Wheel & Tire complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
I have a 2009 Toyota Matrix that has multiple issues including a steering issue that almost caused my family their life, now I am being told I need new brakes at 19,800 miles. The rear brakes are not adjusting at all which May be causing the steering issues. Car is having interment issues going into 1st and reverse, reported multiple times, Toyota says they cannot duplicate. Car is still under warranty. Also, one tire is wearing on one side which is a known issue. The steering issues has been reported along with the one tire wearing issue by over 500 people but Toyota will not recognize it. I am scared to take my car on the interstate due to the steering issue and this is a new car with low miles. My family is at risk of break failure, or worse due to the defects. When I called Toyota,m they said if I ride my breaks a lot, that could be the cause. I do no such thing. …
I took my 2009 Toyota into my local tire dealer to have it aligned. Mentioned that it was pulling to the left at highwayspeeds and kind of bobbling when I started up. Service man said it might be the tires, not the alignment. It was. The three original tires on the car, the original equipment not warranted, all showed tread separation. (he also said he'd "never seen this kind of problem on three tires at one time.)the steel belts were coming through the tread. The man said that driving on the tires might be dangerous, so I had to put new tires on it--not Goodyear. The fourth tire, which I put on the car a couple of years ago (when the sidewall bubbled) was fine--plenty of tread, no signs of wear that might have come from poor maintenance. Note that your form only allows me to note one tire location. Three tires all showed the same problem. …
I have had four wheel covers come off at high speeds. In two cases I was able to hear noises and this represented the wheel cover hitting objects as it would have been traveling over 60 miles per hour. The automobile is a 2007 Toyota Matrix without any options. Thus it is factory equipped with plastic covers that slowly work their way loose due to the very little construction of the cover and the flexing of the wheel that will occur. I contacted Toyota. I was told in a somewhat arrogant voice that they do "not" have a problem. This is a problem and at some point in time one of these covers will stick a person. I have now changed to a Toyota camery wheel cover. This cover has a great deal of additional parts to it. It has springs and an additional material that prevents the slow movement of the wheel cover from coming off. I lost a total of the original covers. …
Maus Toyota refuses to replace "flying hupcaps"! (orlando) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- hi, I purchased a 2007 Matrix new from maus Toyota and all 4 hubcaps came off when driving because they were only held on with plastic clips. I have talked to other Matrix owners and seen many matrixs with missing hubcaps. Maus Toyota says it will replace the hubcaps for $77. Each! I told maus that Toyota should recall the 2007 matrixs before someone gets hurt by a flying hubcap coming off at 60mph and there should be no replacement charge because it is Toyota's fault for using weak plastic clips to hold their hubcaps on! …
Jan. 2007 anchorage, ak driving 50mph on a highway, as the road bended to the right, we went into the turn and began to slide sideways. It was 30 degrees f, so we must have hit black ice. I tried to correct and sent the car fish tailing to the other side. We whipped back and forth a few times, before the car started to spin. We did two full circles before we gently hit a burm of snow and came to a stop. No other cars were oncoming so we did not have any significant damage and there were no injuries. I went and bought studded tired the next day. Dec. 2009 juneau, ak I was a passenger. Same make, model, and year. Driving 40 MPH on straight road, slushy snow conditions. The car started to fish tail and spun 1.5 times before it stopped. No significant damage or injuries. No studded tires. (all-weather tires) feb. 2012 juneau, ak I was a passenger in the same car as above. …
Excessive tire wear/misalignment on 2006 Toyota Matrix: I have had my car for about 2 and 1/2 years, about 35,000 miles. I have already replaced the tires three times due to excessive wear, and had several four-wheel alignments done. I've noticed on the chat boards that several other owners with the same car type are having similar problems. I suspect that the misalignment and subsequent drift was one of the leading causes in an accident I had last year.
I have a 2005 Toyota Matrix xr with 16" alloy wheels. I hit a cobblestone sized rock in the rock with the left rear wheel at about 50 MPH. The tire lost pressure because the alloy wheel split in half like a bagel sliced down the middle. Toyota would not fix this as a warranty item indicating there was no evidence of a manufacturing defect. However, none of the service personnel had ever seen a wheel split in half. I've contacted Toyota's customer experience center and reported the incident but they also indicate this is not a warranty issue and referred me to the dealer customer relations manager who gives the same explanation. I believe there May be a defect in these alloy wheels but have found no other reports of such damage on the NHTSA site. I want to make sure this incident is documented in case these wheels are found to be defective.
Tl contact owns a 2005 Toyota Matrix. The vehicle had Goodyear viva tires, size p215/70/r15. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine maintenance which consisted of an oil change. The mechanic detected that the four tires on the vehicle were defective and required replacement at the owner expense. The three tires exploded within a period of one year after the inspection. The mechanic stated the tires should be covered under the manufacturer warranty. The independent mechanic replaced the two tires at half the cost, and the third tire was charged at regular cost due to the air pressure level in the tire. The failure mileage was 79,000. The current mileage was 82,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 7/16/10 all three tires had the exact same damage. Updated 07/22/10
Frequently asked questions
Which Toyota Matrix years have wheel & tire problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2006 (27), 2005 (19), 2004 (8), 2007 (8) and 2003 (7) model years. Wheel & Tire complaints make up 16% of all complaints for the 2006.
Is there a recall for Toyota Matrix wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires recall for any Toyota Matrix model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Toyota Matrix wheel & tire problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 28,000 miles; 85% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the tread/belt (7 mentions), followed by the pressure monitoring and regulating systems (3).
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.