2006 Toyota COROLLA MATRIX: complaints, problems and recalls

I OWN A 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX. AT ABOUT 40K I BEGAN NOTICING WHEN I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL FROM A STOP THAT IT SOMETIMES LAGGED, OTHER TIMES THE PEDAL SEEMED VERY TOUCHY AND TO TAKE OFF EXCESSIVELY, CAUSING PASSENGERS TO NOTICE THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. THIS OCCURS SPONTANEOUSLY BUT AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 14 DAYS. IT IS ALWAYS FROM A STOP SUCH AS AT A LIGHT OR DRIVEWAY, AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVING EVEN A FEW FEET BUT IT HAS NEVER OCCURRED ON THE INITIAL PRESS WHEN THE CAR IS FIRST CRANKED AND MOVED, ONLY AFTER THE WHEELS HAVE MOVED. AS A SIDE NOT…

Owner-reported narrative. 40,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10294080 at NHTSA ↗

MY 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT TO WORK TO VIRGINIA FROM MARYLAND ON FEB. 18, 2010. I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART IT AND HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC. LATER THAT DAY, MY MECHANIC CALLED TO INFORM ME THAT IT WAS A COMPUTER PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE BECAUSE HE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO START IT AGAIN AFTER HE BROUGHT INSIDE THE SERVICE BAY. HE INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THE ENGINE CONTROL- ENGINE NO START CONDITION AND THAT TOYOTA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REP…

Owner-reported narrative. 35,913 miles reported. Look up ODI 10314639 at NHTSA ↗

INTERMITTENTLY MY 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX XR SUDDENLY SLOWS DOWN TO ABOUT 20 MILES PER HOUR AND WOULD NOT RESPOND TO PRESSING GAS PEDAL. WHEN THIS HAPPENS I WILL HAVE TO PULL UP TO THE SIDE AND TURN THE ENGINE OFF FOR COUPLE OF MINUTES AND THEN START. THEN IT WOULD BE FINE. IT HAS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY AND LOCAL ROADS. IT COULD BE DANGEROUS IF IT HAPPENS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY. SO FAR IN THE SPAN OF LESS THAN A YEAR IT HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN FIVE TIMES. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THEY QUOTED "P2103: THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL M…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10354630 at NHTSA ↗

WE PURCHASED THIS CAR IN MARCH 2007 AND CHANGED THE TIRES IN 2009 AT ABOUT 30,000 MILES. AND NOW WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE TIRES AGAIN IN 2011 AT ABOUT 55,000 MILES DUE TO ABNORMAL TIRE WEAR. IT IS OUTRAGEOUS THAT THE TIRES (AT WARRANTY OF 80,000 MILES) HAVE TO BE CHANGED AT LESS THAN 30,000 MILES. THIS MAY BE DUE TO PROBLEMATIC CONFIGURATION OR BUILD OF THE CAR. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 30,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10430427 at NHTSA ↗

I WAS RETURNING HOME LAST WEEK ON I-40 IN TN. I WAS GOING UP A GRADE WITH VEHICLES ALL AROUND ME WHEN MY TRANSMISSION BLEW. I INSTANTLY LOST POWER AND WENT FROM 70 TO 50 IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. LUCKILY I WASN'T HIT AND WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. AFTER TOWING THE CAR HOME I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO HEAR OF MANY SIMILAR ACCOUNTS FROM OTHER MATRIX OWNERS. APPARENTLY THERE ARE FAULTY BEARINGS TO BLAME FOR COUNTLESS TRANSMISSION FAILURES ON CARS WITH ALARMINGLY LOW MILEAGE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT TOYOTA SHOULD RECONCILE WITH ITS CUSTOMERS AND …

Owner-reported narrative. 130,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10455620 at NHTSA ↗

THE CAR WAS PURCHASED NEW. AT 50,000 MILES I'VE GONE THROUGH TWO SETS OF TIRES AND ABOUT REPLACE MY THIRD SET. THERE ARE SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM MANY OTHERS ON SEVERAL FORUMS LIKE: HTTP://WWW.FAQS.ORG/CAR/TOYOTA-MATRIX-2006/SUSPENSION/ AND HTTP://TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM/DIRECT/VIEW/.F0EEECE/145 THAT SUGGEST THERE IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT IN THE SUSPENSION THAT IS THE CAUSE OF THIS SYMPTOM. I WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS WITH MY LOCAL DEALER AND POSSIBLY A LAWYER SHOULD IT COME TO THAT. I DID, HOWEVER, WANT TO WRITE A REPORT IN THE MEAN TIME…

Owner-reported narrative. 50,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10461763 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSE POWER AND STALL WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE FAILURE WAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE A DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,000 AND THE APPROXIMATE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 52,100.

Owner-reported narrative. 52,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10462714 at NHTSA ↗

HEAT SHIELD HANGER ASSEMBLY FAILED AND NOW HEAT SHIELD VIBRATES AGAINST EXHAUST PIPE MAKING TERRIBLE NOISE. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AS RESEARCHED ON THE NET. TOYOTA NEEDS TO FIX THIS FREE. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 55,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10470254 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2015-05-13 (May 13, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004. On June 16, 2015, Toyota expanded the recall to include an additional 1,270,468 vehicles, including model year 2002-2003 and 2005-2007 Sequoia, 2005-2006 Tundra, 2003-2007 Corolla, 2003-2007 Corolla Matrix, 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe and 2002-2007 Lexus SC vehicles. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been installed as replacement service parts. A replacement air bag may have been installed, as one example, if a vehicle had been in a crash necessitating the replacement of the passenger side frontal air bag.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag. The recall began on July 13, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-762-2737. NOTE: This recall supersedes recall 14V-312 in its entirety.

Reported: 2015-05-13 (May 13, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. On June 16, 2015 Toyota expanded the recall to cover an additional 769,055 vehicles, including certain model year 2002-2004 Lexus SC, Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe, and Toyota Tundra vehicles, as well the vehicles covered by the May 13, 2015 notification in the portions of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that were not previously included. The inflators in the front passenger air bags are susceptible to rupture in the event of a crash necessitating the deployment of the front passenger air bag.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota began the recall on July 13, 2015. Pontiac Vibe owners may contact GM at 1-800-762-2737. GM began the recall on June 29, 2015. NOTE: This recacll supersedes recall 14V-655 in its entirety. For vehicles located in the U.S. states not listed above, please see Toyota recall 15V-285 which covers all other U.S. states.

Reported: 2018-01-09 (January 9, 2018)

On January 9, 2018, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified NHTSA that they are recalling 14,585 model year 2010-2012 Yaris vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of January 30, 2018, Toyota is additionally recalling 3,347 model year 2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles located in states listed above. Also included in this recall filing is 98,194 model year 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles, located throughout the U.S., that previously received a “like-for-like” interim air bag inflator replacement. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assemblies with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0R (Zone B), and H0A (Zone C), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A).

Reported: 2019-08-28 (August 28, 2019)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Corolla, 2005-2008 Corolla Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation under high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.

Consequence: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly or sub-assembly, free of charge. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1Q and K0Q. Pontiac owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is N192273760.