2003 Toyota Matrix

OWN A TOYOTA MATRIX 2003 XR HAVE BEEN HEARING ODD SOUNDS FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS. HAD MECHANIC DO A CHECK AND COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING. NEVER STOPPED TO THINK IT COULD BE THE TRANSMISSION ON A MANUAL TRANSMISSION WITH LESS THAN 100K MILES. A WEEK LATER, DRIVING ON HIGHWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, HEARD A LOUD EXPLOSION TYPE SOUND AND SWERVED OFF THE ROAD. MECHANIC SAID ITS A BAD BEARING IN THE TRANSMISSION. TOYOTA HAS YET TO RESPOND TO MY COMPLAINT. THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *TR

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

2003 TOYOTA MATRIX THE VEHICLE ODOMETER CURRENTLY SHOWS 57,108 MILES. ON JANUARY 24TH, THE CLUTCH WENT OUT AND WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. THE CAR WAS TOWED ($45) TO OUR MECHANIC AT POLLY'S SHELL IN NASHVILLE AND WE PAID THE FOLLOWING AMOUNT TO HAVE THE CLUTCH REPLACED: CLUTCH SET: $268 ADDITIONAL PARTS: 42 TOW: 45 LABOR: 455 OIL: 38 THE TOTAL BILL WITH OTHER ITEMS CAME TO MORE THAN $900.00. A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL RECEIPT IS ENCLOSED. WHEN WE EXAMINED THE CLUTCH, THE PRESSURE PLATE DISC HAD BROKEN INTO FOUR EQUAL PARTS. IN ADDITION TO OUR REGULAR MECHANIC, OTHER MECHANICS AT POLLY'S COMMENTED THAT THE FACT THE MECHANISM BROKE EQUALLY INTO FOUR PARTS IS OBVIOUSLY THE RESULT OF A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT SINCE THIS TYPE FRACTURE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WAY THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN. *TR

I OWN A 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX THAT ON JULY 30, 2007, HAD A LITTLE OVER 105,000 MILES ON IT. DRIVING EITHER IN TOWN OR ON THE HIGHWAY A CLINKIING SOUND WAS NOTICED BY DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS ALONG WITH AN INTERMITTENT INCREASED DIFFICULTY IN SHIFTING GEARS. ON JULY 30, 2007, DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THE CLINKING NOISE BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED. I PARKED MY VEHICLE TO DO SOME ERRANDS AND CAME BACK THE CAR WOULD START, BUT WOULD NOT ENTER INTO ANY GEAR. THE CAR WAS LOCKED IN A GEAR THAT WAS NOT NEUTRAL. I WAS STRANDED ABOUT 30 MILES FROM MY HOME AND HAD TO CALL A TOWING COMPANY TO COME AND TOW THE VEHICLE TO THE IOWA CITY TOYOTA COMPANY. FROM THERE, TOYOTA INSPECTED MY 2003 TOYOTA MATIX AND FOUND THAT THE GEAR TEETH IN THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION HAS COMPLETELY ERODED AND BROKE OFF. TOYOTA HAD TO REPLACE THE FULL TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH COSTING CLOSE TO $3000. *TR