Model year guide

2003 Toyota Corolla

Recalls, most-reported problems, crash-test ratings, fuel economy and what a 2003 Toyota Corolla is worth — from official NHTSA and EPA data. 168 on record.

2003 Toyota Corolla — representative photo
Representative photo · via Wikimedia Commons

2003 Toyota Corolla at a glance

Safety recalls13
Owner complaints768
Combined30 mpg
Typical price$3,308

Free: specs, open recalls for that exact car, build sheet and fair price.

2003 Toyota Corolla recalls 13

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module NHTSA Campaign #19V741000 · 17/10/2019

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 veh…

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…

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module NHTSA Campaign #18V883000 · 12/12/2018

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 passen…

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 c…

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module NHTSA Campaign #19V627000 · 28/08/2019

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.

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…

Air Bags NHTSA Campaign #15V286000 · 13/05/2015

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 expande…

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…

Air Bags NHTSA Campaign #15V285000 · 13/05/2015

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 Seq…

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…

Air Bags:frontal NHTSA Campaign #15V043000 · 28/01/2015

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…

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…

Visibility:glass, Side/rear NHTSA Campaign #08V162000 · 10/04/2008

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 W…

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.

Exterior Lighting NHTSA Campaign #09E012000 · 07/04/2009

SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

Fix: SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.

Air Bags NHTSA Campaign #13V029000 · 30/01/2013

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.

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 con…

Exterior Lighting:headlights NHTSA Campaign #09E025000 · 11/05/2009

DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

Fix: DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.

Exterior Lighting:headlights NHTSA Campaign #06E023000 · 13/03/2006

CERTAIN ANZO COMBINATION HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS WHICH FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT."

Fix: ANZO WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE HEADLAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN MAY 9, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT ANZO USA AT 909-468-3688.

Power Train:axle Assembly NHTSA Campaign #02V074001 · 11/03/2002

ON PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (VIN) STARTING WITH 1NX ONLY AND BUILT FROM JANUARY 8 THROUGH FEBRUARY 13, 2002, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE BOLTS THAT JOIN THE REAR BRAKE AND HUB ASSEMBLY TO THE REAR AXLE CARRIER TO BE LOOSE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT TIGHTENING DURING THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS.

Fix: DEALERS WILL PROPERLY TIGHTEN THE BOLTS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MARCH 21, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Source: U.S. NHTSA. A recall applies to a model year, but only a VIN check shows whether a specific car has had the repair done.

2003 Toyota Corolla common problems

The most-reported problem areas from 768 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — and what to check before you buy.

Air Bags
Confirm the airbag light turns on then off at startup — if it stays lit there's a fault (costly, and a safety risk). Check for signs of prior deployment.
Seat Belts
Check that every belt latches, retracts and locks under a sharp tug, and that none are frayed.
Visibility
Test wipers, washers, defrosters and all mirrors. Check the windshield for cracks and any camera/sensor for fogging or faults.
Service Brakes
Brakes should feel firm and quiet — no grinding, pulsing or pulling. Check for an ABS light and uneven pad/rotor wear.
Wheels
Inspect wheels for bends, cracks and curb rash, and feel for vibration at highway speed.
Engine
Listen for knocks or ticking, check for leaks and blue/white exhaust smoke, and make sure it doesn't overheat. No check-engine light should be on.

2003 Toyota Corolla MPG & running costs

Combined30 mpg
City27 mpg
Highway35 mpg
Est. annual fuel cost$2,100

Source: U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov, averaged across trims.

What's a 2003 Toyota Corolla worth?

Low
$2,150
Typical price
$3,308
High
$4,800

From 167 comparable 2003 Toyota Corolla listings.

Estimated 5-year cost to own

A rough guide to what running a 2003 Toyota Corolla costs over five years and 75,000 miles.

Fuel (5 yrs)$10,500
Depreciation (5 yrs)$2,200
Total$12,700
Per mile$0.17

How this is estimated: fuel is the U.S. EPA annual cost at 15,000 miles a year. Depreciation compares today's typical asking price for this model year ($3,308) with the same model 5 model-years older ($1,103), from CarLogs listing data. Not included: insurance, maintenance, repairs, taxes, registration and finance costs. Treat it as a comparison guide, not a quote.

2003 Toyota Corolla trims & engines on record

Trims
LE · CE · S
Engines
1.8L 4-cyl 130 hp · 1.8L 4-cyl 138 hp · 1.8L 4-cyl

2003 Toyota Corolla vehicles on record

Other Toyota Corolla model years

2003 Toyota Corolla — frequently asked questions

Does the 2003 Toyota Corolla have any safety recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 13 safety recalls for the 2003 Toyota Corolla. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Whether a specific car still has one open depends on its VIN.

What are the most common problems with the 2003 Toyota Corolla?

Based on 768 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the most-reported problem areas are air bags, seat belts, visibility.

What gas mileage does the 2003 Toyota Corolla get?

The U.S. EPA rates the 2003 Toyota Corolla at about 30 mpg combined (27 city / 35 highway).

How much is a 2003 Toyota Corolla worth?

Comparable 2003 Toyota Corolla listings run roughly $2,150–$4,800, typically around $3,308 (from 167 vehicles).

Sources: NHTSA (recalls, complaints, crash tests), U.S. EPA (fuel economy). Vehicle data only — CarLogs never shows owner information.