2005 Toyota Matrix
Complaints about this year name light far more often than the model's other years — 24% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 8.7%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 213 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 45 |
| Involving a crash | 10 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| EPA combined | 26 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- intermittently — 9.4% of this year's complaints, against 1.6% across the model's other years (5.8×). Owners wrote it as: intermittently, diagnose, vibration, item.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- clock — 9% of complaints, 23× usual
- air bag — 17% of complaints, 5× usual
- tires — 11% of complaints, 4× usual
What owners wrote
THE CONTACT OWNS 2005 TOYOTA MATRIX WITH 33,000 MILES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. THE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED FOR SIX MONTHS, WHICH MEANT THAT THE AIR BAGS WERE DISABLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT…
WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CLOCK AND RADIO FAILED TO FUNCTION. IN ADDITION, THE DOORS FAILED TO LOCK AUTOMATICALLY AND THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE [VIN] WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 10V384000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 06E023000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Toyota Matrix was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Toyota Matrix? What happened to yours?
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