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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:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,012 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.

2008 Toyota Corolla steering problems

steering problem

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2008 Toyota Corolla Owner Comments

problem #12

Jun 292017

Corolla

  • 200,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering column damaged airbag wiring, causing SRS light to illuminate during normal driving.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #11

Sep 012016

Corolla

  • miles
I found out the car I purchased from a dealer is giving me problems with the tires beaks and alignment. The car had wrong size tires, the breaks were uneven also when I would drive over a puddle it would shake. I spend money on getting new tires paying for alignment and the problems continues, I found the axle and power steering rack with part problems. That need fixing also the steering wheel is not centered and the wheel hub has broken its bolts I think its a faulty manufacture issue. The tmps has also have problems with lighting up on the dash board and not turning off tmps I think is the air pressure in the wheels.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #10

May 172014

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 90,891 miles
I was driving in the country with my daughter. I was driving slow because I had never driven that road before and there was a speed limit 30 and the 45 mph. There was a stop sign where I needed to turn right. I started slowing down but the car would complete the stop. So, I turned right and the car suddenly accelerated and got out of control. It was accelerating and moving left and right like crazy. I tried to hold the steering wheel tight but I wasn't able to do that because it was out of control. The brakes didn't work either. There were small hills on the both sides of the road that's why the car kept driving from side to side. Probably 3000-4000 feet from the stop sign there was a big iron gate leading to the pasture. My car knocked down the whole gate and kept moving into the pasture. Finally the car hit another pole and a fence and stopped. The car is totaled. Fortunately I didn't suffer any serious injures except I suffered constant headaches for a couple of weeks and my daughter had long scratches across her throat from a seatbelt. This is a miracle that we are alive. If it had happened on a highway, it would have been really bad. Two of our church members drove 2 minutes after me so that I received help from them. They didn't witness the crash but they saw where it happened, how the place of accident looked like, and long marks that my car left on the sides of the road. Also, I got a police report where it says that the driver didn't do anything improper and there is a map of the place of the accident attached. I have contacted Toyota and haven't had any response yet. First the representative said that it takes them 30 days to make a decision, later he said that it's 60 days. The inspector came and got the cdr data from the car. He didn't explain anything to me but he emailed a crash data files and said to wait a call from Toyota.

- Edmond, OK, USA

problem #9

Aug 012008

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 31,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. When driving the vehicle in reverse at any speed the contact noticed a loud sound coming from under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the failure could not be duplicated.the failure mileage was not available and the current mileage was 31000. Updated 06/17/10. The consumer stated the vehicle pulled to the right. Updated 06/18/10.

- North Bruswick , NJ, USA

problem #8

Jun 262009

Corolla

  • 26,000 miles
Soon after I purchased my 2008 Corolla, I noticed the car veers left and the wheel was a bit off, not centered. I took it in and asked them to check it, as well as the alignment. They told me it was fine and that the wheel just needed to be reset to its normal position. That was just under a year ago. I've since had the alignment checked and done, again, and the tires changed. However, the car continues to veer. Also, at higher speeds, the car tends to swerve from left to right, even though the roads are smooth and there is no wind (as is usually the case in California). I drive quite a bit so, this is obviously worrisome and the dealer insists nothing is wrong.

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #7

Mar 032008

Corolla

  • 200 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The contact was driving approximately 65 mph on normal road conditions. Suddenly, there was a loss of steering control. The vehicle began to wander into another lane. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician performed a four wheel alignment. The failure occurrences continued without warning. The failure mileage was 200. The VIN was unavailable.

- Johnstown, PA, USA

problem #6

Dec 292008

Corolla

  • 28,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Purchased my Corolla '08 model 6 pm on Dec. 7th '08. During the following week I called the dealer because I was having difficulty keeping the car in a straight line it felt like the wind was blowing me left then right. But there wasn't wind. Like it was possessed, it veered off road on December 29th, 2008. The tire blew out and the fender crumpled which left a dent. Scared me to death, I took it in to the dealer repair shop and they made it look like it was my fault and that what I was saying was impossible. The repair tech took the car for a ride and suggested new tires in the front. They gave me 1 tire for which they tried charging me with an attitude, I argued the point that it was the car's fault and not mine. To shut me up they agreed to pay for the tire and let me leave with a car that weaves in and out at its own discretion, like it has a mind of its own. I called again to Toyota during the month of January and was told and I quote, to bring the car back on a day without out wind so that the mechanic could test drive it. What a joke! finally on a day with heavy rain the car spun me out and I called the dealer to complain that the car felt like it was on skates and was told that I needed to bring the car in for evaluation when it wasn't raining or windy. Again a joke! I continued to try to drive this car but only to get me to work which is 20 minutes from my house on a city road. I don't drive on the hwy because I couldn't control the car. The weekend of valentines day 2010 my husband took us to asheville nc. The car almost drove us into a tractor trailer, luckily my husband was driving who can lift 60lbs in 1 arm. He saved our lives. On feb18th we took the car to the dealer and told them were leaving it there and will get a ride home that we didn't care about it and would call a lawyer finally a nice man at Toyota got the point and helped us by trading in the car for a new '10 Toyota Corolla, disappointing we got below value for the car but my life is safe.

- Fuquay Varina, NC, USA

problem #5

Aug 152008

Corolla

  • 37,000 miles
2007 Toyota Corolla - power steering unit leaks bad rack-N-pinion unit after one year of driving and 37K miles. Toyota would not honor repairs since I was over warranty by 1K - even though it was noticed one month prior and before the 36K mark. They said since I didn't service it at Toyota they would not address

- Lemoyne, PA, USA

problem #4

Jul 052009

Corolla

  • 25,000 miles
Power steering problem with my 2008 Corolla. Steering was struck at one position and I had to tow my car to Toyota service center. They informed some kind of belt problem. But from that day I am not convinced.

- Lansdale, PA, USA

problem #3

Feb 012009

Corolla

  • 15,000 miles
My car wanders side to side while driving at high speeds on interstate and highways.

- Covington, LA, USA

problem #2

Dec 082009

Corolla

  • 39,000 miles
I was driving home from work during December. There was a horrible snow storm and we had to drive through some heavy snow and skidded a few times but gained control of the car. The incident happened when we were out of that area and clear up snow we slowed down to about 15 mph and the steering wheel locked up and a light came on and said to pull car over and call Toyota as soon as possible. I called and they said it was probably the battery. I checked the battery and it was fine. It was charged normally. It has not happened lately but I am a bit worried about driving around in icy conditions incase it happens again!!

- Cosby, TN, USA

problem #1

Nov 042007

Corolla 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. On two occasions, while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle began to veer left to right without warning. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. The current mileage was 2,083 and failure mileage was 50.

- West Hills, CA, USA

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