2016 Toyota AVALON: complaints, problems and recalls

TOOK DELIVERY OF VEHICLE WITH 3 MILES ON JANUARY 27, 2016. VERY NEXT DAY THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START WITHOUT SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. ON JANUARY 30 THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED IN A PARKING LOT WHILE ON ERRANDS AND WOULD NOT START AFTER ATTEMPTING FOR 15 MINUTES. DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT ADVISES THAT THERE IS A DRAIN ON THE BATTERY WHEN THERE SHOULD NOT BE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN WITH SERVICE TECHNICIANS FOR THE 3RD DAY AND THEY HAVE YET TO IDENTIFY THE ROOT CAUSE. THE VEHICLE HAS 212 MILES AND I AM FEARFUL THAT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WILL CAUSE FIRE AND SE…

Owner-reported narrative. 110 miles reported. Look up ODI 10823906 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN DRIVING AND THE SUN IS ENTERING THE MAIN CABIN, THE TAN INTERIOR PORTION OF THE DASHBOARD IS REFLECTED ON TO THE FRONT SIDE WINDOWS. THIS REFLECTION OF THE TAN PORTION OF THE DASHBOARD INTERFERES WITH A CLEAR VIEW OF BOTH OUTSIDE MIRRORS. THE VIEW OF TRAFFIC TO EITHER SIDE OF MY VEHICLE IS DIMINISHED, WHICH HAS ALREADY RESULTED IN ONE CLOSE CALL WHEN CHANGING LANES. ADDITIONALLY, THE LANE-WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS THAT ARE PART OF THE REAR VIEW MIRRORS ARE SIMILARLY DIMINISHED, REDUCING THE FLASHING SAFETY WARNINGS THAT THEY PROVIDE. …

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10875690 at NHTSA ↗

TAKATA RECALL. I PURCHASED MY NEW CAR ON MAY 4TH, 2016. THE RECALL WAS ISSUED APRIL 13TH, 2016, BEFORE I MADE THE PURCHASE. THE DEALERSHIP SOLD ME THIS WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME OF THIS. THE SALES MANAGER SAID I SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE LETTER OF THE RECALL BUT I HADN'T EVEN BOUGHT THE CAR THEN. I READ IT IS A FEDERAL LAW AGAINST SELLING A NEW VEHICLE WITH AN ACTIVE RECALL. THE MANAGER SAID THIS LAW DOESN'T PERTAIN TO TO THIS SALE BUT ONLY TO "STOP SALES" ISSUES. I NEVER WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THIS NEW CAR KNOWING A RECALL WAS ISSUED, PENDING, OR FIXED.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10906359 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AT AN INTERSECTION, A LOUD BOOM NOISE WAS HEARD AND THE SUN ROOF EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SUN ROOF FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 15,000.

Owner-reported narrative. 15,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10955045 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA AVALON. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO RESPOND AND SUDDENLY SURGED FORWARD. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE FELT AS THOUGH IT SHIFTED INDEPENDENTLY INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 114,000.

Owner-reported narrative. 114,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10956795 at NHTSA ↗

REAR WINDOW IS DISTORTED. THE DISTORTION APPEARS ESPECIALLY ACUTE WHEN HIGHWAY DRIVING. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH AVALONS OVER MORE THAN ONE MODEL YEAR.

Owner-reported narrative. 1,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11019603 at NHTSA ↗

INTERMITTENTLY THE CAR WILL NOT SHIFT FROM LOW GEAR. WHEN PLACING THE GEARSHIFT IN THE D POSITION IT WILL INDICATE EITHER D1 AND WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY SHIFT TO A HIGHER GEAR. ONCE THE CAR COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP THE INDICATOR WILL BY ITSELF CHANGE TO D AND WILL SHIFT NORMALLY.

Owner-reported narrative. 29,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11066879 at NHTSA ↗

MY WIFE'S AVALON HESITATES FOR 3 OR 4 SECONDS INTERMITTENTLY DURING ACCELERATION WITHOUT WARNING. THE YELLOW TRIANGLE LIGHT COMES ON THE DASH BOARD DURING THE HESITATION. I SEEMS TO OCCUR MORE OFTEN AFTER TURNING LEFT AND ACCELERATING. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT HER SAFETY WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC AND OR CROSSING A ROAD WITH AN UNEXPECTED HESITATION. OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER SAYS THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF THIS KIND OF PROBLEM AND ARE NOT ABLE TO DIAGNOSE IT. WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS IS OCCURRING ELSE WHERE AND WHAT WE SHOULD DO ABOUT IT. PLEASE ADVISE.

Owner-reported narrative. 20,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11090804 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2016-04-14 (April 14, 2016)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon and Camry vehicles manufactured November 30, 2015 to March 4, 2016. The occupant classification system (OCS) that activates or deactivates the front passenger seat air bag system may have been improperly calibrated. As a result, the front passenger air bag and the front passenger knee air bag may not deploy as intended in certain crash scenarios. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended during a crash increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will recalibrate the OCS, free of charge. The recall began by May 13, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is G0J.

Reported: 2016-12-16 (December 16, 2016)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon, and 2017 Camry vehicles manufactured August 3, 2016, to September 12, 2016. The front passenger knee air bag module may have been attached to the lower instrument panel with incorrect fasteners.

Consequence: If the air bag was installed with incorrect fasteners, the fasteners may become loose over time, affecting the air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fasteners, and if necessary, replace the instrument panel brace and body bracket and reattach the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 8, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G05.

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.