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:
27 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
22 / 0
Average Mileage:
24,885 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.
Airbag light on dashboard came on while sitting in traffic. There was no accident or incident. I took it to my mechanic and was told that oem spiral cable to the SRS bag wasn't operational and wouldn't deploy in an accident and could potentially blow out.
I was driving 40 mph on state route 315 South. Cars in front of me stopped for a jack-knifed truck. I hit my brakes and slid on black ice. I slid 50 yards into the rear of another vehicle. My front in was smashed in, bending the radiator and frame, causing the hood to crumple and the side panels to jam the front doors shut. My head snapped forward and hit my chest upon impact, and then snapped back against the headrest. My car is totaled from this, and the airbags did not deploy. The collision impacted the entirety of the front of my vehicle.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While driving at 50 mph, a preceding vehicle abruptly stopped and the contact crashed into the back of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained moderate injuries to her neck and shoulders. The vehicle sustained substantial front end damages. The vehicle was driven to the contact's home and parked. The vehicle had not been repaired or taken to the dealer for a diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were 75,607. Updated 10/27/10.
I was decelerating with my right foot on the brake to stop at a red light. There was a car ahead of me at the light, and as I pulled up behind it, I put my right foot on the brake to come to a complete stop. When I hit brakes, I found that the car was not stopping and that the car was accelerating. I put both feet on the brake, and pulled the emergency brake but the car continued to accelerate until it ended up pushing on the car ahead of me. I did everything I could think of to stop the car, but was unable to do so until I turned the key off. As far as I know, there were no injuries, air bags didn't deploy, no tickets were issued and the bumpers of both cars were not dented, but had very deep scrapes on them. The mat was hooked at the time and was not involved and I didn't touch the gas. I had my husband follow me to my dealership, where I asked them to inspect the car and let me know if it was safe to drive. They refused to inspect it and referred me to my insurance company. I did that, but I also talked to Toyota's service line in California and they said the best they could do was arrange for an inspection with results in appx 74 days. My insurance company had an independent inspection, but all he told me was that my accelerator was not "cable". the Toyota company told me I could go ahead and have the body work done as long as the repairs did not have anything to do with the brake or the ignition. Police were called at the scene, but did not meet with us.
My son was involved in a head-on collision where the front air bags did not deploy. He was driving a 2008 Toyota Corolla le. Attempts to contact Toyota have been answered with condescension.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pawtucket, RI, USA