2010 Matrix Non-Smooth Accelerator Pedal - Toyota Corolla Matrix

Guest pjorg

Hi all,

I bought a 2010 Matrix (base, 1.8L, 4-speed automatic) back in April, and aside from the actual sales experience, my wife and I love the car.

The accelerator pedal seems, for lack of a better word, to have a "hump" in it. From a stop, it's hard to accelerate smoothly because it requires a lot of pressure to initially move it, and then after you apply the necessary pressure it "gives way" and you wind up jumping off the line.

My wife and I have adapted our driving styles to account for this, but I'd rather have a smooth pedal; I have a feeling it's probably affecting our fuel economy as well since we live in the city and have a lot of stops/starts.

The vehicle has had the pedal recall service performed on it; might that be a contributing factor? Regardless, the car is still under warranty; will the dealer be able to solve this issue for me?

Thanks for your help.

Just by design - there will be some non-linearity to the pedal action and feel. Having the "shim" service performed on the pedal assemby, just makes this pedal action even more non-linear.

Issue is basically about balancing friction. By installing the shim, the pedal control spring will have friction reduced in a manner that will make the pedal less stable (action). Due to this "feature", it may be difficult to maintain a steady throttle opening - either get too much or too little acceleration, as the perceived pressure felt by the foot will also be greater.

Option is to replace the OEM CTS manufactured pedal assembly with a Denso pedal assembly, which is fundamentally different in design. Bring up the idea of swapping the Denso unit for the CTS unit - mentioned that pedal feel is unnatural and hard to get used to. Depending on the dealership - you might be able to get a new Denso pedal. It was in pretty hot demand during the pedal shim campaign, and Toyota had a problem keeping up with supplies. But Toyota did mentioned that revised pedal assemblies would be made available to those that find the shim fix ineffective - I'd try and see if the revised pedal is available and have them swap that out for you.

Guest pjorg

Option is to replace the OEM CTS manufactured pedal assembly with a Denso pedal assembly, which is fundamentally different in design. Bring up the idea of swapping the Denso unit for the CTS unit - mentioned that pedal feel is unnatural and hard to get used to. Depending on the dealership - you might be able to get a new Denso pedal. It was in pretty hot demand during the pedal shim campaign, and Toyota had a problem keeping up with supplies. But Toyota did mentioned that revised pedal assemblies would be made available to those that find the shim fix ineffective - I'd try and see if the revised pedal is available and have them swap that out for you.

Thanks, fishexpo. I think I will look into this. Maybe it's better to just bring it in rather than ask over the phone...too easy to blow me off if the car isn't actually in the repair bay.