2003 Toyota Matrix Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 83about this part
- Share
- 31%of 268 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 75,000miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 83 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2003 Toyota Matrix, 31% of the 268 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 75,000 miles.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My 2003 Toyota Matrix has a manual transmission. A bearing in the transmission started to fail (noise) at 80,000 miles. This type of failure is common for both the Matrix and the pontiac vibe (identical car). Luckily I had it changed before any accident occurred. Neither Toyota nor GM are providing any customer support despite numerous complaints regarding the 2003 manual transmission.”
NHTSA complaint #10310472, filed 2010-02, 81,000 miles“I was pulling into a parking spot at an apt. Complex; I had my foot on the brake so as not to hit the curb; the car became airborne, jumped the curb and landed onto a children's playground stopping just short of hitting a tree. I still had my foot on the brake, now pressed to the floor. I asked my passenger to get out of the car, I then backed up over the curb and back onto the macadam.”
NHTSA complaint #10311191, filed 2010-02, 42,000 miles“Driving down the highway our (03 Toyota Matrix, manual trans), (north bound I-45 conroe, texas) the car abruptly started a thumping slapping sound. From the frount end. Asap! Pulled to the side of the road, stopped and turned the car off. My husband arrived, to figure out the problem. He had me turn the car on without starting and pushed the vehicle. The thumping, slapping sound is coming from under the engine. To be continued.”
NHTSA complaint #10306887, filed 2010-02, 130,000 miles“I own a 2003 Toyota Matrix with a manual transmission. The car only has 92,000 miles and the tranny needs to be replaced due to a bad bearing. From my research on the web I have seen this happen to many others. I spoke to a repair shop that does rebuilds and he informed me that Toyota had gotten bad bearings and used them on a series of transmissions and they tend to go bad around 80k to 120k miles. He himself has rebuilt many.”
NHTSA complaint #10286266, filed 2009-10, 92,000 miles“My clutch went out at 29k miles. This is not acceptable. I have been drving a stnd for years now and never had this problem. The clutch on the 2003 Toyota Matrix xrs is a design error and should be recalled. Too many people have had this problem for it to be drving habits. Toyota should take care of it's customers and rectify this situation!”
NHTSA complaint #10055140, filed 2004-01, 28,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10164330Jul 1, 2019TSB: REVISION NOTICE July 01, 2019 Rev2: ? Applicability has been updated to 2019 ? 2020 model year Toyota vehicles. ? The Techstream Preparation and Process Overview sections…
- 10109404Oct 16, 2014TSB: The purpose of this service bulletin is to provide information regarding the installation of the correct torque converter bolts during automatic transmission/transaxle…
- 10109492Sep 30, 2014TSB: The purpose of this bulletin is to provide precautions to follow when installing an automatic transmission/transaxle assembly to avoid MIL "ON" shifting issues and/or…
- 10132084Oct 1, 2013The purpose of this service bulletin is to provide precautions to follow when installing an automatic transmission/transaxle assembly to avoid MIL ?ON,? shifting issues, and/or…
- 10133836Feb 20, 2013This bulletin contains general vehicle pulling diagnosis and repair procedures along with specific information to help correct pulling complaints.
- 10022730Aug 23, 2007Abnormal noise from rear differential.
- 10016624Aug 1, 2005U341f transmission solenoid identification.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2003 Toyota Matrix
57 complaintsEngine cooling
25 complaintsVehicle speed control
21 complaintsBrakes
17 complaintsElectrical system
12 complaintsBody and structure
12 complaintsOther or unknown
11 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
10 complaintsEngine
8 complaintsSteering
8 complaintsFuel system
7 complaintsSeat belts
6 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Toyota Matrix
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology