2025 Toyota GR Corolla Owner Says: "As I was Driving to Work, the Oil Pressure Light Comes on. I Pulled Over, The Car Was On Fire". Thankfully, Only The Car Suffered Damage

It is an interesting time to be a Toyota owner. On one hand, the company went back to making fun performance cars. On the other, the Japanese carmaker has never had so many issues with new models. While most owner concerns are fairly minor - cheap interior plastics, mirror shaking, etc. - I stumbled upon something in the GR Corolla Owners Club page on Facebook that is disturbing. 

Toyota’s all-wheel-drive hot hatchback is making big headlines, but not always for great reasons. I recently reported on one GR Corolla owner’s misfortune with premature clutch wear at fairly low mileage. While the clutch wear is a well-documented issue with an OEM remedy, the one I am talking about in this article is quite alarming. Here’s what the owner says: 

“Well, I got an exciting story for the group. Driving my Toyota Corolla GR to work. Oil pressure light comes on with a bunch of other lights. Smoking like crazy. I pull over and check the engine. It's on fire. 2025 premium plus. All stock. 2,303 miles. Just daily commute driving.”

The story sounds almost unbelievable, especially for a Toyota, which is why the owner provided images. Many don’t expect a small turbocharged engine to last a lifetime, but the G16E-GTS unit has already proven capable of making big power. Seeing this stock example catching fire, allegedly under normal driving conditions, could make even the most zealous Toyota fan question the brand’s dependability. 

While every carmaker strives to achieve “zero defects", even the most automated manufacturing process isn’t 100 percent error-free. Until Toyota looks into it and finds the source of the issue, this can be chalked down to an “acceptable” failure rate (granted, the owner would probably disagree about the acceptable part).

Related: The One Thing About Toyota GR Corolla You Need To Know If You Want To Make More Power

The source of the fire usually hints at the cause

The images clearly show that the fire starts at the back of the engine (firewall side). That’s where the exhaust manifold and turbocharger are located. Because of that and the relatively tight fit in the engine bay, things tend to get very hot in that region. 

Like almost all modern cars, the GR Corolla’s engine has tight tolerances, meaning you really need to stay on top of maintenance. Many owners “ask a lot” from the small turbo-three engine, which is to be expected with performance cars, and the G16E-GTS has been known to have some cooling issues under sustained stress, such as hard driving. In fact, this is one of the Toyota GR Corolla’s common things you should be aware of when buying one.

For 2026, the Japanese hot hatch has been updated (this particular one is 2025), and it remains to be seen whether Toyota takes care of the issue. Rumor has it that a future update of the GR Corolla will include the new 2.0-liter turbo-four unit that will be featured in the reborn GR Celica and GR MR-2 (GR MR-S in some markets).

Was the owner right?

Stories like this one, while shedding light on potential car issues with certain models, rarely paint a complete picture. We can’t know how each owner drives their car and only have their testimony to go off of. On the surface, it looks like this: we have a 2025 Toyota GR Corolla with just over 2,000 miles on the clock that has caught on fire. 

Other group members chime in, but they are quick to criticize the owner’s reaction. Apparently, there is no fire extinguisher, which is illegal in some countries. Other members point out that it was wrong to open the hood as this provides more oxygen, which is not what you want in the case of fire. At the time of writing this article, just 22 hours have passed since this happened. I am currently following up on this, and plan on updating as soon as possible.

Image source: Scott Alan via GR Corolla Owners Club / Facebook

Dimitar Angelov's automotive interests made him an expert in a wide variety of vehicles. Japanese brands like Toyota and Nissan are closest to his heart, although performance cars in general are his favorite segment, which is why he is constantly on the lookout for the best deals on the market. Dimitar Angelov's car passion and knack for the written word led him to complete a Master of Arts in Media and Communications, and classic car restoration. Dim is happy to get behind the wheel of any car and share his impressions. You can follow Dimitar on X, Linked-in, Instagram, and Facebook.