2012 TOYOTA AVALON — Owner-Reported Problems
Verdict & Safety Summary
- Crashes 8
- Fires 1
- Injuries 6
- Deaths 0
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)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | 6 | 20.0% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| AIR BAGS | 4 | 13.3% | 3 crashes · 0 fires |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 4 | 13.3% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| VISIBILITY | 4 | 13.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 10.0% | 3 crashes · 0 fires |
| ENGINE | 1 | 3.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 | 3.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 | 3.3% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 3.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 11 | 36.7% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
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
- Campaign 20V024000 was reported 2,060 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 13V442000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V047000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 18V569000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V024000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA19001 |
Safety Recalls (4)
Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 13V442000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
- Remedy:
- Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 15V047000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- A constant electrical current flow may cause the sub-woofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire.
- Remedy:
- Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the audio system amplifier and install a protective cover around the sub-woofer, free of charge. The recall began on July 1,2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 18V569000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the air bags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0S.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 20V024000
- Report date
- Component:
- AIR BAGS
- Consequence:
- In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.
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
No complaints match the current filters.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
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.