2003 Toyota Matrix

RE: ? TOYOTA USA CASE #?S 20812220115, 200812310223, ETC.. ON NOVEMBER 29, 2008 I BOUGHT A 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX WITH 44,598 MILES ON IT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, IT WAS OVER A QUART LOW ON OIL. THIS HAPPENED AGAIN WHICH TOYOTA HAS A LETTER FROM ME. AFTER THIS, I DROVE THE CAR 50 MILES AND IT USED AROUND 2/3 A QUART OF OIL. I CALLED THE TOYOTA EXPERIENCE CENTER AND TOLD THEM THE PROBLEMS I WAS HAVING AND THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO THE LOCAL DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECKED. THE PERSON I TALKED TO, LOOKED UP THE VIN # AND TOLD ME THAT THE ENGINE ON THIS CAR HAD BEEN REBUILT AT 41,459 MILES, IN NOVEMBER 2007 AT HEADQUARTERS TOYOTA, IN MIAMI, FLORIDA. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT TOYOTA WOULD PROBABLY PICK UP THE REPAIR SINCE IT HAD LESS THAN 4,000 MILES ON A REBUILT ENGINE (CURRENTLY THE CAR HAS 45,398 MILE ON IT). I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL DEALER L&S TOYOTA, IN BECKLEY, WV ON DECEMBER 23, 2008. THEY DID A COMPRESSION TEST ON THE ENGINE AND IT FAILED. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT L&S TOYOTA TOLD ME THE ENGINE BLOCK SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED WHEN HEADQUARTERS TOYOTA REBUILT THE ENGINE, BUT HADN'T BEEN. AFTER ABOUT 10 CALLS TO TOYOTA CORPORATE AND NUMEROUS CASE NUMBERS THE VERDICT WAS IN. TERR, THE SERVICE MANAGER AT L&S TOYOTA SAID THEY WILL NOT FIX THE ENGINE UNLESS I PAY FOR THE REPAIR MYSELF. JOHN LINO FROM HEADQUARTERS TOYOTA, MIAMI TOLD ME THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE REPAIR BUT I WOULD HAVE TO BRING THE CAR THERE, WHICH IS 950 MILES AWAY. THE MATRIX ENGINE HAS BLOWN TWICE WITHIN 45,398 MILES AND TOYOTA IS OFFERING NO ASSISTANCE. BOTH OF THESE DEALERSHIPS ARE GOVERNED BY TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, USA, SO HOW CAN THE ONE GET AUTHORIZATION TO DO THE REPAIR BUT THE OTHER ONE CAN?T? THE 2003 MATRIX THAT I AM REFERRING TO IS THE 8TH TOYOTA THAT I HAVE OWNED, BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIABILITY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE POWER WINDOWS WERE ACTIVATED AND THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD SQUEAKING AND RATTLING NOISE. IN ADDITION, THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW WOULD NOT CLOSE COMPLETELY WHEN ACTIVATED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 08V162000 (VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR). THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE RECALL REMEDY HAS NOT CORRECTED THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 140,000. UPDATED 3/3/09 *CN UPDATED 03/04/09*JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE ENGINE FAILED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE NOT A FACTOR. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AT THE TIME; THEREFORE, HE WAS ACCELERATING AND DECELERATING BEFORE THE FAILURE OCCURRED. ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE PUSHED THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY AND IT WAS TOWED TO THE REPAIR SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED FOR TWO DAYS AND ENGINE SLUDGE WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE DUE TO IMPROPER LUBRICATION, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS OIL PRESENT IN THE ENGINE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE ENGINE FAILURE WAS NOT COVERED FOR THE MATRIX; HOWEVER, THE CAMRY WAS COVERED. THE CAMRY AND MATRIX HAVE THE SAME EXACT ENGINE AND THE CONTACT FEELS THAT IT SHOULD ALSO BE COVERED. HE WAS PROVIDED WITH REFERENCE NUMBER 200810070867. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.

I HAD MY '03 TOYOTA MATRIX XRS SERVICED ON 08/08/08 AT A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN BERKELEY, CA. THEY TOLD ME EVERYTHING WAS FINE, AND I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH MY CAR. THE NEXT DAY (TODAY, AS I WRITE) I WAS DRIVING ON I-80 EASTBOUND PAST RENO, NV AND MY SPEED DROPPED 20MPH FOR NO REASON. MY CAR THEN BEGAN TO SMOKE, AND I PULLED OVER TO FIND A TRAIL OF TRANSMISSION FLUID BEHIND MY CAR AND MY ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT ON. AFTER THE TOW BACK TO RENO, THE TOYOTA DEALER SERVICE STATION TOLD ME THEY WEREN'T RECEIVING ANY RESPONSE FROM MY TRANSMISSION AND THAT IT WOULD BE UPWARDS OF $6,000 TO REPAIR. I HAVE NEVER HAD ONE, SINGLE PROBLEM WITH MY CAR AND HAVE HAD IT SERVICED REGULARLY. IT HAS 66,000 MILES AND WAS SERVICED YESTERDAY. I FIND THIS OUTRAGEOUS, UNSAFE, AND DECEPTIVE. *TR

OUR SON'S 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX HAD IT'S TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAIL 2 NIGHTS AGO. HE HAD AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ( 100,000 MILES). UNBELIEVABLY HE WAS 1600 MILES OVER HIS WARRANTY. I LOOKED ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND DOZENS AND DOZENS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT 2003 AND 2004 MATRIX TRANSMISSIONS. OUR SON IS A RATHER POOR COLLEGE GRADUATE WHO CAN'T AFFORD THE $3300 IT WILL TAKE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH. I WOULD LIKE SOME ADVISE ON HOW TO PURSUE SOME ACTION AGAINST TOYOTA. THERE SHOULD BE A WAY TO PURSUE "CONSIDERATION" FOR THIS TYPE OF SITUATION SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE! PLEASE RESPOND IF YOU CAN... *TR

MY 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX XR WITH A 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION HAD A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. I WAS TRAVELING ON INTERSTATE I-565 IN LIGHT TRAFFIC. THE CAR WAS IN FIFTH GEAR AND CRUISE CONTROL WAS SET AT ABOUT 70 MPH. AFTER BEING ON THE INTERSTATE FOR ABOUT 3-4 MINUTES, THE CAR STARTED DECELERATING. SO I RESPONDED BY CANCELING CRUISE CONTROL AND PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR WITH NO EFFECT. THE CAR CONTINUED TO DECELERATE. SO I DOWNSHIFTED TO FOURTH GEAR AND PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR. AGAIN THE CAR CONTINUED TO DECELERATE. SO I PULLED OVER AND STOPPED THE CAR ON THE SHOULDER OF THE INTERSTATE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND STARTED IT BACK ON. THE ENGINE STARTED NORMALLY, BUT I COULD NOT PUT THE GEAR SHIFTER INTO ANY GEAR. I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR TO REV THE ENGINE UP AND THE ENGINE MADE A HIGH PITCHED, WEANING SOUND. SO I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND TRIED TO PUSH THE GEAR SHIFTER INTO GEAR WITH THE CAR OFF AND WAS NOT ABLE TO GET IT INTO ANY GEAR. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP AND THEY INSPECTED IT AND DETERMINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD COMPLETELY FAILED. THE ODOMETER READING ON THE CAR WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED WAS APPROXIMATELY 63,050 MILES. TOYOTA'S POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ON THIS CAR IS 60,000 MILES. I CONTACTED TOYOTA TO ASK FOR GOODWILL ASSISTANCE BECAUSE IT IS SO UNUSUAL FOR A MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN A TOYOTA TO COMPLETELY FAIL AT SUCH A LOW MILEAGE. HOWEVER TOYOTA WAS UNWILLING TO PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE. I PURCHASED A NEW TRANSMISSION FROM THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER AND HAD IT INSTALLED BY AN INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION SHOP. THE COST OF THE TRANSMISSION WAS $2,343.17 (INCLUDING TAX) AND INSTALLATION COSTS WERE $450. SO THIS FAILURE COST ME A TOTAL OF $2,793.17. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX AUTO TRANSMISSION, THAT HAS 58,000 MILES ON IT. A MONTH AGO THE 1ST AND REVERSE GEARS STARTED TO SLIP AND WAS HARD TO GET INTO GEAR. I TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I LEFT THE DEALER AND IT STARTED AGAIN. 2 DAYS LATER I WAS NOT ABLE TO GET IT IN TO REVERSE AT ALL. I TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP SINCE THE 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT CAME ON AND THEY CHECKED THE CODES AND LOOKED AT THE TRANSMISSION. THE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REBUILT NOW AND WILL COST ME $2400. I LOVE THIS CAR. I BABY IT ALL THE TIME. I CHANGE THE OIL REGULAR AND ALWAYS KEEP UP ON THE MAINT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW A TRANSMISSION CAN GO OUT ON A CAR THAT IS ONLY 5 YRS. AND 4 MO. OLD AND ONLY 58,000 MILES ON IT ! I DID CALL TOYOTA AND THEY SAID NOTHING WAS REPORTED AND ALL WAS FINE. I ASKED THEM TO PAY FOR THE FIX AND THEY SAID THE WARRANTY WAS ONLY 5YRS. 60,000 MILES. I'M OVER BY 4 MO. I FOUND A WEBSITE THAT HAS ABOUT 10 OTHER PEOPLE WITH THIS SAME YR AND MAKE CAR THAT HAD TRANSMISSION ISSUES. *TR

THE SIDE OF THE CAR THAT HOLDS THE WINDSHIELD TOGETHER IS A BLIND SPOT. WHEN PEOPLE ARE CROSSING THE STREET YOU CAN'T SEE THEM. I ALMOST HIT SOME ABOUT THREE TIMES BECAUSE OF HOW THE WINDOW IS MADE. THE SUN VISOR IS NOT LONG ENOUGH TO BLOCK THE SUN MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THEY TO MAKE BETTER VISORS THAT ACTUALLY BLOCKS THE SUN. *TR