2003 Toyota Avalon problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (156) · Vehicle Speed Control (45) · Steering (14)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Toyota Avalon model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
138 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:frontal 2015-01-28 · campaign 15V043000 · 1,006,849 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002, to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. GM issued an interim notification to owners on March 27, 2015. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as
Steering 2010-07-29 · campaign 10V345000 · 372,593 vehicles
Defect: TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2004 AVALON VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER CASTING OF THE STEERING LOCK BAR, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A MINUTE CRACK MAY DEVELOP ON THE SURFACE OF THE LOCK BAR. SUCH A CRACK MAY EXPAND OVER A LONG PERIOD OF REPEATED LOCK AND UNLOCK OPERATIONS, AND EVENTUALLY THE LOCK BAR COULD BREAK.
Risk: SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING INTERLOCK DEVICE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
Service bulletins (110)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. if these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0038-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
to prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. the purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and initial rust before the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0035-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. if these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa
Structure:body 2024-12-05 · T-SB-0061-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
toyota vehicles are currently protected with rapgardtm protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. this material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. follow the removal procedure in this bulletin to remove the rapgardtm protective film wi
Structure:body 2024-12-03 · T-SB-0062-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. this type of contamination can be identified by the presence of small, red or brown particles on the paint surfa
Structure:body 2024-07-12 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. if these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Showing the 6 most recent of 110 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-04-20 · Seat Belts“march 13, 2026, i was on a road trip from ca to az and while driving around 75-80mph (speed limit), something in the driver's side seat belt or the shoulder holster exploded, the belt tightened, and something metal or plastic flew off. shortly after (within 30 seconds or so), the passenger's side seat belt did something similar where something in t…”
2023-05-22 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“i was driving back home, out of no where my car went out of control, went left, then right, hit something and flipped over twice to end in a hill against the traffic with 4 flat tires. the air bag did not deployed. i did hit the windshield. the car was total. …”
2023-01-04 · Steering“purchased car used 11/2020 jan 14 2021 had 2 open recalls steering casting defect and wire harness filter to deflect noise from ecm . i lost control of communication of operations. 12/2022 steering lock bar the past 2 years uncovered everything on my own. learned somebody died in 2003 avalon in texas about steering locking up. plan to talk to…”
2021-12-05 · Electrical System“turn off the lights inside panel. the level of heat all the way up, the same with the gasoline level. the internal lights blink. loss of power.…”
2021-06-01 · Engine · 96,000 mi · 🔥 fire“the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle started smoking and the engine stalled. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer had be…”
2021-05-24 · Suspension“what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? 1- aug 2020- mega moters- purchassed auto- carfax and auto guro- recommended this vehiscal and sales pitch included these companies- he said he does good business- he said he will fix all issues if the issue was with-in 30 days- car drove fine- he pu…”
2019-04-07 · Steering · 4 mi“car's steering stops turning while driving in the initial 5 minutes of drive, it occurs mostly when weather is humid ( raining). the episode occurs when i try to turn the steering and recovers after i forcibly turn the stiff steering.…”
2019-02-27 · Vehicle Speed Control · 25,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. the contact stated that the rear brake lights were permanently illuminated. the vehicle was taken to kendall toyota (10943 s dixie hwy, miami, fl 33156) where it was diagnosed that the rear brake light sensor was damaged and needed replacement. the battery was also replaced. after the vehicle was repaired,…”
2019-02-05 · Engine · 71,000 mi“the auto surges forward as i'm trying to stop either at a stop light or parking spot. this has happened 3 or 4 times and my mechanic said the only way to fix it would be for it to happen while he was driving it. there's no pattern to when it happens but it's scary and i'm afraid to let my wife drive it. it happened yesterday as i was coming to a co…”
2018-12-31 · Seat Belts · 230,807 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. while driving on several occasions, the srs warning indicator illuminated intermittently. the vehicle was taken to beechmont toyota (8667 beechmont ave, cincinnati, oh 45255, (513) 388-3800) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacture…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.