Used 2009 Toyota Matrix Hatchback Consumer Reviews
Used Matrix for sale
Didn't Know What I was Looking For Until I Found It
tandem2, 02/03/2011
2009 Toyota Matrix XRS 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I had been looking for a vehicle to give my 2001 Trooper a rest for the work commute. I had driven everything from BMW X3's to the Nissan Cube and was really getting disappointed. Then I got behind the wheeel of a 2009 Matrix XRS with 10k miles on it...WOW! Within 5 minutes I knew that I had found the vehicle I was looking for. Comfortable for my 6 foot frame, sporty, fun to drive, relatively economical and pretty darn practical for the exterior dimensions. It has been 3 months since the purchase and my wife and I are still commenting how pleased we are with the car. We some long (400+ mile) trips coming, and we are looking forward to them. Great job Toyota!
Ten years and 70k miles Review
mike s, 09/20/2019
2009 Toyota Matrix S 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.4L 4cyl 4A)
20 of 25 people found this review helpful
Adopted a Matrix S-AWD, Auto from my daughter who was a second owner for 50 k miles. Car was at the dealers many times for about $8k worth of repairs over the 8 years she had it. This car is a dealers service managers dream. Constant major repairs with very high replacement parts costs. Adding labor at $125 an hour you can see the massive bills this car runs up. She had enough and leased a Hyundai Tucson and I bought this from her,(dealer wouldn't give her much for it). That said my review starts. I do own a 2009 Hyundai Sonata which has 55k miles on it and I will not compare the Matrix to it, since the Matrix falls short in many ways. My overall opinion of the Matrix, with my credentials of a retired aerospace manufacturing manager is that Toyota either terminated off its entire reliability /materials engineering staff or ignored their evaluations. I have never seen a car corrode as bad as this one. Bolts, clamps brackets, oil lines and seals all failing with rust. The use of steel bolts into plastic corroding and causing breakage when trying to remove is common throughout the car. A recent and common leak of automatic transmission fluid is from the trans oil cooler lines. Toyota welded two lines together and where they are joined to a bracket a rust pocket forms causing complete failure of the lines and loss of trans fluid. To get repaired the part is $91 from the dealer and 3 hours of work. Do the math and you are looking at a $500 dealer bill, not counting hose and rusted clamp replacements. My cost doing the work myself and replacing the welded assembly with a 4 ft. x 3/8 bent up and cut coated brake line was $6. So you can see where I am going with this, Great car if you are innovative and can do the repairs yourself, of course with the tools and experience of a good backyard mechanic. If you are looking for a low cost car to maintain and rely on a dealer , this is not a car for you. For that matter a Toyota or Lexus I put in the same categories. Toyota has lost a lot in my book because of very immature and poor engineering as well as the lack of reliability/materials engineering disciplines.
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2009 Toyota Matrix for sale near you
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- Base 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $8,500192 mi away
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utilitarian
chuck k, 12/18/2018
2009 Toyota Matrix 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
A great commuter car. Basic, simple, reliable. Only work I've had done is caliper, disk, pad, and rear hub replacement due to salt and rust damage. I wish the brakes were stronger and that the car had more low end torque. I have a manual transmission. There is a slight delay when pressing the accelerator from idle . I think the seats are comfortable, but the clutch and brake pedals are too close together, which is a problem when wearing boots. A good reliable car for the money.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Better than the movie
Anthony, 03/12/2008
2009 Toyota Matrix 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl 4A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
The Matrix has a very cool look. The ride feels very smooth as a boat ride. The main reason why I bought the Matrix was to comfort my legs and so far it has done a very good job. Toyota really did a good job augmenting the standard options like the side airbags, trip meters, maintenance indicator, tire pressure indicator. I like that the driver seat can be adjusted vertically. I like that things are very accessible under the hood. I also appreciate the all wheel disc brakes making it easy for me to replace the brake pads when the time comes. I calculated 22 mpg on mostly mostly city streets and 30 mpg on mostly highway driving.
Trip Mileage
Lou, 06/04/2009
2009 Toyota Matrix 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I recently came off a trip and the mileage I got with my Toyota Matrix was 40 mpg going and 41 mpg returning. It's no bull. I couldn't believe it myself. I never drove over 62 mph; used cruise control; and I was the only person in the car. The car operated flawlessly. I'm 73 and this is probably the best vehicle I have ever owned. I have owned many.