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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

Fuel System, Gasoline complaints

2 reports
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17,100 miles · May 10, 2014
Air BagsFuel System, GasolineCrash

THE SUBJECT OF THIS COMPLAINT IS MY 2003 TOYOTA AVALON LX WHICH HAD A TOTAL MILEAGE OF APPROXIMATELY 17,100 MILES. THIS VEHICLE WAS LAST SERVICED AT 9,000 MILES PLUS. ON APRIL 29, 2014 THE SUBJECT VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE BACK PARKING LOT OF A SMALL MINI MALL AT 3601 E. FOOTHILL BLVD.,PASADENA, CALIFORNIA. AFTER WE FINI…

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THE SUBJECT OF THIS COMPLAINT IS MY 2003 TOYOTA AVALON LX WHICH HAD A TOTAL MILEAGE OF APPROXIMATELY 17,100 MILES. THIS VEHICLE WAS LAST SERVICED AT 9,000 MILES PLUS. ON APRIL 29, 2014 THE SUBJECT VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE BACK PARKING LOT OF A SMALL MINI MALL AT 3601 E. FOOTHILL BLVD.,PASADENA, CALIFORNIA. AFTER WE FINISHED SHOPPING AT THE MINI MALL, WE RETURNED TO THE OUR VEHICLE AND STRAPPED OURSELVES IN THE CAR WITH OUR SEATBELTS. WHEN I TURNED ON THE IGNITION OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLE I HAD MY LEFT FOOT ON THE PARKING BRAKE AND MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE DRIVING BRAKE. AFTER THE VEHICLE STARTED, I RELEASED MY LEFT FOOT FROM THE PARKING BRAKE AND SHIFTED THE GEAR TO THE DRIVE POSITION WHEN MY CAR UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED FORWARD. I TRIED TO SLOW OR STOP MY CAR BY PRESSING ON DRIVING BRAKE BUT TO NO AVAIL. I ESTIMATE MY CAR TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET BEFORE THE LEFT FRONT OF MY CAR HIT THE RIGHT REAR OF A HONDA FIT AND CONCRETE PLANTER. THE COLLISION WITH THE HONDA FIT PUSHED IT INTO A HONDA CRV THAT WAS PARKED IN FRONT OF THE HONDA FIT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO ANYONE HOWEVER. MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10587633

139,451 miles · Jan 21, 2010
Fuel System, Gasoline

I BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA IS COVERING UP THE REAL CAUSE OF THE ACCELERATION OF THE ENGINE WHILE DRIVING. IT HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND WAS VERY FRIGHTENING. THE ENGINE BEGIN TO SPEED UP AUTOMATICALLY AND I COULD NOT STOP IT WITH MY BRAKES. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND THEN STOPPED. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RACE. I TO…

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I BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA IS COVERING UP THE REAL CAUSE OF THE ACCELERATION OF THE ENGINE WHILE DRIVING. IT HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND WAS VERY FRIGHTENING. THE ENGINE BEGIN TO SPEED UP AUTOMATICALLY AND I COULD NOT STOP IT WITH MY BRAKES. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND THEN STOPPED. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RACE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER THE NEXT DAY AND IT DID THE SAME THING. IT REACHED SPEEDS OF 70+MPH WITHOUT ME TOUCHING THE PEDAL. THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE IDLE AIR CONTROL VALVE PN. 22270-0A060. I HAVE NOT HAD A PROBLEM SINCE. TOYOTA HAS TRIED TO BLAME THIS PROBLEM IN THE MEDIA ON THE FLOOR MATS AND NOW THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. I PRAY THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL SUFFER INJURIES OR DEATH. THIS PROBLEM CAN EASILY BE FIXED BUT IT IS COSTLY (OVER $450.00). TOYOTA SEEMS TO BE LOOKING FOR THE CHEAP, EASY FIX. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10301799

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.