Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Toyota Corolla owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was notified of the air bag recall a year ago but the car dealerships in my area does not have the parts and I need to use my vehicle daily. So I am not sure what to do from here for that but I believe that the appropriate time to remedy this recall has past already and the fact that we have our children riding with us and we are unaware that their life is in danger or because we can not get it fixed is not acceptable. Then on top of that I am having issues like when my 2011 Corolla is sitting idle it will rev up the engine without touching the gas pedal and does this randomly and without warning and also while I am driving around 55 MPH on the interstate or highway sometimes it will dramatically drop and lose about 10- 15 MPH speed for no reason and this happens randomly as well. And this fluctuation happens during cruise control the most so I no longer even use that function. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that after attempting to apply the brake pedal to shift the gear, the vehicle accelerated to approximately 18 MPH in reverse without warning. The vehicle crashed into a building. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed and a police report was filed. The contact did not receive any injuries. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the body was damaged and needed to be repaired. The contact stated the dealer did not provide an explanation as to why the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
I was getting out a parking in reverse, suddenly the car accelerated without control crashing with the car was behind in the other extreme in the parking. Damages:1-bumper, right and left of the rear sides of my car 2-back, front, and sides of the car which my car stopped.
I came to an intersection and stopped, then took my foot off the brake before noticing that the light was still red. The other vehicle was roughly 30 feet away when I pushed on the brakes. I should have easily been able to stop. Brakes did not engage and I had been pushing them so hard and for so long that I fractured my ankle. There were not even skid marks at the accident scene. My car had front end frame damage from the accident (totaled), and the airbags never deployed. Additionally, in the past I had noticed the rpms rising for no reason while car was idling, and the acceleration issue, where the vehicle seemed to ?hang? Between speeds of about 35 and 40 and 60 and 65mph. The rpms I only noticed once-so I did not report it, and the ?hanging? Was my own ignorance (I haven?t had a 4 cylinder in a long time and this was my first?and probably last?Toyota). …
I drive quite a bit and normally know my vehicles pretty good. I have recently obtained this 2011 Toyota Corolla s and it is in great condition overall. I made a trip 2 days after getting the vehicle and immediately noticed a hesitation between 55-65 MPH. The first time it was approximately 11 am in the morning at 78f. Driving on a flat well maintained black top road the vehicle does in fact have a constant hesitation that drops approximately 1000-2000 rpms with a noticeable feel in the vehicle. Immediately (3-4 sec) after the hesitation the vehicle recovers back to the original RPM. As long as staying in this speed range (55-65 MPH) the vehicle has the hesitation repeatedly. The second issue that I have noticed on the same vehicle is the actual deceleration when removing my foot from accelerator. …
To whom it May concern, we have experienced anomalous behavior in our vehicle that we believe is due to malware. We were referred to report this from the public service announcement: https://www.ic3.gov/media/2016/160317.aspx#fn1 1. Our engine will suddenly accelerate and decelerate without our foot pressing on the accelerator to cause this change. It will also slowly change when cruising at a constant speed, the car will increase speed gradually with very light pressure on it. 2. Our cruise control will reset the speed at various times, we will be going 70 MPH on the interstate and it will gradually slow down without us disabling it with a brake press or switching it off. (my wife does not use the cruise control and cannot verify this.) 3. Our radio will turn on suddenly without pressing the power button. 4. Our radio will eject a cd without us having the radio on. 5. …
When I take my foot off the accelerator, it feels like I have the cruise control. The car decelerate very slowly for anywhere between .5 to 1 mile then the RPM drops suddenly as it should when you first take your foot of the pedal. The other related problem is that if I'm just trying to maintain a constant speed anywhere between 50 and 60 miles/hr it feels like the engine stalls for a very brief moment then shortly after comes back to the original RPM. When I drive car down hill try to apply break to maintain the speed of the car acceleration increases suddenly 3 to 4 thousand RPM and after 3 to 4 seconds cars come to normal engine RPM both problems describe above are easily reproducible and my local Toyota dealer said its normal. Its very scary to drive this car and since 3 years I was complaining to local dealer and get same answer every time its normal. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated the vehicle failed to decelerate after releasing the accelerator pedal. The contact mentioned that he had to engage the brakes in order for the vehicle to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the wiring harness and speed sensors needed to be replaced. The remedy failed to repair the problem. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who sent an engineer to inspect the vehicle. The engineer was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ignition failed. The failure mileage was 16 and the current mileage was 17,000. Updated 01/02/2013 updated1/9/2013
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH the rpms began to increase without warning. The vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and failed to slow down. The vehicle traveled uncontrollably through a fence, two deep ditches and up an embankment and came to a stop. The driver sustained a bruise to the chest, injury to the neck and head. The vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to a collision center. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,527. Updated 03/05/14 the consumer stated the vehicle stopped before going over the embankment. Also, the air bags did not deploy. Updated 03/07/14
The accident happened in the house-attached garage. I already entered the garage, and the car is almost stopped. Then I need to hit the brake thoroughly to fully stop the car. I hit the brake pedal however the car accelerated suddenly, jumped ahead and crash into the house wall. Even though everything happened in a second, I'm sure that it it the larger pedal(which is the brake) I engaged with in that second. I have driven this car for 3 years, and parked in this garage for months. So I'm pretty familiar with the car and the place. Luckily, there is no people got injured, and the air bag didn't explode. The wall was hit significantly, and the front of my car was damaged.
Acceleration complaints in other Corolla years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2011 Toyota Corolla?
NHTSA has 46 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2011 Toyota Corolla, 8% of the model year's 584 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2011 Toyota Corolla, though it has 9 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 2011 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 10,000 miles, and 57% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 11 crashes, 0 fires and 6 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.