Comments on: Toyota Corolla and Scion Recall: Brake Issues

By: cecilia medina

cecilia medina — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:31:32 +0000

it is 34 degrees in washington state today on 2/1/2012……I was driving my kids to school and got in the car….usually I warm it up if it is below freezing for 10 minutes but today it was raining and didn’t feel like I needed more than 5 min. warm up….I backed out and then drove forward turning around in my driveway…..it always makes this screeching sound when I turn in the morning and toyota just says their is condensation that gets on the belt after having them see what was wrong….even had it stay the night their and have them cold start it….but they couldn’t replicate it….but back to my story….I tried to take the turn a little slower cause the screeching sound just gets worse as you accelerate with the turn and then stops when straightening out. I always wonder why it is doing that still but since I get no resolution deal with it…..Then turned out of my driveway and it seemed like it was having trouble on the dirt road and their was some ice but I just felt this funny feeling in my gut something seemed not right….I was going like 20 miles an hour and came to stop sign and allowed plenty of time to stop being I already felt like my car was acting funny and then this crazy grinding sound like my tire had gotten something stuck in it and I wasn’t stopping ….and finally stopped a foot into the road…luckily no one was driving by…then I backed up a few foot and told my kids what was that oh my it wouldn’t stop…they were clueless of the mess we could have gotten in if there was a car anywhere in sight or in my way….I then took it really slow the last few miles to the school and was freaked….then nothing really ….but it seemed like the antilock breaking system messes up the breaks or something cause…the grinding sound has happened 4 times total now….I have had every recall that is available for my 2009 corolla and been down to the delearship in tears and trying to ask them why and they act like I am crazy or a stupid woman driver…or the conditions of the road…and I even got so upset I told the manager I hope he can sleep at night when you are treating someone with a valid problem like this and replicating it isn’t going to happen being it happens only on occasion but should never at all…..They even wanted to take me on a drive and show me how to break my car….I mean come on…I think their is a relation to the temps and the abs and the water freezing and even after the fix it happens….That means they failed to even realize you cannot fix it…regardless the fixes are not working and they need to do more….like give me another car!!!!!!!!!! I am so pissed and refuse to even go to the dealership at all and haven’t since they treated me like a menace to society trying to stir up trouble….when I am a person with a problem…that is not being resolved! So I do not know what to do…I am at a loss and my car scares me….and I have no choice but to deal with the brake problems when they come and hope for the best!
WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF PRODUCTS IN AMERICA COME TOO!!!
Are safety is number one before loss of profit for admitting failure!

By: BrianBtk

BrianBtk — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:55:08 +0000

After reading all these complaints, there has to be a solution to all these!!!
I own 2009 Toyota Corolla and I bought it brand new. It looks nice but it doesn’t drive as you expect from Toyota Corolla. I have to issues: brake grinding comes and goes and after using A/C very bad smells comes in from the vent. Like everyone else I took the car to the dealership and they said it was normal. The vehicle started having the brake grinding problem that comes and goes, when it only had 5k miles. Now I called 18003314331 Toyota customer service center and had them open a case. Will see how it goes!! If the dealership doesn’t listen to you I have been told that this is the next step. If this doesn’t help then may be a class action law suit or arbitration settlement where you can fight to return the vehicle. If anyone who has better answer, should let the rest know.
Good luck

By: margie

margie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:42:23 +0000

Good luck to Shawn- Shame on Toyota! We went from being a 5 car Toyota family to being now just 2 scions. The rate of repair on both Scions, brakes, faulty air bag lights that need to be reset countless times, and numerous other issues- We have traded in our toyota prius for hyundai sonatas- 2 for 2, and after 1 year not a single issue with either. In the year of the prius we were in for brake repair..at least 10 times and told there is no problem, except when stopping on a bump…
No more toyota’s for us…

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:36:18 +0000

I bought a new 2010 Toyota Corolla back in Feb 2011 it had 3 miles on it when I bought it. I have had so many brake issues. First my pedal was popping. They told me there was nothing wrong with the car. Finally they were able to reproduce the issue. After breaking my car apart 2 different times and taking my dash completely out and putting all not cables and brake pedal, master cyclinder and brake booster in that fixed the pop. No I have my instrument cluster fails and all my needles drop down to zero. My Radio turns it’s self up and down. My anti lock brakes kicked on for no reason while trying to slowly stop at a red light which I almost rear ended somone. Sometimes my brake pedal is very hard to press down and sometimes it sinks to the floor. When you press the breaks you hear a creakey noise kinda scary, I have had my car in the dealership so much they won’t look at it. I filed the lemon law against my car and I have a hearing tomorrow at the Toyota Dealership. (Wish me luck). I read everyone one of these complaints and I feel for each one of you. As consumers we can file the lemon law and Toyota has to pay for the Arbitration. It’s not a hard process but be prepared. I’m very scared to drive my car. I’m afraid of wrecking. I wish everyone here could have a happy resolve. Good luck to each of your!

By: Joy Underwood

Joy Underwood — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:22:10 +0000

My daughter bought a 09 toyota scion in october 2010 and the brakes are already failing with only 68,000 miles. I have been informed by professionals that this way too early for brake failure. This is obviously part of the massive brake recall and we should not be responsible for the expense

By: George Callas

George Callas — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:11:56 +0000

Purchased an 08 Corolla from Gosch Toyota in Hemet. From the beginning, the brakes made a sickly grinding noise. Dealer keeps telling me everythings all right., not to worry, etc. I’ve deduced the problem lies in the master cylinder. I am horrified Gosch has failed to take any interest in repairing this p o s and placing me in a position that I worry what the hell will happen every time I apply my brakes. Had a similar problem with an automatic transmission on a new Camry I bought. Believe it or not, Toyota didn’t have a clue as to how to repair it. I had it repaired locally at two different transmission shops laying out a total of $6000 within 6 months. Bottom line. When the transmission failed a 3rd time I junked the beast. Toyota just doesn’t know how to build cars anymore. Also just purchased a 2010 Scion XB, like an idiot. Have 14K on it now and the power windows don’t work. I’m finished with this company. I am delighted God took out his revenge on Toyota by leveling their factories with the recent earthquake/tsunami. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer company. See how they like it now.

By: Autumn

Autumn — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:42:06 +0000

I had my Toyota since October 2010. Last month, in June, I had a problem with the 2010 Toyota Corolla that I am currently leasing. I pulled out of a parking lot and was not going fast. I was approaching a steep hill and wanted to brake but I could not. In order to stop the car and avoid the hill, I crossed to the other side of the street into someone’s lawn in order to give the car enough friction to stop. I ended up hitting a slope and the car stopped… but not from my brakes. Fortunately, since I was going very slow and there was no other cars on the street, no one in my car was hurt. One of the passengers in my car told me to try again. I drove the car around the lot and the brakes worked. It has been almost a month and Toyota recently sent out a third party to inspect the vehicle. They did not find anything wrong but I am absolutely sure that something is wrong because I pushed down on the brake the entire time before I hit the slope in the lawn. I am still waiting to hear an official response from Toyota, the actual company. I do not feel comfortable driving the car and have been taking public transportation instead. I would recommend that any person that has an interest in this model to do their research.

By: Winnie Maguire

Winnie Maguire — Sun, 15 May 2011 02:12:22 +0000

2009 Toyota Corolla
At less than 19,500 miles I needed to replace both my tires and breaks, rotors included.

At 18.00 miles, I reported to Toyota that my breaks were making a grinding noise, but due to the winter months I was informed that it was dirt from the road, understandable, as the car had low mileage.

I am so disappointed I have always owned a Toyota, my whole family have Toyota’s Camary.

I am 70 years old and drive very responsibly. I cannot afford another vehicle.

By: Ozzie

Ozzie — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:18:30 +0000

We own a 2009 Corolla now with 16000 miles. I took to Toyota Dealer with scratching front brake noise, they told me the pads and the rotors were glazed and need replacement under warranty but they wanted to charge me $45 to adjust the rear drums, saying that I did bring to them to service at 5000, 10000 and 15000 miles. After complaining to the sales and service managers they waved the charge and got the car fixed.
Lets see how long these new brake pads will last.

By: Ozzie

Ozzie — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:16:06 +0000

We own a 2009 Corolla now with 16000 and took to Toyota with scratching front brake noise, they told me the pads and the rotors were glazed and need replacement under warranty but the wanted to charge me $45 to adjust the rear drums. After complaining to the sales and service managers they waved the charge and got the car fixed.
Lets see how long these new brake pads will last.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:47:09 +0000

I own a 2009 Scion XD, and had to get the brakes replaced at 10k miles. They said it was weird that they went that soon so they comp’d the price for me. This said i though i should be getting at lest 20k+ miles on my car before needing new brakes (being such a small car, not having bad driving habits, and living in California where the weather isnt that cold) but of course yesterday i took my car in at 20K miles and sure enough i needed a break job. Thats every 10k miles!!!! thats ridiculous!!!!! Also come to find out that even though i have a 30k mile warranty, brakes are only covered for 12k miles, c’mon toyota/scion. If theres a problem please at least reimburse us this is ridiculous, if i wanted to spend this much on service i wouldn’t have bought a economical car like this. With the money im spending on brake jobs i could have just gone with a BMW or Audi.

By: margie

margie — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:19:40 +0000

My daughters 2008 scion XD abs sensor went according to the dealer service center, out of warranty and they can’t get the part for 2 weeks- some Toyota manufacture issue, both Scion customer service and westbury customer service said the car is fine to drive, with every red warning light on..when I questioned putting my daughter in the car with every red emergency light on, how would she know if something went wrong, they could not answer. I reported this to the NHTI- and anyone else with the abs sensor light problems should as well, this sounds like toyota is trying to hide another problem, just a quick look and there are countless problems with the 2008 scion XD abs sensor, I am not so sure this is not related to the last cold weather recall, as I am in the northeast in the snow and ice.. Toyota historic record of reliability is gone in my book, I have owned 6 toytota’s over the past 6 years, and as we replace them we are opening our eyes to every other manufacture- they have a unsafe, unreliable cars that you have to fight to have repaired..Worst service center located in Westbury NY- actually accused us of ordering the wrong part on another prius debacle ..Trying Hyundai with the 100,000 mile bumper to bumper- 5 star sonata..so far so good …anyone else with the abs sensor, please report to NHTI- let them admit again they have another problem…
Used to like toyota

By: john

john — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:13:09 +0000

Bought a 2008 Scion XD and when it snowed the brakes just grind and grind but don’t stop the car. Then I heard about the brakes recall and got new brakes and now it grinds and grinds but stops a slightly better. Needless to say as soon as I can I will trade this in for another car, probably a Honda. I don’t trust Toyota anymore.

By: christina Aguilar

christina Aguilar — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 01:52:53 +0000

I’m very disappointed with Toyota I have been tossed around like a yoyo about my 2008 Toyota scion the car is practical new and I have new brakes on It and I can’t even drive it because brake system is bad and one dealer tells me yes there’s recall on it bring it in and we will fix it free of charge I get in there they no nothing I risk driving up there and they no nothing when I just got off the phone with them so then o take it somewhere else and they no nothing why should I have vacuum brake problems when my car is new.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:42:33 +0000

I bought a 2007 Scion this summer nothing was wrong, but last night at work at 2am, I put the gear to reverse, then I realized the breaks are not working, I hit a car, luckly nothing happend to the other car, but my bumper is all broken. I t happend again when I was trying to park my car, so I pulled the hand break to stop it.
Can some one please let me know, if the are recalling on 2007 Scion’s too.
Thanks

By: Eva

Eva — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:53:56 +0000

and by the way the toyota website has a vin check to verify if your vehicle needs the recall. Guess what, mine didn’t!

By: Eva

Eva — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:51:53 +0000

I received a letter about the recall. I finally had some time in 4/2010 to take the car in and had the recall along with an oil change done. Anyway they did the 90H recall shortly there after my brakes started to make a crazy sound along with grinding and it took longer to come to a complete stop. After calling and advising them of the issue and never having appts available to see me. I had to locate the manager who was willing to drive the car. He confirmed the issue and scheduled me today 10/19/2010. The Foreman drove it and they could not duplicate it and told me I had to replace my brake pads because they were low. I thought why didn’t they advise me of this in April when it started to happen. I thought hum I will compare them to previous inspections. Low and behold my brakes were at 10mm and according to the foreman 6 months later they are less then half that 4mm. So now what do I do? I called Toyota but from previous posts they take forever to get back if even that. Now I am on my way to a brakes specialist to confirm the wear on my tires. I wonder if they are trying to fill me with bull because I am a female? I don’t know, but wish my husband weren’t in Afghanistan so I wouldn’t have to deal with this too.

By: 20904

20904 — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:41:19 +0000

Well i filled a complaint with Toyota and they told me to take the car back into the dealership… well the dealership claim they fix the problem…. what a big freaking joke…. I picked up the car and as soon as i applied brakes i hear this strange loud humming sound wtf….. so now the fools have created another problem,…. called the dealership back and they said oh its because its raining outside and water is on the brakes….ok another lame excuse…. back on the phone with Toyota making another complaint….My 2009 car drives like a piece of SH*&…..

By: 20904

20904 — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:23:18 +0000

I need HELP… I have a 2009 corolla 24,000 miles and i am having problems with the brakes. When driving on the highway and applying brakes, the brake pedal vibrates. I thought to myself that its too soon for brakes to be replaced or rotors.. so i took it in and the dealership said everything with car is okay. They gave me some lame excuse that the brakes were overheated and it cause the vibration under the pedal…… What the hell kind of answer is that…. Now i regret buying this crap…. What else is next… the dealership claim when they test drove the car the brakes were okay….. as soon as i left and back on the highway the same freaking problem again……… !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:11:05 +0000

This is an update from my post in Feb. 2010 regarding the brakes on my 2009 Toyota Corolla.
I took it in yesterday, Sept. 14, 2010 for some minor repairs because it was still under warranty. While I was there, I was told their were two recalls on the car, and if I hadn’t gotten the recall notices yet, and I hadn’t, I would be getting them.

I asked them to check the brakes again because the last two times, they told me their was nothing wrong with them. I told them, I don’t believe it is normal when you press on the brake with pressure, and continue putting pressure on the brake, that they should feel like air is being released, furthering the brake down to where they almost touch the floor board. And when I need to stop, it’s not a normal stop. Again, I was told their was nothing wrong with the brakes. BUT this time, in addition to that, I was told Toyota changed to a different type of brakes, and they are now like European brakes, where European brakes will go down that low. They could replace the master cylinder, but they didn’t think that would change anything, so they want to WAIT to see if Toyota issues a recall. Of course, lets WAIT until my car is out of warranty so the tab will be on me.

When I got home, European brakes stuck in my mind, so I made some calls to foreign car mechanic shops. The first one, the guy laughed and said no way that was true, no way!
Another one said it wasn’t true either, and that I was being given the run around.

Anyone else being told this?