2008 Toyota Avalon

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTIONED AND WOULD FAIL SPORADICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 71,500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 78,697. ## VIN PASSED ## TOYOTA AVALON 2008 ##...UPDATED 11-12-13 *BF

2008 TOYOTA AVALON. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED AS HIS WIFE TURNED INTO A PERPENDICULAR PARKING SPACE, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN, ONLY STOPPING WHEN IT HIT A PARKING BARRICADE. HIS WIFE DID ATTEMPT TO APPLY THE BRAKE, BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT FAILED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT WOULD FAIL INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS ADVISED THAT THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 85,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY AND RANDOMLY, INCLUDING WHEN NEEDED MOST ON DARK WINDING ROADS CREATING A SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD. TEMPORARY SOLUTION IS TO TURN OFF HEADLIGHTS AND TURN BACK ON TO RESTORE LIGHTS. FAILURE IS OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY. TOYOTA ACKNOWLEDGES PROBLEM BUT REFUSES TO CORRECT FOR VEHICLES WITH MORE THAN 75K MILES. IT COSTS OVER $1500 TO REPAIR, WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY MANUFACTURER EXTENDED 100K MILE WARRANTY. THEY CLAIM IT IS A WEAR ISSUE. A FULL RECALL MUST BE ISSUED BEFORE SOMEONE IS SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED. MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ARE FOUND ON-LINE. MANUFACTURER KNOWS IT IS PROBLEM. *TR

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

THE REAR WINDOW SUNSHADE COMES UP UNCONTROLLABLY AND WILL NOT GO DOWN. I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT AND THE SUNSCREEN CAME UP BLOCKING MY VIEW OF CARS BEHIND ME AND WAS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. THE SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS AND THERE IS NO WAY TO GET THE SHADE DOWN. A DEALER SUGGESTED THAT IF I CAN CRAW IN THE BACK SEAT AND MANUALLY MANEUVER IT INTO THE DOWN POSITION, I COULD REMOVE THE FUSE AND IT WOULD BECOME INACTIVE; THEREBY, KEEPING IT IN THE DOWN POSITION. I HAVE CHECKED VARIOUS WEBSITES AND CUSTOMERS ARE REMOVING THE FUSES TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *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