Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Toyota Matrix owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My son bought the 2006 Toyota Matrix in 2006 . In 2007 my son was driving very slow and hit the car infront of him. He never has had an accident and no tickets. His car was damage, a total of $6,429.41 was fix at ron's autobody & paint inc. 1314 n. Closner, edinburg,tx 78539 because he found out he didn't have full coverage,he only had liability and knew the dealership would charge more . We never took the time to find out if the car had acceleration or brakes problems. The car has acceleration& brake problems because my son said the brakes didn't response & car kept on going,and he says the brakes still don't response quickly and I myself drove the car last year and I press the brakes and car just kept on going and I was going slow to stop on a yellow light and received a ticket by mail ,I had a clean record. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Toyota Matrix. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact attempted to apply the brakes but the brakes would not respond. The contact then depressed the accelerator pedal and the pedal fell to the floorboard abnormally. The contact then struck the curb and crashed into a concrete barrier as the vehicle went airborne and crashed into a second barrier causing the wheels to fracture from the vehicle before coming to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained severe headaches as a result. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where she was advised that the vehicle could be repaired. The contact stated after the crash she received a recall notice under NHTSA campaign id number: 10V384000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
My car is a Toyota 2006 Matrix AWD; I was pulling into my driveway to park in front of my garage, and took my feet of the accelerator pedal, but before I had any chance to react the car just continued to accelerate up my drive way and crashed through my garage door, causing damage to my car, the garage door, and some dents to my other car parked inside; I have always parked my car outside on the drive way, since there isn't space to park 2 cars in my garage; I am fairly safe and cautious driver; I took my car to the dealer to have them to take a look, my 2006 Toyota Matrix is not in the recall list, and the servicing guys didn't find anything wrong with my gas pedal; I am still concerned that there May still be a lurking issue with the pedal or the electronic system that caused the unintended acceleration.
Vehicle completely stopped in a line of traffic. While waiting to move on, with my foot on the brake,the engine all of a sudden roared and the vehicle shot forward and hit the vehicle (approximately 5 to 7 feet) in front of my vehicle. The air bags did not open and the hit to the other vehicle was more like a punch. I tried to stop my forward thrust but the brakes would not hold the vehicle. Upon striking the other vehicle the engine roar stopped and everything seemingly returned to normal. Minor damage was done to both vehicles and no one was reportedly injured. The police were called to the scene and an accident report was filed. My Toyota dealer was called for assistance and advised me that they never had such an experience reported but suggested I bring the vehicle in for service.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Toyota Matrix. While driving at approximately 10 MPH and attempting to slow down, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into another vehicle although the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that there was not enough time to shift into neutral gear; once the vehicle crashed, it spun around in a 180 degree turn and then the engine stopped. There were two people injured and both went to the hospital. There was a police report filed. The vehicle was totaled. The contact had not called the manufacturer or the dealer at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Toyota Matrix. While traveling at a speed of 20 MPH the vehicle had suddenly accelerated without warning causing the contact to crash into another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the VIN was not related to any recalls. The approximate failure mileage was 40000 and the current mileage was 41000.
I was parking our Toyota Matrix, 2006 and it "jumped" ahead and I hit the car in front of me. My accident report indicated a jump in the car. When I read about the Toyota accelerator problems, I am convinced our car suffers the same flaw and I hope that 2006 will be included in the recall. I have never had any other accident and I am over 50 years old.
My complaint was first filed on 3/25/2006 (odi # 10153679). This is the 2nd complaint about the defective Toyota Matrix that I drove in 2006. I was driving a 2006 Toyota Matrix and lost total control over the vehicle. I was driving on rt 2 west bound out of boston during evening rush hour. I was trying to change lane to my right and found there was a car approaching and honked at me. I had not left my lane yet and tried to pull my car straight back. The car reacted by shifting too much to the left and I tried only to adjust it, keeping in mind that was a power-steered system, to keep it straight. There was a 1-2 seconds afterwards the car seemed to be on track and I was driving fine. After that 2 seconds, the car accelerated all of a sudden, gas pedal was down to the floor, the car veered toward the left on it's own. …
On October 3, 2008, while driving my 2006 Toyota Matrix I had to accelerate rapidly to merge onto a busy street. I immediately smelled a odor coming from my vents of burning wiring. My check engine light came on. I pulled over and made some calls to service stations and the Toyota dealership. Was advised to take it to the dealer. Did. After investigating the issue for several days they decided my ECM was bad and replaced it. With the recent Toyota recalls, I finally decided yesterday that I should check into if I am involved. My vehicle is Toyota certified and they do have record of the ECM failure to my vehicle. I also wanted to report it to you folks, just in case it is in fact the computers that are faulty. It is unknown to me whether the replacement computer they put in my car is a 2006, or what year ECM it is. …
Tl contact owns a 2006 Toyota Matrix hatch back. He stated that while approaching a stop light at speeds of less than 20 MPH, he depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle would not stop or slow down. The contact shifted the vehicle into a lower gear and then to neutral. He then shut off the ignition and braked to a stop. The dealer was contacted and performed a safety test on the vehicle. The failure could not be duplicated. No repairs were made to the vehicle to date. The failure and current mileages were under 20,000. Uddated 03/09/10. The consumer stated when he applied the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate. He shifted to a lower gear then to neutral while continuing to apply the brake. The vehicle continued to accelerate until he pumped the brakes to stop. Updated 06/11/10
Acceleration complaints in other Matrix years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2006 Toyota Matrix?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2006 Toyota Matrix, 12% of the model year's 170 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2006 Toyota Matrix acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2006 Toyota Matrix, though it has 3 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 2006 Toyota Matrix acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 37,000 miles, and 25% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 10 crashes, 0 fires and 7 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.