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2004 Toyota Avalon

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Avalon years

Owner complaints for the 2004 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

114 reports with mileage · 91 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 127 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

27 crash reports0 fire reports13 injury reports

Structure complaints

4 reports
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106,500 miles · Feb 17, 2021
EngineStructureSuspension

I'VE NOTICED THAT SOMETIMES I SMELL SOMETHING BURNING, ELECTRICAL, COOLANT OR SOMETHING. MY MECHANICS FINDS NO LEAKS, BUT I CHECKED ONCE AND THE COOLANT RESERVOIR WAS EMPTY, FIND NO LEAKS. SOMEHOW, THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR MUD FLAP CAME OFF AND THE TRUNK LID DOESN'T LINE UP. IT ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE IT'S PARTIALLY OPENED. WHEN DRI…

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I'VE NOTICED THAT SOMETIMES I SMELL SOMETHING BURNING, ELECTRICAL, COOLANT OR SOMETHING. MY MECHANICS FINDS NO LEAKS, BUT I CHECKED ONCE AND THE COOLANT RESERVOIR WAS EMPTY, FIND NO LEAKS. SOMEHOW, THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR MUD FLAP CAME OFF AND THE TRUNK LID DOESN'T LINE UP. IT ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE IT'S PARTIALLY OPENED. WHEN DRIVING I HEAR AND FEEL RATTLING SOUNDS THAT SOUNDS AND FEELS LIKE THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SUSPENSION OR BODY PANELS. MORE LIKE THE SUSPENSION. THE PERSON I BOUGHT IT FROM HAD IT SERVICED REGULARLY AND HAD TIMING CHAIN, O2 SENSOR, ANTI-LOCK BRAKES CHECKED AND FIXED OR REPLACED. THEY ALSO HAD IT COMPLETELY CHECKED OUT AND ANYTHING WRONG WAS FIXED. IT ALSO GETS VERY POOR GAS MILEAGE. THE STEERING ALSO DOESN'T FEEL QUITE RIGHT, CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN THAT VERY WELL, OTHER THAN IT'S NO QUITE RIGHT. ALSO, FOR SOME REASON THE BATTERY WOULDN'T START THE CAR ONE DAY AND WE CHECKED THE BATTERY AND THE CELLS WERE DRY.

NHTSA ODI #11396567

69,000 miles · Apr 17, 2010
Latches/locks/linkagesStructureInjury

MY 2004 AVALON XLS HAS ISSUES WITH BOTH FRONT INNER DOOR HANDLES CHROME PEELING AND LEAVING RAZOR SHARP EDGES AND LEAVING LACERATIONS TO HANDS WHEN PULLING TO OPEN DOORS AT TIMES. THE REAR INNER DOOR PULL HANDLES ARE BEGINNING TO BUBBLE AND WILL BEGIN TO PEEL AS WELL. I PAID A VISIT TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY STATED THE…

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MY 2004 AVALON XLS HAS ISSUES WITH BOTH FRONT INNER DOOR HANDLES CHROME PEELING AND LEAVING RAZOR SHARP EDGES AND LEAVING LACERATIONS TO HANDS WHEN PULLING TO OPEN DOORS AT TIMES. THE REAR INNER DOOR PULL HANDLES ARE BEGINNING TO BUBBLE AND WILL BEGIN TO PEEL AS WELL. I PAID A VISIT TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOT A RECALL OR ASSISTANCE FOR THIS ISSUE. THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM IN MY EYES AND DO NOT THINK I SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST OF REPAIRS. PLEASE HELP ME IN MY NEXT STEP. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10326127

Mileage unknown · Mar 2, 2005
Electrical SystemSteeringStructure

TOYOTA AVALON XLS 2004 PROBLEM SEEING THE TRUNK WHEN BACKING UP FOR VISUAL IDEA OF HOW CLOSE TO WHAT BEHIND ME. *BF SIX DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN IN THE IGNITION AND ALL THE DASH LIGHTS STAYED LIT. THERE WAS A GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10113429

40 miles · Sep 13, 2004
EquipmentSteeringStructure

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE CONSUMER HEARD A BRUSHING SOUND COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. THE DEALER HAS EXAMINED THE VEHICLE ON TWO OCCASIONS AND WAS UNABLE TO FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK WHEN THE A/C WAS RUNNING THE VEHICLE WOULD DIE AS WAS UNABLE TO BE DUPLICATED, THE TRUNK GASKET LEAKED, NOISES WERE HEARD …

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WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE CONSUMER HEARD A BRUSHING SOUND COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. THE DEALER HAS EXAMINED THE VEHICLE ON TWO OCCASIONS AND WAS UNABLE TO FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK WHEN THE A/C WAS RUNNING THE VEHICLE WOULD DIE AS WAS UNABLE TO BE DUPLICATED, THE TRUNK GASKET LEAKED, NOISES WERE HEARD WHEN TURNING TO THE LEFT (STEERING FELT TIGHT), THE TRUNK BOTTOM WOULD NOT OPEN, THE WIPERS WOULD HIT THE HOOD, THERE WAS A SCRAPING WHEN TURNING TO THE LEFT, THE DRIVER DOOR WAS LEAKING WATER, AND THE VEHICLE COULD NOT TURN RIGHT. *SC *JB

NHTSA ODI #10083551

Official recalls

3

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.

11V539000 · Engine And Engine Cooling

Nov 9, 2011

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AVALON VEHICLES; 2004 AND 2005 CAMRY, CAMRY SOLARA, HIGHLANDER, AND SIENNA VEHICLES, 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID; 2004 AND 2005 LEXUS ES330 AND RX330; AND 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 1, 2004 THROUGH MARCH 31, 2005, EQUIPPED WITH THE 1MZ-FE OR 3MZ-FE ENGINE. THE AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE AGENT APPLIED BETWEEN THE OUTER RING AND THE TORSIONAL RUBBER DAMPER (INNER RING) IN THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY MAY BE INADEQUATE. IF THE ADHESIVE IS INSUFFICIENT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OUTER RING MAY BECOME MISALIGNED AND IT MAY NOT PROPERLY ROTATE WITH THE INNER RING, CAUSING NOISE AND/OR ILLUMINATION OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE INDICATOR LIGHT.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL CHECK THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER IT WAS PRODUCED BY THE U.S. SUPPLIER. IF SO, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PULLEY WITH A NEW ONE AT NO CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING EARLY JANUARY 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

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.