8.7

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,075 miles

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problem #6

May 052014

Avalon

  • 9,800 miles
The vehicle was taken to a local dealership for the required 10,000 mile warranty maintenance. At this time, I showed the dealership where water marks had appeared in all four upper corners of the inside cloth liners beside the front and rear windshields. I was told the sunroof had tubes that occasionally clogged and they would clear the tubes and clean the inside cloth. Over the past few months our area experienced a tremendous amount of rain. When the car was taken to the dealership for the 15,000 mile warranty maintenance, I showed the dealership where water marks appeared to have worsened in the same areas. The dealership explained that there were no clogs in the sunroof tubing and they had attempted to recreate the water leakage by running water over the car for one hour. They could not explain why the water marks kept reappearing and did not know if anyone called Toyota. A representative from the dealership explained that they could not do anything else to correct the issue because there were no "recalls" pertaining to this issue. I performed a google search and discovered a blog where many people have experienced this problem and one person even had to have the headliners and cloth replaced due to water damage. The representative said there was nothing else they could do but I could report this to the NHTSA if I felt the need to seek repairs.

- Meridian, MS, USA

problem #5

Feb 102013

Avalon 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the rear window was distorted, causing his visibility to be minimized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the vehicle was compliant with standards. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 7,000. Updated 03/05/14

- Portsmouth, NH, USA

problem #4

Oct 012013

Avalon 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 700 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a constant glare from the dashboard, affecting the contact's visibility of the roadway. The contact believed the failure to be a serious safety issue since he was unable to see approaching vehicles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that he was unable to alter the design of the vehicle. However, the technician opted to clean the dashboard and windshield as a temporary remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 700 and the current mileage was 767. Updated 11/20/13

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #3

Apr 012013

Avalon 4-cyl

  • 500 miles
Complaint: Sun glare reflection coming from dashboard, safety issue, similar to nets. On 04/01/13, james fewel Toyota national hq, documented my dash glare issue under file #[xxx]: on 3-16-2013, we purchased a 2013 Avalon from coggin Toyota jacksonville. It has fl legal window tinting. The dash's chrome trim causes a glare issue on a sunny day, causing bright glare due to the amount of dashboard trim that is silver/chrome. It is a safety issue when there is so much glare coming from the dash area. What is Toyota's recommendation is to rectify the issue? on 05/21/13, [xxx], service director, Toyota avenues, responded: [xxx], I forwarded your pictures to our tech dept as well as submitted a product quality case. Response back from manufacturer has been that there is nothing that can be changed at this time to keep the glare coming off of the chrome trim panels. The ref for the dealer product report is case # [xxx] if you wish to call the cust spt center to update your case. Thank you, [xxx], Toyota avenues [xxx]. on 05/22/2013 [xxx] at Toyota hq responded: [xxx], we are sorry for the concerns this condition has caused and have forwarded your email to a case manager here in our dept. The case manager will contact you via phone before the end of business, May 23, 2013. We have documented your email at our national hq under file #[xxx]. on 05/23/2013 received a call from Toyota case manager [xxx], so I sent him pictures showing the glare issue. There was never any further communication from Toyota hq on it. Bottom line: Toyota needs to come up with a fix to this safety issue, replacing all this glossy chrome with something non-reflective. Putting chrome in the dash area was a poor design. My wife often feels sick, due to the way this glare hurts her eyes. Thank you. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Saint Johns, FL, USA

problem #2

Jun 162013

Avalon 6-cyl

  • 450 miles
I drove to baltimore, md from cherry hill, NJ on 06/16/2013 at speeds varying from 45mph - 75mph. The moment I got on to NJ turnpike, the wind and road noise were loud inside the cabin. The entire time it seemed the windows of the car were open even though the A/C was on slow, windows and sunroof were closed. (I have two older cars I.e. Hyundai elantra 2002 and Honda Accord 2005 which have less cabin noise when windows are closed). Considering, this is a brand new car, high end and is supposed to be very quite, I find it a big safety risk as the noise is distracting, because I was trying to see if the windows were open, doors were properly closed and sun roof wasn't open / tilted, all the while distracting me from the road. A lot of the noise seems to be coming from around the doors and the front windshield, at one point during my journey there was a loud whooshing sound coming from the front wind shield as if there was no seal / insulation between the windshield and the body of the car.

- Cherry Hill, NJ, USA

problem #1

Mar 012013

Avalon 6-cyl

  • miles
In the 2013 Toyota Avalon, driver visibility is dangerously distorted when looking through the rear view mirror at approaching cars (especially at night), due to a defect in the new 2013 engineering design of the rear glass material, rear glass Contour and angle, tinting, and defrost strips. All lights (especially vehicle headlights, street lights, traffic lights, etc.) observed through the rear glass have long, bright, vertical lines radiating at the top and bottom from the main light source viewed through the rear view mirror. These vertical lines shining from all of the numerous light sources obscure the rear view vision, causing confusion for the driver in many ways: 1) not being able to correctly judge rear car distance, 2) not being able to identify the types of vehicles in the rear, 3) not being able to change lanes safely because of distortions through the rear glass panel, 4) not being able to judge how many vehicles are approaching and/or passing, and last but not least, 5) causing the driver to stare longer through the rear view mirror in an attempt to discern what is taking place behind which takes the driver's eye off of the front vision for too long. Although the bright vertical lines can be seen more distinctly at dusk and night, they are also observable during the daytime if the vehicles coming from behind have front lights on, and/or the sun shines on the chrome. These radiating vertical lines take on the color of the main light source seen from behind so the driver may observe white, yellow, red, green, etc. Colors. This causes confusion when trying to judge what is happening with approaching vehicles from behind. On a multi-lane highway at night, these many-colored vertical lines radiating up and down from the various types of headlights, street lights, etc. Cause a confusing and dangerous situation for the driver.

- Breaux Bridge, LA, USA