10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
50 miles

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problem #2

May 282010

Matrix

  • miles
On May 28th, while pulling into my driveway as I've done with my 2008 Matrix hundreds of times, the brakes failed and my car ran into my house. I could feel the ABS firing, but the car failed to slow down. I have a short driveway, about a car and a half in length, and it is downhill. The approach to the driveway has me turning and braking while going over the bump of the curb. To add to that, it was raining the day this happened. Fortunately, my approach was rather slow and no one was injured. My car sustained some minor damage, and my garage sustained more damage from the force of the impact. Under the advisement of my auto insurance Agency, I had the car towed to the Toyota dealership for inspection. They informed me that they ran a complete diagnostic, and all of the systems were running fine. They reported to me that the brake pads were in good condition, and there were no hot spots. From their perspective, the car seemed fine. I advised them that while the diagnostics reported the car as being fine, the inability for the car to brake coming into my driveway, and the damage sustained, leaves me needing a better answer than that. They told me that when it next rained that I could come in and drive the car with one of their technicians to try and re-create the issue. It has been several weeks, and we have not had the proper weather conditions when they have been open and I have been able to get off work and get over there with our one remaining car. When I spoke to the dealer rep on Monday, he re-iterated how their software diagnostic showed the car was operating fine. I asked him how then the 2010 prius had a software update to correct a braking issue. He said that the prius situation was complicated, brought on by the combination of turning, going over a bump and braking at the same time. I told him that was what happened during my accident. There was silence, and a repeat statement that I could come in and test the vehicle with their tech.

- Redmond, WA, USA

problem #1

Feb 032010

Matrix

  • 100 miles
I'm reading about the recent recall of the Toyota prius involving brake problems - a momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump. This has been happening in my 2008 Toyota Matrix since the day I bought it. I'd like to go on record that this problem extends to Matrix models. I have been fortunate to be able to regain control of the car on numerous occasions. I thought this was a something that happened with ibs brakes.

- Baltimore, MD, USA