There are 13 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 1998 Toyota Corolla in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 13 of 13 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)STARTER DID NOT STOP CRANKING, ALTHOUGH IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF AND KEY WAS REMOVED. CONTINUED CRANKING UNTIL AFTER LARGE AMOUNT OF BLACK SMOKE BILLOWED FROM ENGINE. EVENTUALLY STOPPED BEFORE CATCHING FIRE. FOUND MAIN ENGINE WIRE HARNESS MELTED, CHARRED:; STARTER CHARRED: BATTERY CASE MELTED; BATTERY WIRE MELTED. UNABLE TO ROLL WINDOW BACK UP, EVEN AFTER RECONNECTING BATTERY. REQUIRED TOW HOME.
I NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM MY DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW SWITCHES. *TR
ENGINE STARTER MOTOR CONTINUES TO RUN AFTER ENGINE HAS STARTED. STARTER CONTINUES TO RUN EVEN AFTER ENGINE WAS STOPPED AND KEY WAS REMOVED. STARTER MOTOR CAUGHT FIRE. CAR NOW INOP. SOME WIRING NEEDS REPLACEMENT. STARTER MOTOR NEEDS REPLACEMENT WITH REMANUFACTURED STARTER MOTOR IF AVAILABLE. *NM
CONTACT STATES: STARTER STUCK, COULDN'T SHUT OFF IGNITION. THEN SMOKE BEGAN TO COME OUT OF THE VEHICLE. TOOK VEHICLE O DEALER, AND REPAIRS WERE DONE @ A COST OF $1,300. CAR WAS REGULARLY MAINTAINED. IN THE PAST, WHILE TURNING KEY, ENGINE WOULDN'T START. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. SERVICE RECORDS STATED STARTER SHORTED OUT AND STARTER WIRES BURNED. REPLACED STARTER. *AK *NM
MY CAR STARTER WOULD NOT STOP CRANKING AFTER I STOPPED AND PULLED THE KEYS OUT. IT KEPT CRANKING UNTIL THE BATTERY DIED. A FIRE STARTED WHICH MELTED THE HARNESS. *PH
ELECTRIC WINDOWS DO NOT WORK WHEN EXTREME TEMP ARISE. COLD WINTER DAYS AMD EXTREME SUMMER DAYS. LOCKS ON DOORS POPPED OUT OF PLACE. WINDOWS SLIPPED AND NEEDED TO BE REPARIED
THE CAR STARTED SMOKING FROM THE DASHBOARD AND SMELLED OF BURNING WIRE. NLM
THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE AND WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED DUE TOO OVER HEATING OF FAILED STARTER CABLE WHICH IGNITED A PLASTIC GAS LINE. YH
HORN BEGINS HONKING WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS SQUEAKED AT VARIOUS PLACES,PLUS HONKS BY ITSELF TOO. YH
STARTER.
FAULTY WIRING CAUSED AIR BAG LIGHT TO GO ON. YH
IGNITION FAILED. *YC
AIRBAG LIGHT WAS FLASHING. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE BODY SHOP, AND WAS TOLD THAT AIRBAGS WON'T DEPLOY IN AN IMPACT. THIS WAS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT BEING AGITATED WHEN DRIVER'S SEAT WAS MOVED BACK AND FORTH.*AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: May 4, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.