2008 Toyota Avalon

HIGH BEAMS WORKED SOMETIMES AND NOT OTHER TIMES. NOW THE HIGH BEAMS AND DAYTIME RUNNING LAMPS ARE COMPLETELY OUT. WHILE GETTING SERVICE AT THE DEALER LAST YEAR, I ASKED THEM TO CHECK THE HIGH BEAMS, BUT THEY JUST SAID THAT THEY WERE WORKING AT THE TIME AND THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEM AT THE TIME. NOW THAT THEY HAVE STOPPED WORKING ALL TOGETHER - I WENT TO A NEW DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT DIDN'T DO A RECALL TO NOTIFY OWNERS, INSTEAD TOYOTA JUST REPLACED THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES AS NEW CUSTOMERS WENT INTO DEALERS WITH HEADLIGHT PROBLEMS. THEN TOYOTA EXTENDED THE REPLACEMENT TO CARS UP TO 40K MILES. WHEN I COMPLAINED TO THE ORIGINAL DEALER WHO COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEM, MY CAR WAS WELL UNDER 40K MILES; HOWEVER, NOW I'M TOLD THAT IT WILL COST $2,600 TO FIX SINCE THE CAR IS NOW OVER 40K MILES! WHY DIDN'T TOYOTA PROACTIVELY ALERT OWNERS TO THIS PROBLEM SO THE LIGHTS COULD BE REPLACED? I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER TOYOTA PRODUCT AGAIN. *TR

HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHT BULB BURSTS. SEEMS TO BE A WELL REFERENCED DESIGN FLAW THE TOYOTA HAS FAILED TO RECALL. 21300 EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH BULLETIN NO:TSB-0044-10 DATE OF BULLETIN:08/16/2010 SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: TOYOTA: HIGH BEAM/DRL BULB INOPERATIVE. ON SOME VEHICLES, THE HIGH BEAM/DRL BULB MAY BECOME INOPERTIVE OR SHATTER. A NEWLY DESIGNED HIGH BEAM/DRL HOUSING ASSEMBLY (INCLUDING THE APPLICABLE BULB) IS AVAILABLE IN THE EVENT THIS CONDITION H. *TR

ON FEBRUARY 27, 2013 I NOTICED THAT BOTH HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT WORKING. AT THAT TIME OUR 2008 AVALON HAD ABOUT 73,000 MILES ON IT. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I LEARNED THAT TOYOTA HAD A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY MECHANISM ON THE 2008 AVALON AND HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. I CONTACTED MY TOYOTA DEALER AND WAS INFORMED MY CAR WAS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS ASSISTANCE DUE TO THE AGE AND MILEAGE. ON MAY 3, 2013, I NOTICED THAT MY DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM LIGHT WAS NOT WORKING. I DID SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND LEARNED THAT THE PROGRESSION OF THE KNOWN HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY PROBLEM WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF ALL HEAD LIGHTS. I CALLED TWO REPAIR LOCATIONS AND RECEIVED QUOTES IN EXCESS OF $2800 TO REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY MECHANISMS. I THEN CALLED TOYOTA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER AND WAS INFORMED THAT TOYOTA WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO ASSIST FIXING A KNOWN SAFETY DEFECT. *TR

VEHICLE EXPERIENCING THE INOPERATIVE OF DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS(DRL) AND HIGH BEAM AND LOW BEAM BULBS. PREVIOUSLY REPLACED BULBS. PROBLEM CONTINUES AFTER BULB BEING REPLACED. LIGHTS RETURN TO NORMAL OPERATION WHEN SWITCHED TO OFF POSITION AND BACK ON. NO SPECIFIC PATTERNS OF OCCURRENCE. EXPLANATION BY DEALERSHIP WHEN CHECKED WAS THAT THEY DID NOT DETECT A PROBLEM AT THE TIME OF SERVICE. NOTE ENTERED BY SERVICE ADVISOR STATED "ELECTRICAL PROBLEM". *TR

DRIVING IN DARK 2-LANE COUNTRY ROAD, NEEDED HIGH BEAM FOR SAFETY AND BETTER VISIBILITY. HIGH BEAMS DID NOT TURN ON. DURING THE TRIP ALMOST HIT A COYOTE BUT WAS ABLE TO AVOID DUE TO DRIVING 45 MPH (20 MPH BELOW POSTED SPEED LIMIT). ALSO, DUE TO SLOWED SPEED WE CONSTANTLY WERE CREATING A LONG QUEUE BEHIND US CAUSING MANY VEHICLES TO UNSAFELY PASS US, THUS CREATING ANOTHER POTENTIAL HAZARD. WENT TO THE DEALER TO FIX PROBLEM BUT IT WOULD COST $2000 TO FIX! TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM (SERVICE BULLETIN#TSB-0044-10) AND THEY DID EXTEND THE WARRANTY, BUT THEY WOULDN'T HONOR THAT IN OUR CAR BECAUSE WE WERE 2 MONTHS PAST THE EXTENDED WARRANTY PERIOD. THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME WE NEEDED TO USE THE HIGH BEAM AFTER OWNING IT FOR 6 MONTHS, SO THE PROBLEM COULD HAVE HAPPENED WAY BEFORE THE END OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD. TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE OF COURSE WAS NOT WILLING TO STEP UP AND OR AT LEAST PARTIALLY PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. THEIR CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE WAS VERY INDIFFERENT. TOYOTAS HAVE DEFINITELY SLIPPED IN QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. I WILL NOT RECOMMEND ANY OTHER TOYOTAS TO MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. *TR

EVENING INTERSTATE HEADLIGHTS FAIL AT 65 MPH THEN RETURN AFTER HEADLIGHT SWITCH IS CYCLED TO OFF AND BACK ON.... THIRD OCCURRENCE IN AS MANY MONTHS. NO RECALL INFO ON TOYOTA WEBSITE. OVER 100 COMPLAINTS ON SAME ISSUE. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO BE INJURED OR KILLED BEFORE THIS PROBLEM IS ADDRESSED??? ORIGINAL OWNER, MAYBE NOT FOR MUCH LONGER. GET OFF YOUR BUTT TOYOTA AND ADDRESS THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION. *TR

LEFT HEADLIGHT WORKS FOR ONLY ABOUT FIVE MINUTES THEN TURNS OFF BUT TURNS BACK ON RIGHT AWAY IF I TURN OFF THEN ON ALL LIGHTS DEALER REPLACED LIGHT IN AUGUST 2011 BUT WITHIN A FEW MONTHS SAME PROBLEM IS OCCURRING. RETURN TO DEALER GOT ONLY A DENIAL OF ANY "ONGOING" PROBLEMS REPORTED (EDMUNDS SAYS OTHERWISE FROM MANY IRATE TOYOTA OWNERS). DEALER ONLY OFFERED TO REPLACE THE BUILT AGAIN ($178.00) OR "CHARGE LABOR TO CK THE FULL ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (IGNORING THAT ONLY THE HEADLIGHT ELECTRICAL ASSEMBLY NEED BE CHECKED AND THAT THE ASSEMBLY CAN BE REPLACED FOR AROUND $300.) DEALER REALLY WANTS TO IGNORE THE PROBLEM AND JUST SELL MORE BULBS. THIS IS LIKELY MY LAST TOYOTA (AFTER HAVING FOUR.) *TR

WE HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE HIGHBEAM LIGHTS WERE HARDLY USED AND THEY WENT OUT ONE NIGHT AT THE SAME TIME. WE BROUGHT THE CAR TO A DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAD THE BULBS REPLACED. THEY DID TELL US THAT BULBS USUALLY GO OUT ONE AT A TIME BUT HAD NO EXPLANATION WHY BOTH WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. WE INDICATED THAT THE USER'S MANUAL SUGGESTED TO LOOK AT OTHER PARTS AS BURNED BULBS WOULD USUALLY BE CAUSED BY A PROBLEM IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. WE WERE TOLD IT WAS ONLY THE BULBS. WE JUST LEARNED AFTER THE VISIT THAT TOYOTA HAD SENT A BULLETIN TO THE DEALERS ABOUT THE PROBLEM THAT SOME 2008-2010 MODELS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE BULB HOUSING, NOT THE BULBS AND THE FIX IS TO REPLACE THE HOUSING. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT A RECALL. *TR

WE WERE DRIVING ON MOUNTAIN ROADS IN A SNOWSTORM AT NIGHT, AND DISCOVERED WE DID NOT HAVE HIGH BEAMS. WE TOOK THE CAR TO OUR MECHANIC ONCE WE RETURNED FROM OUR TRIP, AND WERE TOLD THAT BOTH HIGH BEAM LIGHT BULBS WERE SHATTERED. OUR MECHANIC TOLD US THAT THIS IS A ISSUE THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF, AND THAT THEY HAD ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN IN JANUARY OF 2010 FOR THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM. WE PURCHASED THIS CAR PRE-OWNED CERTIFIED FROM A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN FEBRUARY OF 2011 (MORE THAN A YEAR AFTER THE SERVICE BULLETIN WAS RELEASED). THIS PROBLEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE, SINCE THE DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF THE SERVICE BULLETIN, AND THE CAR WAS "CERTIFIED." WE WERE TOLD THAT THE REPAIR WOULD COST $2,400, AND WAS NOT BE COVERED UNDER OUR EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM WITH THIS VINTAGE AVALON THAT SHOULD WARRANT A RECALL, NOT JUST A SERVICE BULLETIN. *TR