CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware of the NHTSA complaint data for the 2008 Corolla. It is almost certainly misleading.
The problem with NHTSA data for the 2008 Corolla is that for months on end, the news media repeatedly told the public that several Toyota models have an unintended acceleration defect, & to go to safercar.gov (the NHTSA's website) to file a complaint.
So, the NHTSA received a disproportionate number of complaints about Toyota unintended acceleration issues because of the national news media attention, to the point where now the NHTSA data is unreliable taken in context with any other vehicle that did not receive national news attention.
CarComplaints.com typically receives more complaints per day about vehicles than the NHTSA does, but the news media did not repeatedly say "go to CarComplaints.com to report your Toyota acceleration problems" like they did about the NHTSA -- so although we have less complaint data than the NHTSA for the 2008 Corolla, our data for the Corolla is a far more statistically accurate representation of the Corolla's reliability than what the NHTSA data shows.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,292 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have had failure to disclose issues with this car. I have had an accident in which the airbag did not deploy and brake had difficulty. I had a bad accident and have reached out to Toyota to wither repair my car or setup rental or make a payment for rental. I do not want to drive this car until repaired, therefore renting for the past 3 months
I was driving at 65 miles an hour, the check engine light came on, and I lost power. I hit the accelerator and nothing happened. Luckily I was able to get off of road safely. After restarting the car, it shifted harshly into first and would not let me accelerate past 25.
We received noticed back on 2010 that our vehicle has a recall regarding ECM but when we contacted dealership they said our vehicle is not affected. I just put my VIN number in this website and it shows two recalls open in my vehicle.
My car had difficulty starting after getting the new battery last month, and a couple days ago my engine stalled as I slowed it down to stop in the busy traffic road while I was going to the dealership to get it checked. I had it towed to the nearest dealership assuming that a wrong battery was installed, but it turned out to be a bad ECM. I had to get it fixed by paying over $800. The thing is the ECM unit in my car was a replaced one in the past as the Toyota recalled it. I am really scared of driving my car now because it might happen again in the future, and I wonder if Toyota knows this issue that the ECM does not recognize a new battery well. I read the same story while searching for this problem.
While driving on the interstate going 65mph the car suddenly turned completely off. There was absolutely no power, no power brakes, steering, all the gauges looked as if the car had not been started. It restarted by itself after about 15 seconds which was a good thing as it would have been difficult to maneuver the car from the middle lane to the shoulder in heavy traffic with very limited steering and brake and decelerating rapidly.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that he started the engine and the rpms increased excessively high. The contact also stated that he was driving the vehicle 50 mph and the vehicle engaged into limp mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the electronic control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 78,200.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While driving at any speed during bright conditions, the contact could not read the speedometer. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was told there was no repair for that type of failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 12,995 and the current mileage was 18,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the odometer was not working properly. The mileage on the vehicle continued to display the incorrect mileage which was 10000, but the odometer displayed 0 miles and later displayed 17000. The dealer stated that this should not have happened, but they could not determine the cause of failure. The VIN was rejected from the system. The failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage was 10000.
While driving on the highway, I noticed a clicking sound resulting from the needle on the RPM meter dropping to 0. the check engine light went on, and my engine stalled. I lost power steering and power braking, and coasted on momentum to the shoulder of the highway. I was able to restart the car, but the check engine light was still on and the engine shut off a few seconds later. I had the car towed home.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While driving approximately 10-15 mph in her driveway the front end of the vehicle began to make a clanking noise. She turned the vehicle off, observed the noise, and restarted the vehicle. As she engaged the brakes, they did not responded as normal. The vehicle was taken to three dealers who were unable to duplicate the failure. She stated that the failure was intermittent at first but the longer she drove the vehicle the more constant the failure became. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the shims were missing which he added additional ones. The contact also stated that when you engaged the accelerator pedal everything that was electrical began to dim low and then normal. She also stated that the rear defroster does not work. The contact stated that the dealer performed a diagnostic test and was unable to locate the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 38,027.
2008 Toyota Corolla comes with anti-theft protection. There is a flashing red light near the ignition which stops flashing after we insert the key in the ignition. This is the engine immobilizer system. Sometimes (rarely), what happens is that after I insert the key in the ignition the light keeps flashing and the car does not start. This is probably because the computer in the car thinks that the wrong key has been inserted. Agreed that this problem happens only rarely, but when it happens I cannot start the car and I get stranded. I then have to take help from friends to pick me up from wherever I get stranded. I had purchased this car brand new, I certainly do not expect this quality from a new vehicle.
It's Toyota Corolla 2008. The engine stalling happened 3 times since last Friday. Once at toll station, twice at highway, when I tried reduce speed, the engine stalling. I have to turn on alert light, stop car, move to park position in the middle of highway. Then turn on the engine again. It's very danger at highway.
My 2008 4dr Toyota Corolla suddenly stalled while driving to work in the morning on October 7, 2009 without any early warning signs. Car was towed to the longo Toyota dealer in el monte, California. The diagnosis was ECM logic error. The ECM module was replaced under part number 89661-02R00.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Shiprock, NM, USA