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).
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. …
The car has shut off several time while sitting at a traffic light. The car has shut down several times while driving. Thankfully no one was injured or hurt. Another issues: my current 2008 Yaris has only 23,382 miles on it, so the car does not have high mileage. I have installed a total of 2 different aftermarket alarms on the car both by professional businesses one being best buy. The car is currently in the shop because of various electrical components on the car not working. I have read on several websites that this is an issue with the 2008 Yaris. I've had to remove the first alarm after 3 months of purchase because I was told the alarm was the issue. The second alarm replacement causes the same problem. Is there an issue with installing aftermarket alarms on the 2008 Yaris and what can be done about it?
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris h/b. While at a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 134,000.
My brakes have failed me many times. I had to eventually get those change in the brakes still aren't working completely correct
I drive a Toyota 2008 Yaris (Toyota vios here in d philppines)with a little more than 20,000 kms(20,014kms) on d odometer. I noticed an intermittent noise on d front end suspension passenger side. I brought to d dealer for an assessment of the problem, after their assessment Toyota told me that there was a problem with the shock absorber and they would replace it. They also said that there was also a problem with the alternator saying that the voltage "isn't up to standard." after a few days I got my vehicle back from Toyota. They told me that they replaced the front right shock absorber. I asked them why only one shock absorber was replaced as the usual procedure was that both front shock absorbers should be replaced, the service adviser told that Toyota is becoming more strict with warranty policies and the only part that they will replace is the defective part. …
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. …
Since I buy the car sometimes when I turn ignition on it makes the noise that is starting all lights on the dashboard turn on for a almost a 20 to 30 sec. Then sometimes when I'm driving the speed gear drops with out me braking also when I turn right signal on sometimes the reverse light on dashboard also turn on. One time all lights on dashboard were blinking went I turn signal on. I took it to the dealer the person there told me they don't have any recalls and no complain then can't do anything if they don't see the problem. I have a video this. Now when I hit the brake the right signal canes on. Second time I took the car to the dealer the ignition call had a failure they replace coil 3 and dashboard lights diagnostic came normal and vehicle lights still do the samething. …
While driving the car at approximately 10 MPH the ABS and brake lights came on. At the same time the ABS felt like they engaged. After researching the problem online I found out that many users in the us and Canada are having the same problem due to faulty ABS wheel speed sensors on the wheel hub. Due to the salt on the roads during the winter months, salt can enter the sensor and corrode the terminals. This is due to a poor seal between the connector and the wiring harness. When salt water enters the terminals it causes the ABS to act up. This is true for 2007 and 2008 models according to other Yaris users. It seems that the problem has been taken care of in 2009 models. But for owners of 2008 and 2007 models problem exists even after replacing the sensor and wiring harness with new ones. …
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.
NHTSA investigations
Power Window Master Switch Fire
ODI has identified certain Toyota vehicles experiencing a higher rate of fire and thermal event incidents among all Toyota vehicles that use the same power window master switch design.They include a total of approximately 1.4 million model year (MY) 2007 through 2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 and Yaris vehicles built from approximately September 2006 through August 2008, as well as all MY 2008 Highlander Hybrid…
Power Window Master Switch Fire
On October 10, 2012, Toyota initiated a safety recall of approximately 2.5 million U.S. vehicles involving the following models and model years:2007-2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2008 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007-2009 RAV4, 2008-2009 Scion xB and xD, 2008-2009 Sequoia, 2007-2008 Tundra, 2007-2008 Yaris, and 2009 Pontiac Vibe.See NHTSA recall number 12V-491 for more details,…
Electrical complaints in other Yaris years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2008 Toyota Yaris?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the electrical system of the 2008 Toyota Yaris, 9% of the model year's 247 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Yaris electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system 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 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 58,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system 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.