2012 Toyota Avalon

Complaint history

When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.

Problems owners report

Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.

AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.

Recalls

• NHTSA recall #20V024000January 17, 20202,891,976 vehicles affected

  air bags: air bag/restraint control module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA recall #18V569000August 29, 201819,354 vehicles affected

  air bags; seat belts

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA recall #15V047000January 28, 201551,495 vehicles affected

  electrical system

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA recall #13V442000October 17, 2013802,769 vehicles affected

  air bags; electrical system; equipment: appliance: air conditioner

  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.

  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.

Other model years

• 1995 80
• 1996 109
• 1997 125
• 1998 178
• 1999 92
• 2000 173
• 2001 134
• 2002 116
• 2003 293
• 2004 205
• 2005 228
• 2006 360
• 2007 243
• 2008 349
• 2009 91
• 2010 46
• 2011 106
• 2012
• 2013 137
• 2014 96
• 2015 42
• 2019 71