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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.

About this comparison →

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

What owners actually said

293 reports
38,122 miles · Mar 6, 2010
Power Train

WHEN I TRY TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR OF MY 2003 TOYOTA AVALON, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I FEEL RESISTANCE. IF I PRESS TO OVERCOME THE RESISTANCE, IT THEN RACES AND DOES NOT RETURN TO NORMAL POSITION. IT HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS W/O ANY PATTERN. NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10317394

52,500 miles · Mar 3, 2010
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

PULLING INTO DRIVEWAY OF MY SINGLE FAMILY, CAR, 2003 AVALON, LURCHED FORWARD, JUMPED CURB AT END OF DRIVEWAY, AND HIT NEIGHBOR'S FENCE. I CANNOT EXPLAIN WHY THIS OCCURRED. FROM HABIT, I PULL INTO DRIVEWAY AT A SLOW SPEED, APPLY BRAKES AND PUT CAR INTO PARK. HOWEVER, FOR WHATEVER THE CAUSE OR REASON, CAR DID NOT COME TO A STOP…

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PULLING INTO DRIVEWAY OF MY SINGLE FAMILY, CAR, 2003 AVALON, LURCHED FORWARD, JUMPED CURB AT END OF DRIVEWAY, AND HIT NEIGHBOR'S FENCE. I CANNOT EXPLAIN WHY THIS OCCURRED. FROM HABIT, I PULL INTO DRIVEWAY AT A SLOW SPEED, APPLY BRAKES AND PUT CAR INTO PARK. HOWEVER, FOR WHATEVER THE CAUSE OR REASON, CAR DID NOT COME TO A STOP. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10316242

82,000 miles · Mar 3, 2010
Vehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

I OWN A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON . IN AUG 2008 I WAS DRIVING AND INVOLVED IN A REARENDING ACCIDENT WHERE I HAD MY FOOT ON BRAKE AND FELT AS IF MY CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE . I HAD BRAKES TOTALLY CHECK AND DAMAGE TO MY CAR REPAIRED BUT AM WONDERING WHETHER MY CAN SUFFERED AN ACCELERATION ISSUE AS OTHER TOYOTA CARS HAVE. THE BRAKES WE…

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I OWN A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON . IN AUG 2008 I WAS DRIVING AND INVOLVED IN A REARENDING ACCIDENT WHERE I HAD MY FOOT ON BRAKE AND FELT AS IF MY CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE . I HAD BRAKES TOTALLY CHECK AND DAMAGE TO MY CAR REPAIRED BUT AM WONDERING WHETHER MY CAN SUFFERED AN ACCELERATION ISSUE AS OTHER TOYOTA CARS HAVE. THE BRAKES WERE INSPECTED AND FOUND TO BE FINE I HAD OVER 1,000 DAMAGE DONE TO MY CAR AND UNKNOWN AMOUNT TO CAR I HIT . THE WOMAN IN CAR I HIT TOOK AMBULANCE IN TO HOSPITAL WITH NECK PAIN. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10316228

Mileage unknown · Feb 25, 2010
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

2003 TOYOTA AVALON. CONSUMER HAS SEVERAL TOYOTA VEHICLES AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THEY ARE INCLUDED IN RECENT RECALLS. CONSUMER STATES IN THE OLDER TOYOTA SHE OWNED SHE WAS IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. *KB THE CONSUMER WENT THROUGH A BUSY INTERSECTION AND WENT THROUGH A FENCE AND LANDED IN SOMEONE'S BACK…

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2003 TOYOTA AVALON. CONSUMER HAS SEVERAL TOYOTA VEHICLES AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THEY ARE INCLUDED IN RECENT RECALLS. CONSUMER STATES IN THE OLDER TOYOTA SHE OWNED SHE WAS IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. *KB THE CONSUMER WENT THROUGH A BUSY INTERSECTION AND WENT THROUGH A FENCE AND LANDED IN SOMEONE'S BACKYARD. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10314289

85,000 miles · Feb 25, 2010
Engine And Engine CoolingVehicle Speed Control

OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL OCCURRENCES OF SUDDEN ACCELERATION. MY WIFE TOOK THE CAR TO OUR TOYOTA DEALER AND BOTH TIMES THEY SAID THAT IT WAS DUE TO THE FLOORMAT STICKING UNDER THE GAS PEDAL. THE MAT WAS REMOVED AND IT STILL HAS THE PROBLEM. WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT DOWN THE HIGHWAY, I LET OFF THE GAS TO SLO…

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OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL OCCURRENCES OF SUDDEN ACCELERATION. MY WIFE TOOK THE CAR TO OUR TOYOTA DEALER AND BOTH TIMES THEY SAID THAT IT WAS DUE TO THE FLOORMAT STICKING UNDER THE GAS PEDAL. THE MAT WAS REMOVED AND IT STILL HAS THE PROBLEM. WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT DOWN THE HIGHWAY, I LET OFF THE GAS TO SLOW DOWN AND IT STARTED TO SPEED UP. I PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE STARTED TO REV UP AND DOWN FROM 1000 RPM TO 2500 RPM. THIS CONTINUED FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES UNTIL I WAS FORCED TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTART IT. (THIS IS ALWAYS THE FIX...TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART IT. IT SEEMS TO RESET THE COMPUTER). THIS PROBLEM STARTED OVER A YEAR AGO AND CONTINUES TO OCCUR ALMOST MONTHLY. THIS VEHICLE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL AND EVEN IF IT WAS, I DON'T FEEL THAT THE PROBLEM HAS A FIX, YET. WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER ONE AND THE RESALE VALUE HAS PLUMMETED. JUST LAST WEEK MY WIFE WAS STOPPED BY A DPS OFFICER FOR SPEEDING FROM A STOP LIGHT. SHE DID NOT EVEN HAVE HER FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL. SHE EXPLAINED WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND WAS NOT TICKETED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10314149

Mileage unknown · Feb 22, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

I OWN A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS THE ACCELERATOR ON MY CAR GOT STUCK EVEN AFTER I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL. I HAD TO BOTH STOP ON THE BRAKES AND PUMP THE GAS PEDAL TO GET THE CAR FROM CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE. I'VE SINCE REMOVED THE CAR MATS, BUT NOW I'M NOT 100% SURE THAT'S THE PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10312699

600 miles · Feb 10, 2010
Power Train

CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN PUT ON BRAKES AND PUT IN NEUTRAL HAS NOT DONE THAT AGAIN WHEN I WENT TO TOYOTA TO REPORT INCIDENT WAS BRUSHED OF HAVE NEVER FELT SAFE IN THIS CAR SINCE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10308286

26,245 miles · Feb 5, 2010
Service Brakes, HydraulicVehicle Speed ControlCrash

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HAD BECOME STUCK TO THE FLOOR AND THE BRAKES WOULD NOT ENGAGE CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE REAR END OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO ONE WAS INJURED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FI…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HAD BECOME STUCK TO THE FLOOR AND THE BRAKES WOULD NOT ENGAGE CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE REAR END OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO ONE WAS INJURED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS. THE FAILURE MILEAGES WAS 26,245. UPDATED 04/16/10. *LJ UPDATED 10/05/10

NHTSA ODI #10306589

49,000 miles · Feb 4, 2010
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

IN 2006 MY WIFE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. THIS HAPPENED IN A PARKING GARAGE, AS SHE WAS SLOWLY EASING INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE CAR SUDDENLY SPEEDED UP AND CRASHED INTO THE WALL OF THE PARKING GARAGE, CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR. SHE CLAIMED SHE DID NOT HAVE HER FOOT O…

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IN 2006 MY WIFE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. THIS HAPPENED IN A PARKING GARAGE, AS SHE WAS SLOWLY EASING INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE CAR SUDDENLY SPEEDED UP AND CRASHED INTO THE WALL OF THE PARKING GARAGE, CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR. SHE CLAIMED SHE DID NOT HAVE HER FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, BUT ON THE BRAKE. AFTER HAVING THE CAR REPAIRED BY A COLLISION BUSINESS, THE TOYOTA DEALER SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ACCELERATOR. IT HAPPENED A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER, BUT THIS TIME A CONCRETE PARKING STRIP STOPPED HER AFTER SHE MOVED IT ABOUT THREE FEET. HER FRIEND THAT WAS WITH HER WAS REALLY SCARED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10305611

90,000 miles · Feb 1, 2010
Power Train

THE GAS PEDAL ON OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON BEGAN STICKING WHEN CAR WAS 5 YEARS OLD. IT WAS MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN THE CAR WAS STOPPED AND WE WANTED TO BEGIN MOVING. IT BECAME HARD TO DEPRESS UNTIL A GOOD BIT OF PRESSURE, AND THEN THE CAR WOULD LURCH FORWARD OR BACKWARD VERY QUICKLY. WE TRIED LUBRICATING THE PEDAL MECHANISM BUT THAT D…

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THE GAS PEDAL ON OUR 2003 TOYOTA AVALON BEGAN STICKING WHEN CAR WAS 5 YEARS OLD. IT WAS MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN THE CAR WAS STOPPED AND WE WANTED TO BEGIN MOVING. IT BECAME HARD TO DEPRESS UNTIL A GOOD BIT OF PRESSURE, AND THEN THE CAR WOULD LURCH FORWARD OR BACKWARD VERY QUICKLY. WE TRIED LUBRICATING THE PEDAL MECHANISM BUT THAT DIDN'T WORK. THE DEALER SAID THEY FIXED IT AT OUR 100,000 MILE CHECK BUT IT STILL STUCK. THE RECENT PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA GAS PEDALS MAY HAVE BEEN AROUND A LOT LONGER THAN THOUGHT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10303529

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.