AI Damage1993 Toyota Celica: common problems
Owners of the 1993 Toyota Celica filed 13 complaints with NHTSA, most often about seat belts and air bags. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 13
What fails most often
- 1 Seat belts 54% of all complaints
- 2 Air bags 15% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 4 Equipment 8% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 8% of all complaints
- 6 Service brakes 8% of all complaints
- 7 Suspension 8% of all complaints
- 8 Tires 8% of all complaints
- Seat belts: 7 complaints (54% of all).
- Air bags: 2 complaints (15% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Equipment: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Powertrain: 1 complaints (8% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 1.6 L · petrol · 4 cyl
- 2 L · petrol · turbo · 4 cyl
- 2.2 L · petrol · 4 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 5-speed
Drive: FWD, AWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 13 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belts | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The front driver and passenger seat belts do not retract or if they do, slowly and not fully. Leaving both passenger and driver to more bodily injury in case of accident. Has been like this since I bought the car. I called toyota but was told I had to pay for the repairs. Not cheap!
I have had two front end shafts sheer off the retaining nut on my car. The first incident was last summer (2009) and the latest incident occurred last night. At the outboard end of the drive shaft, there is a threaded shaft that accepts a (I believe) 22 or 24mm nut.
When using the air conditioner air compressor engages, and causes vehicle to suddenly accelerate. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer, who could not solve the problem.
Both of my front seat belts do not lock or retract properly on my 1993 celica gt and I know that this is a common problem with this model year. It is common knowledge on the celica enthusiast web board that I request and I've found complaints logged on the dot's websites.
While applying the brakes rotors produced a grinding noise. As result, an odor seeped through the vents.
Own 2 toyota vehicles that have seatbelt retractors that lock up/won't release or wont retract causing loose fit. I see that nhtsa has logged numerous complaints about seatbelts on toyota.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 9,843 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 27% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Celica has 14 complaints (30 years in the data). This year has 13, about average.
What to check before buying
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
Other years of this model
- Celica 19824 sources
- Celica 19833 sources
- Celica 19843 sources
- Celica 19857 sources
- Celica 19869 sources
- Celica 19875 sources
- Celica 19886 sources
- Celica 198911 sources
- Celica 199029 sources
- Celica 199127 sources
- Celica 199221 sources
- Celica 199414 sources
- Celica 199522 sources
- Celica 19969 sources
- Celica 19978 sources
- Celica 19985 sources
- Celica 199910 sources
- Celica 2000106 sources
- Celica 200147 sources
- Celica 200229 sources
- Celica 200317 sources
- Celica 20044 sources
- Celica 20054 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1993 Toyota Celica?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: seat belts, air bags, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 13. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (54%), A/C or heater (8%), knocking, grinding or other noise (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1993 Toyota Celica?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1993 Toyota Celica from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1993 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.