2004 Toyota Avalon problems
NHTSA has received 252 complaints about the 2004 Toyota Avalon, and 51% of them involve air bags. After that come steering (12%) and cruise control (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 252 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 51% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 36 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 23 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 141 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 21 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 32 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 16 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 15 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 141 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 81,000 miles (58 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 36 complaints mention a crash; 23 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Toyota Avalon with enough data (62 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On july 14, 2007 my parents were involved in a single-car crash in the residential area of new bloomfield, mo. My 84-year-old father was driving a 2004 toyota avalon, suddenly left the right side of the roadway, flipped the vehicle, and landed upside down, back on the pavement. My 79-year-old mother was killed instantly from head trauma, and my father passed away from injuries sustained in the accident 7 weeks later.
My 2004 toyota experienced a sudden acceleration on a slight upgrade which caused the car to go into a rapid uncontrollable spin. This resulted in a head on collision with a pick up truck. My wife suffered injuries to her head when the rear view mirror flew off the window and struck her in the head. This resulted in memory loss and she now suffers from recurring headaches. The car was a total loss.
No airbags deployed in my 2004 avalon xls when a driver stated she did not see me/my car and turned left in front of me leaving me 2 seconds to brake.this was on a cityn street and she was turning from stopped position into private commercial parking lot. I was driving in lane closest to her car to reach light another 500 feet ahead so I could turn south when I got to it. My car was traveling 30-35MPH(5-10MPH under posted speed limit).I had just entered the roadway 400 ft before her turn from 0MPH to maybe 3MPH?
The rear wheel froze while driving at 45 MPH. This caused the vehicle to skid 8 feet up in the air on dry pavement. The consumer sustained bruises all over his body and received 20 stitches in his elbow .