2003 TOYOTA COROLLA Complaints

MY DAUGHTER HAS A 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA THAT WE GOT HER A YEAR AGO. SINCE SHE HAS HAD IT SHE HAS MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES TO HER FATHER AND ME THE STEERING SEEMS TO BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES. WE TOOK IT IN TO OUR MECHANICS WHEN IT WAS IN FOR AND OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ROTATING BUT THEY COULD NOT SIMULATE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, NOW WE SEE THAT IT IS A PROBLEM FOR THE 2009 AND 2010 COROLLAS IT MAKES ME WONDER IF THE SAME DEFECT COULD BE CAUSING HER STEERING PROBLEM. *TR

2003 TOYOTA COROLLA LE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 4 DOOR. FIRST TIME INCIDENT. WESTBOUND HIGHWAY 401 NEAR WOODSTOCK ONTARIO WITH CRUISE CONTROL @ 100 KMH IN RIGHT LANE AND SLIGHTLY ACCELERATED TO MIDDLE LANE TO AVOID MERGING INCOMING TRAFFIC FROM ROADSIDE GAS STATION. ACCELERATOR PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR WITHOUT DRIVER ASSISTANCE. STRONG BRAKING DID NOT STOP CAR. STOMPING ON ACCELERATOR DID NOT STOP CAR. TURNING OFF CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT STOP CAR. FASTEST SPEED WAS 150KMH @ 7500 RPM. SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND WHEN SPEED AT 120KMH @ 4000 RPM, THE BRAKES STARTED WORKING. SLOWED AND PULLED OFF ONTO SHOULDER AND PARKED THE CAR. TWO MINUTES LATER, STILL IN PARK, IDLED AT 1900 RPM. ABLE TO DRIVE TO WORK. OVER THE PHONE, DAN FROM COMPETITION TOYOTA TOLD ME THAT PROBABLY THE THROTTLE BOX OR THROTTLE CABLE HAD BECOME GUMMED UP AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEANED AS PART OF THE TOYOTA 60,000KM MAINTENANCE. I HAVE NOT USED TOYOTA DEALER TO SERVICE THE CAR DUE TO AFFORDABILITY. I DO HAVE A REGULAR MECHANIC WHO SERVICES THE VEHICLE. TOOK IT INTO COMPETITION TOYOTA AND PROBLEM WAS A DIRTY THROTTLE PLATE WHICH WAS CLEANED AT A COST OF $70. DEALER ALSO DID A RECALL REPAIR ON A WINDOW AND SAID THERE WERE TOO MANY MATS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WHICH SHOULD BE REMOVED. I TOLD DAN THAT DRIVER MATS WERE NOT THE CAUSE AND IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO TOYOTA EMPLOYEES, I SHOWED HIM PHOTOS THAT I TOOK OF THE DASHBOARD JUST AFTER I PULLED OFF THE HIGHWAY. I ASKED IF THE CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE, HE SAID YES, AND I HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR SINCE. REPORTED THIS INCIDENT TO TRANSPORT CANADA. *TR

ACCELERATOR PEDAL PROBLEM ON TOYOTA COROLLA 2003. THE FLOORS MATS USED TO COME ON TOP OF THE ACCELERATOR AND MAKE DRIVING UNSAFE. I CHANGED THEM TO BUY DIFFERENT BRANDS OF FLOOR MATS AND FINALLY I STOPPED USING THE FLOOR MATS SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I SEE NO MENTION OF THE 2003 COROLLA IN THE RECALLS AND SURPRISED BY IT. *TR

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING OUR 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA THIS MORNING WHEN SHE REPORTED THAT THE CARS BRAKES DIDN'T APPEAR TO WORK PROPERLY. THIS RESULTED IN A PROPERTY DAMAGE CRASH INTO A GUARDRAIL. IT WAS A FRONTAL CRASH INTO A GUARDRAIL AT LOW TO MODERATE SPEED, THE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. *TR

2003 TOYOTA COROLLA HAD A SUDDEN ACCELERATION WHILE USING CRUISE ON HIGHWAY. *TR

I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW TOYOTA COROLLA 2003 MODEL IN NOV 2002. AROUND A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, IT STARTED PRODUCING AN UNUSUAL SOUND WHENEVER I HIT THE BRAKES. IT HAS SINCE PROGRESSED FROM A BARELY AUDIBLE (EXCEPT TO THE DRIVER) "KNOCKING" SOUND TO,AT SOME POINT, A VERY NERVE-WRACKING "THE CAR IS GOING TO BREAK APART" KIND OF SOUND WHENEVER THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. I CALLED THE DEALER TO CHECK IF IT WAS A COMMON COMPLAINT AND THEY SAID THEY NEVER HEARD OF A SIMILAR CASE. I ALSO ASKED A FORMER TOYOTA MECHANIC, NOW RUNNING HIS OWN PRIVATE SHOP, TO LOOK AT THE PROBLEM; HIS ONLY ANSWER WAS THAT IT WAS A COMMON COMPLAINT FOR COROLLAS FROM 2003, SINCE THEY RE-DESIGNED THE CAR THAT YEAR. EVEN HIS OWN ASSISTANT MECHANIC HAD A LATER TOYOTA COROLLA WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE, AND THEY HAVE GIVEN UP TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL MECHANICS ASSESS THE SOUND, OPEN UP THE BRAKES, RECOMMEND AND CHANGED PADS, EVEN ROTORS. THE SOUND DISAPPEARS WHEN THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN NEWLY "OPENED" AND TAKEN DOWN FOR CLEANING, BUT AFTER A WEEK OR SO, THE SOUNDS RETURN, ALTHOUGH THE MECHANICS HAVE REPEATEDLY TOLD ME THAT THE CAR BRAKES WORK WELL AND ARE SAFE. BUT DON'T THE SOUNDS INDICATE A PROBLEM IN THE BRAKE SYSTEM MAYBE? I ONLY WRITE NOW BECAUSE OF A NEWS ITEM THIS MORNING THAT SAID TOYOTA PLANS TO RECALL COROLLAS FOR A BRAKE-RELATED PROBLEM. *TR

2003 TOYOTA COROLLA LE, 48,000 MILES, ENGINE SEIZED DUE TO LACK OF OIL CIRCULATION IN THE ENGINE BLOCK. RESULT WAS A COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED AND THE OIL CHANGED AT REGULAR INTERVALS. *TR

THE CRUISE CONTROL ON MY WIFE'S 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA HAS ACTED UP ON OCCASION WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. WHEN USING "RESUME" THE CAR WOULD ACCELERATE WELL PAST THE PREVIOUS SET POINT. MOSTLY THIS WAS A MINOR ANNOYANCE AS THE CAR DOESN'T HAVE A BIG ENOUGH ENGINE TO TAKE OFF LIKE A ROCKET, AND SWITCHING OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL AND RESTARTING IT SEEMS TO CURE THE PROBLEM. I NEVER WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE SEQUENCE THAT WOULD RELIABLY REPEAT THE PROBLEM AND PRETTY MUCH FIGURED WE'D LIVE WITH IT. (SHE DOESN'T USE CRUISE CONTROL AND I USE IT WHEN WE ARE TAKING TRIPS.) WITH THE RECENTLY IDENTIFIED CRUISE CONTROL PROBLEMS ON THE NEWER COROLLAS, I'M SUSPICIOUS THAT THE PROBLEM MAY GO BACK FURTHER THAN REPORTED. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED AT VARIOUS TIMES OVER THE PAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS(WHILE WE HAVE OWNED THE CAR), SO THE DATE INDICATED BELOW IS A DUMMY DATE TO GET TOT THE NEXT SCREEN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED HIS VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND AS HE TURNED THE IGNITION ON WITH HIS FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INTO A CEMENT WALL. THE VEHICLE'S FRONT FENDERWAS BADLY DAMAGED.THE CONTACT STATED HE WAS INJURED BUT DID NOT GO TO THE HOSPITAL.THE POLICE WAS NOT CALLED BEFORE TOWING THE VEHICLE FROM THE SCENE TO A BODY REPAIR CENTER. AT THAT TIME OF THE COMPLAINT THE VEHICLE HAD NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER.THE TOYOTA MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CALLED. THERE WAS ONLY NORMAL MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,479 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 116,000.

ON 4/26/2006 MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA INTO A PARKING SPOT AT HER EMPLOYMENT. THE CAR DID NOT STOP WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED. SHE PRESSED THE BRAKES HARD ENOUGH TO LEAVE TIRE TRACKS ON THE CONCRETE AND DUG THROUGH GROUND AFTER JUMPING THE CURB. THE CAR DID FINALLY STOP AFTER HITTING A SMALL TREE AND BARELY MISSING A LIGHT POLE. AT THE TIME WE BELIEVED THAT THE FLOOR MATS\HAD GOT TANGLED UP AND THE HARDER SHE PRESSED ON THE BRAKES THE CAR WENT FASTER. WITH ALL THE MEDIA COVERAGE ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH STUCK GAS PEDALS AND FLOOR MATS . WE ARE NOT SURE THAT IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR. *TR