Six problems related to check engine light on have been reported for the 2003 Toyota Matrix. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Matrix. The contact stated that while his wife was at a red light the check engine light came on and the vehicle stalled. It was restarted and then driven about eight miles and it stalled again. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to the dealer. They advised him that the ecm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The current and failure mileages were 101,000.
? 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.
I was driving the vehicle home when the check engine light came on steady. I did not pay much attention to it as I realized that more than likely the problem was an oxygen sensor or something emissions related. 5 more minutes went by and the light started blinking, accompanied by a pinging sound coming from the engine that coincided with engine rpms. Within 30 seconds the car died. After a local repair shop received the towed vehicle, they diagnosed the problem. The pinging"was caused by the piston hitting the spark plug. Translation, I needed a new engine. When this happened for 30 seconds it caused an electrical short which caused the car to suddenly fail. The car had 82,000 miles on it , and I had babied it since day one with nothing but synthetic oil.
The contact stated the check engine light came on constantly. This started 3-4 months ago. The dealer has had to reset the codes several times. The light will stayed off for only a couple of days and then the light came back on. She said the car died o 4 times, and she has had to reboot it. The battery was good. No one was able to tell her why the car would not start. She said the car was running good.
While driving my car, it will start to miss out and then stall. Upon restarting, the engine light comes on. I took it to the dealer where they replaced the computer. That helped for about 6 months and then problem recurred. I took it back to the dealer and we then replaced the ignitors. Once that was complete the car ran fine for 2 months. Now it is happening again, and is very dangerous. It happened to me today for instance while I was in the middle of an interstection making a a turn. When the car stalls, I have limited steering. This also happens to me while I'm on the interstate. Clearly there is a severe problem with this car that goes beyond the computer and ignitors. It is very dangerous to drive, but I have no choice since it is the only car that I have.
While driving, consumer attempted to make turns and steering was very hard. Consumer visually noticed a fluid leaking from under vehicle. Dealer diagnosed that the power steering pump had failed. Ts the next day, consumer noticed more fluid leaking. Dealer replaced crankshaft and keyway. Dome lit inoperative. Bulb replaced. Check engine light was on. Dealer found evaporative system malfunctioned.