2003 Toyota Avalon: problems, recalls and reliability
2 recalls and 293 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (57% of complaints); the 2001 and 2002 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Jan 2015
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 293 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“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.”Owner report · Air Bags · May 2023
“turn off the lights inside panel. The level of heat all the way up, the same with the gasoline level. The internal lights blink. Loss of power.”Owner report · Electrical System · Dec 2021
“The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle started smoking and the engine stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.”Owner report · Engine · Aug 2020
Show 7 more owner reports
“Car's steering stops turning while driving in the initial 5 minutes of drive, it occurs mostly when weather is humid ( raining). The episode occurs when I try to turn the steering and recovers after I forcibly turn the stiff steering.”Owner report · Steering · Mar 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving on several occasions, the srs warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to beechmont toyota (8667 beechmont ave, cincinnati, oh 45255, (513) 388-3800) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 230,807.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Dec 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving at an unknown speed, the front driver's side air bag deployed without warning or impact. The contact sustained injuries to the face, but medical attention was not required. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to rice toyota (2630 battleground ave, nc greensboro, nc 27408, (336) 387-6004), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened case number: 1808082730. The approximate failure mileage was 244,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Aug 2018
“I drove into a parking spot, put my car into park & released my foot from the brake. The car rolled back as if it was in reverse. I applied the brakes, shifted the gear into drive & drove back up into the space. I put the car back into park, released the brakes, only to have the car roll back again. I pulled back up into the parking spot, shifted back into park & this time put on parking brakes. I got out of the car & went into the store. When I came back, my car would not start. Not only would it not start, it would not make any sort of noise (which is how I knew it wasn't the battery). I called for a tow & the tow truck operator was able to get it to start in gear neutral.”Owner report · Power Train · Apr 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated. The contact called a local dealer (pueblo toyota, 2220 u s 50 w, pueblo, co 81008) where it was diagnosed that the driver's seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and did not assist. The failure mileage was 174,457.”Owner report · Seats · Feb 2018
“Car was idling in park, placed shift into reverse, car accelerated forward with motor racing into a bench, destroying it. Jammed shift back into park shut off motor. Restarted car. Place shift in rev and backed off bench. Car worked properly. Had car towed to repair shop.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Dec 2017
“Air bag indicator and seat belt not on indicators keep coming on intermittently. Dealer can't do anything about it unless these indicator comes on when they do the test drive. So it's not always reproducible by the dealership.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2017
When filing, owners marked a crash in 49 of these complaints and injuries in 28 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 2 campaigns
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.
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.
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.
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.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2003 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Avalon by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2003 Toyota Avalon reliable?
NHTSA has 293 owner complaints and 2 recall campaigns on record for the 2003 Toyota Avalon. The most complained-about area is air bags (57% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2003 Toyota Avalon problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 85,000 miles or less.
Does the 2003 Toyota Avalon have open recalls?
2 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning steering. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.