Other engine problem on the 2009 Toyota Corolla
6 crashes 6 of the 64 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 2009 Toyota Corolla report other engine problem at a median of 52,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 12,500 miles and a quarter after 87,500 miles, from 54 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 107,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 103,500 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
37% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 miles | 13,250 miles | 52,101 miles | 87,185 miles | 108,500 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, 6 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 2009 has 64. 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.
Vehicle stalling when making a quick deceleration from over 40mph to 15mph or to a complete stop. Engine dies, check engine light comes on, and electrical continues to function. Car restarts with no problem. This has occurred 2ce in the past 2 days, once the engine was cold, within 2 miles of start, the other occurred when engine was warm after driving 10 miles on highway, and slowing down quickly to pass through electronic toll booth. Toyota dealer checked vehicle, could not duplicate, nor did the system store any codes or event conditions. *tr
Bought brand new (3miles) corolla le on friday, jan 2, 2009. On jan 5, while making a turn into a parking lot, the car completely "froze": no steering, no acceleration, no braking possible. All dashboard lights came on. I came to a stop (luckily, the parking lot was semi-empty); turned off the ignition, restarted the car. All dashboard lights were off- but the "check engine" stayed on. Called the dealer who recommended bringing the car to service for a check. Drove there (7 miles)- the "check engine" light remained on the whole time. The mechanic said that "the engine light doesn't come on". Was given the car back (after road test by the mechanic and, presumably, a computerized check) and told that "there is nothing wrong with the car". Feel completely unsafe driving the vehicle now. *tr
When driving on I-355, many dashboard lights went up and car temperature is very high too. It is a brand new toyota corolla (<2000 miles). Had to tow it to the dealer and was told that a rodent chewed up AC and coolant tubes. Never heard of it. What a lousy design or parts that attract rodents. *tr
Also reported on the 2009 Toyota Corolla
Airbag inflator rupture
Other steering problem
Other speed control problem
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 64 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 2009 Toyota Corolla?
Across 54 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 52,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 12,500 miles and a quarter after 87,500 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 2009 Toyota Corolla?
64 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.5 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