2015 Toyota Avalon Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (3) · Vehicle Speed Control (2) · Electrical System (2)
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Module 2020-01-17 · campaign 20V024000 · 2,891,976 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Forward Collision Avoidance: Crash Imminent Braking 2015-11-03 · campaign 15V728000 · 30,812 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid vehicles manufactured October 19, 2012 to October 27, 2015 and 2013-2015 Lexus ES350 and ES300h vehicles manufactured June 18, 2012 to July 6, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with a Pre-Collision System (PCS) as optional equipment. In these vehicles, the PCS may unexpectedly activate and apply the brakes when the radar detects a steel joint or plate in the roadway as an
Risk: A vehicle that unexpectedly brakes increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace certain PCS components, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this campaign are F1V and F2E.
Service bulletins (180)
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.
Engine 2026-02-13 · T-SB-0009-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin includes basic procedures for performing a rescue charge on ni-mh high voltage (hv) batteries. this bulletin should be used in conjunction with the applicable model and model year repair manual while performing a rescue charge. the grx-5100 should be used wherever the repair manual ref
Engine 2026-02-13 · T-SB-0119-15 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
obsolete notice february 13, 2026: this bulletin is now obsolete. please see t-sb-0009-26.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-07 · T-SB-0055-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2005 – 2026 toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. the purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Electrical System 2025-06-13 · T-SB-0058-23 Rev1 · Service Campaign
the air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air conditioning refrigerant leaks. the procedures outlined in this service bulletin aid in locating, inspecting, and repairing refrigerant leaks.
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 180 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2021-01-26 · Engine · 89,696 mi“tl* the contact own a 2015 toyota avalon. the contact stated while driving 30 mph, the hybrid engine on the vehicle switched from electric to gasoline operation which cause a faster acceleration and jerking motion. the contact stated that the failure should not have occurred. the contact had the vehicle towed to fitzgerald toyota gaithersburg (907 …”
2019-09-18 · Vehicle Speed Control“the avalon hybrids covered only by warranty enhancement zkk are suffering the same dangers and fvmss noncompliance due to brake booster pump assembly failures as those toyota covered by safety recalls (d0h & k0l). by excluding avalon hybrids with defective brakes from the d0h and k0l safety recalls, toyota is leaving the owners to helplessly experi…”
2019-06-24 · Visibility:sun/Moon Roof Assembly · 40,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2015 toyota avalon hybrid. while driving approximately 65 mph, the contact heard an explosion and noticed that the sun roof exploded. there were no injuries. the contact called newark toyota world (230 e cleveland ave, newark, de 19711) and scheduled a diagnostic and repair appointment for june 24, 2019. the manufacturer was …”
2018-05-14 · Service Brakes · 16,251 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2015 toyota avalon hybrid. while driving 30 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and it traveled to the floorboard before stopping the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to daytona toyota 1700 (451 n nova rd, daytona beach, fl 32114, (386) 255-7475), but the failure could not be duplicated and no failures were found. the ma…”
2018-04-19 · Electrical System“tl* the contact owns a 2015 toyota avalon hybrid. the contact stated that there was an electrical malfunction in the vehicle, which shorted out the display panel without warning. the dealer (don mcgill toyota, 11800 katy fwy houston, tx 77079, (281) 496-2000) was notified and an appointment was scheduled to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer wa…”
2018-01-13 · Exterior Lighting · 28,000 mi“time to time everything on the dashboard of my car shutdown (lights, navigation, stereo system e.t.c. all electronic devices, it mostly happens when i drive, also the dashboard makes a noise which sounds like a click. about an year ago i got a recall for but when i brought my car to the toyota of noho they told me that they didn't find any problem…”
2016-08-24 · Unknown Or Other“nothing happened. car works fine. got this recall last november 2015 from toyota and have not heard from them since. nhtsa recall number: 15v728. almost a year later and i'm still waiting.…”
2016-05-09 · Service Brakes · 19,000 mi“pre-collision radar system (safety recall)the vehicles, under certain situations, the pcs (pre-collision system) could interpret a steel joint or plate in the roadway as an object that triggers pcs activation. if this occurs, the pcs warning buzzer sounds and the system will apply the service brake automatically. unexpected braking could increase t…”
2016-04-13 · Vehicle Speed Control“my avalon hybrid was "recalled" over 6 months ago for the toyota safety sense package. consumer reports says this is a very important safety feature so i purchased the safest possible car. but, the car still lacks this feature. when will i get this safety feature installed?…”
2016-04-11 · Air Bags · 5,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owned a 2015 toyota avalon hybrid. the contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle was involved in a collision with another the vehicle. the contact stated that the vehicle was broadsided by a pickup; however, the air bags failed to deploy. a police report was filed. the contact sustained injuries to the head, ribs and…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.