After making some noise on the highway I pulled off the road to realize that I had no reverse gear in my Corolla. It was difficult to get the car in first gear also. I limped my way to the mechanic who told me the next day that the transmission was completely broken. He said that a component came loose and destroyed the transmission further by interfering with other parts. He said that it would cost $3,800 to fix. This was completely unexpected and dangerous.

- Media, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 55 mph when the vehicle would no longer shift gears. The vehicle was maneuvered to the shoulder and shut off. The vehicle was then towed to an independent repair shop where the driver was informed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 123,410.

- West Bend, WI, USA

I was driving the car, a Toyota Corolla 2003 on July 12 and while driving it turn on the check engine light, next morning while driving the car in a highway the car turn off. I didn't have an accident because it was too early in the morning, after couple attempts the car turned on, I call a Toyota place, where I do all maintenance of my cars, and after I called I went there so they can run a test. The result was shift solenoid "E" malfunction. The worker told me that most likely the problem is the computer, that there was a recall but on the Corolla 2006 not 2003. Hopefully you can help me with this. He told me to file a complain so I don't know where.

- Doral, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The driver stated while he was driving 30 mph and approached a red traffic light. The when she tried to accelerate the vehicle failed to move. The contact had to place the vehicle in neutral and to coast to the nearest gas station. The driver also stated that failure caused her axle to break. A local mechanic stated that he has never seen anything like that before. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were around 90,000.

- Greenville, SC, USA

Today, as I was very slowly pulling into my parking spot at work, it felt like a "jet" engine took off and my car accelerated into the building. I was stuck on cement parking borders and the wheels were spining. I did not have any control over this. I do have witneses to his.the care was towed to Toyota.

- Dix Hills, NY, USA

I brought a 1999 Toyota corola in 2000, in 2001 32,000 miles later the transmision failed, Toyota replaced the transmision with a brand new one. This month May 2003 41,000 miles later the transmision failed again same problem. According to Toyota I'm no longer under warrenty and I have to pay $4,396.71 for the repair cost. What I don't understand is, if the transmision keep failing every 30,000 to 40,000 miles obviously something is wrong with the car.

- Doraville, GA, USA

My wife purchased a 2003 Toyota Corolla. She purchased it because of its implied economy. But despite the owner's manual claims that the car can use 87 octane or higher, such is not the case. In two words, rotten eggs. In two other words, hydrogen sulfide. As we decelerate to a stop light or sign, if the windows are open, or the ventilation system is set to intake outside air, the odor of rotten eggs is overpowering. (note that if the airflow pattern control is turned to either partial or total windshield defrost, the control will automatically enforce fresh, outside air intake.) when I took it to the dealer, the service manager didn't bat an eyelash. Just opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper which states that tmc assumes no responsibility for the problem, and will do nothing to remedy it. The paper further suggests that I should change brands of gasoline (we had already tried that) or change to a higher grade of gasoline. The dealer refused to write up the problem on a report. I can attest, the rotten egg odor doesn't abate if 87 octane fuel is used - even amoco which purports to be better than the rest. Searching these topics via google, I found a discussion suggesting that the cause was/is a catalytic converter running too hot - probably due to its proximity to the exhaust manifold. Sure enough, this vehicle has the first catalytic converter (there are two, in tandem) is coupled directly to the exhaust manifold. Further, there is no room to move the unit back, and, since the entire exhaust system is welded, any modifications to it would probably negate my warranty. My '88 Corolla uses the same 87 octane fuels, from the same brands (that we've tried on the '03 Corolla) and does not have this problem. Consumers deserve a better product than this. My son's '02 Honda civic doesn't seem to have this problem. Why should we - and our fellow road users behind us and to the sides of us - be forced to tolerate this deplorable stench?

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Car accelerated when breaking to a stop and while stopped. The event happened 4 times in one day and 1 time recently. The dealer could not find a problem with it and had never heard of such a problem.

- Davis, CA, USA