2013 Toyota Corolla Air Bags Problems

Source: NHTSA · Updated Jan 22, 2026 · 72 complaints analyzed

Owners have filed 72 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2013 Toyota Corolla, 36% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 37,664 miles. The words owners use most often: “air bag” (25% of reports).

What owners describe

Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.

  • Air bag: mentioned in 18 of 72 complaints (25%)
  • Failed deploy: mentioned in 8 of 72 complaints (11%)
  • Medical attention: mentioned in 6 of 72 complaints (8%)
  • Total loss: mentioned in 5 of 72 complaints (7%)

At what mileage do air bags problems happen?

Based on 40 complaints that reported the odometer reading.

Under 10k miles7 · 18%
10k–25k miles9 · 23%
25k–50k miles7 · 18%
50k–75k miles10 · 25%
75k–100k miles4 · 10%
100k–150k miles3 · 8%
150k+ miles0 · 0%

How serious are the reports?

Of 72 complaints, 31 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 25 an injury.

Toyota Corolla air bags complaints by model year

Peak: 2009, with 552 complaints
1995: 5419951996: 321997: 291998: 6119981999: 192000: 172001: 2320012002: 232003: 3322004: 23620042005: 4572006: 4542007: 43620072008: 1382009: 5525522010: 42420102011: 4182012: 3702013: 7220132014: 692015: 562016: 6520162017: 542018: 362019: 3220192020: 172021: 522022: 1020222023: 62024: 82025: 620252026: 2

n = 4,560 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Model yearAir Bags complaintsShare of that yearMedian miles
2026 Corolla212%883
2025 Corolla619%8,000
2024 Corolla812%29,916
2023 Corolla68%—
2022 Corolla1010%16,900
2021 Corolla5228%55,000
2020 Corolla175%3,700
2019 Corolla3216%13,395
2018 Corolla3627%13,000
2017 Corolla5430%27,000
2016 Corolla6530%34,900
2015 Corolla5625%40,704
2014 Corolla6926%41,000
2013 Corolla7236%37,664
2012 Corolla37083%45,000
2011 Corolla41872%57,000
2010 Corolla42434%62,933
2009 Corolla55238%80,250
2008 Corolla13844%75,607
2007 Corolla43652%85,000
2006 Corolla45454%86,000
2005 Corolla45754%92,248
2004 Corolla23649%97,500
2003 Corolla33246%120,000
2002 Corolla2320%69,750
2001 Corolla2317%94,000
2000 Corolla1712%55,000
1999 Corolla1912%79,000
1998 Corolla6127%65,000
1997 Corolla2921%135,000
1996 Corolla3225%115,000
1995 Corolla5431%191,000

When owners reported it

Peak: 2018, with 17 complaints
2013: 5201352014: 122014122015: 4201542016: 7201672017: 8201782018: 172018172019: 5201952020: 8202082021: 3202132024: 1202412025: 1202512026: 120261

n = 72 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Related recalls (5)

Air bags: air bag/restraint control moduleJan 17, 2020 · NHTSA campaign 20V024000 · 2,891,976 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

Risk: In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module; air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleOct 17, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V741000 · 928,220 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJan 9, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V005000 · 1,299,448 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Toyota 4Runner, 2014-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2014 Toyota Sienna, Lexus IS-F, and 2014-2017 Lexus GX460 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Toyota is also recalling certain 2011-2013 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Lexus IS250, IS350, 2011-2016 4Runner, 2011-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2011-2014 Toyota Sienna, Lexus IS-F, 2011-2017 Lexus GX460, and 2011-2012 Lexus ES350 vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010-2013 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Lexus IS350, 2010-2016 4Runner, 2010-2013 Lexus IS250, 2010-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2010-2014 Lexus IS-F, and 2010-2012 Lexus ES350 vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

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 passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began February 15, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJan 9, 2018 · NHTSA campaign 18V024000 · 628,018 vehicles

Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, IS-F, and GX460 vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP (Saipan), and the U.S. VI or "Zone A." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, ES350, IS-F, GX460, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Toyota is also recalling certain 2009 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Lexus IS250, IS350, ES350, IS-F, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles ever registered in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." 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 occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

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, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.

Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactiveJan 16, 2013 · NHTSA campaign 13V014000 · 3,235 vehicles

Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

What owners report

Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.

Unknown

Received Jan 22, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11712666

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V024000 (AIR BAGS) and 19V005000 (AIR BAGS) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.

Received Feb 3, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11640478

On Monday, [XXX], I was at the CVS pharmacy drive through when the failure occurred. There was no accident and otherwise no warning before it happened. I attempted to pull out when I noticed the car was drifting and the steering was extremely stiff. I looked down to see that the airbag light and…

Received Sep 18, 2024 · NHTSA complaint 11615296
Toyota Corolla
2019-2022 Toyota Corolla G-X 1.8 (3BA-ZRE212). Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: オーバードライブ83, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Frequently asked questions

Do all 2013 Toyota Corollas have air bags problems?

No. NHTSA has 72 owner complaints about air bags for the 2013 Toyota Corolla (36% of the 201 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.

Was there a recall on the 2013 Toyota Corolla air bags?

Yes: 5 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.

At what mileage do air bags problems start?

The median reported mileage is 37,664 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.

What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2013 Toyota Corolla?

The most frequent phrase is “air bag”, in 18 of 72 complaints, followed by “failed deploy” (8).

See all 2013 Toyota Corolla problems or air bags problems across all Corolla years.