2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix: problems, recalls and reliability
5 recalls and 36 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (74% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Jan 2018
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 36 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V285000 (Air Bags) however, the notification advised not to drive the vehicle and to contact the local dealer for retrieval of the vehicle. After contacting the local dealer, the vehicle had not yet been retrieved. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.”Owner report · Air Bags · Apr 2024
“After toyota dealer replaced the airbag, the car audio stopped functioning properly. When I called the toyota dealer, they said they won't do anything for me and hang up on the phone. My email to toyota company was not returned.”Owner report · Electrical System · Feb 2021
“I continue to receive notices for an airbag recall on a vehicle I haven't owned in two years. Please stop emailing me recall notices. I have attached a receipt I received when I had the car scrapped. *tr”Owner report · Air Bags · Jun 2020
Show 7 more owner reports
“The glass sunroof on my vehicle shattered. The is no evidence of impact inside or outside. I had not used the car for about a week.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Jul 2019
“Car is rotten in the spare tire area, thought mine was the only one but seen a lot of cars with the same problem. Florida area”Owner report · Structure · Feb 2019
“2003 toyota corolla. Consumer writes in regards to air bag recall. *ld the consumer was first advised that the recall repair could not be completed because there was a wire that need to repaired before the air bag could be replaced. A year later the consumer was advised that the air bag had already been deployed. The consumer stated that was not true, the airbags had never deployed. Updated 05/19/2017 *js”Owner report · Air Bags · Jan 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota corolla matrix. While driving approximately 40 mph, the front driver and passenger air bags deployed inadvertently and fractured the windshield. The contact suffered injuries to the chest, which required medical attention. The contact also stated that the notice for NHTSA campaign number: 15v286000 (air bags) was received in early 2014; however, the dealer stated that the part was not available for repair. The manufacturer was not notified. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Nov 2015
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota corolla matrix. The contact received an interim notification for NHTSA campaign number: 15v043000 (air bags) in march of 2015; however, the parts needed to do the repair were still not available. The contact felt the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Updated 7/14/15*cn updated 07/21/15*jb”Owner report · Air Bags · May 2015
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota corolla matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v286000 (air bags); however, the part needed to perform the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Ma 10/1 updated 12/28/2015*js”Owner report · Air Bags · May 2015
“I was notified in march that my car had a bad airbag and I would be notified when it would be replaced. I just talked to my dealer and they have no idea when it will get done. That seems un acceptable to me that we have 3/4 of a car til it gets replaced. Shouldn't there be a timetable on recalls? Thank you.”Owner report · Air Bags · Mar 2015
When filing, owners marked a crash in 2 of these complaints and injuries in 4 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 5 campaigns
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004. On June 16, 2015, Toyota expanded the recall to include an additional 1,270,468 vehicles, including model year 2002-2003 and 2005-2007 Sequoia, 2005-2006 Tundra, 2003-2007 Corolla, 2003-2007 Corolla Matrix, 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe and 2002-2007 Lexus SC vehicles. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been installed as replacement service parts. A replacement air bag may have been installed, as one example, if a vehicle had been in a crash necessitating the replacement of the passenger side frontal air bag.
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag. The recall began on July 13, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-762-2737. NOTE: This recall supersedes recall 14V-312 in its entirety.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. On June 16, 2015 Toyota expanded the recall to cover an additional 769,055 vehicles, including certain model year 2002-2004 Lexus SC, Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe, and Toyota Tundra vehicles, as well the vehicles covered by the May 13, 2015 notification in the portions of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that were not previously included. The inflators in the front passenger air bags are susceptible to rupture in the event of a crash necessitating the deployment of the front passenger air bag.
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota began the recall on July 13, 2015. Pontiac Vibe owners may contact GM at 1-800-762-2737. GM began the recall on June 29, 2015. NOTE: This recacll supersedes recall 14V-655 in its entirety. For vehicles located in the U.S. states not listed above, please see Toyota recall 15V-285 which covers all other U.S. states.
On January 9, 2018, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified NHTSA that they are recalling 14,585 model year 2010-2012 Yaris vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of January 30, 2018, Toyota is additionally recalling 3,347 model year 2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles located in states listed above. Also included in this recall filing is 98,194 model year 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles, located throughout the U.S., that previously received a "like-for-like" interim air bag inflator replacement. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assemblies with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0R (Zone B), and H0A (Zone C), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A).
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002, to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Remedy: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. GM issued an interim notification to owners on March 27, 2015. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits are susceptible to internal shorting. The electrical short may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat which can damage the circuits. This could result in an inadvertent deployment of the front airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
Remedy: Toyota will re-notify their owners who have already had their vehicles repaired with a noise filter, but did not receive a new airbag control module, and General Motors will re-notify theirs. Dealers previously installed a supplemental harness containing an electrical filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness, free of charge. Dealers will replace the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on March 13, 2013. The manufacturer has not yet provided a schedule for second notices. For more information, Toyota owners may call 1-800-331-4331 and Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668.
How other years compare
Check your exact Corolla Matrix by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix reliable?
NHTSA has 36 owner complaints and 5 recall campaigns on record for the 2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix. The most complained-about area is air bags (74% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 117,636 miles or less.
Does the 2003 Toyota Corolla Matrix have open recalls?
5 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.