2008 Toyota COROLLA MATRIX: complaints, problems and recalls

WITH THE LAST INCIDENT BEING 2 DAYS AGO, I FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE SHOP TODAY. THEY SAID THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD ABOUT 5 INCIDENTS OVER THE LAST 4 YEARS OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHEN MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. ONE TIME RECENTLY IT HAPPENED ON A FLAT ROAD AS I WAS APPROACHING A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO TURN INTO THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, CUTTING SOME ONE OFF BUT NO COLLISION TOOK PLACE. TWO DAYS AGO IT HAPPENED AGAIN WHEN MY CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED ON A HILL FACING DOWN THE HILL. WHEN I PRE…

Owner-reported narrative. 30,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10453401 at NHTSA ↗

WAS DRIVING THE 08 MATRIX AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON INTERSTATE 90/94 WEST OF MADISON WI. STOPPED AT REST STOP AND HEAR LOUD, HOLLOW NOISE FROM UNDER VEHICLE. MADE IT TO MILWAUKEE AND BROUGHT CAR TO TOYOTA DEALER. WAS INFORMED ONE OF THE STRAPS HOLDING GAS TANK TO CAR FAILED DUE TO CORROSION, WEAR & TEAR AND AGE OF VEHICLE. WAS TOLD NOISE WAS DUE TO GASOLINE TANK, ROCK AND HEAT SHIELD CLANGING AGAINST CAR'S FRAME/CHASIS UNDERNEATH AND OUT OF SIGHT. WAS TOLD IF SECOND STRAP HAD FAILED IT COULD HAVE CREATED FIREBALL UNDER CAR. WAS TOLD STRAP FAILURE…

Owner-reported narrative. 45,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10466652 at NHTSA ↗

PLEASE SEE BELOW. DEALERSHIP FAILED TO INSTALL RECALLED PART. NOW I HAVE A NON-OPERATING CAR. I FEEL THIS WAS DONE ON PURPOSE TO SAVE PARTS AS IT IS NOW OBVIOUS THAT MY PART FAILED.2010 ECM RECALL [INCIDENT: [XXX]] I REVIEWED MY PAPERWORK AND NOTICED THAT THE ECM WAS ORDERED AND NEVER INSTALLED. THE DEALERSHIP FO WHATEVER REASON DECIDED NOT TO INSTALL IT ON 5/21/11 AND NOW IT HAS FAILED. THE TECHS COMMENTS ARE" NO ACTION REQUIRED/INSPECTED OK". WHY WOULD THEY ORDER A PART AND NOT INSTALL. I FEEL I AM OWED THIS PART AND THE INSTALL AS I TH…

Owner-reported narrative. 109,899 miles reported. Look up ODI 10537382 at NHTSA ↗

THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS DON'T WORK CORRECTLY. SOMETIMES THEY REMAIN ON IN HIGH SPEED, SOMETIMES SLOW. SOMETIMES THEY JUST STOP. WE HAVE TO TAKE THE FUSE OUT TO DRIVE ON CLEAR DAYS, AS THEY WILL JUST COME ON WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE IT. ALSO, THE FRONT WASHER FLUID NO LONGER WORKS. IN ADDITION TO THOSE ISSUES, THE HEAT SHIELD DROPPED WHILE WE WERE GETTING GAS ONE DAY AND RATTLES SO LOUD IT'S UNBEARABLE. I HAD TO WIRE IT UP. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 90,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10578483 at NHTSA ↗

ENGINE OVER-HEATED TO THE POINT WHERE THE HEAD GASKET BLEW. DEALERSHIP SAID IT WAS DUE TO CHRONIC OVERHEATING BUT TEMPERATURE GAUGES NEVER INDICATED ANY ISSUE AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT COME ON UNTIL 2 MINUTES BEFORE THE CAR BROKE DOWN. POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH THE MONITORING SYSTEM. ROUTINE MAINTENANCE (OIL CHANGE, FLUIDS CHECKED, ETC.) WAS DONE LESS THAN 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO INCIDENT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 166,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10637183 at NHTSA ↗

WE BOUGHT THE CAR USED IN GA AUGUST 2012, 3 MONTHS LATER THE ENGINE WOULD COME ON BUT ELECTRICS WOULDN'T, MOVE OUT OF PARK. THE DEALER COULDN'T RE CREATE THE PROBLEM TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG SO WE DELT WITH IT FOR MONTHS UNTIL THE POWER SHUT OFF ON THE HWY. IT SCARED US. IT QUICKLY SHUT BACK ON THANK GOD BUT WE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH CORPORATE AND THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT ANY LUCK OR HELP ON FIXING IT. FINALLY JULY THEY SAID IT WAS THE ECM AND TRIED TO CHARGE US TO FIX IT. 3 WEEKS LATER THE STALLING CONTINUED. WE WERE SENT HERE BY A FRIEND AND JU…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10644172 at NHTSA ↗

PLEASE ADVISE TOYOTA TO RECALL THE 2008 MATRIX, AS IT HAS AN AFFECTED TAKATA AIRBAG THAT MAY LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC INJURY DURING DEPLOYMENT. I OWN A 2008 TOYOTA MATRIX WHICH IS IN THE SAME GENERATION AS THE 2005-2007 TOYOTA MATRIX MODELS. THE AIRBAG USED IN THE 2008 MATRIX IS IDENTICAL TO THAT WHICH IS USED IN THE 2005-2007 TOYOTA MATRIX MODELS. HOWEVER, THE 2008 TOYOTA MATRIX AIRBAG WAS NOT RECALLED (UNLIKE THE 05-07 MODELS) EVEN THOUGH IT HAS THE SAME AIRBAG PART NUMBER AS THE RECALLED MODELS. I BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA MAY HAVE OVERLOOKED THE 08 M…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10733367 at NHTSA ↗

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME WHILE DRIVING TO WORK IN 2008 TOYOTA MATRIX. TOOK CAR TO MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THE CHARCOAL CANISTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALSO OCCURRED WITH A 2005 TOYOTA COROLLA THAT HAD 120000 MILES ON IT. SEEMS TO ME THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT WITH TOYOTA COROLLAS AND POSSIBLY OTHERS.

Owner-reported narrative. 70,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10761096 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2016-03-03 (March 3, 2016)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Lexus SC vehicles manufactured August 3, 2007, to July 30, 2010, 2008 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured May 25, 2007, to December 21, 2007, 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and 2008 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to January 2, 2008. 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: The recall began on March 25, 2016 for Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners. The recall began on June 23, 2016 for GM owners. The respective dealers will either replace the front passenger air bag inflator or the entire front passenger air bag assembly depending on the model. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. This recall expands recall 15V-285.

Reported: 2016-03-02 (March 2, 2016)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Lexus SC vehicles manufactured August 3, 2007, to July 30, 2010, 2008 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 21, 2007, 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and 2008 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to January 2, 2008 that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.

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: The recall began on March 25, 2016 for Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners. The recall began on June 8, 2016 for GM owners. The respective dealers will either replace the front passenger air bag inflator or the entire front passenger air bag assembly depending on the model. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. This recall expands recall 15V-286.

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.