2013 Toyota Avalon problems
NHTSA has received 187 complaints about the 2013 Toyota Avalon, and 17% of them involve wipers, windshield & visibility. After that come body & structure (13%) and cruise control (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 187 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 21 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 25 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 15,000 miles 118 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 | 63 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 15 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 118 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 15,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 7,000 miles (22 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 21 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 25 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Toyota Avalon with enough data (131 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
While driving the vehicle at approximately 45 MPH on a clear sunny day the windshield wipers turned on and began to operate at full speed and would not respond at attempts to stop them. The horn started going off with alarm noises in the vehicle. The smell of an electrical odor and white smoke began to enter the cabin through the dash. Attempts to pull the vehicle over were prevented as the steering wheel locked.
I drove to baltimore, md from cherry hill, nj on 06/16/2013 at speeds varying from 45MPH - 75MPH. The moment I got on to nj turnpike, the wind and road noise were loud inside the cabin. The entire time it seemed the windows of the car were open even though the A/C was on slow, windows and sunroof were closed. (I have two older cars I.e. Hyundai elantra 2002 and honda accord 2005 which have less cabin noise when windows are closed).
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the rear window privacy screen was stuck in the up position; therefore, blocking his visibility when attempting to reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.