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exact model and see every recall for it.
Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.
US recalls (4)
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
Risk and remedy
Risk: In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag 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. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.
Seat belts
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. During a vehicle repair, the seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that may incorrectly tell the air bag management system that the seat belt is always buckled.
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the air bags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and 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 September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0S.
Electrical system
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles manufactured February 9, 2010, to October 22, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the sub-woofer speaker located in the trunk may experience an intermittent electrical short which may cause damage to the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier. In some cases, the damaged IC may allow a constant electrical current flow to the sub-woofer.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A constant electrical current flow may cause the sub-woofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire.
Remedy: 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. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
Equipment: appliance, air conditioner
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A short circuit may cause the air bags 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.
Remedy: 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. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Canadian recalls (5)
Show 5 Canadian recalls
Electrical
2021-11-24 · campaign 2021-723
Issue:
This recall is for certain block heater kits installed on certain vehicles or sold as accessories at Toyota or Lexus dealerships.
On certain vehicles, the engine block heater cable may not have enough heat protection and could be damaged by high temperatures. If this happens, the cable could short circuit while plugged in, and cause the wiring to overheat or melt.
Note: This recall only affects the following block heater/cord part numbers:
C014003034 PK5A408J09 PU14000904
C014003151 PK5A408J13 PU14000905
C014000885 PK5A489J11 PU14000907
C014000888 PK5A489J22 PU14000909
C014000907 PK5A410H00 PU14000911
C014100904 PU14000900 PU14000913
C014100907 PU14000901 PU14003571
C014100911 PU14000902 PK5A489J14
PK5A408J05 PU14000903
Safety Risk:
Engine block heater wiring that overheats or melts could create the risk of a fire.
Corrective Actions:
Toyota recommends that you should stop using the engine block heater immediately. Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to disable the engine block heater. For some vehicles, the corrective actions for this recall are under development. For others, a new engine block heater cannot be installed, and the owner will receive a refund of the purchase price of the engine block heater.
Airbag
2020-01-17 · campaign 2020-013
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the circuits within the airbag control module could be damaged in a crash. This could cause the airbags and seat belt pretensioners to not deploy in certain crashes.
Safety Risk:
Airbags or seat belts that do not work properly in a crash could create an increased risk of injury.
Corrective Actions:
Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install an electrical noise filter to prevent damage to the airbag control module.
Seats and restraints
2018-08-29 · campaign 2018-457 · 215 vehicles
On certain vehicles that had the driver’s and/or front passenger's seat belt buckle replaced, a switch within the replacement buckle may incorrectly signal that the seat belt is always buckled. In the event of a crash, this may cause the airbag system not work as designed, and could increase the risk of injury to the occupant(s). Correction: Dealers will inspect the signal from the seat belt switch and replace the inner seat belt assembly as needed.
Electrical
2015-01-28 · campaign 2015-038
On certain vehicles equipped with a trunk-mounted sub-woofer, cargo in the trunk could contact the sub-woofer's soft braided wire, which could cause the wire to move out of its normal position. If one of these wires were to come into contact with the metal frame of the sub-woofer, it could result in an intermittent short, causing the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier to become damaged. In some cases, the damaged IC could create a closed circuit between the power supply and sub-woofer, and electric current could continue to flow to the sub-woofer. If this were to occur, the sub-woofer could overheat, increasing the risk of fire, causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the audio system amplifier and install a protective cover around the subwoofer. In the interim, dealers will disconnect the rear sub-woofer.
Airbag
2013-10-17 · campaign 2013-359
On certain vehicles, if the air conditioning condenser drain hose were to become clogged, water could accumulate and leak onto the airbag control module. This could cause the airbag warning light to illuminate, and potentially result in an unintended deployment of the airbags. This could startle the driver and/or cause minor injuries to vehicle occupants. Water damage could also cause a loss of power steering assist, causing the vehicle to revert to a manual steering mode which would require greater driver effort, especially at low vehicle speeds, and increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install a protective shield and sealant.
Owner complaints (30)
Owners filed 30 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota Avalon (8 crashes, 1 fires, 6 injuries reported). Among 28 model years of this model, it ranks #22 for the most complaints (median 106).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|
| Structure | 6 | |
| Air bags | 6 | |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 | |
| Electrical system | 4 | |
| Service brakes | 3 | |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | |
| Unknown or other | 2 | |
| Suspension | 1 | |
Crash test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2012 Toyota Avalon.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 2012 Toyota Avalon 4 DR FWD | – | – | – | 4★ |
Fuel economy
EPA ratings for each 2012 Toyota Avalon version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|
| Avalon 3.5 L Automatic (S6) | 19 | 28 | 22 | $3,050 |
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport
Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada).
Recalls updated 2026-10-29.