Toyota Avalon Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 295 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the Toyota Avalon across 27 model years. The 2008 model year has the most (44). The words owners use most often: “high beam” (6% of reports).
- 295electrical system complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 15mention a crash
- 4mention an injury
- 4related recalls
- 38%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- High beam: mentioned in 18 of 295 complaints (6%)
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 182 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 295 complaints, 15 mention a crash, 13 a fire, 4 an injury.
Toyota Avalon electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Avalon | 1 | 13% | — |
| 2021 Avalon | 1 | 5% | 800 |
| 2019 Avalon | 17 | 24% | 3,620 |
| 2018 Avalon | 1 | 4% | — |
| 2017 Avalon | 2 | 14% | — |
| 2016 Avalon | 3 | 13% | 22,000 |
| 2015 Avalon | 4 | 10% | 129,209 |
| 2014 Avalon | 11 | 11% | 11,625 |
| 2013 Avalon | 14 | 10% | 25,000 |
| 2012 Avalon | 4 | 13% | — |
| 2011 Avalon | 25 | 24% | 38,800 |
| 2010 Avalon | 3 | 7% | 780 |
| 2009 Avalon | 11 | 12% | 49,920 |
| 2008 Avalon | 44 | 13% | 55,600 |
| 2007 Avalon | 17 | 7% | 71,935 |
| 2006 Avalon | 16 | 4% | 65,208 |
| 2005 Avalon | 17 | 7% | 30,214 |
| 2004 Avalon | 11 | 5% | 120,000 |
| 2003 Avalon | 18 | 6% | 75,000 |
| 2002 Avalon | 6 | 5% | 137,594 |
| 2001 Avalon | 14 | 10% | 63,000 |
| 2000 Avalon | 11 | 6% | 111,015 |
| 1999 Avalon | 6 | 7% | 167,716 |
| 1998 Avalon | 19 | 11% | 64,000 |
| 1997 Avalon | 4 | 3% | 97,500 |
| 1996 Avalon | 7 | 6% | 198,150 |
| 1995 Avalon | 8 | 10% | 127,100 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (4)
Electrical system:software; air bags
Model years: 2019
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Toyota Tundra and Sequoia vehicles and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Avalon Hybrid vehicles. The air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may erroneously detect a fault during the vehicle start-up self check. If this occurs, the ECU may not deploy the airbags as intended, in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," and 214, "Side Impact Protection."
Risk: If the air bags do not deploy as intended, it can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the air bag ECU, free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0X. Note: 18V-122 was superseded by this recall. The software remedy also includes the updates to the software for 18V-122.
Electrical system
Model years: 2011, 2012
Problem: 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.
Risk: A constant electrical current flow may cause the sub-woofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire.
Fix: 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.
Equipment:appliance:air conditioner; air bags; electrical system
Model years: 2012, 2013
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Electrical system:ignition:anti-theft:control module
Model years: 1998, 1999
Problem: Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles, mini vans and passenger vehicles equipped with a theft deterrent systems (tds) supplied by audiovox corporation and distributed by southeast toyota distributors, inc. In the states of alabama, florida, georgia, north and south carolina. The alarm wiring harness plugs into the vehicle's ignition switch and the vehicle's ignition switch wiring harness plugs into the alarm harness to complete the circuit. A percentage of the female terminals used in the alarm connector were found to be defective, causing an 'open circuit' condition when mated to the male ignition switch terminals.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Car catch a fire while I was working inside
On XXX I purchase the vehicle TOYOTA AVALON XSE, with VIN #: [XXX]. I purchase the vehicle at LARRY [XXX] AMERICAN TOYOTA in [XXX], with the LIEN [XXX] KIRTLAND FEDERAL CREDIT UNION BANK same city of [XXX]. I was told the vehicle had a 160 point check, yet when I check the THUMB DRIVE that was…
Ever since, I purchase my certified 2019 Toyota Avalon in around June 2022, my car has left me stranded on highways, city areas, and broke down coming out of my garage. I even purchase extended warranty, because of the high mileage it had 77,000 miles. On [XXX] car broke down Drive Belt had to be…
I am writing to formally report a serious and ongoing safety issue involving the Telematics / Data Communication Module (DCM) installed in Toyota vehicles. This issue presents a clear risk to driver and passenger safety and warrants immediate corrective action. The DCM is responsible for critical…
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2015 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, the contact noticed that the title listed the mileage at 133,510, with the note " Not the Actual Mileage" next to the mileage. It was later discovered that there was a…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Toyota Avalons have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 295 owner complaints about electrical system for the Toyota Avalon. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Toyota Avalon electrical system?
Yes: 4 safety recalls list electrical system. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the Toyota Avalon?
The most frequent phrase is “high beam”, in 18 of 295 complaints.
Other Toyota Avalon problems
See all Toyota Avalon problems.