Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Toyota Corolla owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My son was driving, I was a passenger. He pulled into the emory, va post office parking lot and began to turn into a parking space. I was watching him closely as I was teaching him to drive. We were going very slowly when the car suddenly lurched forward and crashed into the side of the post office, severely damaging the bumper of the car. I can unequivocally state that he was beginning to apply the brakes when the incident happened. Yesterday I got a check for $20.46 for what is said to be a settlement for acceleration problems with the Toyota. I was totally unaware of this issue until this check came. Why did Toyota not contact me. We were lucky that only the car was damaged, and not the passengers. The cost of the bumper repair was approximate $3500, plus I am sure an insurance rate increase.
I was in a car accident on hesperian and turner in hayward. I was complety stopped and rear ended pushed into the car in front of me, none of the airbags went off. The car is totaled. Toyota took way too long to fix the passenger airbag I just got the letter they had the parts in my area.
I have an aftermarket webasto hollandia 700 sunroof that got recalled for "in the event of a seperation, the falling glass could create a road hazard or strike a trailing vehicle and cause a crash." the glass for the moonroof fell apart from the vehicle and is gone unfortunately. I was trying to buy the glass from Toyota with the help from my auto body shop "kuroda auto body inc." when they were buying the OEM glass form Toyota in california. Thus they cant fix the car because they cant get the glass and OEM doesnt fit except webasto. It says that webasto will be providing the recalls but the only problem is that I live in hawaii and there are no webasto dealers in hawaii, closest is in california with like 8 locations, thats the closest for us, pay for living in paradise I suppose. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Toyota Corolla equipped with Goodyear all season tires. The contact stated while sitting idle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle abnormally accelerated resulting in a crash. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but was not examined for the cause of failure. Repairs were made to the body damage only. The failure continued to recur intermittently and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer approximately three times where an unknown service was performed on the throttle. The failure did not recur since the throttle repair. In addition, the contact stated that the tires were wearing prematurely. The dealer confirmed that the tires exhibited premature wear. The tires were replaced and the failure did not recur. …
I was backing up out of a parking space, stopped and put car in drive position, and 2006 Toyota Corolla accelerated to a high speed, engine roared. I put my foot on brake immediately, shut off engine and pulled emergency brake. Lights on dashboard were lit, and I had no power steering. Car bolted forward and hit the back of a parked truck which stopped my vehicle. My daughter was in the passenger side and experienced this horrible event. I was bringing her home from an operation on her arm. Needless to say, we were both terrified. Had car towed to the Toyota garage. The service manager said he couldn't touch the car due to protocol, and gave me the 800 # for Toyota. That was on a Monday and on Friday I had to get my own rental car as I had not heard from Toyota in regard to a rental car.
I was driving my Toyota had just left my house and I turned the corner and just after I turned the corner the car shut off completely. I steered to move from middle of road so it restarted and I drove about 20 ft turned a corner to park the car and it shut off again. I then noticed smoke coming from under the hood. A minute or two later I'm on the phone w fire department cause my car was in flames. After fire was put out by fire dept the firefighter said the car is a total loss and I only had liability. They towed to a salvage yard and I was told by firefighter cause of fire is unknown, possibly something electrical May have shorted he was not sure. Two days later, I see a safety recall for my car on the news was announced for possible fire in engine compartment.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration and caused the contact to crash into the proceeding vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the front fender was replaced; however, there was no part replaced for the acceleration failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 250 and the current mileage was 53,000. Updated 11/13/13 the consumer stated it took a total of four (4) trips to the dealer in order to repair the acceleration issue. The paint on the fender began to peel after being repainted due to the accident caused by the acceleration failure. Updated 11/18/2013
My daughter was involved in an accident, she was t-boned in the drivers door by a Mercedes Benz SUV going 40mph and the drivers side impact air bag did not deploy. The policewoman, emt, and tow truck driver all could not believe the air bag did not deploy. By the grace of god my daughter is going to be fine after some recovery time. However I feel had the air bag deployed her injuries would have been lessened considerably. When I purchased the car I purposely looked for one with the additional side impact air bags. I am very disturbed that this safety feature I had hoped would provide additional safety for my child failed so miserably.
On the morning of August 27, 2014, my daughter was pulling into a parking space, with her foot on the brake. The 2006 Toyota Corolla suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, and crashed into a stone support column in front of a doctor's office. If the stone support column had not been there to stop the car, the car would have crashed through the front of the doctor's office, possibly resulting in severe injury or even death to the occupants inside. The Corolla sustained significant front end and front side damage totaling $5761.89. Also, both the driver side and front passenger side airbags failed to deploy.
I was coming up on a curve on an icy road when my back end spun out and I fish tailed and lost control of my car. I ended up in a ditch first head on at full speed, I believe to be around 40 MPH and my air bags did no deploy, when I opened my eyes again I was facing the road. I do not know how my car got spun around to face the road, and I do not know why my airbags did not go off. This is not the first accident this car has been involved in, and the last one my airbags did not deploy either and my whole front end was a mess.
Body complaints in other Corolla years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2006 Toyota Corolla?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the body & structure of the 2006 Toyota Corolla, 2% of the model year's 840 complaints. The component named most often is body (14 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Toyota Corolla body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2006 Toyota Corolla, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Toyota Corolla body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 57,000 miles, and 32% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 12 crashes, 1 fire and 9 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.