Other engine problem on the 2004 Toyota Corolla
1 crash 1 of the 39 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Toyota Corolla report other engine problem at a median of 10,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 300 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 21 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 100 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 96,900 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
67% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 miles | 250 miles | 7,500 miles | 66,000 miles | 97,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 26 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2004, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2021 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2020 carries the most reports, with 85; the 2004 has 39. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
2004 corolla bought 32 days ago with 92 miles. Noticed sulfur smell when exiting vehicle only after first refill -- not noticed with fuel that came with it. Dealer said to try different gas and to make sure that my entire tank is empty before filling. Basically recommending that I wait. (they did say to fill the tank -- not just put in a couple gallons) after the second refill (and about 16 days since purchase) I noticed that the smell wasn't as bad, but a friend reminded me that it was particularly windy. I later noticed the smell when the wind calmed down. No luck with the third refill either. All of these are at different stations. Called the dealer again and they recommended that I now try the higher-octane fuel. Needless to say, the days are slowly passing. After talking with sales dept and the service dept about what can be done, they agreed to take it for a drive as soon as they learned that I smelled this from inside the car when driving. I sense that it is a more-serious matter if it gets inside your car. They gave me a loaner for the day -- another corolla le, which also smelled of sulfur. The service manager at the…
Unexpected and without warning while car is in drive and stopped in traffic or at red light, engine idle speed increases when compressor from heating/air conditioner unit engages (when heater/defroster or air conditioner are in use) resulting car to lunge forward. If hard and constant pressure is not applied at all times on brake pedal while stopped, car could lunge forward resulting in; rear-end collision with another car; auto/pedestrian mishap while stopped at a crosswalk or hitting another vehicle board side if at a four-way stop. This design defect needs immediate investigation by NHTSA and if found valid, require toyota to recall and repair all 2004 toyota corolla les at no cost to car owner. *la
Foul egg/sulfur smell while car is operating. Smell is noticeable in the interior and exterior of car. At times, this smell is so strong that I begin to feel ill. Returned to dealer. Dealer instructed me to try different gasolines. This did not work. Returned to dealer. Repeatedly spoke with service manager, etc. The suggestion to change gasoline was all the dealer could offer. This has not worked and I'm concerned that the sulfur smell may be causing a health problem.
Also reported on the 2004 Toyota Corolla
Other speed control problem
Airbag inflator rupture
Other visibility problem
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash
Other body or interior problem
Seat belt or retractor failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 39 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2004 Toyota Corolla?
Across 21 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 10,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 300 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2004 Toyota Corolla?
39 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed