2010 TOYOTA AVALON Complaints

DRIVING ON RT 81S IN VIRGINIA WHEN THE TELESCOPING STEERING COLUMN LOCK CAME UNLOCKED. WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES THE STEERING WHEEL COLLAPSED TOWARD THE DASH. SINCE THEN IT HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES. SEEMS TO SIMPLY VIBRATE LOOSE FROM TRAVELING ON BUMPY ROADS. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER BUT THEY SAID THEY DROVE IT 7 MILES AND IT DIDN'T FAIL SO THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING. SINCE THEN, IT HAS COME UNLOCKED 2 TIMES IN 264 MILES. AS LONG AS I CHECK IT EVERY TIME I START THE CAR, AND ANYTIME I DRIVE MORE THAN 100 MILES, IT'S SAFE BUT THIS IS NOT A GOOD SITUATION. DOING A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME SAFETY ISSUE OVER MULTIPLE YEARS OF AVALON'S. *TR

INJURY:BROKE STERNUM; ACCIDENT AT 60MPH COST TO MY VEHICLE WAS $14,000.00, WENT TO HOSPITAL,FOR DIAGNOSIS. WENT TO DELAND, FLA. HOSPITAL. MY AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. I FEEL I HAVE AN UNSAFE CAR!! I AM A DOCTOR IN FL. I WOULD LIKE SOMEONE TO CONTACT ME AT:[XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I HAVE A PROBLEM THAT I AM AFRAID COULD CAUSE ME TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT. JUST A FEW MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING MY 2010 TOYOTA AVALON I STARTED HAVING THIS PROBLEM INTERMITTENTLY. SOMETIMES IT KIND OF STALLS. USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN I AM TURNING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, SUCH AS TURNING RIGHT OR LEFT. IT IS AS THOUGH MY CAR STALLS FOR A MOMENT. I GIVE IT GAS, BUT IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING FOR A FEW MOMENTS. USUALLY AROUND 15 TO 20 MPH. IF IAM PULLING OUT IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC I ALMOST GET HIT. RECENTLY I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY, I JUST PULLED OUT AND WAS GOING APPROX. 40 MPH AND IT STALLED FOR A FEW MOMENTS, MAYBE LESS THAN A MINUTE. IF A CAR HAD BEEN BEHIND ME I WOULD HAVE BEEN HIT. EACH TIME I TOLD THE SERVICE ADVISOR @ THE DEALER I WAS TOLD THEY HAD TO BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THIS. IT ONLY DOES IT ON OCCASION. BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS IN TRAFFIC WAITING BEHIND A TRUCK TO GO AND MY CAR STARTED MOVING FORWARD. I HAD MY FOOT ON BRAKE CAR STILL MOVING FORWARD, I PUSHED EMERGENCY BRAKE AND PUT IT IN PARK. END RESULT MY CAR HIT THE BACK OF A TRUCK. NO INJURIES JUST A SCRATCH ON PAINT. I WAS VERY SCARED BECAUSE I COULDN'T CONTROL MY VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRYING TO PARK, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED UPON IMPACT. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT SHE COULD NOT CONTROL THE VEHICLE, AS IT WAS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND THE CONTACT SUFFERED SEVERE LEG INJURIES FROM THE IMPACT. THE POLICE WERE NOTIFIED AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

I HAVE A 2010 TOYOTA AVALON WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH. UNFORTUNATELY, IT HAS A DESIGN DEFECT. THERE IS A LEVER ON THE STEERING COLUMN THAT LETS THE DRIVER CONTROL THE HEIGHT OF THE STEERING WHEEL. UNFORTUNATELY, THE LEVER DOES NOT STAY IN THE FIXED POSITION. OVER TIME IT DROPS DOWN AS A RESULT OF ROAD VIBRATION AND PERMITS THE STEERING COLUMN TO COMPRESS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE. THE FIRST OCCASION WAS QUITE SCARY AS I HAD TO SLOW DOWN RAPIDLY. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO KEEP CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. WHEN IT OCCURRED A SECOND TIME SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, I WAS BETTER PREPARED. I HAVE REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR, BUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. TO AVOID FUTURE INCIDENTS, I LOOK AT THE LEVER ALMOST EVERYTIME I GET IN THE CAR. IF IT HAS STARTED TO GO DOWN, I PULL IT BACK UP. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO THIS. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON TOURING MODEL. SINCE LATE JUNE OF 2010 THROUGH OCTOBER OF 2010 THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN ON 3 CONSECUTIVE LONG TRIPS. THE FIRST TRIP WAS APPROXIMATELY 3600 MILES, THE SECOND TRIP WAS APPROXIMATELY 1200 MILES AND THE LAST TRIP WAS 1800 MILES. ALL OF THESE TRIPS THE HEAD LAMP SYSTEM WAS SET ON AUTO. THE BRIGHT LIGHTS WERE USED ON OCCASION WHEN ON DARK ROADS OR DURING THE DAY TO SIGNAL TO TRUCKS OR OTHER DRIVERS THAT IT WAS SAFE TO PULL IN ON A PASSING SITUATION. ON THE LAST TRIP, DURING THE NIGHT THE BRIGHTS WORKED PERFECTLY. ON A DAY TRIP IN A CARAVAN, I HAD TO SIGNAL THE VEHICLES AHEAD OF ME TO SLOW DOWN AS THE VEHICLES BEHIND ME WERE STOPPED. I DID THIS BY REPEATEDLY FLASHING THE HIGH BEAMS. THAT NIGHT BOTH HIGH BEAMS DID NOT WORK EVEN THOUGH THE BLUE INDICATOR ON THE DASH SAYS THEY ARE ON. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TO SEE IF IT WAS A RELAY OR OTHER ITEM AS I WOULDN'T EXPECT BOTH HIGH BEAMS TO BURN OUT AT THE SAME TIME. THE DEALER SAID THEY WERE BOTH BURNT OUT AND WANTED CLOSE TO $225 TO CHANGE THEM OUT. I ELECTED TO DO THE WORK MYSELF AND HAVE ORDERED THE PARTS FROM MY AUTO PARTS STORE. BEFORE THE BULBS CAME IN THE MAIN LIGHTS HAVE STARTED ACTING UP. THE RIGHT SIDE MAIN BEAM WENT OUT TEMPORARILY 2 NIGHTS AGO. I RESET THE SYSTEM AND IT STARTED WORKING. LAST NIGHT I PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND WAITED FOR MY PASSENGER TO JOIN ME. THE LIGHTS REMAINED ON. I PULLED OUT AND STARTED FORWARD TO HEAR A CLICK AND BOTH FRONT BEAMS WENT OUT. THE GREEN LIGHT FOR THE HEADLAMP SYSTEM WAS STILL ON. I RESET THE SYSTEM AND THEY NOW WORK. I HAVE NOW PICKED UP THE BRIGHT BEAM BULBS AND WILL INSTALL THEM TONIGHT. I WILL REPORT ANY MORE FAILURES ON THIS SITE IMMEDIATELY. *TR

THE STEERING WHEEL ON MY 2010 AVALON COLLAPSES WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE AN ADJUSTABLE "TELESCOPE" STEERING WHEEL THAT ADJUSTS FORWARD AND BACKWARDS. IT IS CONTROLLED BY A LEVER UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL WHICH LOCKS IT INTO PLACE. THE LEVER WILL SUDDENLY RELEASE WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED, CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL TO COLLAPSE. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON AT LEAST THREE OCCASIONS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THE HEAD RESTRAINTS ON BOTH FRONT SEATS WERE SEVERELY TILTED FORWARD MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE SEAT OCCUPANTS TO SIT ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE SEATS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEAD RESTRAINTS WERE OPERATING AS NORMAL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO NOTIFIED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THE HEAD RESTRAINTS WERE OPERATING IN THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY WERE DESIGNED. THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,300.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE NOTICED AN INTERMITTENT SUDDEN ACCELERATION WHEN HE APPROACHED A STOP SIGN. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED; HOWEVER, IF HE CONTINUED TO DEPRESS THE PEDAL, THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY SURGE FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO LUNGE FORWARD AFTER TURNING A CORNER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED TO OPERATE THAT WAY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT SPOKEN TO THE MANUFACTURER WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,800. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,000.