2003 Toyota Avalon

Family: Avalon · filed with NHTSA as AVALON

Summary

Of the 290 complaints that name a component, 63% concern Airbags (184).
These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
Not enough history to compare this year with the rest of its generation.
2 recalls filed for this model year.
No federal defect investigations cover this model year.

At a glance

Owner complaints: 293
Recalls: 2
Investigations: 0
NCAP overall: Not rated
Combined MPG: 22
Annual fuel cost: $2,850
Median mileage at complaint: 83,000 mi (n = 138)
Crashes / fires / injuries / deaths: 49 / 2 / 28 / 1

What owners report

Airbags

184 complaints · 63% of complaints that name a component · median 100,000 mi (n = 62)

Owner report 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 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 T…

Accelerator & Cruise Control

51 complaints · 18% of complaints that name a component · median 58,180 mi (n = 37)

Owner report 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 TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2003 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE STATIONARY, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED BACKWARDS RAPIDLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT ENGAGED THE DRIVE GEAR IN AN EFFORT TO STOP THE VEHICLE, BUT THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED FORWARD ON ITS OWN A SECOND TIME. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME STUCK AND THE V…

Steering

19 complaints · 7% of complaints that name a component · median 80,000 mi (n = 11)

Owner report 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 Texas about steeri…

Owner report 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.

1% of complaints name no specific component and are left out of the shares above.

Across the generation (2000–2004)

To compare years fairly, each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints.

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Note
2000	173	64
2001	134	60
2002	116	24	not compared
2003	293	26	not compared
2004	205	15	not compared

Recalls

Whether a recall has been fixed on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

15V043000 · AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Filed 2015-01-28 · 1,006,849 vehicles

Defect: 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.

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

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.

10V345000 · STEERING

Filed 2010-07-29 · 372,593 vehicles

Defect: 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.

Risk: 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.

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.

Federal investigations

None on file.

Engines and fuel economy

Version	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Fuel cost / yr
Avalon	3.0L 6cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	19	27	22	$2850

Fuel cost is EPA's estimate at the fuel prices of its last update, not today's.

Crash test ratings (NCAP)

Variant	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover
2003 Toyota Avalon 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Rated	Not Rated	Not Rated	Not Rated

Service bulletins

Toyota issued 110 service bulletins listed against this model year, most often about equipment.

A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so one listed here may not be specific to this year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.

Date	Component	Summary
2024-12-06	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…
2024-12-06	STRUCTURE:BODY	To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and in…
2024-12-06	STRUCTURE:BODY	The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicl…
2024-12-05	STRUCTURE:BODY	Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. Follow the Removal Procedure …
2024-12-03	STRUCTURE:BODY	Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can be identified by the …
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and in…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. If these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicl…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood…
2024-07-12	STRUCTURE:BODY	To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. The purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and in…

How to read this page

Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more often after news coverage or a recall. That is why this page compares a model year only with other years of the same generation, never with other models.

Each complaint is counted once, even when it names several components; a complaint that names several systems appears under each of them. Owner reports are quoted as filed and have not been verified by NHTSA or by us.

Every model year of this Avalon, including the ones without a page of their own, is listed on the Toyota Avalon model page.

Sources

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls and investigations (bulk files, data as of 2026-10-28).
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program: crash test ratings.
U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines, transmissions and fuel economy.

MotorAlmanac is independent and not affiliated with NHTSA, EPA or any manufacturer. This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection. Before buying a used car, check its VIN for open recalls and have it inspected.