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NHTSA vehicle safety data

2003 Toyota Avalon Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2003 Toyota Avalon has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns and 293 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Toyota dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2003 Toyota Avalon, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

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2003 Toyota Avalon owner complaints

Owners have filed 293 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Avalon, describing incidents dated October 29, 2002 to March 13, 2026.

Most-cited components

  • Air Bags 184 complaints
  • Vehicle Speed Control 51 complaints
  • Steering 19 complaints
  • Electrical System 18 complaints
  • Service Brakes 15 complaints
  • Engine 12 complaints

Of the 293 complaints on file, 49 report a crash and 2 a fire; across all 293 complaints, owners report 28 injuries and 1 death (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

  • ODI #11732589 · Filed

    March 13, 2026, I was on a road trip from CA to AZ and while driving around 75-80mph (speed limit), something in the driver's side seat belt or the shoulder holster exploded, the belt tightened, and something metal or plastic flew off. Shortly after (within 30 seconds or so), the passenger's side…

  • ODI #11523134 · Filed

    I was driving back home, out of no where my car went out of control, went left, then right, hit something and flipped over twice to end in a hill against the traffic with 4 flat tires. The air bag did not deployed. I did hit the windshield. The car was total.

  • ODI #11500232 · Filed

    Purchased car used 11/2020 Jan 14 2021 had 2 open recalls steering casting defect and wire harness filter to deflect noise from ecm . I lost control of communication of operations. 12/2022 steering lock bar The past 2 years uncovered everything on my own. Learned somebody died in 2003 Avalon in…

Read all 293 complaints

Owner-reported

2003 Toyota Avalon mileage at failure

135 of the 293 complaints on file for the 2003 Toyota Avalon give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Air BagsMedian 100,000 milesMiddle half 75,000–135,000 milesBased on 62 complaints
Vehicle Speed ControlMedian 60,000 milesMiddle half 30,000–85,000 milesBased on 37 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment

NHTSA #15V043000 · Air Bags — Frontal · NHTSA notice

Reported January 28, 2015 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 1,006,849 vehicles

Repair completion: 28.74% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Owners notified August 24, 2015 · Vehicles built June 5, 2002 – December 20, 2004 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Defect description

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002, to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

Safety consequence

Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. GM issued an interim notification to owners on March 27, 2015. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

STEERING INTERLOCK ASSEMBLY

NHTSA #10V345000 · Steering · NHTSA notice

Reported July 29, 2010 · TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 372,593 vehicles

Toyota campaign AOH · Owners notified September 7, 2010 · Vehicles built April 28, 1999 – December 20, 2004 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2004 AVALON VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER CASTING OF THE STEERING LOCK BAR, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A MINUTE CRACK MAY DEVELOP ON THE SURFACE OF THE LOCK BAR. SUCH A CRACK MAY EXPAND OVER A LONG PERIOD OF REPEATED LOCK AND UNLOCK OPERATIONS, AND EVENTUALLY THE LOCK BAR COULD BREAK.

Safety consequence

SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING INTERLOCK DEVICE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Notes

TOYOTA SAFETY RECALL NO. AOH.OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

Other Toyota Avalon model years

Check your 2003 Toyota Avalon VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Toyota Avalon at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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