2008 Toyota Avalon

THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS ARE KNOWN TO EXPLODE ON SOME 2008 AND 2010 MODELS. MY HIGH BEAM LIGHTS EXPLODED WITH 66,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED WHILE MY VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. I ROUTINELY DRIVE IN AN AREA WITH A HEAVY DEER POPULATION. I CANNOT SEE THESE HAZARDS AT NIGHT WITH OUT HIGH BEAMS. TOYOTA HAD AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS ISSUE (5 YEARS, 70,000 MILES). SINCE MY CAR IS OVER WARRANTY IN YEARS BUT NOT MILES, TOYOTA REFUSES TO REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. THEY ARE TELLING ME THE COST WILL BE OVER $2,000. I CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY HAZARD AND AM VERY UPSET THAT TOYOTA WILL NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM ON MY $40,000 TOP OF THE LINE TOYOTA. I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT TO THE DOT, NTSB, AND ATTORNEY GENERAL. YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

ALL OF A SUDDEN THE HIGH-BEAM HEAD LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING WHEN THE CAR WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY. LOW -BEAM LIGHTS WORK. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY HAZARD AND IS OBVIOUSLY A TOYOTA ENGINEERING FLAW. TOYOTA DID HAVE A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT FOR THIS VEHICLE - 75,000 MILES OR 5 YEARS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. MY CAR HAS 52,000 MILES BUTS IS OVER 5 YEARS OLD. TOYOTA IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO FIX THIS, FREE OF CHARGE AND I SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FIX OF $2,500 PLUS LABOR, WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS.

ALL OF A SUDDEN THE HIGH-BEAM HEAD LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING WHEN THE CAR WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY. LOW -BEAM LIGHTS WORK. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY HAZARD AND IS OBVIOUSLY A TOYOTA ENGINEERING FLAW. TOYOTA DID HAVE A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT FOR THIS VEHICLE - 75,000 MILES OR 5 YEARS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. MY CAR HAS 52,000 MILES BUTS IS OVER 5 YEARS OLD. TOYOTA IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO FIX THIS, FREE OF CHARGE AND I SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE FIX OF $2,500 PLUS LABOR, WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS.

WHILE DRIVING DOWN A TWO LANE COUNTRY HIGHWAY AT NIGHT WITH MY BRIGHT LIGHTS ON, I HIT A BUMP AND THE BRIGHT LIGHTS SIMULTANEOUSLYWENT OFF. FORTUNATELY, MY LOW BEAMS THEN CAME ON. I TRIED SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS INCLUDING FLICKING THE LIGHTS, STOPPING THE CAR AND TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF/ON. THE BRIGHTS NO LONGER WORK. I DID CHECK TO SEE IF THEY EXPLODED AS REPORTED BY MANY OTHERS IN THIS DATABASE, BUT THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO HAVE. THEY JUST DO NOT WORK. LIVING IN A VERY RURAL AREA OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN, BRIGHT LIGHTS ARE A NECESSITY. I CALLED THE DEALER WHO SERVICES MY CAR AND THEY PLEADED IGNORANCE WITH REGARD TO KNOW PROBLEMS WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS VEHICLE. THEY SUGGEST I BRING THE CAR IN TO REPLACE THE BULBS. I WILL ATTEMPT TO REPLACE THE BULBS MYSELF BEFORE I WILL PAY FOR THE ASSEMBLY MENTIONED IN THE MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE FOR ME AND MY WIFE AS CAR/DEER COLLISIONS ARE RAMPANT WHERE WE LIVE. IF THE BULBS HAVE NOT EXPLODED YET, I'M SURE THEY WILL WHEN I HAVE MY FIRST COLLISION WITH A DEER I DID NOT SEE BECAUSE I HAD NO HIGH BEAM LIGHTS. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. IF WE WERE TO LOSE LOW BEAMS ALSO, WE WOULD BE STRANDED AND UNABLE TO DRIVE.

I PUT ON MY BRIGHTS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, ON A DARK PART OF THE INTERSTATE. AFTER A WHILE THEY WENT OUT... IMMEDIATELY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE LEFT HAND SIDE STALK CONTROLS THE HEADLIGHTS ("ON" AND "AUTO-ON" POSITIONS), AND BRIGHTS. NOTABLY THE BRIGHTS ARE A SEPARATE BULB. THE "AUTO-ON" (IF IT GETS DARK) WAS THE SETTING FOR WHICH THEY WENT OUT. I PULLED OVER AT AN EXIT, TRIED THE BRIGHTS AGAIN AFTER TURNING OFF MY HEADLIGHTS AND PUTTING THEM TO THE "ON" SETTING (AS OPPOSED TO "AUTO-ON"), AND THE BRIGHTS DID NOT WORK AND ACTUALLY TURNED OFF MY REGULAR HEADLIGHTS. THIS IS DANGEROUS. I SEE IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED. I FOUND TOYOTA HAD A QUIET, UNANNOUNCED SERVICE UPGRADE FOR FAULTY DESIGN, DID NOT ADVERTISE IT, RECALL IT, OR SEND A WARNING NOTE OR OFFER TO FIX TO OWNERS, AND ARBITRARILY SET THE LIMITATION AT 5 YRS / 72,000 MILES. IF THEY ACKNOWLEDGED A PROBLEM, WHY PUT A LIMIT ON SOMETHING THAT IS NOT SAFE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR

I WAS DRIVING IN A RURAL AREA IN ILLINOIS WHERE WE HAVE A LOT OF DEER, SO I FLIPPED ON MY HIGH BEAMS FOR BETTER VISIBILITY. I HAD PURCHASED THE CAR WITH 87,000 MILES ON IT THAT SUMMER AND MAY NOT HAVE EVEN USED THEM YET. THE HIGH BEAMS STAYED ON FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN FLASHED AND WENT BACK TO LOW BEAM. I CHECKED THEM UPON ARRIVING HOME AND COULD SEE THAT THEY SHATTERED. I REPLACED THESE WITH BULBS FROM O'REILLY AUTO - USING GLOVES TO AVOID TOUCHING THEM - THESE HIGH BEAMS WERE SELDOM USED BUT WORKED. IT IS NOW NOVEMBER OF 2014 AND THESE ALSO FAILED; DID NOT SHATTER BUT FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. I ASSUME THEY ARE BURNED OUT. I AM CONCERNED THAT I MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO USE THE HIGH BEAMS FOR SAFETY ON THIS OTHERWISE FANTASTIC CAR. I HAVE AVOIDED USING THE HIGH BEAMS EVER SINCE I REPLACED THEM THE FIRST TIME, SO I AM NOT SURE WHEN THEY ACTUALLY QUIT WORKING THIS TIME. *TR

I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT TIME & DATE THIS STARTED, BUT IT IS CONTINUOUS & REPETITIVE. THE HEADLIGHTS CONSISTENTLY TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. FOR A TRIP OF ABOUT TEN MILES, I CAN EXPECT FOR ONE OR BOTH TO FAIL ABOUT THREE TIMES. IT'S DANGEROUS. I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPANY HAS SENT NOTIFICATIONS TO THE DEALERS BUT ARE REFUSING TO ADMINISTER A RECALL. THEY OFFERED ME A $750 CREDIT TO HAVE IT REPAIRED. HOWEVER, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE MANY PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, IT COSTS OVER $2,000 TO FIX IT (AND THAT'S NOT A GUARANTEE). THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW. THEREFORE, IT SHOULD NOT BE AFFECTED BY A WARRANTY. I'M SHOCKED AT THE VOLUME OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH NO ACTIONS BY THE COMPANY. THEY ARE MORALLY (IF NOT ETHICALLY AND LEGALLY) OBLIGATED TO ISSUE A RECALL AND REPAIR THEIR R&D FAILURE. *TR

WENT TO USE HIGH BEAMS ON DESERT ROAD TOWARDS LANCASTER CA, PUT HIGH BEAMS ON, THEY STAYED ON FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES THEN ALL FRONT LIGHTING WENT OUT. WENT TO DEALER (ROSEVILLE TOYOTA) TO CHECK ON THE PROBLEM, DEALER SAID THEY WERE NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH TOYOTA KNOWS OF PROBLEM. WILL COST 3,000.00 TO REPAIR WITH REPLACED HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. CAR HAS ONLY 39,000 MILES ON IT AND AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. *TR

LOW BEAM LIGHT FLICKERED ON AND OFF, TRIED THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS OF WHICH NEITHER WOULD COME ON. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE DEALER TRIED NEW BULBS WHICH IMMEDIATELY BLEW OUT. THE DEALER SAID THAT BOTH LIGHT ASSEMBLIES WERE DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $ 1400.00 EACH. WAS ADVISED THAT TOYOTA KNEW THAT THESE LIGHTS WERE DEFECTIVE AND ISSUED THE SERVICE BULLETIN TBS #0044-10 REV 1 EXTENDING THEIR WARRANTY FROM 36,000 MILES TO 72,000 MILES BUT WOULD NOT RECALL THEM. THIS CAR WAS 1600 MILES PAST THE WARRANTY SO WAS NOT COVERED. IF TOYOTA THINKS THAT LIGHTS GOING OUT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. *TR