2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 64 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (65% of complaints); the 2004 and 2008 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Aug 2019
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 64 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Unlatching & False Latching back seat located in the middle of the seat. Incident was discovered after recent purchased from my little sister who also just got the vehicle as well and decided to sell it to me without being aware of the defective unlatching and false Latching buckle.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Aug 2024
“The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light and the battery warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and pull over on the side of the road safely where the vehicle shut off again and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the vehicle had experienced a similar failure as in NHTSA Campaign Number: 10V384000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 200,025.”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Sep 2023
“Air bag light has been on for awhile and now the horn is not working. When the horn stopped working I took it in for repair again. Toyota repair department says it's a failure of the spiral cable. I found there was a recall to replace the spiral cable in Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles but 2009 - 2010 year models, not my year of 2006. The documentation I found was very clear in stating it was going to do a recall not because of a manufacturing defect but because of a design issue. I think my vehicle should have been included in the recall because it probably has the same or similar design.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Aug 2023
Show 7 more owner reports
“Toyota issued a recall for the front passenger airbag august 28, 2019. However, they still have not provided a remedy or timeline for a remedy, over 5 months later. Toyota refuses to provide more information when I contacted them. This is an unacceptable amount of time to be unable to use my front passenger seat.”Owner report · Air Bags · Feb 2020
“Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota corolla matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. A dealer was not made aware of the issue however, the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. *bf*jb”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota corolla matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) and stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Checkered flag toyota (5301 virginia beach blvd, virginia beach, va 23462, (757) 490-1111) was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. *bf*jb”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2019
“I received an email notice and letter in the mail notifying me of the takara recall, that toyota has the parts but doesn't yet know how to proceed. I received a phone call from the local toyota dealership on oct 25, and they said they have the parts and wanted to schedule repair. Upon further discussion about the issue, she then changed the story and said they couldn't do it yet and would call me again at an undetermined future date. Toyota is failing to remedy this situation within a reasonable time, and their advice that no one should sit in the front seat is not acceptable.”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2019
“I got the recall notice in october and still haven't gotten a repair nor another letter to let me know they have a fix. I'd really like to be able to have a passenger ride in my car and not have to ride in the back seat.”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2019
“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 toyota matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v027000 (air bags) however, the parts to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Haddad toyota located at 130 pitsfield-lenox rd, pitsfield, ma 01240, was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota corolla matrix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact called an unknown toyota dealer in hayward, california who referred her to the manufacturer. The contact called the manufacturer who was not able to provide an estimated timeframe for the repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2019
When filing, owners marked a crash in 5 of these complaints and injuries in 5 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 4 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 2003-2008 Corolla, 2005-2008 Corolla Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation under high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.
Remedy: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly or sub-assembly, free of charge. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1Q and K0Q. Pontiac owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is N192273760.
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 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix reliable?
NHTSA has 64 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix. The most complained-about area is air bags (65% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 100,250 miles or less.
Does the 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix have open recalls?
4 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.