2021 Toyota Avalon: owner complaints and recalls

57% of everything owners report about the 2021 Toyota Avalon points at a single system: air bags. That is 12 of 21 complaints on file.

21
Complaints
2
Recalls
1
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
0
Injuries
19.0
Severity index

Severity index 19.0 - Low. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 19.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Toyota Avalon sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

What actually fails

Air BagsAir Bags: 12 complaints (57.1%)12 57%EngineEngine: 4 complaints (19.0%)4 19%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 3 complaints (14.3%)3 14%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 2 complaints (9.5%)2 10%Service BrakesService Brakes: 2 complaints (9.5%)2 10%Seat BeltsSeat Belts: 1 complaints (4.8%)1 5%Power TrainPower Train: 1 complaints (4.8%)1 5%TiresTires: 1 complaints (4.8%)1 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
AIR BAGS1257.1%
ENGINE419.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL314.3%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE29.5%
SERVICE BRAKES29.5%
SEAT BELTS14.8%
POWER TRAIN14.8%
TIRES14.8%

Complaints filed per year

0492021: 12022: 52023: 12024: 42025: 92026: 1 (partial year)2122232425926
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20211
20225
20231
20244
20259
2026 (year to date)1
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.3x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
20V73400025/11/2020AIR BAGS:FRONTALToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Toyota Avalon and 2020 Avalon Hybrid, RAV4, and RAV4 Hybrid vehicles. Breakaway pins within the steering column, designed to absorb energy and reduce injury during a crash, could have been damaged d
23V86500020/12/2023AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H ve
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.