RoadVitals

2003 Toyota MR2 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
6
Latest Feb 26, 2016
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 20, 2006

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2003 Toyota MR2. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

Electrical
Filed Feb 26, 2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA MR2. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE STEERING AND GEARS SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,500.

NHTSA ID
10838668
Incident
Feb 24, 2016
Mileage
41,500 mi
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Mar 24, 2014

THE DESIGN OF THE COMPUTER CONTROLLED POWER TRAIN MAKES THROTTLE, TRANSMISSION AND STARTER INTER-DEPENDENT. MY VEHICLE HAS REPEATEDLY LOST POWER AND COASTED TO A STOP. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN RECENTLY INSPECTED BY A TOYOTA DEALER, WHO SAYS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. BUT THE VEHICLE OPERATOR'S MANUAL ANTICIPATES STALLING WHILE UNDERWAY AND GIVES DIRECTIONS TO RE-START - SOMETIMES SUCCESSFUL, SOMETIMES NOT AND THE VEHICLE HAS TO BE TOWED, IN MY EXPERIENCE. MANUAL DIRECTIONS (PAGE 153): IF YOUR ENGINE STALLS WHILE DRIVING ... REDUCE SPEED GRADUALLY, KEEPING A STRAIGHT LINE. MOVE CAUTIOUSLY OFF THE ROAD TO A SAFE PLACE... MANUAL TRANSMISSION, NA SEQUENTIAL MANUAL TRANSMISSION: TURN THE IGNITION KEY TO THE ?ACC? OR ?LOCK? POSITION. APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS AFTER, TRY STARTING THE ENGINE AGAIN. IF YOUR ENGINE WILL NOT START, SEE ?IF YOU ENGINE WILL NOT START -? ON PAGE 150 OF THIS MANUAL. HOW CAN ONE "MOVE CAUTIOUSLY OFF THE ROAD TO A SAFE PLACE", IF THE ENGINE WON'T RUN? THIS CAR IS UNSAFE AS MANUFACTURED, IMO. *TR

NHTSA ID
10574607
Incident
Jul 1, 2009
Mileage
28,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Dec 29, 2013
Crash reported

THE CAR WAS PARKED WITH ENGINE RUNNING AND PARKING BRAKE ON. I RELEASED THE BRAKE ON AND THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD CROSSING A CURB AND HITTING A ALUMINUM GUARD RAIL. THE SERVICE SEQ TRANSMISAME LIGHT CAME ON . AFTER BEING TOWED TO THE DEALER. IT WAS FOUND A HYDRAULIC LINE HAD BROKEN FROM CORRODING. THE DEALER PUT IN A NEW UNIT BUT THE OLD COMPUTER WOULD NOT WORK AND IS NOW PUTTING A NEW COMPUTER ABOUT 6600.00 AT THE THIS POINT. SO FAR TOYOTA DOESN'T KNOW US. *TR

NHTSA ID
10557640
Incident
Dec 18, 2013
Mileage
53,000 mi
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed May 21, 2013

PURCHASED USED FROM CARMAX AND WITHIN 100 MILES THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON, IT WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF FIRST GEAR. I HAD IT DELIVERED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE LOOKED AT, AND IT REFUSED TO GO INTO REVERSE GEAR NEXT. WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE IT ONLY 1 ST AND 2ND GEAR WOULD WORK. AFTER HAVING A BRAND NEW TRANSMISSION INSTALLED FROM TOYOTA BY AAMCO TRANSMISSION AS SOON AS THE VEHICLE MADE IT BACK TO THE CAR DEALER, IT STARTED LEAKING FLUIDS ALL OVER THE LOT. THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID HAD QUIT WORKING AND STARTING SPRAYING HOT FLUIDS ALL OVER THE VEHICLE. IT HAS BEEN TOWED BACK FOR FOLLOWUP REPAIRS AND THEY ARE CONSIDERING REFUNDING DUE TO EXCESSIVE VEHICLE DAMAGE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10513052
Incident
Apr 28, 2013
Mileage
67,800 mi
Transmission
Filed Apr 19, 2007

THE DRAIN TUBES IN THE CAR DOES NOT WORK SO, RAIN AND SNOW WILL MAKE THE CAR FILL WITH WATER . IF THE CAR IS FULL OF WATER THE COMPUTER IN THE CAR DOESN'T READ CAUSING THE CAR TO FAIL WHICH HAPPENED TO ME ON THE FREEWAY. I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED THEY REPLACED ALL WET THINGS IN CAR . IT DID NOT FIX THE DRAIN TUBE PROBLEM BECAUSE AFTER THE RAIN MY CAR IS FULL OF WATER AGAIN. SAME FAILURE WITH OTHER CARS. I THINK THEY WANT TO PUT DRY PARTS IN THE CAR AGAIN AT WHO'S COST THEIRS OR MINE? WITH ALL THE WATER IN MY CAR AGAIN THERE HAS TO BE CORROSION AND OTHER DAMAGE TO THE CAR THAT IS NOT BEING FIXED. I WOULD LIKE THE CAR REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE SINCE I AM PAYING FIFTY THOUSAND FOR MY CAR . I DID NOT BY A FISH TANK. THAT IS WHAT I GOT . PLEASE HELP! NEW CAR NIGHTMARE. THANKS *TR

NHTSA ID
10188305
Incident
Apr 1, 2007
Mileage
2,005 mi
Transmission
Filed Jul 20, 2006

3/15 05 1ST PROBLEM CAME TO A STOP AND WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE GEARS HAD IT TOWED. TOYOTA REPLACED COMPUTER TRANSMISSION. 6/7/06 2ND TIME CAME TO A STOP IN 3 LANE ROAD IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND COULDN'T RECOGNIZE GEARS. TOYOTA REPLACED COMPUTER ENGINE. 6/10 3RD TIME CAR WOULDN'T SHIFT OUT OF 2ND. TOYOTA COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM. 6/21/06 4TH TIME TRANSMISSION WENT INTO "N" WHILE IN 4TH GEAR. TOYOTA REPLACED PUMP ASSY. SEQEN. 7/20/06 5TH TIME AS I WAS TAKING A TURN OFF MAJOR ROAD COMPUTER FAILED TO RECOGNIZE GEAR. PULLED TO THE SIDE AND CAR DIED. I MADE IT HOME AND NOW WAITING ON A TOW. THIS IS VERY UPSETTING TO ME THE CAR ONLY HAS 23,000 MILES. THE LAST 3 TIMES ITS GONE IN THE SHOP HAS ONLY BEEN ABOUT 400 MILES IN BETWEEN SERVICE. I'VE BEEN LUCKY SO FAR ON THE BREAKDOWNS. BUT, I MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY NEXT TIME. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. IT GIVES ME NO WARNING. IT COULD BE FATAL. *NM

NHTSA ID
10162973
Incident
Jul 20, 2006
Mileage
23,900 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .