1.7
hardly worth mentioning- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 97,162 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.
A power rear window sunshade is an option that is designed to be retractable. A push button switch below the dashboard is supposed to toggle the perforated sunshade to the raised and retracted position. Once the sunshade is raised normally, it cannot be retracted again. Any attempt to lower it results in a loud clicking noise as the shade tries to retract but cannot.. the problem is exacerbated when backing up, since shifting the vehicle into reverse (R) should automatically retract the sunshade but cannot do so. My sunshade is stuck in the raised position and cannot be lowered. Although I can see through the shade fairly well during daylight hours, vision is obscured at night and presents a safety hazard. An online search revealed that many other Avalon owners whose vehicles had this sunshade option had the exact same problem and struggled to find a solution. Many Toyota dealerships seem to find the problem so difficult to solve that they must charge an exorbitant sum of money for a temporary repair that might not last very long. This is an annoying problem that begs for a permanent and affordable solution!
- Slidell, LA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the rear windshield shade failed to retract when the vehicle was in reverse. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.
- Edgefield , SC, USA
Today 16 June 2014 I cannot drive at night, no headlights functioning. I purchased a 2009 Avalon new. Had severe headlight problems from the beginning. Headlights were too dim for drive at night safely (come to find out I was driving on the fog lights only, the dim headlight would come on and then turn off so just the fog lights were on), and the dealer would not adjust them stating that it was against the law to adjust them more than the manufacturer's settings, and then the headlight started turning off completely when driving (which was more than terrifying), but the indicator light inside the car said they were on. I took the car back to the dealer many times, always got the same answer: "your car is fine, " "that's just the way they operate". I am 71 years old and I guess they think I'm stupid (not). Finally after many trips and the headlights turning off completely, they tell me the headlights are defective, but I have to pay to have them fixed. $2600 for 2 headlights. My dealer received a letter from Toyota stating the headlights were defective a long time ago, but my dealer never informed me and put me off and would tell me the car was fine until the offer to fix them had expired. I'm not going to just let this go without a fight. Toyota knew these 2009 Avalons had defective headlights and did not recall them. I will spread the word that Toyota will not stand behind their cars and if people are smart they will go elsewhere to buy their cars. I am joining with class action suit to make Toyota fix all these defective headlights.
- Silverdale, WA, USA
- Starkville, MS, USA