The number of fullsize sedans has been seeing a downward trend in the recent past in the wake of compact cars and compact crossovers gaining popularity. However, a handful of big sedans still serve faithfully to the right set of shoppers and the Toyota Avalon is a commendable offering. The 2012 Toyota Avalon stays true to the brand’s reputation for reliability and has seen only 29 official complaints. Apart from that, the sedan has been recalled 4 times for a couple of safety equipment issues, a clogged a/c drain issue, and a subwoofer electrical short issue. Also, the NHTSA has been investigating the sedan for a faulty ACU module which is located in the passenger compartment. In its class, the Toyota Avalon competes with the Nissan Maxima, the Ford Taurus, and the Chrysler 300.
Toyota Avalon user complaints and problems
Engine problems
- Engine turning on automatically: One owner faced this issue after several years of owning the car. According to the complaint, the engine of the car starts suddenly even after turning off the ignition. The issue recurred multiple times as well.
Safety problems
- Non-deployment of airbags: A few cases of airbags failing to deploy were reported against the 2012 Avalon. During crashes, the airbags failed to deploy completely despite the crashes being not mild.
Miscellaneous problems
- Rear sunscreen activation: A few cases mentioning this problem have been reported by the owners. According to the reports, the rear sunscreens of the vehicles activated randomly on their own and it occurred at any point of time, making driving at night risky due to rear view obstruction.
2012 Toyota Avalon recalls
|
S.No. |
Recall Date |
NHTSA Campaign ID |
Issues noticed |
Additional remarks |
Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
October 17, 2013 |
13V442000 |
Clogged A/C Drain may cause Airbags to Deploy |
A short circuit may cause the airbags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds. |
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. |
|
2 |
January 28, 2015 |
15V047000 |
Subwoofer Electrical Short |
A constant electrical current flow may cause the subwoofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire. |
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the audio system amplifier and install a protective cover around the sub-woofer, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. |
|
3 |
August 29, 2018 |
18V569000 |
Inner Seat Belt Buckle Magnet Missing |
If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the airbags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury. |
Toyota will notify the owners, and the dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on September 19, 2018. |
|
4 |
January 17, 2020 |
20V024000 |
Airbags/Seat Belt Pretensioners may not Deploy |
In the event of a crash, airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury. |
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020, and June 27, 2020. |
Should you buy a used Toyota Avalon?
The Toyota Avalon is an appealing fullsize sedan by all means and gets the basics right, and then some more. Moreover, when pitted against its lesser-priced rivals, the sedan might feel pricey but its impressive reliability aspect has kept it going strong amidst the competition. It did face some issues with the airbags and electricals such as non-deployment of airbags and the rear sunscreen activating on its own, but the numbers are only a few as compared to its selling numbers. Getting a used model of the Avalon would be a great idea and do check out the used example for the rear sunscreen issue and the airbag issues.
