Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Toyota Matrix - part 2

I have never had mechanical issues with my 2004 Toyota Matrix. Last weekend while trying to merge onto interstate highway 10 in az for a weekend camping trip without warning my engine seized while I was trying to merge onto the highway. The engine stopped and thankfully I was able to drive off onto the shoulder before the semi behind me rear ended me. I am thankful to be alive as well as the infant I had with me in the car. When we towed the car to a mechanic he accused me of driving the car without oil because the engine was full of sludge. Thankfully my father was with me and he explained to the mechanic that I regularly have my car serviced and we had oil in the car at the time of the incident. After some searching on the internet I have found that this is a common problem with Toyotas. I can not understand if this is a known issue why Toyota has not informed their customers so that we can protect ourselves and the passengers in our cars.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Matrix 🔎.

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 motor circuit high" and will cost $1085 to fix it. I looked up the web and there were others with the same error code and replaced it but still experience the problem. After some research on the web I found that there was same symptom people experience but different error code that was covered by Toyota even when the warranty expired. I was hoping my problem gets covered, too but they insist not to cover it. If this problem is a result of wear and tear, I have no problem with it. But this is clearly a defects in the vehicle that should be fixed regardless of the warranty expired or not.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Matrix 🔎.

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 repair since it is still under warranty. I had to have it towed again to 355 Toyota and am waiting to hear from them regarding their diagnostic testing.

I was driving home from work when I noticed the door light was on the display console in my car. I was at a red light and checked to see if my door was open, it wasn't, the door light remained on. I continued driving, but smelled plastic burning. I looked down, saw orange flickers and realized my car was on fire. The fire was burning in the drivers side dash, it was contained behind a small storage compartment. I tried desperately to put the fire out, threw water and left over soda on it, but I think I actually made it worse. I screeched into a gas station, put the fire out, and called 911. The fire department came out and said I did everything right. I am now having difficulty getting my car into a body shop. The insurance company I am with has yet to tow the vehicle and now I find it is costing me out of pocket expenses, due to my insurance not rolling over to cover a rental. I am extremely frustrated. I did call Toyota, who said I could tow my car in, but the car is "no longer under warranty" per the service guy. I would like advice as to what to do. I am waiting for my insurance company to tow the car to a local bodyshop, but am extremely wary of having a car that has been on fire repaired.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Matrix 🔎.

I was driving down a very busy 45mph highway when I suddenly lost the ability to accelerate in my 2007 Toyota Matrix. The rpms dropped to approximately 1000. I had to coast in to a parking lot where my vehicle was then towed to a Toyota dealer and the engine computer was replaced.

There have been two instances of this problem. The first time, I was completely stopped just back of an intersection, after coming out of my employer's parking lot, preparing to make a right turn on a two lane urban thoroughfare, when all of a sudden I felt the engine rev and my car surge forward, although my foot was on the brake. I pressed hard on the brake to no avail; I thought I was going to be propelled into the intersection into traffic. At the last moment, I managed to stop, I'm not sure now, if I applied the emergency brake or what, because although I relayed this incident to several people, including my brother-in-law, my aunt, and some coworkers, I later dismissed the incident as, other than what it was, possibly due to road conditions (a large building was being built alongside the road at the time). Today, however, while completely stopped waiting for the light to change in front of the exit from the lower parking lot this time, the same exact thing happened again: the engine suddlenly revved, and the car surged forward. I instinctively pressed on the brakes as hard as I could, but the car wouldn't stop until grabbed the gear shifter and put it in neutral.

The ecu on my 2006 Toyota Matrix died suddenly, after the ecu failed the car to halt immediately. Luckily for me this did not happen on a freeway , in which case I would have been rear ended and possibly seriously injured. When my car was towed into the dealership , the tech at the service desk guessed that it was the ecu as he had seen quite a few of these fail. After tests they determined it was the ecu. The ecu was replaced by the dealer as it was under warranty.

While driving 25 mph the engine died. Power brakes and steering failed so stopping was difficult. The engine refused to start for about five minutes. Toyota replaced the electronic computer unit at no cost to me the next day.

Factory defect on engine part. Had to spend over $4,000 for engine replacement & repairs.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota Matrix 🔎.

I was halted in the left turn lane of a 6 lane highway behind another car also waiting to turn. My car(1,600 miles) was idling in drive. Suddenly the engine began racing and by virtually standing on the brake I prevented forward movement and after a few seconds I slipped it into neutral. When I did that, the engine seemed to race all the more - virtually screaming. I finally thought to turn the ignition off. The car promptly restarted and the problem did not recur again. The potential for a serious accident from this problem is huge.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota Matrix 🔎.

I purchased my 2005 Toyota Matrix 5/7/05. 1 week after I purchased my vehicle I experienced a intermittent starting problem. Even after 4 attempts by Toyota to fix the problem it is still current. It usually happens more often when the engine is warm. It usually cranks 5-10 seconds before starting. Sometimes the vehicle will not start at all and I have to turn the key back and retry to start the vehicle. The dealership where I purchased the vehicle claims they cannot get the problem to duplicate when they have the vehicle in their possession but when I last had my car there the car took about 7 seconds to start and the service manager claims that is normal for the Matrix engine to crank. I find this hard to believe with a brand new vehicle.

I took the Matrix in twice shortly after I bought it because the car would unexpectedly lunge forward while at a complete stop. I also complained that the brakes felt "loose" and did not "catch" as they should. I was advised both times by the service manager that they could not duplicate the problem and that nothing abnormal was found with car. While I was beginning to look into "lemon laws", in September of last year I was at a stop light with the brake pedal fully engaged. Due to my previous experiences with the car lunging forward, I would keep several feet between me and the car in front of me to avoid an accident. This time the car not only lunged forward, but it was like the accelerator stuck-I had my foot on the brake but could not stop the car after it lunged forward and I hit a car that was in front of me at the light. My car did not stop until I was almost parallel with the other car on the passenger side! I have had the case looked at by Toyota, and their legal department has advised that nothing is wrong with the car-their only explanation is that the vehicle operates to "normal" specifications. They have advised that the car will lunge forward while the air conditioner is as when the ac compressor cycles, it increases the engine rpm and the vehicle will move forward. My air conditioner was not on at the time of this accident, however.