2006 Toyota Matrix

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE THROTTLE HESITATED TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL RELATED TO THE FAILURE AND RECOMMENDED THE VEHICLE TO BE DIAGNOSED BY A DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

I WAS ON A STEEP HILL AT A STOP SIGN. I HAD LET GO OF THE BRAKE TO STEP ON THE GAS BECAUSE IT WAS MY TURN TO GO AND MY CAR ROLLED BACKWARDS DRAMATICALLY TO THE POINT WHERE MY TIRES WHERE SCREECHING FOR A FEW SECONDS TILL I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE STEEP HILL. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED, I USUALLY AVOID STREETS THAT HAVE A STEEP HILL BECAUSE THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME I'M ON A STEEP HILL. I'VE NOTICED THIS HAS HAPPENED FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. *TR

AS I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON DECEMBER 28, 6:50 AM I GRADUALLY FELT MY CAR SLOWING DOWN SO I TRIED ACCELERATING WITH NO SUCCESS! WHEN I LOOKED IF I HAD FORGOTTEN TO LOWER THE SAFETY BRAKE, I CHECKED MY BOARD AND SAW A CHECK ENGINE SIGN SO I PULLED OF TO THE GAS STATION (LUCKY THERE WAS ONE WHEN THIS HAPPENED AND NO TRAFFIC). I CALLED FOR A TOWING AND TURNED OF THE CAR. WHEN THE TOWING GUY CAME, HE TRIED MY VEHICLE AND NOTHING SEEMED TO BE WRONG EXCEPT FOR THE CHECK ENGINE SIGN THAT WAS STILL UP... WHEN I WENT TO THE GARAGE, MY CAR WAS SCANNED AND THE PO607 ERROR WAS FOUND IN THE COMPUTER'S HISTORY! THERE OBVIOUSLY IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ACCELERATOR ON MY TOYOTA MATRIX 2006 AND THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THAT PROBLEM WHICH IS NOT NORMAL EITHER! THIS IS A CAR I BOUGHT ON AUGUST 2010 FROM A POPULAR DEALER SO ITS SECOND HAND AND I'M PRETTY SURE THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME SUCH A PROBLEM OCCURS WITH IT. *TR

THEY NEED TO ISSUE A RECALL IMMEDIATELY -- MY 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX HAS BEEN HARD SHIFTING WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON BUT I WAS UNABLE TO GET IT SERVICED BECAUSE I'M UNEMPLOYED. IT HAS 90K AND THE DEALER SAYS I MUST PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE REPAIR, $1000-$1300 BECAUSE THERE IS NO RECALL ON IT YET. HAD I KNOWN THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH IT I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT IN -- AS IT IS I HAD TO LEARN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IN THE NEWSPAPER YESTERDAY! I AM AFRAID NOW TO DRIVE IT THAT IT MAY STALL AT A HIGH SPEED AS DESCRIBED IN THE NEWSPAPER!! *TR

MY REAR DIFFERENTIAL IN MY 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX XR 4WD WAS MAKING A WHINING NOISE THAT INCREASED IN VOLUME AS SPEED INCREASED. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS THE REAR DIFF. AND WOULD COST $2300 TO REPLACE. CAR HAS 68K. POWERTRAIN WARR. IS 5 YRS. OR 60K. DEALER QUOTED ME PRICE OF $2388 TO FIX?? I SAID IT SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE OUT AS I HAVE DONE EVERY MAINTENANCE ON THIS CAR. THEY THEN OFFERED ME A MEASLY 10% AS A WHINER/CONSOLATION FEE. I THEN CALLED THE "CUSTOMER CENTER" OF TOYOTA AND WAS EVENTUALLY TOLD THAT THEY WOULD UP THE "OFFER" TO $600, AND THAT WAS THEIR FINAL OFFER. THEY THEN CALLED ME THE NEXT DAY AND TOLD ME THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY THE TRANSMISSION COUPLING ASSY, AND THAT IT WOULD COST ANOTHER $400. TOYOTA SAID THEY WOULD COVER THE DIFFERENCE OF $400 SINCE IT WAS MISDIAGNOSED. I SAID THEY SHOULD COVER ALL OF IT SINCE IT WAS CLEARLY DEFECTIVE. THEY REFUSED. THEN I FOUND A TOYOTA TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ON THE INTERNET DESCRIBING THE EXACT PROBLEM, DATED AUGUST 23, 2007. SO THEY KNEW ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND DID NOT NOTIFY ME. I KNOW THIS MUST HAVE HAPPENED OVER A LONG TIME, AND I COULD HAVE BROUGHT THE CAR IN TO BE INSPECTED, WELL WITHIN ITS WARRANTY, BUT TOYOTA DID NOTHING. I THINK TOYOTA IS NOT STANDING BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. $2417 LATER, TOYOTA WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS WAS A DEFECTIVE PART, AND FORCED ME TO PAY FOR IT. I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED HAD THIS PART SEIZED UP ON ME AT 65 MPH IN TRAFFIC, OR ON ONE OF OUR ICY MOUNTAIN ROADS IN THE WINTER. *TR

ABOUT 10:00 PM WHEN I WAS JUST PULLING ON TO I-84 IN DOWNTOWN HARTFORD, CT THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION OF MY TOYOTA MATRIX MADE A VERY LOUD GRINDING SOUND AND I COULD NOT MOVE. THANKFULLY, MY MOMENTUM ENABLED ME TO GET OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY BUT I WAS STILL STICKING OUT INTO THE RIGHT LANE JUST AROUND A CURVE IN THE ROAD. A STATE POLICE TROUPER PULLED BEHIND ME ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND PUT ON HIS LIGHTS TO WARN CARS AWAY. OTHERWISE, I AM CERTAIN MY CAR WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR-ENDED WHILE I WAITED FOR THE TOW TRUCK. THE REPAIR SHOP I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO SAID THAT A BEARING HAD FAILED AND DESTROYED THE TRANSMISSION. I HAD TO GET A COMPLETELY NEW TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF OVER $2000. THIS CAR HAD OVER 105,000 MILES ON IT, BUT THEY WERE MOSTLY HIGHWAY MILES AND THE TRANSMISSION SHOULD NEVER HAVE FAILED THIS EARLY. *TR

ON OCTOBER 3, 2008, WHILE DRIVING MY 2006 TOYOTA MATRIX I HAD TO ACCELERATE RAPIDLY TO MERGE ONTO A BUSY STREET. I IMMEDIATELY SMELLED A ODOR COMING FROM MY VENTS OF BURNING WIRING. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER AND MADE SOME CALLS TO SERVICE STATIONS AND THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. WAS ADVISED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. DID. AFTER INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE FOR SEVERAL DAYS THEY DECIDED MY ECM WAS BAD AND REPLACED IT. WITH THE RECENT TOYOTA RECALLS, I FINALLY DECIDED YESTERDAY THAT I SHOULD CHECK INTO IF I AM INVOLVED. MY VEHICLE IS TOYOTA CERTIFIED AND THEY DO HAVE RECORD OF THE ECM FAILURE TO MY VEHICLE. I ALSO WANTED TO REPORT IT TO YOU FOLKS, JUST IN CASE IT IS IN FACT THE COMPUTERS THAT ARE FAULTY. IT IS UNKNOWN TO ME WHETHER THE REPLACEMENT COMPUTER THEY PUT IN MY CAR IS A 2006, OR WHAT YEAR ECM IT IS. MY ECM FAILED IMMEDIATELY AFTER RAPID ACCELERATION AND MY VEHICLE IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. *TR