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:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,758 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.
As I was driving my 2008 Toyota Corolla through the intersection of Illinois route 60 in vernon hills on March, 17,2010 my vehicle's check engine light became activated and my car completely shut down in traffic almost creating a traffic accident. The car would not re-start after about 10 seconds, however, would restart after appx.30 seconds on the second start attempt. I drove the car to my personal repair shop whom gave be a diagnostic fault code of P0607.(faulty ECU) note:the right front strut assembly and water pump has also went out since this car has been under warranty.
The contact owned a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While at a stop light the vehicle stalled and shut off. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The service department stated that the vehicle had a computer problem. The contact is concerned about the safety risk. The failure mileage was 59,000. The contact is not aware of the current mileage since the vehicle was traded in.
Engine check light came on, without apparent reason (I.e. not behind on maintenance schedule). Shortly after, engine started stalling; first time just fell like engine was being sluggish and needed to give more gas to get power; second time, car nearly fell still (down to a couple of mph's), even when applying serious gas (and clearly hitting high RPM & engine roaring loudly). Just managed to pull the car aside. When towtruck arrived 30 minutes later, problem had disappeared... (for now). A quick check on google sounds like this may be due to many causes, from simple air intake sensor, to more serious ECM problems. Either ways, having your engine stall suddenly seems pretty dangerous, especially if this happens in busy traffic. Plan to have this checked out immediately.
2008 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan ce showed suddenly "check engine light" while being driven. A few minutes later, the car abruptly turned off and would not restart. Vehicle was towed to dealer. Informed by dealer that problem was defective engine computer (fp no 89661-02R00) and that Corollas in model years 2004-07 commonly had problem. However, no recall has been issued by company though it has extended the warranty on the part. Computer replaced without charge. This is a very dangerous defect as it occurs without warning and could have resulted in accident or injury or stranding of the motorist in a dangerous area. Also sent letter of complaint to Toyota (their file no. 0907142725).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Vernn Hills, IL, USA