2005 Toyota Avalon problems
NHTSA has received 303 complaints about the 2005 Toyota Avalon, and 24% of them involve cruise control. After that come steering (14%) and engine (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 303 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 50 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 32 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 226 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 | 58 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 31 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 48 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Among the 226 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 48,000 miles. For cruise control specifically, the median reported mileage is about 48,000 miles (58 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 50 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 32 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Toyota Avalon with enough data (209 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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 1/17/2009 my mothers car left the paved roadway at approx. 70 MPH and struck a brick wall. No skid marks were present at the time and we now believe that the vehicle may have accelerated out of control and caused the crash and subsequent death of my mother. Updated 03/14/10 updated 05/10/10 updated 9/29/11
I was rear ended by a 2005 toyota avalon. The owner said she had brought the car in bc of the brakes and they told her there was nothing wrong. When she hit me, she had problems stopping the car. I am now permanently injured.
While traveling on a rural county road; approaching a curve; while attempting to slowly decease speed to go in curve the car accelerated and went faster, causing me to run across and off the road hitting a tree.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota avalon. The contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the steering unit. He called the manufacturer in reference to NHTSA campaign id number 05v227000 (steering:column) and was informed that his vehicle exceeded its warranty; therefore, they would not replace the steering column assembly for free under the recall. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 38,853 and current mileage was 41,468. Updated 03/24/09.
The right side view mirror is fogging up. I contacted toyota (case no. [xxx]) after taking the car to a dealer who said the entire unit had to be replaced at a cost of $680, stating this is a safety issue that should not have happened since the mirror had not been damaged. Their position was that nothing could be done by toyota.