Newest first. Many cover only part of a model year, so check your VIN with NHTSA or Toyota before booking a repair.
NHTSA · listed for this model year
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.
20V024000 · 2,891,976 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. During a vehicle repair, the seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that may incorrectly tell the air bag management system that the seat belt is always buckled.
If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the air bags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0S.
18V569000 · 19,354 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles manufactured February 9, 2010, to October 22, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the sub-woofer speaker located in the trunk may experience an intermittent electrical short which may cause damage to the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier. In some cases, the damaged IC may allow a constant electrical current flow to the sub-woofer.
A constant electrical current flow may cause the sub-woofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the audio system amplifier and install a protective cover around the sub-woofer, free of charge. The recall began on July 1,2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
15V047000 · 51,495 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing. The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the air bag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash. An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will seal the air conditioning condenser unit housing and install a protective cover on the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
13V442000 · 802,769 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Canadian records (Transport Canada) · 5
These are Transport Canada campaigns for 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles sold in Canada. A Canadian campaign may have no US counterpart, or one under a different number covering different vehicles. For a vehicle sold in the United States, go by the NHTSA listing above and NHTSA's VIN lookup.
Issue: This recall is for certain block heater kits installed on certain vehicles or sold as accessories at Toyota or Lexus dealerships. On certain vehicles, the engine block heater cable may not have enough heat protection and could be damaged by high temperatures. If this happens, the cable could short circuit while plugged in, and cause the wiring to overheat or melt. Note: This recall only affects the following block heater/cord part numbers: C014003034 PK5A408J09 PU14000904 C014003151 PK5A408J13 PU14000905 C014000885 PK5A489J11 PU14000907 C014000888 PK5A489J22 PU14000909 C014000907 PK5A410H00 PU14000911 C014100904 PU14000900 PU14000913 C014100907 PU14000901 PU14003571 C014100911 PU14000902 PK5A489J14 PK5A408J05 PU14000903 Safety Risk: Engine block heater wiring that overheats or melts could create the risk of a fire. Corrective Actions: Toyota recommends that you should stop using the engine block heater immediately. Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to disable the engine block heater. For some vehicles, the corrective actions for this recall are under development. For others, a new engine block heater cannot be installed, and the owner will receive a refund of the purchase price of the engine block heater.
2021723 · 55,683 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Issue: On certain vehicles, the circuits within the airbag control module could be damaged in a crash. This could cause the airbags and seat belt pretensioners to not deploy in certain crashes. Safety Risk: Airbags or seat belts that do not work properly in a crash could create an increased risk of injury. Corrective Actions: Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install an electrical noise filter to prevent damage to the airbag control module.
2020013 · 407,318 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
On certain vehicles that had the driver’s and/or front passenger's seat belt buckle replaced, a switch within the replacement buckle may incorrectly signal that the seat belt is always buckled. In the event of a crash, this may cause the airbag system not work as designed, and could increase the risk of injury to the occupant(s). Correction: Dealers will inspect the signal from the seat belt switch and replace the inner seat belt assembly as needed.
2018457 · 215 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
On certain vehicles equipped with a trunk-mounted sub-woofer, cargo in the trunk could contact the sub-woofer's soft braided wire, which could cause the wire to move out of its normal position. If one of these wires were to come into contact with the metal frame of the sub-woofer, it could result in an intermittent short, causing the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier to become damaged. In some cases, the damaged IC could create a closed circuit between the power supply and sub-woofer, and electric current could continue to flow to the sub-woofer. If this were to occur, the sub-woofer could overheat, increasing the risk of fire, causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the audio system amplifier and install a protective cover around the subwoofer. In the interim, dealers will disconnect the rear sub-woofer.
2015038 · 1,285 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
On certain vehicles, if the air conditioning condenser drain hose were to become clogged, water could accumulate and leak onto the airbag control module. This could cause the airbag warning light to illuminate, and potentially result in an unintended deployment of the airbags. This could startle the driver and/or cause minor injuries to vehicle occupants. Water damage could also cause a loss of power steering assist, causing the vehicle to revert to a manual steering mode which would require greater driver effort, especially at low vehicle speeds, and increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install a protective shield and sealant.
2013359 · 44,041 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
2012 Toyota Avalon recall questions
NHTSA lists 4 recalls for the 2012 Toyota Avalon model year. That counts campaigns naming this model year, not recalls on your vehicle: many cover only a VIN range or production window. Transport Canada lists 5 Canadian campaigns for the Canadian-market model, shown separately.
Enter your VIN in NHTSA's recall lookup or Toyota's own, or call a Toyota dealer with your VIN. Cardog uses your VIN only to find the model year; the recalls shown here are listed for that model year and are not matched to your VIN.
Not necessarily. Transport Canada campaigns cover vehicles sold in Canada. For a vehicle sold in the United States, go by the NHTSA listing and NHTSA's VIN lookup.
Safety recall repairs are normally done at no charge by an authorized Toyota dealer. The manufacturer's notice for each campaign sets out the remedy and any conditions, so confirm with the dealer when you book.
Once Toyota's lookup or a dealer confirms a recall applies, book the repair with an authorized Toyota dealer and bring your VIN. If the manufacturer's notice says not to drive the vehicle or to park it outside, follow that instruction. Parts can take time, so book early.
Follow the manufacturer's notice for that recall. Most allow normal driving until the repair; some tell owners to stop driving or to park outside until it is fixed. Cardog does not grade recalls by severity: the manufacturer's notice and your dealer are the source.
Manufacturers must notify owners they have on record. If you bought the vehicle used or have moved, update your details with Toyota so notices reach you, and check NHTSA's lookup from time to time.
Related recall checks
Compare recall listings with alternatives to the 2012 Toyota Avalon.