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2003 Toyota Avalon

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Avalon years

Owner complaints for the 2003 Toyota Avalon are substantially higher than the model-year median of 101.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

138 reports with mileage · 155 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 184 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 51 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

49 crash reports2 fire reports20 injury reports

Tires complaints

3 reports
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141,362 miles · Jan 2, 2015
Tires

DURING THE DRIVE TO FLORIDA, A HARD BRAKE (NO SKID) AND STEER TO THE LEFT WAS NECESSARY. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THAT, THE STEERING BECAME SHAKY AND A ROAD RUMBLING NOISE WAS NOTICED. AFTER SETTLING IN, WE TOOK THE CAR TO A FIRESTONE DEALER AND THEY RE-BALANCED THE TIRES. THAT DID NOT STOP THE SHAKY STEERING WHEEL OR THE ROAD NO…

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DURING THE DRIVE TO FLORIDA, A HARD BRAKE (NO SKID) AND STEER TO THE LEFT WAS NECESSARY. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THAT, THE STEERING BECAME SHAKY AND A ROAD RUMBLING NOISE WAS NOTICED. AFTER SETTLING IN, WE TOOK THE CAR TO A FIRESTONE DEALER AND THEY RE-BALANCED THE TIRES. THAT DID NOT STOP THE SHAKY STEERING WHEEL OR THE ROAD NOISE. ONE WEEK LATER, WHILE CHANGING LANES, THE TIRES RAN OVER LANE DIVIDER BUMPS AND A BLOWOUT OCCURRED. REPLACED THE FLAT TIRE WITH THE SPARE (FULL SIZE) AND IMMEDIATELY, THE ROAD NOISE CEASED AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS PERFECTLY NORMAL. I INSPECTED THE TIRE AND FOUND A 2 INCH RIP/GAP IN THE CENTER OF THE TREAD. WENT BACK TO THE FIRESTONE DEALER AND WAS TOLD I HAD RUN OVER A SOME KIND OF SHARP ROAD HAZARD. I BELIEVE THE BELT BENEATH THE TREAD HAD FAILED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10669543

Mileage unknown · Jul 18, 2008
Tires

2003 TOYOTA AVALON WITH A TIRE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE TIRE WAS REPAIRED DUE TO PUNCTURE. THEN THE TIRE WAS REPLACED AND THE NEW TIRE AND THE OLD TIRES WERE THEN FILLED WITH NITROGEN. *KB THE CONSUMER STATED THE TIRES FRONT TIRES WERE LEAKING AIR. HE RE-FILLED THEM WITH AIR. WHILE DRIVING, THE RIGHT F…

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2003 TOYOTA AVALON WITH A TIRE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE TIRE WAS REPAIRED DUE TO PUNCTURE. THEN THE TIRE WAS REPLACED AND THE NEW TIRE AND THE OLD TIRES WERE THEN FILLED WITH NITROGEN. *KB THE CONSUMER STATED THE TIRES FRONT TIRES WERE LEAKING AIR. HE RE-FILLED THEM WITH AIR. WHILE DRIVING, THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE EXPLODED AS A RESULT OF THE TIRE BEING FILLED WITH NITROGEN. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10235013

Mileage unknown · Jun 23, 2004
Tires

VEHICLE'S ODOMETER AND SPEEDOMETER IS OFF. *MR EXTRA EQUIPMENT WAS ADDED BY THE MANUFACTURER (16 INCH TIRES AS OPPOSED TO STANDARD 15 INCH TIRES) WHICH RESULTED IN THE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER PROBLEM. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED A FIX, REFUND OR REPURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE. *SC *JB

NHTSA ODI #10079938

Official recalls

2

15V043000 · Air Bags:frontal

Jan 28, 2015

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 the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.

Remedy: 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 the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.

10V345000 · Steering

Jul 29, 2010

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.