1999 TOYOTA AVALON — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 89 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (20 complaints · 22.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 15
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1998 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 20 of 89 owner complaints (22.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 20 complaints, 22.5% of reports AIR BAGS 20 · 22.5% · 9 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 18 complaints, 20.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 · 20.2% · 3 crash reports SUSPENSION: 12 complaints, 13.5% of reports SUSPENSION 12 · 13.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 6.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 6.7% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 5 complaints, 5.6% of reports ENGINE 5 · 5.6% SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 4.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 4.5% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 3.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 3.4% SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 3.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 3.4% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 3 complaints, 3.4% of reports STEERING 3 · 3.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 52 complaints, 58.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 52 · 58.4% · 8 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 20 22.5% 9 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 20.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 12 13.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 6.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 5 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 4.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 3.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 52 58.4% 8 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1998. 1999-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1998 Oct 2015 Recall campaign 98E035000 ◆ Recall campaign 98E035000 Recall campaign 98V278000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V278000 Investigation DP02004 ● Investigation DP02004
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q1 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 5
1999-Q4 Owner reports 5
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 3
2000-Q3 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 4
2002-Q2 Owner reports 3
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 5
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 7
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 98E035000
Recall campaign 1 98V278000
Defect investigation 1 DP02004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98E035000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS. ALSO, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT RUN SMOOTHLY AND COULD STALL.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DATE CODE LABEL ON THE SECURITY SYSTEM HARNESS AND ANY DISPLAYING THE MANUFACTURING/FINAL DATE CODE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY PRODUCED HARNESSES. THE DATE CODES ARE: RAV4 - 6/24/98, 6/25/98, 6/26/98; SIENNA - 6/25/98, 6/26/98; AND AVALON - 6/30/98, 7/1/98, 8/31/98, 9/1/98, 9/2/98, AND 9/3/98.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V278000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS. ALSO, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT RUN SMOOTHLY AND COULD STALL.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DATE CODE LABEL ON THE SECURITY SYSTEM HARNESS AND ANY DISPLAYING THE MANUFACTURING/FINAL DATE CODE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY PRODUCED HARNESSES. THE DATE CODES ARE: RAV4 - 6/24/98, 6/25/98, 6/26/98; SIENNA - 6/25/98, 6/26/98; AND AVALON - 6/30/98, 7/1/98, 8/31/98, 9/1/98, 9/2/98, AND 9/3/98.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 89 complaints · page 1 of 4

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources