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 Yaris owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was less than five minutes from home, on my way to take my children to school. I made a right hand turn off the street from my neighborhood, unto the service road that leads to the ramp for the highway entrance. As I headed towards the ramp that enters unto the highway, the 2008 Toyota Yaris felt like it suddenly started to accelerate. Despite my foot was on the brakes, the car would not slow down. I swerved back unto the service road to avoid continuing unto the ramp, in fear that I would crash into the cars on the highway. To avoid hitting any vehicles on the service road, I managed to swerve the vehicle off the side of the road ? With the car finally stopping when it crashed into a pole. My children and I suffered seat belt bruising and cuts. I was hospitalized for a few days for hand, foot, and back injuries, and still under doctor's care for the injuries. …
Our daughter was driving on highway 44 in missouri at or near grey summit missouri with the cruise control set on, when our 2008 Toyota Yaris started to accelerate on it's own. Our daughter had to swerve to miss hitting other vehicle on the highway. She attempted to stop and the cruise control did not disengage. To avoid hitting another vehicle she steered the vehicle off the highway and crashed head on into trees. Toyota hired Bosch to have the "black box" analyzed. The company and Bosch claim no malfunction of the vehicle. Our daughter continues to dispute their claims and we have lost the vehicle in an insurance claim to aaa of missouri. In additional we have lost value in the vehicle, we are paying insurance accident penalties and lost $1000 in deductibles. We continue to dispute Toyota and Bosch's claim that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a tree. The contact stated that when the vehicle hit the tree her head went through the driver's side window as well as suffering injuries to her ribs, broken collar bone, broken shoulder, punctured lung, and a ruptured spleen that required medical attention. The air bags did deploy. The contact stated that to her knowledge a police report was not filed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the contact had a different vehicle. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. After shifting into neutral gear and exiting the car wash, the vehicle accelerated without warning. As a consequence he crashed into a fence. The front end of the vehicle and the windshield were damaged. There were no injuries. His license was suspended, and his insurance increase twice the amount because of the crash. The vehicle was repaired. Report number [redacted] was filed with the manufacturer. An authorized investigator inspected the failure and concluded that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. The failure mileage was 3,500 and the current mileage was 6,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable. Updated 11/23/09.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated while driving at speeds of 28 MPH, the contact moved to avoid another vehicle. The contacts vehicle then abnormally accelerated to speeds of 60 MPH and he was unable to stop the vehicle by depressing the brakes. The vehicle proceeded to crash into a boulder and the air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact was not injured and the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop. The manufacturer advised an investigator would further inspect the vehicle for a determination of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 55,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a tree. A police report was filed. There was one injury reported that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,000.
I was driving my Yaris and attempted to pass another vehicle on a 4-lane road. I pressed on the accelerator pedal as I entered the left lane and nothing happened. The pedal went halfway down, but the engine did not respond. As I quickly tried to decide what to do as a car in the left lane behind me came up fast, the engine responded unexpectedly and I surged forward. The next time I depressed the pedal, it responded normally at the top of its travel. However, it happened again about 3 weeks later when I was stopped at a red light. The light changed and I pressed on the accelerator. Again, no response. This happened on and off until last week when it started to become more common than the normal response. Since I didn't want to pay Toyota for an expensive fix only a few thousand miles after my warranty ran out, I resolved to get used to it. …
My vehicle has intermittently exhibited a failure to accelerate once a day or once every other day for a couple of months. The check engine light would come on and the vehicle would not accelerate until the ignition is turned off and restarted. My mechanic told me the problem might be related to the throttle body which he replaced with no improvement in performance. He also told me that Toyota has issued a TSB related to the fault recorded in the engine computer. P0121 is one of the codes mentioned in the TSB which was also the code recoded in my engine computer, however the TSB does not mention the failure to accelerate. I took my vehicle to the local Toyota dealer for further diagnosis. …
We drive a 2008 Yaris. Because we got it used and the previous driver drove so much, its 3 year/36,000 mile warranty no longer applied, but we got an extended power train warranty. This year, the engine wiring harness broke, and we found out that Toyota knew about the faulty harnesses. (the TSB on it mentions replacing it with an "improved" harness.) while Toyota describes this as not being a safety issue, we feel otherwise, as the symptom is an immediate loss of power and inability to accelerate, which could be dangerous on the highway. Needless to say, since this part is not being recalled, since in a dbw car, this is not part of the powertrain, and hence, we are not under warranty, Toyota required us to pay $1000 to fix this.
Tl contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. While driving approximately 5 MPH into a parking space applying pressure to the brake pedal the vehicle began to lunge forward forcefully. The driver placed the gear shift into the "reverse" position and suddenly, there was an unintended increase in acceleration. The vehicle failed to slow down and traveled over a curb into some bushes. The gear shift was placed into the "neutral" position before the vehicle came to a complete stop. The ambulance and police were called to the scene. There were injuries. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The body damage repair cost was $4,523.94. The cause of failure has not been determined at this time. The failure mileage was unknown.
Acceleration complaints in other Yaris years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2008 Toyota Yaris?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2008 Toyota Yaris, 8% of the model year's 247 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Yaris acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2008 Toyota Yaris, though it has 10 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 Yaris acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 54,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 0 fires and 8 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.