NHTSA Complaint #10262874 — 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX

2003 TOYOTA MATRIX MANUAL 5 SPEED TRANSMISSION HAS COMPLETELY COME APART DUE TO BEING BUILT WITH BAD THROW OUT BEARINGS. LOUD RATTLING NOISE BEGAN 6 MONTHS AGO EVEN THOUGH THE TRANSMISSION AND THE ENTIRE VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED FLAWLESSLY. TWO WEEKS AGO, ON MARCH 9, 2009 MY BOYFRIEND WAS DRIVING ON THE 15 FREEWAY GOING NORTH WHEN THE CAR BEGAN TO MAKE A HORRIBLE RATTLING NOISE. MY BOYFRIEND PULLED THE CAR OVER TO SAFETY OFF THE FREEWAY AND TOOK A LOOK. HE KNEW IT WAS THE TRANNY, HE DIDN'T NEED TO SEE ANYTHING...THE FIRST CLUE WAS THAT IT WOULD NOT GO INTO 1ST OR REVERSE GEAR AT ALL. WE HAD TO GET IT TO A PLACE THAT WE COULD PARK IT LEGALLY, SO HE STARTED IT IN SECOND GEAR AND THE CAR WAILED AND WHINED AND SOUNDED LIKE METAL WAS BREAKING APART AS THE CAR LITERALLY LIMPED IT'S WAY THE ENTIRE SHORT RIDE. WARRANTY GOOD FOR 100,000 MILES, BUT MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AT 105,000 MILES. TOYOTA WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT THE ENTIRE 2003 MATRIX LINE IS EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE, AND WILL NOT EVEN DO ANYTHING AS A GOODWILL GESTURE. A BRAND NEW TRANNY FROM TOYOTA IS $4000+/-, AND THE PROBLEM WILL MOST CERTAINLY HAPPEN AGAIN - AS I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY PEOPLE ATTEST TO. A REBUILT TRANSMISSION IS LESS $...TOYOTA NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS. MY CAR COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS FAILURE ON THE FREEWAY, TO SAY NOTHING OF THE FACT THAT IT'S VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE TO LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AS WELL AS BREAKING DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. *TR