Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1999 Toyota Avalon submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 22 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WAS DRIVING SOUND ON GREGORY RD AND ANOTHER CAR WAS TRAVELING NORTH SHE CAME INTO MY LANE AT ABOUT 40 MPH AND HIT ME HEAD ON MY AIRBAG NEW DEPLOYED AND MY SEATBELT DID NOT HOLD I HAVE A BRUISE ACROSS MY CHEST FROM STEERING WHEEL AND BUMPS ON MY HEAD. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, A VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE MIDDLE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE WEARING SEAT BELTS AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL. THE FRONT PASSENGER SUSTAINED FOUR FRACTURED RIBS, A FRACTURED PELVIS, AND A FRACTURED COXAE. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED A CONTUSION UNDER HIS RIGHT SIDE RIB. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 80,600. UPDATED 01-11-08. *KB UPDATED 12/31/07
AIR BAG SENSORS WENT OUT ON MY 1999TOYOTA AVALON AS I WAS DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN ON THE 101FWY NEAR WOODLAND HILLS, CA. THE FLASHING AIRBAG ICON SCARED ME AND I WONDERED IF THE AIR BAGS WOULD IMPLODE. MY PASSENGER CHECKED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL AND NOTHING THERE LISTED HAD OCCURED PREVIOUSLY TO WARRANT THE FLASHING SIGNAL OR FAILURE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY THEY WERE OPEN. THE SENSORS WERE REPLACED. MY CAR HAD 86,995 MILES ON IT WHEN THIS OCCURRED. THE WARRANTY MANUAL STATES PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEMS ARE WARRANTED FOR 60000 OR 5 YEARS. IN KANSAS THEY ARE WARRANTED FOR 10 YEARS OR UNLIMITED MILEAGE. I DO NOT SEE WHY KANSAS OWNERS SHOULD GET SPECIAL WARRANTIES. THE SENSORS WERE REPLACED AND I PAID $450 LESS 15% THAT THE SERVICE MANAGER GRUDGINGLY GAVE ME. I HAVE COMPLAINED THROUGH CHANNELS. I DON'T EXPECT MIRACLES BUT WANT OTHER OWNERS TO KNOW IT HAPPENED TO MY 1999AVALON AT 86,995. *AK
THE SRS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING WHICH RENDERED THE AIR BAGS INOPERATIVE. DEALERSHIP INSPECTED THE SRS SYSTEM AND INDICATED THAT IT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT WAS DEFECTIVE.*AK....*AK
THE AVALON WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND WAS STRUCK ON THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. THE POINT OF IMPACT WAS ONLY A FEW INCHES AWAY FROM ONE OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG. THE CAR SPUN OFF THE ROAD ONTO THE GRASS VERGE BUT FORTUNATELY THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO GET IT BACK UNDER CONTROL. I HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA MANY TIMES OVER THE WEEKS SINCE THE ACCIDENT, ASKING IF THIS WAS NORMAL OR WAS THERE AN AIRBAG FAILURE. TOYOTA HAVE BEEN DODGING THE QUESTION AND "REFERRING ME TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT". THEY SAID THEY WOULD 'INSPECT IT', DURING A TWO WEEK STAY AT THEIR DEALERSHIP BUT THEY DIDN'T. I AM CONCERNED THAT THE AIRBAGS, PARTICULARLY THE SIDE ONES DID NOT DEPLOY. IS THERE A FAULT IN THE SYSTEM, OR IF THEY ARE NOT DESIGNED TO OPERATE UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES , THEN WHY FIT THEM? *NM
AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY. VEHICLES AIR BAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY UPON IMPACT. *AK *TC
WHILE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN TRAVELING ~ 20 MPH, A '89 HEAVY AUTO TRAVELING @ 48 MPH IMPACTED PASSENGER SIDE OF CONSUMERS VEHICLE, SLAMMING CONSUMERS VEHICLE INTO A '94 HEAVY AUTO STOPPED AT LIGHT, TOTALING ALL THREE AUTOS. NONE OF THE AIR BAGS ON CONSUMERS 1999 TOYOTA AVALON DEPLOYED. DRIVER SUSTAINED EXTENSIVE LEG/HIP/BACK, AND CHEST INJURIES. TOYOTA OFFICIALS SAY THE AIR BAGS WERE IN NORMAL FUNCTIONING CONDITION. *NLM
NAR 05/21/2003 *MR THE AIR BAG FLASHED REPEATEDLY FOR 60 MILES. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, HOWEVER THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETECT ANY PROBLEM CODES. *JB
THE VEHICLES AIR BAG SENSOR FAILED WHICH CAUSED THE AIR BAG LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE. *NLM
MY AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT HAS COME ON FREQUENTLY WHILE DRIVING. THE OWNERS MANUAL STATES TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY. ONCE THERE, THE DEALER STATES THERE IS NO CODE STORED IN THE COMPUTER AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. ONCE THE CAR IS RESTARTED, THE LIGHT IS OFF, BUT COMES ON AGAIN A FEW DAYS LATER. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES. I AM WORRIED OF AN AIR BAG FAILURE DUE TO THIS INDICATOR LIGHT, BUT THE DEALER CAN'T HELP BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF STORED CODES. *NLM
THE CONSUMER HAD AN AIR BAG ON/OFF SWITCH INSTALLED BY AUTHORIZED COMPANY. THE SWITCH HAS NOT FUNCTIONED PROPERLY SINCE INSTALLATION. THE INSTALLER ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM FOUR TIMES SINCE INSTALLATION BUT HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. *NLM
AIRBAG LIGHT CONTINUES TO COME ON INDICATING A MALFUNCTION. TOYOTA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM EXISTS.
AIRBAG LIGHT ON DASH COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING. DEALER UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM ON 5 ATTEMPTS BRINGING CAR IN WITH AIRBAG LIGHT ON. MANUFACTURER NOT CONCERNED. MR
WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT WAS HIT BY A BUS, AND THEN CONSUMER HIT ACCELERATOR AND VEHICLE RAN INTO A BUILDING. UPON IMPACT, NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AK
CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING 15-20MPH IN DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS, WHILE TURNING OUT OF A PARKING LOT, ANOTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING AT 45-50MPH HIT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE HEAD ON. FRONT & SIDE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. HOOD AND BUMPER WERE SEVERLY DAMAGED. TOYOTA WAS SENDING AN INSPECTOR TO DETERMINE A REASON FOR NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAGS. *AK
NO SUMMARY
WHILE DRIVING ALONG AIR BAG WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. SOMETIMES AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT FLASHED ON AND OFF. SOMETIMES THE LIGHT WOULD STAY ON. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TWICE. DEALER STATED THAT THE ENTIRE AIR BAG COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS REPLACED. PROBLEM STILL EXIST WITH THE AIR BAG. *AK
MY AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON 1 OR 2 TIMES A MONTH, WHILE DRIVING. IT STAYS ON FOR 15-30 SECONDS. MY NEXT PROBLEM IS THAT MY ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON WHEN I STARTED MY CAR IN 11/99. I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP AND IT WAS A FAULTY FUEL INJECTOR. THIS WAS REPAIRED BUT I DON'T FEEL THIS SHOULD HAVE HAPPEN TO A NEW CAR AT SUCH AN EARLY AGE. ALSO AROUND 16,000 MILES THEY HAD TO REPLACE MY ROTORS. THIS ALSO SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPEN AT THIS EARLY AGE. *AK
AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES, INDICATING A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER CAN NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AT 35 MPH AND REAR ENDED THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY, AND SHOULDER BELT FAILED TO HOLD CONSUMER FROM HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL, RESULTING IN A BROKEN STERNUM. *AK
WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON COLLSION. UPON IMPACT, BOTH DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. *AK
WHEN VEHICE WAS INVOLVED IN A RIGHT FRONT AND LEFT FRONT CRASH THERE WAS NO DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER'S OR PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS. VEHICLE WAS HIT ON THE RIGHT FRONT SIDE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO SPIN AROUND AND HIT ON THE LEFT FRONT SIDE. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .