2008 Toyota Avalon

AFTER RECEIVING TOYOTA TSB SB-0011-10 IN APRIL 2010, I WENT IN TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO CHECK IT OUT. THEY INDICATED THAT THE HIGH BEAM LIGHT BULBS COULD EXPLODE AND THAT THE ENTIRE HIGH LIGHT ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I ASKED ABOUT GETTING MINE DONE BUT, THEY SAID BECAUSE MY CAR HAD OVER 70,000 MILES THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE THEM PER THE TSB. BUT THEY TOLD ME THEY WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE THEM AT MY COST OF ABOUT $2400.00. SHORTLY AFTER THAT THE BULBS EXPLODED IN MY UNITS. WHEN I TRIED TO REPLACE THEM, I WAS TOLD THAT THE LISTED BULB WAS NO LONGER MANUFACTURED. I FEEL THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE UNLIMITED MILES AS THE REPLACEMENT UNIT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BY THE BULB MANUFACTURER. AND THAT THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD TO PROPER OPERATION OF THE CAR. *TR

CAR IS DRIVEN ABOUT 2,000 MILES PER YEAR, CITY DRIVING AND MOSTLY DURING THE DAYTIME. NO REAL NEED FOR HIGH BEAMS WHILE DRIVING. UNSURE WHEN THE PROBLEM HAPPENED, BUT I WAS A LONG JOURNEY IN THE COUNTRY AND HIGH BEAMS WERE NEEDED. UNABLE TO HAVE THEM ON. AFTER THE TRIP CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, BROUGHT IN FOR REPAIR. WAS TOLD THAT BOTH HEADLIGHT LENS ASSEMBLIES WERE NEEDED TO THE TUNE OF OVER $900. I WAS TOLD THAT THE WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR 5 YEARS OR 72,000 MILES ONLY. AT THE TIME THE CAR WAS PURCHASED I PAID FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THE 7 YEAR PLAN. I WAS TOLD THAT UNDER THIS WARRANTY HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT COVERED. THIS CAR IS COMPLETELY OUT OF WARRANTY. RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS THAT THIS CAR HAS MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE HEADLIGHT LEN ASSEMBLIES. WHY DID NOT TOYOTA ISSUES NOTICES TO THE CONSUMERS ABOUT THIS ISSUE? OR A RECALL? THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WHEN IT IS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL. *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

I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. I WAS TRAVELING SEPTEMBER 2, 2014, AT APPROXIMATELY 9:00 P.M. ON HIGHWAY 49 IN ALABAMA. THE CONTROL FOR THE HEADLIGHTS WAS IN THE "ON" POSITION AND THEY BEGAN TO FLICKER AND GREW DIMMER AND DIMMER, UNTIL THEY COMPLETELY WENT OUT. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE HEADLIGHT CONTROL KNOB TO THE "AUTO" POSITION AND THE HEADLIGHTS CAME BACK ON. WHEN THE HEADLIGHT CONTROL IS IN THE AUTO POSITION, THE FOG LIGHTS WILL COME ON AND REMAIN ON, REGARDLESS OF THE TIME OF DAY OR NIGHT. HOWEVER,IN THE AUTO POSITION, THE HEADLIGHTS WILL REMAIN OFF UNTIL THE SENSOR DETECTS THE ABSENCE OF DAYLIGHT. THEN THE HEADLIGHTS WILL COME ON AUTOMATICALLY WHILE DRIVING. THANK GOODNESS, THEY OPERATED IN THE AUTO POSITION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A SHOP WITH A LONG STANDING REPUTATION FOR QUALITY WORKMANSHIP INVOLVING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. I WAS INFORMED I NEEDED A NEW HID BULB AND BALLAST. THE TOTAL FOR THE PARTS AND LABOR TOTALED $696.95. HE CHECKED THE PASSENGER SIDE AS WELL, WHICH FLICKERED TWICE WITHIN 45 MINUTES. THEY DID NOT NOTICE ANY PROBLEM THE REST OF THE DAY. SHOULD IT BECOME A PROBLEM IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THAT WILL BE ANOTHER $696.95! I HAVE COME ACROSS NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS OF THIS MODEL AND DISCUSSIONS SEEKING SOLUTIONS. IT WOULD BE A SHAME FOR SOMEONE TO DIE IN A SITUATION SIMILAR TO THE ONE I EXPERIENCED BECAUSE HE OR SHE PANICKED AND HIT SOMEONE, OR LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

I OWN A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH ON A HIGHWAY, I ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS WHICH FAILED TO ACTIVATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A TOYOTA DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE HIGH BEAM BULBS FAILED IN THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY AS A RESULT THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER KNOWS ABOUT THIS DEFECT AND HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 5 YEARS OR 75000 MILES, WHICHEVER OCCURS EARLIER. MY CAR HAS COMPLETED 5 YEARS, BUT THE MILEAGE IS BELOW 75000. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000. THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE ASKED TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PARTS WITH OUT ANY CHARGE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A 2 LANE MOUNTAIN ROAD AT NIGHT I TURNED THE HIGH BEAMS OFF FOR ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND WHEN I TURNED THEM BACK ON THERE WAS A BRIGHT FLASH AND THE HIGH BEAMS NO LONGER WORKED. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN THAT READS: "ON SOME 2008-2010 AVALON VEHICLES, THE HIGH BEAM/DRL BULB MAY BECOME INOPERATIVE OR SHATTER. A NEWLY DESIGNED HIGH BEAM/DRL HOUSING ASSEMBLY (INCLUDING THE APPLICABLE BULB) IS AVAILABLE IN THE EVENT THIS CONDITION HAS OCCURRED." TOYOTA WILL PROVIDE THE REPLACEMENT UNDER WARRANTY IF THE VEHICLE IS UNDER 5 YEARS OR 70,000 MILES. ORIGINALLY THEY ISSUED THE BULLETIN AUTHORIZING REPLACEMENT FOR 36 MONTHS OR 36,000 MILES AND SUBSEQUENTLY INCREASED IT TO 5 YEARS, 70,000 MILES. MY 5 YEARS WAS UP ON MARCH 20, 2014. THE LOCAL DEALER QUOTED ME $2,583.88 FOR THE REPAIR. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A DEFINITE SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED, SINCE IT INVOLVES THE HEADLIGHTS. WHILE HIGH BEAMS ARE NOT ALWAYS REQUIRED, 2 LANE ROADS AT NIGHT ARE CERTAINLY SAFER USING HIGH BEAMS. *TR

MY 2008 TOYOTA AVALON HAS A DEFECTIVE PASSENGER DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT/HIGH BEAM. DOCUMENTED DEFECT AND TOYOTA ISSUED A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT TO INCREASE THE COVERAGE TO 5 YEAR/ 72000 MILE TO COVER REPLACEMENT BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE. THERE WAS NO RECALL. 6 YEARS OUT AND UNDER THE MILEAGE LIMIT I AM STUCK PAYING FOR A $2500 REPAIR FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL. I DON'T SEE HOW HAVING HEADLIGHTS THAT ARE KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE. IF HIGH BEAMS WERE NOT NEEDED THAN THEY WOULDN'T BE ON THE CAR. CAN'T ALERT ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO A POTENTIAL TRAFFIC SAFETY CONDITION AHEAD. CAN'T TURN ON HIGH BEAMS ON COUNTRY ROAD TO SAFELY SEE FAR ENOUGH AHEAD TO PREVENT POTENTIAL ROAD HAZARDS. NOT HAVING HIGH BEAMS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH ON A DARK ROAD, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS WHICH FAILED TO ACTIVATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE HIGH BEAM BULBS FRACTURED IN THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY AS A RESULT THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,300. UPDATED 9/4/14*CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE FAILURE WAS THE RESULT OF POOR DESIGN BY TOYOTA. WHICH WAS EVENTUALLY RE-DESIGNED IN 2010. THE ASSEMBLY WAS TOO SMALL FOR THE HEAT GENERATED BY THE LAMPS AND AS A RESULT, THE LAMPS BECAME WELDED TO THE ASSEMBLY. WHEN IT WELDED, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO REPLACE A BURNED OUT LAMP. THE ENTIRE LIGHT ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $2700. UPDATED 11/17/14

FRONT HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY CUT OFF. I QUICKLY SWITCHED INTERIOR LIGHT CONTROL AND THEY IMMEDIATELY CAME BACK ON. WITH NO FURTHER OBVIOUS PROBLEMS I DISMISSED ISSUE AS INCIDENTAL. HOWEVER, APPROXIMATELY 6 WEEKS LATER I WAS TOLD MY PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WAS OUT. HOWEVER, WHEN I CHECKED IT WAS WORKING. ON 7/7/14 I WAS STOPPED BY FHP AND GIVEN WARNING FOR PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT OUT. ON 7/12/14 GATORLAND TOYOTA REPLACED PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BULB ($214.15) AND SAID EVERYTHING OK. ON 7/15/14 I WAS ADVISED THAT DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT OUT. ON 7/18/14 GATORLAND TOYOTA ADVISED BOTH FRONT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES REQUIRED REPLACEMENT AT $2,219.95 PLUS TAX (FREE LABOR) TO INSTALL. SINCE OUT OR WARRANTY COSTS ALL MINE. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE FOLLOWED SERVICE MANUAL TO THE LETTER AND ALL WORK SINCE PURCHASE DATE PERFORMED AT GATORLAND (APPROXIMATELY 20 SERVICE CALLS). ON 7/29/14 THE TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THEY COULD DO NOTHING AS CARE OUT OF WARRANTY. *JS