Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
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).
Car was in park, ignition off, with the keys removed. The gear shift could apparently move in this locked position and the vehicle rolled backwards with a 6 year old child in the car. The car was totaled after hitting a concrete base to a light fixture. A failure occurred that allowed the car to shift gears off and in park.
My fiancee bought her 2008 Toyota Yaris on about the 26 Apr 2021. Right off she had brake failure pretty quickly after buying the car. Brake pads were suspected of failing. When the front tires were removed the calipers had built up thick rust on inside surface where the pads sit on both front calipers. The pads were pushed into the rotors heavily causing the driver side rotor to be damaged beyond acceptable limits. The right side rotor was turned successfully with enough rotor minimum thickness remaining. So the rust caused me to replace 1 rotor, both calipers and pads on front and rear brakes. The rust built up on the calipers threaded input and output brake fluid lines threaded attach points. This could have cause a fluid leak that could of been very dangerous leading to injury or death of occupants. I have not reported this to The Toyota dealership or anyone else. …
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. …
Frequently when driving in this car and I attempt to press on brakes it takes a bit longer than it should for a reaction to occur . Which is very dangerous in certain weather conditions which I was affected in having to press on brakes which LED to slamming on brakes and still not the appropriate reaction time causing me to slam in another car on a a slippery intersection which is when I finally able to hear my brakes basically touch the ground . With the failure of reliance on my brakes the front end of my car in completely destroyed which now caused my driver door to no longer open.
I was driving on the highway and took a ramp in the right lane while it was drizzling. As I began to go down the ramp, I the car began shift toward the wall, and I brake. The car began to spin out of control, and completely hydroplaned. We hit a dividing wall several times before coming to a stop on the left side of the ramp. I have experienced previous issues with the brakes during wet and dry conditions. Sometimes if I pushed hard on the brakes, I would feel a vibration under the car, and the brakes wouldn't work properly. My car is completely destroyed and both of my young children were in the car when it happened.
On 12/19/2009 I was in a car accident on the northern state parkway I hit the guard rail cement divider at 40 miles an hour. My air bags did not deploy. My ABS brakes failed to stop the car in a snow storm. My seat belt did not work correctly. Again with the same car on 10/7/2010 a woman stopped short and completely stopped in front of me. I slammed directly head on into her while at 30 miles an hour. Again my air bags did not deploy and my seatbelt failed to retract. Again attempting to brake I went into the SUV.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the power steering and brakes suddenly malfunctioned causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into an embankment. The air bags did not deploy. The contact suffered a left knee and back injury during the incident. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000. Updated 08/19/14 updated 8/28/2017
The ABS and brake warning lights came on at the same time and have remained on. Internet research has revealed that this is a known problem with the 2008 Toyota Yaris due to corrosion of the rear sensor and harness. ABS is now inoperable and the repair is very costly. This should have been a recall long ago by Toyota.
Stopped to place a fast food order-moved up to pay-truck in front waiting to pay-had foot on break--car lunged forward and hit the truck in front-the engine revved up while I had my foot on the break-I even pushed down harder on the break.
Brake complaints in other Yaris years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2008 Toyota Yaris?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the brakes of the 2008 Toyota Yaris, 15% of the model year's 247 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Yaris brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes 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 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 54,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 11 crashes, 0 fires and 13 injuries to brakes 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.