There are 6 stored owner reports matching the lighting leading-label group for the 2003 Toyota Matrix in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 6 of 6 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)THE GAUGE CLUSTER IN THE 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX IS IN RED. IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT, IT CAN BE IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE GAUGES. I HAVE TRIED VARIOUS MAKES OF SUNGLASSES AND SOME SEEM TO HELP SOMEWHAT. BUT IT IS STILL A HAZARD.
THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING IS INADEQUATE. MOST OF THE TIME I SIMPLY CANNOT READY THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, INCLUDING THE SPEEDOMETER. WHILE I HAVEN'T HAD ANY ACCIDENTS OR TICKETS, I BELIEVE THIS IS AN UNSAFE SITUATION. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WORKS AS DESIGNED. *LA
CONSUMER STATED THAT THEY WERE HAVING PROBLEMS SEEING THE FUNCTIONS IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DUE TO THE LIGHTS. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK THE INSTRUMENT AND RADIO LIGHT FADED OUT WHEN DRIVING IN SUN LIGHT. IN SHADE OR AT NIGHT, THIS HAPPENED A LOT. *PH
THE AUTO HEADLIGHT SYSTEM THAT TURNS THE HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. IT TURNS THE HEADLIGHTS ON AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY, MORE OFTEN ON BRIGHT SUNNY DAYS WHEN DRIVING THROUGH SHADOWS. THIS MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO READ GUAGES, SPEEDOMETER ETC.
THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS TURN ON MYSTERIOUSLY AT NIGHT WHILE THE CAR IS TURNED OFF. SYMPTOMS INCLUDED A DEAD BATTERY AFTER NOT DRIVING THE CAR FOR THREE DAYS, AND THE DASHBOARD PANEL LIGHTS TURNING OFF WHENEVER THE TURN SIGNAL IS USED. DEALERSHIP DENIED THERE WAS A PROBLEM.
CONSUMER CALLED COMPLAINING ABOUT HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SPEEDOMETER. THE SPEEDOMETER HAS A RED BACK LIGHT AND AS A RESULT THE DRIVER CANNOT SEE THE VEHICLES SPEED WHILE DRIVING DURING THE DAY LIGHT. THE DRIVER HAS NO PROBLEMS WHILE DRIVING DURING NIGHT TIME. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THIS WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE FOR THEM. *AK *TS *NLM
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: May 3, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.