere but the road. It seems they are incorrectly aimed. There is also a tail-light problem that affects the higher-end trims of this generation. There is a drl option, which is the first one, that turns on the front low-beam, you can see that your front headlights are on, but you don't realize your tail-lights aren't on and that you have to turn the stock again to turn them on. There is no indicator on the dash that signifies any sort of exterior lighting is on besides the high-beam. I've seen multiple corolla drivers on the road with only drls on at night. The lower end trims don't suffer this problem because you can't see the dash at night without turning on the taillights, the higher end trims have an always lit dash. This creates a hazard in which the corolla in front of you is unlit in the rear and allows a rear-end collision because you can't see them.

Filed Jan 14, 2016 · Lights · 1 miles · MA

2014+ toyota corolla headlights are too bright and blind on-coming drivers

Filed Dec 14, 2015 · Engine, Lights · 12,211 miles · CA

The new toyota corolla's have several issues with their headlight design. First, the daytime running lamps on vehicles with the xenon or LED lights appears to be the same lights that run at night when you turn on the switch. This means that people in oncoming lanes constantly flash their lights thinking the bright lights are on during the day because it is extremely bright. I've also noticed that a lot of other people with this same car don't realize they have to manually turn on their lights since the brightness of the daytime running lamps is the same as when the switch is turned on. People must think they have automatic headlights and subsequently fail to turn their light switch on which means they have no rear lights. I can see this causing so many accidents, especially in the rain or at night. It is extremely dangerous. People have also complained to me that it looks like the bright lights are on when they're not and the headlights are "blindingly bright", but how the lights are aimed or designed, they don't cast much light on the road ahead. It seems like the light is just diffused in all different directions instead of in a beam like normal headlights. There is a huge issue with these new corolla models' lighting systems and toyota needs to retrofit them immediately to prevent accidents. In addition, this car basically has no power which makes it next to impossible to pull out in traffic as the awful CVT transmission takes forever to respond. Once the engine has finally woken up from its sleep, it offers terrible response and is extremely slow picking up speed. This is an issue with all corolla's because of how heavy the car is for how little power toyota gives it. I also hate the huge blind spots created by the awkwardly shaped rear end. I'm glad this is just a rental car, but I feel so bad for owners of this type of car.

Filed Nov 9, 2015 · Lights · NC

Everyday I see at least 5 people in 2014-2016 corolla models driving down the road with their drls on but no other lights. This occurs because the vehicles equipped with LED headlights use their regular beam as the drl and people assume they have automatic headlights. However this is extremely dangerous as there are no taillights on. I have seen so many people driving in the pitch black with no taillights. Please issue mandatory recall to refit vehicles with warning that headlights aren't automatic in off position even with drl on or add light sensor that can detect darkness and automatically activates taillights. This should also apply to rainy conditions as hardly any toyota drivers know that most states require headlights on in rain.

Filed Sep 27, 2015 · Lights · DC · 1 injury

The headlights in the toyota corolla are blindingly bright. The toyota corolla lights are upon the worse offenders of headlights that are so bright they are causing temporary blindness. I have noticed for months this model has headlights that are too bright, but I am writing today because of a recent experience where I temporarily lost the ability to see at night due to a corolla. Toyota now is advertising their bright headlights to sell vehicles. The pursuit of bright headlights in corolla should to be put into check by federal regulators before they cause accidents and lead to injuries or deaths.

Filed Sep 9, 2015 · Lights, Visibility · 55 miles · TN

When driving the toyota corolla s 2015 at night and especially when going downhill, half of the windshield is dark horizontally from the middle up. Some drivers and passengers may experience more depending on the height of the person driving or riding in the vehicle. The windshield appears to go completely dark in some cases and is very scary! This is my dads car and he is 67 years old and is scared to drive at night due to this problem. I am 36 years old and at the time I thought it was just him complaining. However, I drove the car tonight 9/9/2015 and it was scary to go downhill, and this problem needs to be addressed very soon before someone gets badly hurt or killed. If you turn the high beams on you do not have this problem. This does not help when you have to turn back off the high beams due to another car coming towards you of course. Another person described it very well on this site https://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/ having the same problem. The following information was sent in by cullman, al, USA and he or she described it best below: "the low-beam light design on the lens cover cuts off the top view of light at night time. You see light from the ground up but only halfway up. From there you only see darkness. It looks like a half-lit moon beam from the ground up. You only see the bottom half of the trees it is like a straight line drawn between the middle of your view in front of the car. White on the bottom half and black on the top half. I am scared to death to drive my car around curves and lulls in the roads. Your night vision is extremely limited. It is very straining to have to look ahead and at the same time you have to keep two different colors separated."