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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.

2.2

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,938 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 brakes problems

brakes problem

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2008 Toyota Corolla Owner Comments

problem #1

Apr 252010

Corolla

  • Automatic transmission
  • 69,938 miles

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

My Toyota Corolla ce sedan automatic, yr: 2008. Mileage 69938. Warranty is out. 04/25/10 while my car was parked I started engine, gas pedal did not accelerate., engine had low tone & slowly went off. I tried 4-5 times, pressing on gas pedal while engine was on, same result. Finally. I started engine, without depressing gas pedal, I backed up, then, I put gear in drive & moved the car forward, after abt 2 minutes I depressed gas pedal, engine accelerated & drove on. It has been normal ever since. I had previous 2 similar cases but engine accelerated on 2nd try. 4/26/10, I reported it, as manufacturing defect, to Toyota dealer & asked fixing it without charge to me. Dealer had car checked by a technician, he could not diagnose the cause & said I should leave it for complete inspection at $98/hr. I told customer relations mgr I could not pay it. He had the car inspected again, this time by head mechanic at workshop abt 20 minutes. He said car was ok & could not diagnose the cause. 4/28/10 I faxed all in detail to Toyota motor sales usa Inc, torrance, ca, dept WC11 (customer experience center). 04/29/10, they emailed "due to high contact volume, we are unable to respond to your inquiry in a timely manner and it may take several weeks to receive a response to your inquiry". 4/27/10, I emailed "Toyota owners member registration" & registered myself as Toyota member. Then, I reported my problem. 05/04/10 Toyota called, a lady asked me to recount my story, again & again, obviously trying to worn me out. She said she had not seen my original report, so I faxed her copy of my fax 5/04/10 & asked her help. 05/04/10, she emailed: I should contact dealership. "if the dealership discovers a warranty concern, all fees will be covered, otherwise you would be responsible for all costs related to the inspection....." my question to you (NHTSA-dot"= have similar cases been reported to you. What shall I do next ?

- Valencia, CA, USA

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