2016 Toyota Avalon problems and recalls

Owners have filed 23 complaints on the 2016 Toyota Avalon, and NHTSA has issued 3 recalls. The most cited component is the Unknown Or Other (5 complaints).

23
Complaints
3
Recalls
2
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
2
Injuries
74.0
Severity index

Severity index 74.0 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 74.0p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Components cited in complaints

Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 5 complaints (21.7%)5 22%Air BagsAir Bags: 4 complaints (17.4%)4 17%EngineEngine: 4 complaints (17.4%)4 17%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 3 complaints (13.0%)3 13%StructureStructure: 3 complaints (13.0%)3 13%VisibilityVisibility: 2 complaints (8.7%)2 9%Lane DepartureLane Departure: 2 complaints (8.7%)2 9%Service BrakesService Brakes: 2 complaints (8.7%)2 9%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
UNKNOWN OR OTHER521.7%
AIR BAGS417.4%
ENGINE417.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM313.0%
STRUCTURE313.0%
VISIBILITY28.7%
LANE DEPARTURE28.7%
SERVICE BRAKES28.7%

Complaints filed per year

0252016: 32017: 32018: 32019: 52020: 42023: 32024: 12025: 116171819520232425
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20163
20173
20183
20195
20204
20233
20241
20251
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 0.4x those in 2018 to 2020 (5 against 12).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
16V90600016/12/2016AIR BAGS:KNEE BOLSTERToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon, and 2017 Camry vehicles manufactured August 3, 2016, to September 12, 2016. The front passenger knee air bag module may have been attached to the lower instrument panel with incorrect
16V21500014/04/2016AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon and Camry vehicles manufactured November 30, 2015 to March 4, 2016. The occupant classification system (OCS) that activates or deactivates the front passenger seat air bag system may ha
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.