2008 Toyota Avalon

RUNNING/BRIGHT BEAMS BOTH WENT OUT ON LEFT AND RIGHT AROUND SEPT 2011. LITES USE THE SAME LAMP. HAD REPAIRED AT FREEMAN TOYOTA IN HURST TX. WAS NOT TOLD IT WAS A TEMPORARY FIX. TOYOTA ISSUED WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT NOTICE SOMETIME AFTER THAT REPAIR. RIGHT LAMP OUT AGAIN NOW APRIL 2012. DEALER SAYS THEY CANNOT REPAIR/REPLACE AND TO DEAL WITH TOYOTA DIRECT FOR REFUND, ETC. *TR

THE HIGH BEAM BULBS BURN OUT ALL THE TIME. I HAVE REPLACED THE HIGH BEAM BULBS 4 TIMES IN THREE YEARS. TOYOTA ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THE PROBLEM, BUT ONLY EXTENDS THE FACTORY WARRANTY TO 72K MILES. MY BULBS INITIALLY BURNED OUT--SIMULTANEOUSLY--AT 83K. JUDGING FROM THE COMMENTS ON TOYOTA FORUMS AND USER WEBSITES, THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. TOYOTA SHOULD CORRECT PROBLEM FOR ALL AVALON OWNERS, NOT JUST THOSE WITH MINIMAL MILES. *TR

TWO YEARS AGO BOTH BRIGHT HEADLIGHTS FAILED. DEALER REPLACED BULBS AT MY EXPENSE. ON 3/12/2012 BOTH BULBS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE FAILED. DEALER SAID THE VEHICLE HAD DEFECTIVE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY THAT TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THAT HAD TO BE REPLACED ($1265.30) AT MY EXPENSE BECAUSE VEHICLE HAD OVER 50000 MILES (CAR NOW HAS 85000 MILES). I CALLED TOYOTA AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS TRUE. MY QUESTION TO TOYOTA WAS, IF I WAS DRIVING ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AT NIGHT AND BOTH DEFECTIVE ASSEMBLIES FAILED WOULDN'T MY SAFETY BE IN JEOPARDY AND IF SO WHY WASN'T THIS CAR RECALLED? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH EXTERNAL HEADLIGHTS WOULD FAIL WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WOULD ADJUST THE LIGHT SWITCH FOR THE LIGHTS TO BECOME OPERABLE. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 74,000. UPDATED 4/2/12 *CN UPDATD 04/16/12

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE PARKED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT STOPPED FUNCTIONING. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BULB. THE FAILURE CONTINUED AFTER THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BULB. THERE WAS A MANUFACTURER'S RECALL FOR THE HEADLIGHTS BUT THE VEHICLE WAS OVER THE MILEAGE LIMIT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 78,000.

2008 TOYOTA AVALON LIMITED: AT 35 MONTHS AND 40,000 MILES, THE HIGH INTENSITY HEADLIGHTS (HID) BEGAN INTERMITTENT OPERATION AND POINTED STRAIGHT DOWN TO THE GROUND MAKING NIGHT DRIVING UNSAFE. THE DEALER CLAIMED THE LOW BEAM HID HEADLAMP WAS GOING OUT AND THE REPLACEMENT COST FOR THE HID LOW BEAM BULB WAS AN EXORBITANT $300 DOLLARS ($125 FOR THE BULB AND $175 FOR INSTALLATION). THE BULB REPLACEMENT DID NOT FIX THE AIM PROBLEM AND A NEW HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY WAS ORDERED AND INSTALLED. THE HEADLAMPS STILL POINT AT THE GROUND MAKING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD ALLOW TOYOTA TO CREATE SUCH A SAFETY HAZARD AS A LIGHT BULB THAT WORKS INTERMITTENTLY OR COSTS $300 TO REPLACE, WHICH IS HARDLY AFFORDABLE BY A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS. THE FACT THAT THE DEALER CAN NOT GET THE LAMPS TO AIM CORRECTLY ON THE STREET INDICATES THE DESIGN IS ALSO FLAWED. THIS IS NOT A LUXURY ITEM LIKE ELECTRIC WINDOWS OR AIR CONDITIONING. THIS IS A SAFETY DEVICE, REQUIRED BY LAW, AND THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT WHEN IT MALFUNCTIONS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE HID MALFUNCTION OCCURS PREMATURELY WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER HEADLAMPS AND IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE ON THE INTERNET BUT TOYOTA IS EVIDENTLY DENYING ANY ISSUE EXISTS. *TR

MULTIPLE FAILURES OF HIGH BEAM / DRLS (SAME BULB). BULB WILL QUIT WORKING OR IN SOME CASES SHATTER AND LEAVE GLASS SHARDS IN THE HOUSING. (KNOWN, AND RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED, PROBLEM WITH BULB HOUSINGS BY TOYOTA.) I HAVE ALSO RECENTLY EXPERIENCED SEVERAL FAILURES (TEMPORARY FAILURES SO FAR) OF THE HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT. THE LOW BEAM WILL FAIL, AND USUALLY (AFTER COOLING, OR A FEW ON/OFF CYCLES) WILL RESUME OPERATION. INTERNET RESEARCH SHOWS THIS ALSO TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM, PROBABLY A VOLTAGE PROBLEM, AND SEEMINGLY RELATED TO THE BULB HOUSING PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA RECENTLY OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND OFFERED TIME/MILEAGE-LIMITED REPAIRS FOR. SO FAR, TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO REPAIR THIS KNOWN PROBLEM FOR VEHICLES OUTSIDE THE ARBITRARY SET LIMITATIONS OF 5 YEARS OR 72,000 MILES. THE CHRONIC AND REPEATED FAILURE OF THESE HEADLIGHTS (HIGH BEAMS/DRL AND HID LOW BEAMS) IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN AN OFFICIAL RECALL FOR REPAIR AT TOYOTA'S EXPENSE WITHOUT TIME OR MILEAGE LIMITS. *TR

NOTICED MY LIGHTS BEING DIMMER THAN NORMAL ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, THEN REALIZED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WERE GOING OFF ALTERNATELY. BUT ON AT LEAST 2 OCCASIONS THEY BOTH WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. THE RUNNING OR FOG LIGHTS WERE ON SO I HAD SOME LIGHTING, BUT ON AT LEAST 1 OCCASION I HAD TO USE MY BRIGHT LIGHTS AS I WAS DRIVING ON A SECTION OF ROAD WHERE THERE WERE NO STREET LIGHTS. *TR

IN SEPTEMBER 2011, THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT HEADLIGHT FAILED ON MY TOYOTA AVALON AT AROUND 62,000 MILES. THE CAR WAS IMMEDIATELY TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE BULB AT A COST OF $217.99. I HAVE RECEIVED A NOTICE OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FROM TOYOTA FOR HIGH BEAM AND DRIVING LIGHT BULBS BUT NOTHING FOR LOW BEAM BULBS. I HAVE SUBMITTED THIS LAST SERVICE VISIT FOR REIMBURSEMENT BUT DO NOT KNOW IF IT WILL BE COVERED. NOW, 5 MONTHS AND 3,000 MILES LATER, THE HEADLIGHT (PROBABLY THE LOW BEAM BULB) ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE HAS FAILED. THE DEALER HAS INFORMED ME THAT THEY WILL REPLACE THAT BULB AS A COURTESY FOR A CHARGE OF ONLY $40 INSTEAD OF THE FULL PRICE OF $217.99. THIS IS THE THIRD TOYOTA AVALON I HAVE HAD AND THE FIRST TIME I HAVE HAD ANY RELIABILITY PROBLEMS WITH ONE. CLEARLY TOYOTA NEEDS TO REIMBURSE OWNERS FOR THE COST OF THESE BULB REPLACEMENTS. *TR

DRIVER WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN THE CAR HAD UNEXPECTED, SUDDEN ACCELERATION AND HIT A CONCRETE WALL. DRIVER WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT; AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE PERSON WAS UNINJURED EXCEPT FOR CHEST BRUISES. THE CAR HAD BEEN TAKEN IN WHEN IT WAS RECALLED AND WAS " FIXED" IN RESPONSE TO 2 RECALL NOTICES BY THE DEALER ON MARCH 4, 2010. THE FRONT OF THE CAR IS BASHED IN, HOOD IS BENT UPWARD, RADIATOR DAMAGED AND THE FRONT DOORS JAMMED. MEN HAD TO FORCE THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPEN TO GET THE DRIVER FROM THE CAR. TOYOTA AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BUT NEITHER HAVE HAD TIME TO EXAMINE THE CAR. *KB