2020 Toyota Corolla Transmission Problems

Your clutch slave cylinder failed at 48,000 miles, making it difficult to shift gears while driving on the freeway and creating a safety hazard. You lost clutch pressure with no warning lights or messages beforehand. The repair will likely involve replacing the clutch slave cylinder.

Your clutch slave cylinder failed at 51,000 miles, causing your clutch to stick and not return to normal position. The cylinder ruptured inside the transmission housing and leaked fluid, which is particularly concerning because your brake and clutch systems share the same fluid reservoir—a leak could potentially affect your braking ability. The owner reports this is a known issue across 6-speed manual Corollas and can happen with little warning.

Starting in April 2025, your 2020 Toyota Corolla began repeatedly triggering multiple warning lights while driving — including brake system malfunction, stability control, pre-collision system, and check engine warnings. These warnings appear and disappear unpredictably, and they disable important safety features that affect braking, stability, and collision avoidance. The dealership and independent mechanics found two fault codes (P1578 and P265B) that keep reappearing even after being cleared, but seven months and over $7,100 in repair attempts have not fixed the underlying problem. Diagnosing and repairing the root cause of the electrical and brake system faults will likely require deep electrical system testing and potentially replacement of sensors or control modules.

At 97,000 miles, your clutch slave cylinder failed, causing your clutch pedal to stick to the floor. Because the clutch and brakes share the same fluid reservoir, brake fluid leaked into the transmission and your brake pedal became increasingly hard to press. Your car had to be towed to a mechanic. This created a serious safety risk since you could have lost braking ability while driving.

Your clutch slave cylinder developed a leak, causing your clutch pedal to stick and making it hard to shift gears. The leaking fluid also lowered your brake and clutch fluid levels, which could have eventually caused brake failure if the leak wasn't fixed. The fix will likely involve replacing the clutch slave cylinder and refilling your brake and clutch fluid.

Your transmission's slave cylinder is leaking fluid, which controls your ability to shift gears. This leak could cause your car to get stuck in gear while driving or prevent it from shifting into gear when parked. You should have the slave cylinder and transmission fluid inspected and likely replaced to restore proper shifting.

Your car's engine bypass system is faulty and triggering a check engine light. The bypass valve or its wiring may need replacement. This issue has affected millions of vehicles from this production period, but not all owners are receiving fair warranty coverage from Toyota.

While driving on the freeway, your car made unusual noises and lost power. Your check engine light came on, so you pulled over and turned off the engine. When you tried to restart, the car struggled to shift into first gear.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal clunking sound, and that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the failure had occurred while driving on a busy road. The contact attempted to shift the gear shifter into different driving modes; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several good Samaritans pushed the vehicle into a nearby driveway. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Drive start control malfunction occurred when turning the car on. Second time this has happened. First time was a charcoal canister and engine coolant valve. It was replaced under warranty at 50k miles but now at 96k miles the dealer says it is not covered under the extended warranty. Not sure how this problem happened.

The "Engine Maintenance Required" message on a 2020 Toyota Corolla SE keep coming on after I have reset numerous time. The "Engine Maintenance Required" message on a 2020 Toyota Corolla SE typically indicates a problem with the coolant bypass valve, not the regular maintenance schedule. This message is distinct from the "Maintenance Required" light that usually prompts oil changes. The coolant bypass valve issue often results in a DTC code and may require replacement.

Approximately one month ago the clutch pedal on my manual 2020 Corolla went all the way to the floor and stuck in place. Had it towed to my mechanics shop and it took them nearly 2 weeks just to get a slave cylinder to replace the defective part with. Fast-forward a week later and exactly the same thing happened. According to several different threads I have read online, this seems to be a problematic situation with the manual Corollas. Hopefully I will not experience any further problems however it appears that the defective slave cylinder part is to blame.

Engine Coolant Bypass Valve failed at 42400 miles. The problem was identified and confirmed at a dealership. There was a warning message appearing on the dashboard stating that engine maintenance was required.

Engine maintenance light came on after turning on air conditioner. Vehicle information: warning light came on at 56,800 miles on 2020 Toyota Corolla, no after market modifications to vehicle. I took vehicle to Toyota dealership for diagnostic testing. Conclusion: coolant bypass valve faulty causing leaks (this can cause overheating, stalling, increased emissions, and total engine failure and also allows coolant to leak into and damage surrounding engine components, including a vehicle's electrical system, the complaint relays). Fortunately, I PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY when I bought the vehicle new, which covered the repairs. The faulty coolant bypass valve was replaced at the Toyota dealership. Had I not purchased the extended warranty, I would of been out of pocket for said repairs.

At 55K miles for my 2020 Toyota Corolla, the Engine Maintenance Required notification popped up on my screen and is not removable. Upon further verification numerous 2020-2021 corollas have been having this issue at similar amounts of mileage. It is a faulty Engine Coolant Bypass Valve that needs to be replaced. If I were to take it in to a dealership, they would charge $500+ just as they have for many others when it should really be a recall. As of now I have not taken it to be inspected due to fear of steep labor costs. My safety is at risk because if this does not get replaced my engine will overheat causing total failure of the car, and as a 2020 model with such low mileage, this is ridiculous.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. The contact noticed a failure with the transmission; however, there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was concerned that the vehicle might stall while driving. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was instructed to contact the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving, at any speed, as the contact depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle would stop, however when the contact depressed the accelerator pedal the vehicle would move backwards with a jolt before moving forward. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become recurring failure. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that an abnormal buzzing sound was coming from the engine compartment. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.

Engine coolant valve is broken. Part of power train as it cools circuits for the power train.

Engine coolant bypass valve becomes faulty at low mileage

I have only had the car for a year and a half, and I have already had to replace the battery which was less than 2 years old, all 4 tires (2 at 40000 miles and 2 at 48000), and now the engine wiring harness somehow got severed and has to be replaced which is almost $6k repair!

1. First problem I had with my 2020 Toyota Corolla Hatchback SE: SAFETY RECALL 20TA07 (Backup LampsMay Become Inoperative) - 10.29.2020 2. Second problem was with the software draining the battery way too rapidly, which made me unable to start my car. I had to have a tow truck come by and he was able to recharge the battery (he knew to do that with my car instead of towing it away, because he was seeing this type of issue with this type of car a lot). I took it to my local toyota dealership and had them inspect it. They told me that they need to update the software of the vehicle and that I should not be having this problem again after. *EL1934 FIRMWARE UPDATE (5.21.2021)* 3. Third problem I had was with the temperature gauge. The needle pointer in the dash did not go up and stay in the middle between C & H. It stayed closer to C (cold). It took longer than it should have to heat up the interior of the car when I turn the heat on in the morning. I took it to my local toyota dealership and after they inspected this issue, they told me that they needed to replace the thermostat unit. *MA001 THERMOSTAT ASSEMBLY* (3.19.22) 4. Fourth problem is with the transmission. I felt jerking motions from the car when accelerating and when braking-coming to a stop. **26312 CAR JERKING UPON ACCELERATION /FOUND TRNSMISSION CODE /NEED NEW TRANS ASSY UPON INSPECTION AND HEATLH CHFCK FOUND CODE P07457F AND PO7757F SOLENOID A B BOTH STUCK OFF /REST MEMORY /NO CHANGED /FOUND NEED NEW TRANS MISSION ASSY /REMOVE AND REPLACE TRANMISSION ASSY AND PERFORM RESET AND INITIALIZATION/PERFORM HYDRULIC AND ELECTRICAL TEST /NO PROBLEM FOUND /PROBLEM AT THE TRANSMISSION ITSELF CAR JECKING UPON ACCELERATION** Transmission, Automatic - Replace* (12.10.2022) I found out online that the transmission problem was known for 2018-2020 corolla hatchbacks, but Toyota did not replace it immediately. There should be a general recall for the transmissions for these vehicles ASAP!

I am not sure what the component is but I am driving and as I accelerate the gas my car will lose power to increase speed. If I am at the stop sign or stop light and I proceed to go the car will stall and not get going once I place my foot on the gas. I have reached out to the dealer by phone and when I have obtained service I am being advised that it's nothing. But I have experienced it on multiple occasions and even had an accident and nothing is being done to resolve the issue. I know that it can't be normal for the vehicle to do that and I am tired of getting the run around in regards to it. I was able to see that there has been a recall but do not see that it is in regard to me vin number. Can you please assist me with this matter. I should not be in the middle of driving or at a stop light and not able to accelerate my vehicle to a regular speed. I would like to have this matter looked into by a different Toyota dealer. Also it happens randomly and when I take to the dealership nothing is ever done and the issue is constantly being ignored. I am being told that due to no check engine light being on that my car is fine and its not. I don't want to lose my life due to the fact that I have purchased a faulty car and have not been made aware of any issues to protect my safety.

My vehicle has 20k miles on it and during acceleration, the CVT would not upshift was bouncing off the rev limiter. I had no controls over the Paddle Shifts or Electronic manual shifter controls. Tried to accelerate again, and bounced off the rev limiter again. Shortly after the CEL came on and the vehicle went into LIMP mode causing me to lose control of accelerator pedal, and the car drastically decelerated on its own until about 35mph Yes. Transmission is currently at shop awaiting for replacement unit This issue happened during a driver education event, and therefore was not on public roads with other pedestrians. Had this happened on a highway during merging or passing on a highway, this could have caused an accident by not having control of car's deceleration, and no warning brake lights to drivers behind me could have caused other drivers to rear end me Yes. The issue was reviewed by 2 dealers and both reported the CVT was faulty and needed replacement Yes. CEL came on, and was displaying codes P2757 and P2820. Dealer pulled the following codes: P275600- Torque converter clutch pressure control solenoid control circuit performance/stuck off P281F00- Pressure control solenoid j performance/stuck off (2 trip detected) P281F71- Pressure control solenoid j performance/stuck off actuator stuck

Transmission stuttering at steady speed more pronounced on inclines. Violent skipping or slipping on acceleration

VEHICLE IS JERKING AND SHUTTERING WHILE IN MOTION BETWEEN 4-20MPH COLD OR HOT AND A/C ON OR OFF. THIS OCCURS BEFORE BRAKING AND SEEMS TO JERK FORWARD. TENDS TO OCCUR MORE OFTEN IN PARKING LOTS. THIS ISSUE IS ACCOMPANIED BY AGGRESSIVE ENGINE SHAKING AND ALL PASSENGERS CAN FEEL THE ROUGH IDLE. THIS ISSUE IS PROGRESSIVE GETTING WORSE WITH TIME OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, SPARK PLUGS WAS THE ASSUMED ISSUE FROM TECHNICIAN. FIRST DIAGNOSIS WAS SPARK KNOCK. REPLACED SPARK PLUGS, DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. SECOND DIAGNOSIS WAS "OFF CENTER STEERING WHEEL CAUSING STABILITY CONTROL TO OVERRIDE DRIVER THROTTLE INPUTS AND LEAD TO JERKY OPERATION" CASE IS ONGOING AND A RESOLUTION HASN'T BEEN PROVIDED OR SOLVED. TOYOTA CORP. IS OPENING AN INVESTIGATION/CASE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOYOTA OF FORT WALTON BEACH LOCATED AT 777 BEAL PKWY NW, FORT WALTON BEACH, FL 32547, TO BE DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,589.*JB

TROUBLE SHIFTING DOWN FROM 3 TO 2

THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THAT WHEN I WAS TRYING TO PARK MY CAR AFTER COMPLETELY STOPPED THE CAR (BRAKED WHILE THE CAR IS IN THE DRIVE) THEN MOVE MY STICK SHIFT TO REVERSE AND THE STICK SHIFT IS FULLY IN REVERSE BUT CAR MOVES FORWARD. *BF*JB

WILL DRIVING THE CAR DECELERATED AND WOULD NOT GO PASS 20MPH. BREAK,ENGINE,ECT. LIGHTS TURNED ON. THE CAR HAS ONLY 1345 MILES. SO FAR IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE. SECOND TIME GOING TO THE DEALERSHIP.

BETWEEN 10 AND 20 MPH OCCASIONALLY, NOT ALWAYS, THERE IS A HARD SHIFT THAT DOESN'T FEEL NORMAL. IT IS USUALLY UNDER LIGHT ACCELERATION AND CONDITIONS. EVEN TRYING TO MIMIC IT UNDER THE SAME EXACT CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES IT WILL SIMPLY NOT DO IT.. SOMETIMES IT WILL BE A HARD THUMP. OTHER TIMES IT WILL FEEL PREMATURE. (SHIFTING BEFORE IT SHOULD) I WANTED TO BELIEVE IT IS THE TRANSITION FROM THE LAUNCH GEAR TO THE CVT BUT THE TIMING OF THE TRANSITION AND THE DEGREE OF THE HARD SHIFT EVEN UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS TENDS TO VARY CONSIDERABLY.

VEHICLE HAS A VERY HARD SHIFT OUT OF LAUNCH "FIRST GEAR" WHEN LOW ON FUEL OR THE ENGINE IS COLD. DEALERSHIP (SHEEHY TOYOTA IN FREDERICKSBURG VA) AND COULD EXPERIENCE THE SAME FEELING ON LIGHT TO MODERATE ACCELERATION. I INFORMED THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE FEELING THEY WERE EXPERIENCING IS MINOR COMPARED TO WHAT IT USUALLY FEELS LIKE WHEN DRIVING. THEY EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING WHEN DRIVING ANOTHER 2020 COROLLA OFF THE LOT WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE ACCELERATION. THEN A DAY LATER THEY DROVE ANOTHER 20202 COROLLA SUPPOSEDLY FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE HARD SHIFT AND NOTED THAT WHEN DRIVING BOTH THE CUSTOMERS CAR AND A NEW CAR THE SHIFT FEELING VARIED FROM TIME TO TIME SO THERE WAS NOTHING THEY WOULD DO. THEY ALSO SAID THEY CONTACTED THE ENGINEERS AT TOYOTA WHO SAID THAT THIS HARD SHIFT FEELING WAS NORMAL. LOOKS LIKE TOYOTA IS BACK AT IT WITH JUST DENY EVERYTHING AND HOPE THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY. VERY UNHAPPY WITH MY EXPERIENCE ESPECIALLY WITH HOW TOYOTA HAS HANDLED THIS SO FAR. I WILL NOT GO AWAY UNTIL THEY FIX THIS PROBLEM.

2020 TOYOTA COROLLA SE -(VEHICLE PURCHASED NEW) (CVT TRANSMISSION) UPON MINIMAL TO NORMAL ACCELERATION VEHICLE MAKES A HARD SHIFT FEEL LIKE A BUMP KICK IN ACCELERATION OF SPEED BETWEEN 8-9 MPH. WILL FEEL MORE OF A HARD SHIFT AT TIMES IF COASTING WITH MINIMAL SPEED THEN TO THE NORMAL ACCELERATION (START AND STOP TRAFFIC TYPE OF CONDITIONS). PERIODICALLY ONCE REACHING TO SPEED OF 36 MPH SEEMS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS STARTING TO SLIP THEN CONTINUES WITH NORMAL OPERATION. WHILE SEDENTARY AT STOP LIGHT VEHICLE HAS HAD LOSS OF POWER IN AND OUT NEAR STALLING OUT. SEPARATE OCCASION WITHOUT THE AIR CONDITIONER BEING ON, A ROUGH IDOL TOOK PLACE. AT TIMES IF PUT IN SPORTS MODE SHIFTING IS SMOOTH WITHOUT TOO MUCH TROUBLE; WITH EXCEPTION OF AT HIGHER SPEED OPEN ROAD REMOVING OFF THE GAS PEDAL WILL MAKE A WHINING HIGH REV NOISE LIKE THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AND DID NOT DOWN SHIFT EVEN WITH PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE BRAKE. WILL THEN DOWN SHIFT AFTER APPROXIMATELY 15-20 SECONDS. LANE DEPARTURE INDICATORS HAVE GONE OFF WITHOUT THERE BEING A CORRECT RESPONSE FOR THAT ACTION TAKING PLACE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN OWNED FOR LESS THAN NINETY DAYS AND APPEARS TO CONTINUALLY FURTHER IN ITS DEFECTS.

07/09/19 - THREE DAYS AFTER TAKING DELIVERY OF A BRAND NEW 2020 COROLLA SEDAN, MY CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY CITY STREET. I WAS STATIONARY WITH FOOT ON THE BRAKE WAITING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OF THE BRAKE AND ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE, IT HAD A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE. RED WARNING LIGHT CAME ON SAYING ENGINE POWER LOW. I WAS UNABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. I WAS NEARLY HIT BY CARS GOING AROUND ME. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. 08/06/19 - MY BROTHER WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY IN STOP AND GO CONDITIONS DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. WITH HIS FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL, THE ENTIRE VEHICLE JERKED OR JUMPED SEVERAL TIMES IN SUCCESSION, STOPPED AND THEN DID THE SAME THING TWICE MORE. IT FELT AS IF IT WAS GOING TO LOSE POWER OR NOT GETTING ENOUGH GAS. I TOOK IT BACK TO SAME DEALER FOR SERVICE. ONCE AGAIN, NO ERROR CODES AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. SERVICE FOREMAN TOLD ME THOSE 2 INCIDENTS WERE DEFINITELY RELATED. I REPORTED BOTH ISSUES VERY DANGEROUS INCIDENTS TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER SUPPORT AS I FEEL THAT I AM DRIVING AN UNSAFE VEHICLE. AT FIRST, THEY WERE RECEPTIVE AND EVEN SENT A TOYOTA FACTORY REPRESENTATIVE TO INSPECT THE CAR. THEN MY CASE MANAGER TOLD ME THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG AND "COULD NOT VERIFY MY CONCERNS". SHE SAID THERE WAS NOTHING MORE THEY COULD DO AND THERE WERE NO REPAIRS TO BE MADE. AFTER DOING MORE RESEARCH ONLINE, I FOUND THAT THE 2019 COROLLA HATCHBACK WAS RECALLED IN DECEMBER 2018 TO REPLACE THE CVT TRANSMISSION DUE TO A MANUFACTURING ERROR THAT COULD CAUSE LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER. THE INFO I READ STATED THE EXACT SAME ENGINE IS IN THE 2020 COROLLA SEDAN, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN A RECALL. I AM VERY CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY, AS WELL AS THAT OF MY PASSENGERS, AND OTHER VEHICLES.