March 13, 2026, I was on a road trip from CA to AZ and while driving around 75-80mph (speed limit), something in the driver's side seat belt or the shoulder holster exploded, the belt tightened, and something metal or plastic flew off. Shortly after (within 30 seconds or so), the passenger's side seat belt did something similar …
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March 13, 2026, I was on a road trip from CA to AZ and while driving around 75-80mph (speed limit), something in the driver's side seat belt or the shoulder holster exploded, the belt tightened, and something metal or plastic flew off. Shortly after (within 30 seconds or so), the passenger's side seat belt did something similar where something in the seat belt mechanism exploded and another part went flying. There was an electrical buzzing noise. I was looking for a place to pull over when the air bags went off. There was no bump in the road or a dip and I did not hit anything. I don't remember the order the air bags exploded but it was one after the other. The driver's side air bag exploding left a red abrasion on my left hand. The vehicle was brought to a nearby dealership (Anderson Toyota) where they said they could not verify what the issue was. The safety of myself and others on the road were at risk as the explosions were very loud and the air bags occluded my view while traveling at a high speed. The vehicle has been inspected by a 3rd party representative from Bosch (Apr 2nd) as sent by Toyota corporate and Toyota has not given me any updates. Calling them several times they have failed to return calls, and after a call today, they said the case was filed as closed without my prior notice. I do not recall warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms.
NHTSA ODI #11732589
230,807 miles · Dec 31, 2018
Air BagsSeat Belts
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE SRS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BEECHMONT TOYOTA (8667 BEECHMONT AVE, CINCINNATI, OH 45255, (513) 388-3800) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE A FAULT CODE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAI…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE SRS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BEECHMONT TOYOTA (8667 BEECHMONT AVE, CINCINNATI, OH 45255, (513) 388-3800) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE A FAULT CODE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 230,807.
NHTSA ODI #11164181
99,000 miles · Dec 21, 2015
Seat Belts
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY, WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,000.
NHTSA ODI #10811505
125,000 miles · Oct 26, 2015
Air BagsSeat Belts
WE HAVE A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON WHICH WE PURCHASED NEW FROM TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. IT HAS AN OUTSTANDING AIR BAG RECALL DATED JANUARY 27, 2015. WE KEEP GETTING TOLD WE WILL BE NOTIFIED WHEN PARTS ARE AVAILABLE BUT THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. I TALKED TO THEIR SERVICE DEPT AGAIN ON FRIDAY, OCT 23RD AND THEY TOLD ME THEY STILL HAVE …
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WE HAVE A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON WHICH WE PURCHASED NEW FROM TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. IT HAS AN OUTSTANDING AIR BAG RECALL DATED JANUARY 27, 2015. WE KEEP GETTING TOLD WE WILL BE NOTIFIED WHEN PARTS ARE AVAILABLE BUT THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. I TALKED TO THEIR SERVICE DEPT AGAIN ON FRIDAY, OCT 23RD AND THEY TOLD ME THEY STILL HAVE NO INFO ON PARTS AVAILABILITY FOR THIS REPAIR. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO GET THIS MOVING?
NHTSA ODI #10785987
Mileage unknown · Apr 4, 2015
Air BagsSeat Belts
NO INCIDENT...YET. I HAVE BEEN ON A WAITING LIST SINCE MARCH 2014 TO TAKE CARE OF THE RECALL ISSUES FOR THE SRS & ECU. THE TOYOTA CORPORATION IS NOT SENDING THE REQUISITE NUMBER OF PARTS OUT FOR THE DEALERSHIP TO MAKE THESE REPAIRS. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING TO ME. THE LATEST LETTER FROM THE CORPORATION SAYS IT IS URGENT I MAKE TH…
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NO INCIDENT...YET. I HAVE BEEN ON A WAITING LIST SINCE MARCH 2014 TO TAKE CARE OF THE RECALL ISSUES FOR THE SRS & ECU. THE TOYOTA CORPORATION IS NOT SENDING THE REQUISITE NUMBER OF PARTS OUT FOR THE DEALERSHIP TO MAKE THESE REPAIRS. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING TO ME. THE LATEST LETTER FROM THE CORPORATION SAYS IT IS URGENT I MAKE THESE REPAIRS! WHAT THE... SEND THE [XXX] PARTS OUT. I WOULD APPRECIATE SOMEONE LOOKING INTO THIS FOR US. THANK YOU. *TR INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
NHTSA ODI #10703697
79,000 miles · Sep 18, 2014
Air BagsSeat Belts
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN THE SEATBELT BEGAN TIGHTENING DOWN ON HER TO THE POINT SHE FELT SHE COULDN'T MAINTAIN HER POSTURE TO DRIVE SAFELY AND BREATH. SHE PULLED OFF THE ROAD AND RELEASED THE SEATBELT. SHE WAS UNABLE TO REFASTEN THE SEATBELT/SHOULDER STRAP. SHE DROVE HOME WITHOUT A SEATBELT. THIS WAS IN ADDI…
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MY WIFE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN THE SEATBELT BEGAN TIGHTENING DOWN ON HER TO THE POINT SHE FELT SHE COULDN'T MAINTAIN HER POSTURE TO DRIVE SAFELY AND BREATH. SHE PULLED OFF THE ROAD AND RELEASED THE SEATBELT. SHE WAS UNABLE TO REFASTEN THE SEATBELT/SHOULDER STRAP. SHE DROVE HOME WITHOUT A SEATBELT. THIS WAS IN ADDITION TO OCCASIONAL FLASHING OF AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WHICH HAS CONTINUED TO OCCUR SINCE REPLACEMENT OF SEATBELT MECHANISM. *TR
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.
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.
2003 Toyota Avalon Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year
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