2012 Toyota AVALON: complaints, problems and recalls

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED AND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE WHEN IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A SCOOTER, A RESIDENTIAL GARAGE DOOR AND A WALL. THE CONTACT WAS NOT INJURED. THE ENGINE RPMS CONTINUED TO RACE UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND STOPPED. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND IT WAS STATED THAT AN ENGINEER WOULD BE SENT TO FURTHER ASSESS THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 900.…

Owner-reported narrative. 900 miles reported. Look up ODI 10510378 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASED USED CERTIFIED-USED AVALON WITH 28.3K MILES ON JUNE 8. ON JUNE 15, THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED FROM PARKING LOT TO STOP SIGN. APPLIED BRAKES AND NO RESPONSE. AVALON SPED UP AND HAD TO TURN THE CAR TO AVOID ACCIDENT. APPLIED BRAKES AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR. CONTINUED HOME AND NO PROBLEMS. ON JUNE 16, APPROACHING STOP SIGN FROM DOWNWARD HILL AND APPLIED BRAKES AND NO RESPONSE. AVALON SPED UP AND WAS ABLE TO MAKE TURN WITH BEING HIT BY ON COMING TRAFFIC. TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. FOUND NOTHING WRONG AND ATT…

Owner-reported narrative. 28,469 miles reported. Look up ODI 10522765 at NHTSA ↗

2ND COMPLAINT (FIRST COMPLAINT - #10522765) - ON JULY 2, 2013, AROUND 5:20 P.M., MY FOURTH INCIDENT OF BRAKE FAILURE OCCURRED. I WAS GOING ABOUT 5 MILES AND APPLIED BRAKES. BRAKES FAILED AND ENGINE SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS RACING. I CRASHED INTO A THE REAR OF A SEDAN WHICH WAS STOPPED. NO INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED. WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE THE CARS TO A DEVELOPMENT TO EXCHANGE INSURANCE INFORMATION. I DROVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR TRADE-IN SINCE IT WAS UNRELIABLE FOR DRIVING AT SLOW SPEEDS. AN EARLIER POTENTIAL INCIDENT OCCURRED IN THE MORNI…

Owner-reported narrative. 28,899 miles reported. Look up ODI 10522977 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THERE WAS A SUDDEN BANGING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MERGED TO THE SHOULDER AND NOTICED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE BUMPER WAS LOOSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS ADVISED THAT THE FRONT BUMPER COVER, FRONT FENDER LINER AND THE ENGINE BOTTOM COVER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MIL…

Owner-reported narrative. 4,847 miles reported. Look up ODI 10547969 at NHTSA ↗

I PURCHASED THE AVALON AT THE END OF THE 2012 YEAR. IT NOW HAS 16,000 MILES ON IT. THE CAR IS GARAGED OUTSIDE IN MASSACHUSETTS. ON NOVEMBER 10, 2012 (MONTH AFTER PURCHASE) AND YESTERDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014, THE CAR WAS BROUGHT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR A REAR SUSPENSION CLUNKING NOISE THAT HAPPENS DURING COLD WEATHER (32 TO -10 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT). BOTH TIMES THE MECHANICS SAY THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, NOTHING IS LOSE WITH THE SUSPENSION, AND THERE ARE NO RECALLS ABOUT IT. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THE NOISE IS WHEN GOING OVER POT HOLES IN…

Owner-reported narrative. 16,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10561924 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP, ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE, CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE CRASH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS BEING DEPRESSED. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A CURB. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE FRONT PASSENGER STRUCK THEIR HEAD ON THE DASHBOARD. THE POLICE WERE PRESENT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. …

Owner-reported narrative. 15,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10594538 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA AVALON . THE CONTACT STATED WHEN SHE CAME TO A SUDDEN STOP SHE WAS CRASHED INTO FROM THE REAR BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE ENGINE RPMS THEN INCREASED AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AS THE SERVICE BRAKES FAILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED OF THE INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19,…

Owner-reported narrative. 19,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10596345 at NHTSA ↗

THE TRUNK LID FALLS DOWN EVEN IF LIFTED TO HIGHEST POINT. LID IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY COUNTERBALANCED. IF ON A SLIGHT INCLINE WITH THE NOSE UP, THE LID WILL NOT OPEN. DEALER TELLS ME (ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS) THAT IT IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. YEAH, RIGHT, DESIGNED TO FALL ON MY HEAD. DEALER REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING SINCE NOTHING IS BROKEN. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 17,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10679893 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2013-10-17 (October 17, 2013)

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.

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.

Reported: 2015-01-28 (January 28, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles manufactured February 9, 2010, to October 22, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the sub-woofer speaker located in the trunk may experience an intermittent electrical short which may cause damage to the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier. In some cases, the damaged IC may allow a constant electrical current flow to the sub-woofer.

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.

Reported: 2018-08-29 (August 29, 2018)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. During a vehicle repair, the seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that may incorrectly tell the air bag management system that the seat belt is always buckled.

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.

Reported: 2020-01-17 (January 17, 2020)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

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.