2009 Toyota Matrix
Complaints about this year name takata recall far more often than the model's other years — 30% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 10.1%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 192 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 45 |
| Involving a crash | 34 |
| Involving a fire | 1 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 24 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- accelerator — 16.7% of this year's complaints, against 6.3% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: accelerator, accelerator pedal, vehicle speed, per.
- thought — 6.8% of this year's complaints, against 1.5% across the model's other years (4.4×). Owners wrote it as: thought, wind, car now, lady.
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
- hit — 9% of complaints, 19× usual
- pedal — 17% of complaints, 3× usual
- turn — 10% of complaints, 5× usual
What owners wrote
TAKATA RECALL TOO LONG TO GO WITH SUCH A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DEFECT IN A CAR. MY 21 YEAR OLD SON DRIVES THIS CAR. PLEASE HAVE A FIX SOON OR AT LEAST BE ABLE TO TAKE IT IN AND TURN THAT AIRBAG OFF. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!
THE CONTACT OWNED A 2009 TOYOTA MATRIX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH UP THE MOUNTAIN AND MAKING A TURN, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE SPUN CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO CRASH INTO THE MOUNTAIN. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V340000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 10V035000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 10V023000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 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 2009 Toyota Matrix? What happened to yours?
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