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.
I am disappointed in Toyota for this type of serious problem to occur. It certainly was a manufacturers defect to allow a porous leak in the cylinder head, which required the replacement for the top half of the engine. (a porous leak is when the antifreeze oozes out the sidewall of the aluminum cast engine. When the car heats up the aluminum expands and opens a tiny pin hole that leak. It is the result of a poor cast and not a gasket leak.) I am just fortunate that the problem was caught by me before the warranty expired. In any case Toyota fixed the problem without balking and gave me a free loaner while it was under repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I am disappointed in Toyota for this type of serious problem to occur. It certainly was a manufacturers defect to allow a porous leak in the cylinder head, which required the replacement for the top half of the engine. (a porous leak is when the antifreeze oozes out the sidewall of the aluminum cast engine. When the car heats up the aluminum expands and opens a tiny pin hole that leak. It is the result of a poor cast and not a gasket leak.) I am just fortunate that the problem was caught by me before the warranty expired. In any case Toyota fixed the problem without balking and gave me a free loaner while it was under repair.
- Frank N., Plymouth, MN, US