There are 2 owner-reported tires & wheels complaints for the 2009 Toyota Matrixin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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. THE SERVICE GUY DIDN'T KNOW WHICH LOCATION THE GOOD TIRE WAS ON, SO I CAN'T TELL YOU THREE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS FOR THOSE THREE. *TR
WHILE ROTATING THE TIRES ON MY 2009 MATRIX I NOTICED THE INSIDE SIDEWALL WAS SEPARATING (SPLITTING) AROUND THE WHOLE INSIDE OF THE TIRE. THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF SIDEWALL DAMAGE FROM A HIT OR ACCIDENT, THE SIDEWALL IS JUST FAILING. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I AM GLAD I CAUGHT IT BEFORE THE FAILURE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT FROM A BLOWOUT. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026