2012 Toyota Avalon problems and recalls

Owners have filed 30 complaints on the 2012 Toyota Avalon, and NHTSA has issued 4 recalls. The most cited component is the Structure (6 complaints).

30
Complaints
4
Recalls
8
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
6
Injuries
113.0
Severity index

Severity index 113.0 High. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 113.0p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Components cited in complaints

StructureStructure: 6 complaints (20.0%)6 20%Air BagsAir Bags: 6 complaints (20.0%)6 20%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 4 complaints (13.3%)4 13%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 4 complaints (13.3%)4 13%Visibility/WiperVisibility/Wiper: 3 complaints (10.0%)3 10%Service BrakesService Brakes: 3 complaints (10.0%)3 10%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 2 complaints (6.7%)2 7%Power TrainPower Train: 1 complaints (3.3%)1 3%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
STRUCTURE620.0%
AIR BAGS620.0%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM413.3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL413.3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER310.0%
SERVICE BRAKES310.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER26.7%
POWER TRAIN13.3%

Complaints filed per year

05102013: 42014: 32015: 102016: 22017: 22018: 22019: 22020: 22022: 22023: 11314151016171819202223
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20134
20143
201510
20162
20172
20182
20192
20202
20222
20231
Filings in 2020 to 2023 were close to 2017 to 2019 (5 against 6).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
18V56900029/08/2018AIR BAGSToyota 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
15V04700028/01/2015ELECTRICAL SYSTEMToyota 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
13V44200017/10/2013ELECTRICAL SYSTEMToyota 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 uni
20V02400017/01/2020AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULEToyota 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 deployme

Other Toyota Avalon model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 9 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.