Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Toyota Corolla owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Was pulling into a parking place to go shopping around 1 pm. It was clear and sunny at the time of accident. There was a speed bump right before the parking spot so the car was going slow and as I pulled into the parking the spot the car suddenly accelerated causing us to hit a brick wall. I was turning left into the parking spot. Car was damaged to the front end and the wall to the strip center. My mom was 89 years old was shaken up and checked out in the hospital. Thankfully she was OK. My husband came to check the car and it was drivable so he took it to fred hass Toyota in spring, texas. They told us it could be up to 2 weeks before they show up to check the car. He called Toyota and filed a complaint. They gave us a claim number and told us they would call us Saturday before noon. We never received a phone call and I hope they will take care of our claim. …
On 8/29/08 I was slowly accelerating as I pulled onto the highway when I experienced what I have come to understand was an sua, a sudden unintended acceleration. With head-on traffic coming at me fast I had no choice but to turn sharply to get off the road. My rear axle was caught on a berm of dirt at the edge of a cornfield. Braking had no effect. As I sat there I realized the engine was racing wildly. There was no obstruction to the gas peddle, so I had to cut off the engine by turning the key off. My car is a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The road was dry, however, it was a damp morning and chilly. I have had no recurrences. I am a safety compliance officer with osha so I immediately began investigating the electronic throttle system. I do not feel the addition of the plate behind the gas pedal is the solution. …
I was decelerating with my right foot on the brake to stop at a red light. There was a car ahead of me at the light, and as I pulled up behind it, I put my right foot on the brake to come to a complete stop. When I hit brakes, I found that the car was not stopping and that the car was accelerating. I put both feet on the brake, and pulled the emergency brake but the car continued to accelerate until it ended up pushing on the car ahead of me. I did everything I could think of to stop the car, but was unable to do so until I turned the key off. As far as I know, there were no injuries, air bags didn't deploy, no tickets were issued and the bumpers of both cars were not dented, but had very deep scrapes on them. The mat was hooked at the time and was not involved and I didn't touch the gas. …
On November 22, 2010 I was pulling into a parking space between two parked cars on the roof of a parking garage. The space was straight ahead of me and as I started to pull in and applied the brake, my 2008 Toyota Corolla accelerated to top speed causing me to crash into the concrete wall approximately 18.5 feet in front of me. The car jumped the concrete parking block and hit the 3ft. Concrete wall. My air bag deployed and the seat belt extended to its limit but did not retract. I was bruised and sore from the impact. The estimate to repair my car is in excess of $7,500. I called my dealer and was told that there are no acceleration problems with the 2008 corollas (contrary to what I see on the website) but they will look at it if I bring it in after it is fixed. It was obvious the car was accelerating on its own and I had no control. …
I have been complaining since November 2012 to the Toyota dealership about when driving vehicle feels like accelerator pedal gets stuck and vehicle keeps accelerating without foot on pedal. Every time I took it the gave me the run around about dirty gas line and charge for service not really needed. In February car broke town because of system throttle was replaced and still had same acceleration after 3 weeks from repaired. Was driving home with my 2 month son after dropping my wife at work and my car started to get acceleration pedal problem and vehicle lost control and crash into 2 parked vehicle. Son was OK I was bruised with black and blue around seatbelt area and pelvis and just left knee pain for now. Went to hospital from scene and car was totaled. Would have never had problem if dealership listen and didn't brush my car to side and fix problem car had warranty.
Vehicle experienced an uncommanded acceleration. We were approaching the exit from the dental school parking and had to slow for another car waiting to turn. When the brake was applied the vehicle suddenly went into full acceleration causing us to swipe the waiting car and forcing extreme evasive action. Situation was witnessed by traffic officer directing traffic. Vehicle was taken to body shop where it was investigated by the manufacturer's representative. No fault was found. Vehicle was traded in and is in dealers possession - for potential resale. There is no doubt that there was a fault because there was clearly no contact with the accelerator during the event. We refused to drive the car again!
Tl*-the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving she applied the brake, she shifted into reverse and the vehicle suddenly shot backwards at approx 100 MPH. The vehicle stopped after hitting the cement post in front of a supermarket. The contact stated that she had not experienced this failure in the past. There was no warning that the issue would occur. She spoke with both the dealer and the manufacturer who would not assume responsibility for the failure. The current and failure mileages were approximately 3,200. Updated 05/27/09. Updated 05/28/09. VIN updated smch**three voqs on same VIN: 10256808,10335955,10266580 *smch
Tl contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact stated that the she applied pressure to the brakes when the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward without warning and crashed. The contact sustained several bruises to various parts of the body and the wiring from the vehicle burned her arm. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified. A private mechanic performed repairs but the contact was unable to identify what repairs were done. The current mileage was unknown and the failure mileage was approximately 20,000. A police report was available. Updated 03/24/11 updated 03/24/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. The contact was driving 25 MPH when there was a sudden acceleration with the vehicle. As the brake was being depressed, the vehicle would not slow down and crashed head into a concrete wall. The contact sustained very serious injuries to the body and was transported to a trauma unit. The contact was the only occupant in the vehicle and was wearing her seat belt at the time of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed and towed by the insurance company. A police report was available if needed. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Corolla. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently. The contact crashed into another vehicle and came to a stop. The vehicle was towed to an auto shop for body repair. The contact was transported to the hospital via ambulance for treatment of chest contusions, a brain concussion and injuries to the spine. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and sent a technician to inspect the vehicle. The technician was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.
NHTSA investigations
Low-speed surging
The Agency received a petition on September 11, 2014 requesting an investigation into, low-speed surging in the 2006-2010 Toyota Corolla [vehicles] with ETCS-i, in which the brakes fail to stop the vehicle in time to prevent a crash.NHTSA conducted a technical review of the material cited and provided by the petitioner, material Toyota submitted in response to a NHTSA formal request, interviews with complainants and…
Acceleration complaints in other Corolla years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2008 Toyota Corolla?
NHTSA has 54 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2008 Toyota Corolla, 17% of the model year's 314 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2008 Toyota Corolla, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 40% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 31 crashes, 0 fires and 17 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.