Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2008 Toyota Avalon submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 209 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.
The 25 most recent of 209, in the owner's own words
Because my instrument panel is alway illuminated, I was unaware that I was driving one night without my lights on. Now I know why I see more cars at night without their lights. Manufacturers need to fix this problem. Older cars would not turn on the panel lights if the headlights weren't on. You would think this would be an easy technology fix with since we have self driving cars now.
OEM high beam bulbs continuously explode. I’m not saying they just burn out, these bulbs shatter, and send shards of glass on the inside of the headlamp housing. I believe it’s a big safety risk, because for me, it happened while I was driving late at night in the dark where there are deer nearby. Brights are essential to see far and when you’re driving through hills, going up a hill you need your brights to extend higher than your normal lights do. This is a commonly complained about problem for the 2008-2010 models of this Toyota Avalon. Toyota has issued a technical service bulletin back in 2011, but it is a major defect and I believe it should be fixed regardless of whether a customer pays for a warranty or not. A mechanic told me also that they are not sure why Toyota has not warrantied vehicles with this issue. The solution is replacing the headlight housing. So there is clearly a material defect, and I believe it affects safety. Vehicles are required to have high beam headlights for a reason, and the high beams on this vehicle burn out commonly on certain vehicles, and replacing bulbs does NOT solve the problem. It is a very expensive repair as well. What kind of car manufacturer doesn’t recall or acknowledge a material defect or design flaw in such a crucial safety feature or a vehicle such as headlights? It’s an expensive, annoying, and dangerous issue that continues to happen. There are so many complaints about this high beam issue for the 2008 year. In my mind this really reduces Toyotas reputation and credibility since they did not and will not recall these headlights. We just have to deal with their faulty design. Fix your mistakes instead of making customers foot the bill for your poor craftsmanship. This is pathetic.
2008 TOYOTA AVALON. LOW BEAM ON DRIVERS SIDE GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY. HAVE TO TURN HEADLIGHTS ON/OFF QUICKLY. WAS PULLED OVER BY CHP ON HIGHWAY, TOLD HIM JUST HAD LOW BEAMS BULBS REPLACED. HE ASKED ME TO TURN THEM OFF, THEN ON AND BOTH LIGHTS WERE WORKING. THIS WAS IN SPRING 2018 APPROX 80,000 MILES. TOOK TO MECHANIC, THEY WORKED FINE. DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS AFTER THAT, NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE AT NIGHT AS IT HAPPENS MORE FREQUENTLY AND AFRAID THAT LIGHTS WILL NOT COME BACK ON. SO MANY OF SAME COMPLAINTS ON FORUMS. I EMAILED TOYOTA AND ACTUALLY GOT A CALL BACK BUT GAL STATED THEY HAD NO RECORD OF ANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING LOW BEAM PROBLEMS. SHE GAVE ME A CASE #2008070658. ASKED IF I HAD TAKEN IT TO DEALER BUT THEY WOULD CHARGE FOR DIAGNOSIS, I TOLD HER I WOULD NOT BE DOING THAT. MY MECHANIC HAS REFERRED ME TO ANOTHER SHOP WITH A CERTIFIED A TOYOTA MASTER MECHANIC, WILL SEE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM TO SAY THE LEAST AND DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY TOYOTA REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE IT AND STEP UP TO CORRECT PROBLEM. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND OBVIOUSLY I AM NOT ONLY ONE WHO IS VERY CONCERNED.
I HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER NUMEROUS TIMES DUE TO HAVING A HEADLIGHT OUT. HOWEVER IT'S NEVER BLOWN. ONCE I SHOW THE OFFICER BY TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF FOR A FEW SECONDS THEN BACK ON THE LIGHT IS ON. FROM READING MANY TOYOTA FORUMS AND GOING TO A TOYOTA DEALER, IT IS A FAULTY WIRING SYSTEM AND TO REPAIR IT WILL COST AT LEAST $1300.00 OR MORE. IT IS A HASTLE AS WELL AS A SAFETY HAZARD. THE LIGHT DOESNT STAY ON ONCE TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF THEN ON. WITHIN A FEW MILES IT GOES OFF AGAIN AND IT IS CONSTANTLY BLOWING THE LIGHT BULBS. IN THE 3 YEARS I HAVE HAD MY CAR I HAVE REPLACED THE LIGHTS AT LEAST 7 TIMES. THE LIGHT WILL ALWAYS BE OFF WHEN I START MY CAR WITH THE REMOTE STARTER AND WHEN I START IT WITH THE IGNITION IF IT'S ON, WITHIN A FEW MILES OF DRIVING IT GOES OFF AGAIN.
FROM THE DAY I PURCHASED USED VEHICLE IN 2015, I'VE EXPERIENCED HEADLIGHTS THAT FLICKER AND GO OFF ONLY TO BE FULLY ILLUMINATED BY TURNING OFF THEN BACK ON. MOSTLY, IT'S THE DRIVER SIDE AND SOMETIMES THE PASSENGER SIDE; INFREQUENTLY, BOTH HEADLIGHTS ARE AFFECTED. I'VE SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR A SOLUTION AND FOUND HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR REPORTS WITH 'SOLUTIONS' RANGING FROM SIMPLE FEW DOLLARS TO ABOVE $1000. MY LOCAL DEALER HAD THE CAR ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT OCCASIONS...TO NO AVAIL AND WAS WILLING TO 'FIX' IT FOR $1200. BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF SIMILARLY DESCRIBED ON INTERNET FORUMS, I THINK THAT TOYOTA SHOULD RECALL THE VEHICLES IF, FOR NO OTHER REASON, THAN THAT THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE.
I HAVE HAD CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS WITH EITHER ONE OR BOTH FRONT HEADLIGHTS GOING OFF RANDOMLY. THIS HAPPENS ALMOST DAILY AND I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS ON OCCASION I DO NOT EVEN KNOW THAT THE LIGHTS ARE OFF. ADDITIONALLY, I HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE AND ISSUED A WARNING WITH THE EXCEPECTATION THAT THE PROBLEM WILL BE FIXED. THIS POSES ANOTHER GREAT CONCERN AS THE MECHANIC HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE, THEREFORE, IT CANNOT BE FIXED. THE MECHANIC HAS ALSO REACHED OUT TO THE DEALER AS WELL AS OTHER MECHANICS ALONG WITH CONDUCTING HIS OWN RESEARCH ALL TO NO AVAIL. DURING MY RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED NUMEROUS COMPLIANTS STATING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS THAT I AM EXPERIENCING, ALSO WITH NO RESOLVE OR REMEDY. I AM SHOCKED THAT TOYOTA WOULD PLACE PEOPLE IN SUCH DANGER AND NOT TAKE ANY ACTION TO RECTIFY THIS VERY SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE.
CAR DRIVER SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT GOES OUT RANDOMLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY .
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, THE HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT SEVERAL TIMES. THE CONTACT RESEARCHED THE FAILURE ONLINE AND FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS WITH THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE HEADLIGHT FAILURE AND ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF UP TO 75,000 MILES. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE EXCEEDED THE MILEAGE REQUIREMENT; THEREFORE, THE MANUFACTURER COULD NOT ASSIST. THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER TO BE REPAIRED AT HIS EXPENSE. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,000.
I HAD MY CAR INSPECTED IN DECEMBER 2018 AND WAS TOLD THAT MY HIGH BEAMS WERE OUT. I HAD THE BULBS REPLACED AND JUST RECENTLY HAD MY LIGHTS INSPECTED. CHANGING THE BULBS DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND MY HIGH BEAMS ARE STILL NOT WORKING!
ON NOVEMBER 2018 I NOTICED THAT MY REAR DECK MOUNTED BRAKE LIGHT WAS OUT. I THOUGHT IT WAS A BULB BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY IT WAS BACK ON AGAIN. THIS CONTINUED FOR ABOUT A WEEK SO I TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD BE ABOUT $400 TO TAKE OFF THE REAR DECK JUST TO SEE WHAT THE ACTUAL PROBLEM WAS. I HAVE SEEN MULTIPLE AVALON'S WITH THIS SAME UNSAFE ISSUE. THE VEHICLE ALSO WILL NOT PASS STATE SAFETY INSPECTIONS WITH THIS ISSUE.I THINK AN INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE CONDUCTED ON THIS HIGHLY UNSAFE ISSUE.
LOW BEAM LIGHTS RANDOMLY GO OUT AFTER BEING ON FOR A SHORT TIME. I'VE BEEN BATTLING THIS ISSUE SINCE 2013 WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR. THE DEALER SAYS MY LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE BURNT OUT. I CAN TURN THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH OFF AND BACK ON QUICKLY AND THE AFFECTED LIGHT COMES BACK ON. I DO THIS SEVERAL TIMES A DAY WHEN IT IS DARK OUT. I EVEN HAD SMALL LED LIGHTS MOUNTED INTO MY DASH AND WIRED INTO EACH LOW BEAM BULB SO I CAN SEE IF ONE GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING IN TOWN AT NIGHT AS IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO KNOW IF ONE WHEN OUT.
WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT AHEAD AT NIGHT ON A HIGHWAY THE HIGH BEAMS SUDDENLY WENT OUT AND WOULD NOT GO ON AGAIN. I SWITCHED TO LOW BEAMS. I LATER LEARNED FROM A MECHANIC THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW OR INFERIOR MICROPROCESSOR CONTROLLING THE HEADLIGHTS AND THAT THE LOW BEAMS COULD ALSO SUDDENLY GO OUT WHILE IN MOTION. THIS IS A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE. THE TOYOTA CORPORATION WILL NOT STAND BY THEIR PRODUCT AND HAVE REFERRED ME TO A TOYOTA DEALER THAT WANTS OVER $2,000.00 TO FIX THE SAFETY ISSUE. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS. I BELIEVE IT ONLY AFFECTS THE 2008 AVALON MODELS. THERE ARE EVEN SEVERAL ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET RELATING TO THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE NOTHING TO DOWNLOAD AS I DID NOT GET A WRITTEN ESTIMATE, ONLY A TELEPHONE QUOTE, FROM THE TOYOTA DEALER.
1. HIGH BEAMS AND DAY RUNNING LIGHTS INOPERABLE (DISCOVERED JANUARY 2018). 2. TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED AND CAUSED CAR TO DECELERATE IN APRIL 2018.
OUR HIGH BEAMS WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. SEEMS TO BE A RECURRING PROBLEM
HEAD LIGHTS RANDOMLY GO OFF AT NIGHT WHEN DRIVING. IF I TURN THEM OFF THEN BACK ON THEY COME BACK ON. SOMETIMES THEY STAY ON. MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE TO REPEAT THIS OFF AND ON PROCEDURE AGAIN AND AGAIN! THIS IS A REAL SAFETY HAZARD. I LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE IS NOT A LOT OF STREET LIGHTS, AND WINDING ROADS. WHY WON'T THEY MAKE THIS A RECALL?
WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT NIGHT BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER'S SIDE HIGH BEAMS FAILED TO GO ON. WHILE FUSES ARE OK, NEITHER HIGH BEAM WILL GO ON IN EITHER THE FLASH OR PERMANENT MODE.
PASSENGER SIDE HEAD LIGHT INTERMITTENT FAILURE. NOTICEABLE, OBVIOUSLY, ONLY WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT. FAILS AFTER A FEW MINUTES DRIVING, THEN WORKS NORMALLY FOR A DAY OR TWO THEN FAILS AGAIN WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT. NO RHYME OR REASON TO THE FAILURES. ONLY OCCURS ON LOW BEAM. HEADLAMP IS NOT 'BURNT OUT.' AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THIS IS NOT A HEADLIGHT ISSUE BUT RATHER A HOUSING ISSUE AND THE ENTIRE HOUSING AND LAMP NEED TO BE REPLACED. WHY HAS TOYOTA NOT ISSUED A RECALL? THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE! CAR CURRENTLY HAS 115,739 MILES ON IT.
THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT OR THE UPPER BRAKE LIGHT WORKS VERY INTERMITTENTLY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. MOST AVALONS ON THE ROAD IN THIS BODY STYLE HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH A DEFECTIVE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT. THE DEALER WANTS OVER $500 FOR THE PART ALONE. THE LIGHT WORKS ONCE IN A RARE RARE WHILE. I CALLED TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS IN TORRANCE, CA., THEY SUGGESTED I CONTACT YOU. THIS OCCURS WHEN SITTING STILL OR DRIVING ON STREETS AND A HIGHWAY.
THE HEADLIGHTS RANDOMLY GO OUT WHEN THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN. IT STARTED WITH ONE SIDE BUT NOW BOTH LIGHTS ARE GOING OFF AND HAVE DONE SO SIMULTANEOUSLY WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS!
WHILE DRIVING, THE LEFT HID LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT RANDOMLY SHUTS OFF. WHEN I CYCLE THE ON/OFF SWITCH THE LIGHT COMES BACK ON, BUT WILL GO OFF RANDOMLY AGAIN. THE LIGHT DOES THIS IN DIFFERENT WEATHER AND DRIVING CONDITIONS. NO SET PATTERN. WHEN ADVISED OF THE PROBLEM THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP SAID THIS WAS AN PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE AND I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR. I DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND DETERMINED THE ISSUE WAS NOT ISOLATED TO MY VEHICLE. MANY OTHER 2008 TOYOTA AVALON OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE. A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. TOYOTA DOES NOT WANT TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. GIVEN THE RANDOMNESS THAT THE LIGHTS TURN OFF, THIS IS DEFINITELY A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED TO ENSURE TOYOTA FIXES THE PROBLEM PROPERLY.
RECENTLY PURCHASED A CAR. WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT THE HEADLIGHTS RANDOMLY GOE OFF AFTER A FEW MINUTES. UNFORTUNATELY THIS ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED WHILE MY RECENTLY LICENSED TEEN WAS DRIVING THE CAR... HUGE SAFETY ISSUE! I WENT TO DEALER TO HAVE LIGHT SYSTEM CHECKED OUT. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE LIGHTS WERE BROKEN. I ASKED IF THEY COULD HAVE EXPLODED DO TO SOME SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. I WAS ASSURED THAT WAS NOT THE CASE AS THEY INSINUATED THAT WHOEVER PUT THEM IN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGE, OFFERING ME A VERY COSTLY SOLUTION. HOWEVER THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT COULD CAUSE THIS PROBLEM. BEFORE AGREEING TO ANY REPAIRS, I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH. THEIR UNCERTAINTY LEFT ME UNEASY AND VERY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH COMING OUT OF POCKET FOR ANYTHING AT THAT POINT AND MY CHILD'S SAFETY IS MY TOP PRIORITY. UPON RESEARCHING, I FOUND OUT THESE PROBLEMS ARE KNOWN TO TOYOTA. THEY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 72,000 MILES, BUT, WOULD NOT COVER MY CAR ISSUE DUE TO MILEAGE AND YEAR SURPASSING THAT WHICH IS OUTLINED IN THE WARRANTY EXTENSION. HEADLIGHTS ARE ESSENTIAL AND QUITE FRANKLY REQUIRED BY LAW. THE EXTENSION SHOULD BE APPLIED WITH NO MILEAGE RESTRAINT AS HEADLIGHTS ARE A MAJOR SAFETY COMPONENT OF A VEHICLE. EVERY WHERE YOU GO DEALERS SWEAR BY THE AVALON BEING A COST EFFECTIVE AND VERY SAFE CHOICE WITH THIS ISSUE EXISTING, THEY HAVE NON THE LESS SHOVED A FOOT RIGHT DOWN THEIR OWN THROATS! THIS SHOULD EITHER BE A RECALL OR AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH UNLIMITED MILES. IF YOU CAN'T DO THIS TAKE THE CAR OFF THE MARKET/QUIT LETTING DEALERS SALE THE CAR ASSURING UNBEKNOWNST BUYERS OF THE CAR'S UNDENIABLE QUALITY FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT FAILED TO OPERATE. THE BULB WAS REPLACED NUMEROUS TIMES; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE LOCATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.
JUST ABOUT EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE AT NIGHT, ONE OR BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT. IN ORDER TO GET THE LIGHT OR LIGHTS BACK ON, I HAVE TO TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND THEN BACK ON. THIS PRESENTS AN ONGOING POTENTIAL HAZARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY BOTH GO OFF AT ONCE. THIS MODEL IS THE TOP OF THE LINE (LIMITED) AND HAS THE HID LIGHTS. I HAVE READ ON LINE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. I FURTHER UNDERSTAND THAT TOYOTA MAY HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT IF BOTH LIGHTS GO OUT AND I AM NOT ABLE TO GET THEM ON AGAIN WHILE I AM TRAVELING ON AN UNLIT ROAD. THIS LAST HAPPENED YESTERDAY AS I WILL INDICATE BELOW BUT IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR MORE THAN A FEW YEARS NOW.
LEFT HEAD LIGHT GOES OFF AFTER ABOUT 15 TO 20 MIN OF DRIVING..THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA FOR YEARS. WHY HAS THE NHTSA FORCED TOYOTA TO FIX THIS. IT SEEMS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NHTSA HAS KNOWN ABOUT FOR A LONG WHILE. NHTSA REF# 10033406 AND 10037591. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, BOTH HIGH BEAM HEAD LAMPS EXPLODED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT BOTH HEAD LAMP ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,000.
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
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