Beginning on April 18, 2025, my 2020 Toyota Corolla LE began experiencing repeated failures involving multiple safety systems while driving. Without warning, several lights illuminate at the same time, including: Brake System Malfunction, Pre-Collision System, Parking Brake System, Vehicle Stability Control, Check Engine, and Secondary Collision Brake System. These warnings appear suddenly during normal driving, then sometimes disappear, then return again unpredictably. These failures disable several integrated safety systems and create a serious safety risk due to changes in braking performance, loss of stability control, and disabled collision-avoidance functions. Diagnostic scans from both the dealership and an independent mechanic repeatedly show: P1578 — Brake System Malfunction P265B — Rocker Arm Actuator Position Sensor Circuit Range/Performance (Bank 1) Both codes reappear even after being cleared. The vehicle was with Loving Toyota Lufkin, TX multiple times over seven months. They received over $7,100 in insurance payments for repairs, $463 towing cost (due to the negligence of Loving Toyota) and almost $1,500 in rental cars (Paid by State Farm) but were unable to diagnose or fix the underlying failure. Loving Toyota also provided a courtesy rental for 7+ weeks while they did no repairs to the car. The safety warnings continue to occur. Toyota Corporate is now involved but the vehicle remains unsafe to drive. The same code P265B is present that was present back in April 2025. This car is not safe! The problem has been reproduced by me, the dealership, and an independent shop. The vehicle is available for inspection. All scans, photos, videos, and documentation are available upon request. Date first occurred: April 18, 2025 Issue continues intermittently to present day
Toyota Corolla collision warning problems
17 of the 11,674 owner complaints about the Toyota Corolla describe false forward collision warnings, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 17
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical mileage
- 17,000
By model year
- 20233
- 20221
- 20211
- 20204
- 20194
- 20181
- 20173
Often reported together
No deployment 4Adaptive cruise 4Warning lights 1Transmission failure 1Tire blowout 1Stalling 1Seat belt 1Lane assist 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P265B 1P1578 1
What owners say
The emblem on my car contains a sensor/radar for adaptive cruise control and foward collision warning that is also connected to automatic emergency brakes. The safety of me and my [XXX] old are at risk because if I needed assisted braking/collision warning, my car no longer provides that. The braking on my car feels as if I am needing to apply a lot of pressure on the brake to stop completely or even to come to slower speeds to adjust to traffic. The problem was reproduced prior to me officially picking up my car on [XXX]. The estimator told me that he isn't quite sure what is causing the sensor issue but according to the calibration system it is working fine and he doesn't know how to fix the issue. As for the brakes he said that they feel fine to him. My car was inspected by Crash Champions and I have been told that my vehicle feels fine and the sensor is working fine according to the calibration system. My car did not originally have this issue until after an accident on [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V024000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that while driving at 15-20 MPH, the forward collision avoidance feature failed to alert her of vehicles ahead. The contact swerved the vehicle, crashing into the bridge wall. The air bags did not deploy. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact suffered bruising and neck pain, but no medical attention was received. The contact's mother, who was a passenger, suffered body aches and pain. The contact stated that her mother passed away from an unrelated illness a month after the crash. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site. Furthermore, the contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with unknown tires, and that the front driver's side tire and spare tire had a blowout four times within a year. The front driver side tire was replaced by a tire retailer, Walmart, and an independent mechanic, but they were unable to determine the cause of the tire failure. The contact stated that after the crash, the front driver's side tire was flat, the rearview camera was inoperable, and the front passenger door handle had fractured and detached. The message "No Rear Visibility" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, and the front bumper detached while being towed. The dealer informed the contact that the recall was not related to the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and had an engineer inspect the vehicle. The engineer determined that the rearview camera and forward collision avoidance feature had failed. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH and making a left turn, the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated ad the vehicle stopped independently. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the braking function resumed, and the contact was able to continue driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the Forward Collision Avoidance was functioning correctly and there were no failure found with the brakes. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact reported that the vehicle had started to shake abnormally while driving at speeds under 40 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle back to a dealer or mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.
The automatic emergency breaking and forward collision warning failed to alert and turn on and I wrecked into an object. My life was put at risk and I wrecked my car. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the independent service center. The vehicle is currently being inspected by insurance estimator. There was no other alerts or messages to alert prior to collision.
Since purchasing this vehicle new, I've had several occasions (not on just the most recent date noted in this case) where the car will issue a false Pre-collision Alert and apply the brakes for about 1 second while using the Adaptive Cruise Control. However, this happens while me and the drivers around me are driving "normally" and there are no vehicles in front of me nor attempting to merge into my lane. There does not seem to be a particular set of conditions that cause this false alert and they happen randomly, but it is startling when they happen since there is no observable reason for it. Fortunately, there has not been anyone tail-gating me when this happens because this could easily cause a rear-end collision if someone were following too close. I've notified my local dealer about this issue more than once, but they cannot find anything wrong.
On June 15, a message appeared on the multi-informational panel that the pre-collision system was unavailable. An orange warning symbol also appeared on the dash. Car was repaired a at Kendall, Toyota, 10943 S. Dixie Highway, Miami, FL 33156 in Kendall, Florida. The Millimeter Wave Radar Sensor was replaced. The unit itself cost $843 and replacement labor was $350. Like other Toyota radar sensors, I believe this one has design defects. It is a safety issue. I assume that many people will not replace it. The message on the panel does not say the unit needs replacement. I retained the faulty unit and it is available for inspection. It is Toyota part #88210-07010. There are no signs of damage that I could see. The unit has not been open and I have put it in a baggie. It has not been inspected by anyone. The new part has the same part number. There were no prior warnings or symptoms.
Precollision System Malfunctioning and Hybrid System Malfunctioning warning signs on dashboard won’t allow the car to move or driven at all. I read reviews where people with the same warning signs on dashboard got their car stalled in the middle of the road. My vehicle only has 81,000 miles on it and Toyota dealership warranty states it’ll cover the vehicle up to 150,000 miles EV hybrid but now they are stating the car is not under warranty
The Adaptive Cruise Control and Forward Collision Warning DO NOT work in the rain. I have had 2 instances when using ACC where the vehicle would continue the set speed even though vehicles in front of me have slowed down. I have had to manually brake to avoid rear ending the vehicle in front of me. I have had 1 instance where a vehicle merged into my lane and barely missed the front of my vehicle although my vehicle continued at the set speed and I came within what appeared to be inches of that vehicle and had to manually brake to avoid a collision. This always happens when cruising on the interstate in the rain...system works fine when dry. This is apparently an issue with all Corollas or Toyota Safety Sense 3 because the dealer told me they have had several complaints about this.
Just today, I was driving my 2023 corolla when I accidentally rear ended someone. We were getting off the highway and they were taking a right turn and second guessed themselves while I was focusing on the oncoming traffic. Usually my car would notify me of there being an obstacle in front of me as it is equipped with a pre-collision system. This time however, it did not brake or notify me resulting in me rear ending the car in front of me and causing damage to my car.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Toyota Corolla collision warning
Which Toyota Corolla years have false forward collision warnings problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (4 complaints), 2020 (4 complaints) and 2017 (3 complaints).
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