2023 Toyota Gr Corolla: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

The clutch in the '23 GR Corollas is not sufficient enough for the vehicle. Even Toyota knows this as they updated the clutch not only from 23 to 24 but also from 24 to 25. I have a little over 20k miles on mine, and the clutch is so far gone that the car is not driveable. I have heard of a large handful of clutch warranties and have confirmed 7 of them. I took my car to the dealer and they want me to approve ≈$1800 of service to determine if the clutch is warrantable, but advised that if the Toyota Rep decides its not covered, I'm on the hook for the labor. This has been a well documented complaint amongst forum posts and other social media groups with GR Corolla owners. If Toyota knows there is a problem, they should issue a TSB or something so its not such a hassle.

NHTSA #11657873

The clutch system on my car is prematurely failing. I understand that it is a wear and tear item. This is not my first manual transmission car. I have been driving vehicles with manual transmissions for over 20 years. The issue I am having now is not normal behavior for a for a brand new car, let alone for a performance oriented vehicle. I first noticed it when the car was brand new with a distinct clutch burning smell. It would come and go and the general community of owners with the same car said it was a normal occurrence. This is my first brand new car purchase so I thought nothing of it. I then noticed the problem get worse at 7k miles. The clutch was slipping in all gears just ever so slightly when driving close to the car's redline. I am now at 13k miles and the problem is getting worse. I know how to drive a manual transmission and this is not a driver error. I have heard of other drivers of the same car had their clutch fail completely during driving on the highway. I would hate to be put in a perilous situation if my clutch fails to operate on the road/highway and my car will not be able to move or avoid a life threatening event. It has not been inspected by a Toyota dealership yet. I was just made aware of how much bigger the clutch issue is amongst the community of owners of the same model car as I researched the issue. I will be initiating the inspection/diagnosis with a Toyota dealership very soon.

NHTSA #11620949

I was driving my car at about 25 mph and I was not able to switch gears (manual transmission). I sent the car to the dealer and they told me that the clutch was burnt and I also needed to change the flywheel for a total cost of over USD 6,300. The repair was not covered by the warranty and the car was only under 5,500 miles and under a year of bought. I have read similar cases in the web and I am pretty sure that this is a manufacturing problem. The car is a GR Corolla, which is advertised as a sports car, but the dealer is saying that the car was abused, without providing any proof. I am an experienced driving, never abused of the car, and only drove it in streets. I am amazed this happened. I filed a claim to Toyota and received the following answer "According to your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) [XXX] , the warranty for the part you are inquiring is 5 years or 60,000 miles whichever comes first starting from the vehicle's in-service date: [XXX]. Vehicle component failures that are not caused by a manufacturer's defect are not covered under factory warranties. We have communicated with Fred Haas Toyota Country dealer personnel and confirmed your vehicle clutch and flywheel concerns were not as a result of a manufacturer's defect, but due to outside influence. Therefore, we apologize, we must decline your request for vehicle repair reimbursement assistance. While there are situations where we gladly look into out of warranty financial assistance requests, we are simply unable to offer any assistance as the vehicle clutch, flywheel concerns are not covered by the factory warranty. We know this is not the response you were hoping to receive, and understand the reasons for bringing this request to us. The experience you have had with your 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit is important to Toyota, and the information has been documented under your reference number." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA #11588225

Drove car at reasonable low speeds (30-40mph) parked vehicle and noticed smell of something burning and light smoke. Opened hood and car was on fire. No mods, completely stock, low mileage. All services up to date. No reasonable explanation for sudden fire

NHTSA #11702094

Both front tires on my 2023 Toyota GR Corolla have developed severe inner-edge wear down to the cords, while the rest of the tread remains in excellent condition. This occurred at approximately 14,000 miles. The wear pattern is symmetrical and isolated to the inner inch of both front tires, indicating that it is not the result of normal driving, impact, or neglect, but rather points to a factory alignment or suspension geometry defect. I discovered the issue during a routine inspection and immediately stopped driving the vehicle for safety reasons. Tire wear exposing the cords poses a high risk of sudden tire failure or loss of steering control, especially at highway speeds. This appears to be a manufacturing or setup defect, as multiple other 2023 GR Corolla owners have reported the same pattern of premature inner-edge front tire wear on owner forums. The consistency of these reports suggests a systemic issue affecting vehicle safety. The vehicle is currently being evaluated at an authorized Toyota dealership, and the service department has communicated the concern to Toyota for review as a potential safety-related issue.

NHTSA #11696749

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota GR Corolla. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle during a rainstorm, the brake pedal required excessive effort to depress while slowing the vehicle. After the rainstorm had stopped, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA #11609689

My compilation of known issues are: 1. Bumper gap: front bumper gets dislocated from the main body of the car that can cause road debris/hazard 2. Flimsy / slipping clutch: causing grindy shifter (1-2-3) or lose control of the vehicle’s acceleration 3. Oil overheating and rear differential 2WD: might contribute to car’s sudden combustion

NHTSA #11598691

I am writing to file a complaint regarding my 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition. The issue pertains to the ECU programming, which was not properly calibrated for the wheels that came with this model. Instead, the weight and dimensions from the Morizo Edition were utilized. This discrepancy causes the vehicle to inaccurately register speed, which is a significant safety concern. The malfunctioning component is the ECU, and it is available for inspection upon request. The inaccurate speedometer readings put my safety and the safety of others at risk by potentially causing unintentional speeding, which could lead to traffic violations and increased risk of accidents. Additionally, the inaccurate speed readings can affect other vehicle systems, such as collision alerts, adaptive cruise control, and braking systems, which rely on accurate speed data to function correctly. For example, collision alerts may not activate in time, adaptive cruise control may not maintain safe distances, and braking systems may not respond appropriately to speed changes. Furthermore, the driver display includes a light that indicates when the vehicle is exceeding the detected speed limit for the current area, which is rendered unreliable due to the inaccurate speedometer. Additionally, the console only displays speed in kilometers per hour (km/h) with no option to switch to miles per hour (mph), which is problematic for North American vehicles and other countries that use mph. The low fuel light also comes on with 20 miles left, which could be related to the same calibration issue affecting the speedometer and other systems. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by an independent service center. However, the vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps or messages indicating the problem prior to the failure, and the issue was first noticed shortly after taking delivery of the vehicle.

NHTSA #11634755

the vehicle caught fire, only 5073 miles we don’t know why

NHTSA #11567242

The 2024 whom are being sold at the same time as the 2023 GR Corollas have had improvements to both the front brake cooling with aluminum and have had the ducting reopened after the safety correction. To ensure the safety of the drivers and passengers, quality of the vehicle and its longevity. Recommend recalling all 2023 circuit editions to also adjust the from driver and passenger side brakes and their coolant ducting to be on par with the 2024 versions. The 2023 versions over have paid higher markups and have heavier rims due to inequality currently being provided by Toyota on the GR Corollas. We were originally informed that all ducting would be functional only to be missing parts due to shortages and now I am at risk of a flaw in the overheating of our front brakes. Request recall to modify the 2023 version before people start trying to fix it themselves as they were originally promised and could potentially cause major safety or fire hazards.

NHTSA #11557146