10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 63,090 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated without warning and crashed into a tree. The failure occurred numerous times. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained severe injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The failure mileage was 168,000. Updated 04/05/17 the consumer stated car crashed into a tree and a police report was filed. Updated 7/5/18
- Bridgeport, CT, USA
I have experienced on several occasions the transmission slipping so that when I accelerate the car does not move, then suddenly jerks real hard. This has left me in the middle of the street and almost caused several accidents. It has become progressively7 worse. Now it is becoming a safety problem in that the car could suddenly fail to move once you get in the middle of a cross road then suddenly drive off.
- Cypress, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 mph, the transmission failed to shift properly. In addition, when coming to a stop, the transmission downshifted violently with a loud bang. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. In 2015, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the engine mounts were replaced however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who was unable to locate a failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.
- Worcester, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon. While driving approximately 30 mph, there was a loud noise coming from the undercarriage of the vehicle. The contact looked in the rearview mirror and noticed parts detaching from the vehicle. The contact merged over and retrieved the parts that were from the transmission. The vehicle was driven home very slowly. When parked, the vehicle would not shift into reverse. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000. Updated 6/3/15
- Savannah, GA, USA
I was stopped at a traffic light right off a highway exit on a busy mall road. When the light changed and I tried to press the gas pedal the car would not move. Engine was running, everything was working perfectly but car would not move. I tried to turn off and restart several times to no avail. Attempted to shift into neutral or any other gear and although shift moved car still would not respond. Car could not even be pushed off of road in neutral. The car was towed to a mechanic and sat for a couple of days. When the mechanic turned the car on it presented no issues, ran perfectly fine and no signs of problems on diagnostic computer. The car ran perfectly for another week or so until my father was driving on highway and all of a sudden could feel that car was just rolling, and the power was gone. He was coasting in high speed lane of interstate. Luckily he pulled to safety. When car was towed to same mechanic it was clear the transmission was gone and needed to be replaced. With no warnings this meticulously maintained car just gave out and put myself and my father in very dangerous situations where we could have been hit by other cars. I have read many similar stories online from Toyota owners with cars built within same timeframes who have had their transmission give out, or cause problems on the road as well. Toyota refuses to acknowledge there is a defect in their products and has only responded that the car is out of warranty and we were responsible for all costs.
- Seekonk, MA, USA
Idler bearing froze which took out serpentine belt. Lost power steering and cooling and electric. This is the second one I have replaced this year both being oem parts.
- Lantana, FL, USA
In June 2008, I bought a new 2007 Toyota Avalon at a local Toyota dealership, harr Toyota at 100 gold star blvd, worcester, MA 01606. I had been enjoying driving the car for the past 6 years and have always thought that the next vehicle for my family will be another Toyota Avalon. I liked it smooth drive, number of features, plenty of space and the most the reliability. All maintenance on the vehicle has been performed as required and I thought that as long as I take good care of it, I could drive it for many more years. Unfortunately, one week ago, when my family and I were traveling on the state highway, I-90, the cars speed dropped from about 67 mph to 0 in a matter of seconds. The vehicle became unresponsive causing me a tremendous amount of stress. I must have been born under a lucky star? because I was able to move to the break down lane without causing what could have been a major accident. I am sure that anyone that has had their loved ones at a great risk would understand my feelings. We received help from the state police in terms of towing the car to the nearest Toyota dealership, bernardi Toyota at 1626 worcester rd, framingham, MA. The problem with a car was identified as failure of the transmission system and the car was repaired at a cost of $5,100. Given the fact that the car has only 57,000 miles on it (minimal mileage when compare to the anticipated longevity and reliability of Toyota) and one year past 5-year warranty (2008-2014) makes me extremely disappointed. I would appreciate you to strongly consider reimbursing me for the substantial cost of the repairs that were caused by what deemed a substandard original transmission in my vehicle. I look forward to your reply. Please contact me at the E-mail addresser by phone. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Worcester, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the transmission shifted into neutral independently with extreme hesitation. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the transmission was to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while braking to a complete stop, he was able to remove the key from the ignition switch while the vehicle was still in drive. As a result, the vehicle began to roll backward. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 30,000. Updated 01/09/14
- Rochester , NY, USA
I was parking my car in reverse at a speed of less than 5 miles in a designated spot adjacent to my daughter's house in quebec, Canada. The engine accelerated and hit a wooden fence behind my car. I applied the brake and put it into drive to go forward and to get out of the car to see what happened. Then, the car sped at about 100 miles an hour and crashed into a metal fence of a kindergarten school across the street and hit a tree inside the kindergarten. Then again, the vehicle crashed into the brick wall of my daughter's house in reverse. A 2X2 concrete block from the brick wall that my car encountered hit my rear windshield and landed inches away from my head inside my car. I called 911 and police showed up and they towed the car and I realized it was 9:41 pm as confirmed by the time on my cellphone and luckily no children were there to get killed.
- Shelton, CT, USA
Vehicle was stopped, engine running, transmission in drive, driver's foot on brake. Suddenly the vehicle revved to about 2000 RPM. As foot remained on brake, the brakes held the car from moving forward. Driver put transmission in park and shut engine off. No movement, no damage, no injury. Vehicle was restarted and driven home without incident. Owner made appointment with Toyota dealer for inspection. Vehicle was a 2007 Toyota Avalon limited which was recalled for sua and was allegedly corrected by a Toyota dealer in March, 2010. Incident occurred on 7-27-10.
- Winter Harbor, ME, USA
Toyota 2007 Avalon XLS, 24K mi [xxx] accelerator repaired under recall on 2/16/2010 incident of unintended full throttle acceleration conditions: Temp 61 degrees F, clear weather, relative humidity approx 50%, A/C not on, radio not on, cruise control on but not engaged, daytime running lights on. Situation: At 55 mph, throttle was depressed to approx 1/2 to accelerate to pass on a two-lane highway. Car accelerated normally to about 65 mph at which point the accelerator went to the floor, uncommanded. Once clear of the passed vehicle, I shifted into neutral and turned off the engine and coasted to a somewhat safe location to stop. The accelerator was still locked down. With the ignition off, I was able to reposition the accelerator to the normal position after shifting the car from 'park' to 'neutral' several times. Then I continued the trip. Wife in the right seat was petrified. Later, at a better location on a divided highway with a 70 mph speed limit, I set up the same conditions as previously described. After accelerating from 60 mph to about 68 mph with a half-throttle command, the unintended acceleration to full throttle happened again. This time I turned off the cruise control and then attempted, unsuccessfully, to pull the accelerator off the floor with the edge of my shoe which did not terminate the acceleration. At about 80 mph I went through the shut-down procedure again without further incident. My wife is the principle driver of the car, but I will always do all the driving on long trips and have put the car in a similar passing situations several times without previous acceleration problems. I am an combat tested ex-fighter Pilot and test Pilot with several thousand hours in high performance fighters and thoroughly understand physics. These incidents presented no danger to me or my white-knuckled wife but in less than ideal circumstances with less experienced drivers in control, the outcome could have been different.
- Wilmington, NC, USA
Repetitive...every time I drive............................. Toyota Avalon 2007...I complained to Toyota that when I remove my foot from the accelerator / gas pedal to coast to a stop, the car in fact accelerates at almost each shift point, thus forcing me to apply the brakes repetitively. This may cause premature brake wear. Toyota says this "acceleration at every shift point" is normal despite the fact that in hundreds of thousands of miles and in hundreds of cars owned and rented, I have never experienced this behavior in any vehicle. Yes, no doubt a software/programmer controlled micro-processor.
- Fort Lee, NJ, USA
2007 Toyota Avalon with a gear shifting problem. Consumer states that when the gear is changing it feels like it is getting stuck and then bumps real hard when it switches to the right gear. The consumer also stated when she slows down, the change in the gear is rough and loud.
- Richton Park, IL, USA
- Allentown, PA, USA