Problems with 2004 Toyota Avalon AIR BAGS

The manufacturer has failed to remedy the defect within a reasonable time.

I received a safety recall notice from toyota years ago. i called them a number of times and they still don't have the replacement part. they told me they would call me when they received it but i have never heard from them. toyota is risking my life and those of my passengers.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle needed a new fuel cap. the contact received notice of nhtsa campaign 14v147000 (air bags). the vehicle was not repaired for the air bag issue. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was not provided.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. the contact stated that the passenger's side air bag warning lamp illuminated sporadically. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that there was a connection problem under the passenger seat and as a result, the wiring harness needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 43,000.

When the car is moving, the airbag warning light illuminates and glows, sometimes for a few minutes and sometimes for an hour. then it goes out. i received an interim notice letter from toyota over 2 months ago citing this problem and stating that they would notify me "again when a remedy is ready". i have not received another notice and i am afraid that a serious accident, injury or fatality could occur if the airbag deploys while being driven and no collision has occurred. please have toyota contact me with the remedy so i can have it applied at toyota's expense. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. the contact was driving 20 mph when he crashed into the rear of another vehicle and the airbags failed to deploy. the contact sustained injuries to the head, nose, knees and lip. the contact also sustained bruising around the eyes. the police were contacted and report was filed. the vehicle was destroyed. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were 100,000.

I have been notified by toyota that my 2004 avalon xls may have a defective air bag. i received a notification from toyota in may 2014 of such defect. as of september 9, 2014, i have not been notified if a solution or what corrective action is being taken. toyota has had sufficient time to develop a solution and fix my and all other vehicles that have this problem. there is no urgency. there is no communication. you, the regulator, and toyota, the manufacturer, have done a lousy job in correcting this problem. please updated me regarding the status of this recall. thank you. *tr

C/s warning light on and off intermittently - reported to toyota customer service diagnosis side airbag malfunction received safety recall june 2014 customer service unwilling to replace defective airbag after several calls and delays.

Prior reports for air bag #10354981. today 12/6/10 the air bag light came on again after spending $1000 in september 2010 to fix it. the last time it was fixed service dept told me the wires were frayed and shooting out sparks. they said i was lucky to get to them so quickly before a fire started. *tr

Air bag light going on and off for 1 1/2 years. toyota found no problem. several weeks ago air bag light stayed on. toyota said wires leading from computer to under seat came apart and were sending out sparks. i paid to have this fixed. several toyota owners w/ different models had to same problem with the seat bag light. *tr

1. i was at nellis air force base performing a ceremony. after the ceremony i entered the vehicle with wife to go to the base shopping area. the vehicle was parked in a parking space with a concrete tire stop, and wall in front. entered the vehicle to back out. it came out quicker than normal off axis and the rear bumper impacted the concrete protector to a pole with very little damage. i put the vehicle in neutral and felt no out of the ordinary indications. 2. i put it into drive with my foot on the brake to pull forward then back out. the car accelerated at full power sufficient enough to kick out the concrete tire stop behind the vehicle, and total the front end of the 2003 toyota avalon x ls to the tune of 17684 dollars.. i purchased the vehicle in december of 2008 and had no prior problems, and not being a recalled avalon no warning. i went through the nhtsa database for avalon from 2000--2010 and found i had the exact same problem others reported. 3. toyota dealership was contacted at the time of the accident. when i called corporate later in the month they did not even have the vehicle in my name. i asked for an inspector and they sent one his name email etc is on file. when i called toyota corporate again they said i would get a letter from their claims department. about the findings.in 2-4 weeks. they did not offer to pick up the rental or to provide any assistance.. note: i put in speed control and air bags for i had to put in something to make the menu work. it accelerated out of control with my foot on the brake the exact cause is to be determined, i could not control the speed so that fit closest. the air bags did not deploy for it hit on an angle, a flaw in the design. if you accelerate at full power into a brick wall they should deploy. parking space speed unknown put in 30 mph to make the form work. form needs updating this should be optional. *tr

Our avalon has about 46,000 miles on it and has been doing the following for the last 10,000; passenger-side airbag light/fault indicator intermittently comes on while driving at any speed. this may go for days or weeks without happening, and then happen several times a day. indicator may come fully on or only dimly on, for seconds or for minutes. it appears that going over a bumpy road will trigger the light going on or off. the vehicle was brought to the watertown ma toyota dealer for analysis in october 2010 and to the woburn ma toyota dealer on january 16 2012. the indicator did not come on while at either dealer who said they could not find anything wrong and that we need to bring the vehicle to them when the airbag light is on. this is impossible because neither dealer is close to our home and the light goes on and off so intermittently. the january 2012 visit to the woburn ma toyota dealer included running a diagnostic test that did not find anything wrong but said it could possibly be that the airbag wiring had gotten wet at one point and this was the result. the dealer advised us to see if the problem is worse when it rains. (it is not.) both dealers said if the indicator is on then the airbag system is not working properly, which is very concerning to us. a local mechanic also removed the front seat from the car to check the airbag wiring beneath the seat; they did not find any problems. on february 7, 2012, the airbag light went on and we were able to get to the local mechanic with it still on. the mechanic immediately put on the scanning tool and no diagnostic codes showed even though the light was on. he tapped on the airbag panel above the passenger glove compartment and the diagnostic codes starting appearing on his scanner. based on the scan results, he said that the passenger airbag is faulty and needs to be replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. the contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the failure for a air bag manufacturer recall however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 60,000. updated 04/14/16*lj the consumer stated the airbag was disconnected. *js

Srs airbag light comes on intermittently have been back to the dealer multiple times and the light goes off, the one time it was on the technician placed the computer on it and no error code was showing even though the light was flashing on and off. another technician replaced the main sensor module $700+ but the light started flashing again after the weather changed and started getting cold. dealer says i have to bring it back for more diagnosis, also more money. called toyota corporate offices and they will not even talk to me about refunding the unnecessary repair cost as car is out of warranty. have seen multiple instances of this behavior being documented in the internet postings, why hasn't the nhtsa directed toyota to fix this safety issue. if the light is on the airbags will not deploy and multiple blogs have stated that toyota airbags have failed to deploy in multiple instances. i think a major recall is in order for toyota avalon airbags for the 2001-2004 model years. *tr

Problems with airbag light being on intermittently since about 2005. just read complaint about airbag light in this position failing to deploy in 2004 avalon(same as mine) in an accident with injuries. have taken mine in to dealer but light always goes off before they look at it. i'm very scared now that i see that just this year a 2004 was involved in accident with problem with airbag light staying on and airbags did not deploy although vehicle totaled. there should be a recall. *tr

I had an auto accident and ran into a tree. car totaled however, the air bags did not deploy. car was a 2004 toyota avalon xls, 4 door model. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the srs and ecu needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 45,664. updated 05/26/16*lj *tr

As a school bus approached, i moved over slightly to the right to give it more room. unexpectedly, the car accelerated and i hit a tree on the right side of the road. it did not occur to me at the time of the accident that the 2004 avalon xls had sped up. that had occurred twice before while driving. i suffered a slight chip in my left ankle bone. *tr

Air bag warning light flashes continuously from time to time, then operates normally after instrument panel start up check. many similar comments may be found on internet by searching 2004 (and other model years) toyota avalon. dealers nor toyota manufacturing appear not to have an absolute/accurate resolution. some technicians feel the problem (among others) may be related to a steering recall repair as a cable within the steering column could have been damaged in the repair process or steering system failure or as an inadvertent cable wear under normal steering conditions. owners are bearing the cost of repair and loss of vehicle resale value. unknown is the potential lack of passenger safety if the air bag system is inoperative. accident records indicate that in some accident cases air bags have not deployed and passenger injury/death has occurred. *tr

Since at least 2008 the airbag warning light has come on at random times. i took the car into a dealer in 2008. they failed to fix it. i took it in again. they failed to fix it. in 20014 there was a recall. it failed to fix it. 2016 there was another recall. it failed to fix the issue. toyota is unwilling to take responsibility to fix the issue or is incompetent.

On july 14, 2007 my parents were involved in a single-car crash in the residential area of new bloomfield, mo. my 84-year-old father was driving a 2004 toyota avalon, suddenly left the right side of the roadway, flipped the vehicle, and landed upside down, back on the pavement. my 79-year-old mother was killed instantly from head trauma, and my father passed away from injuries sustained in the accident 7 weeks later. the authorities could not determine the cause of the accident, and my father could not remember any details, as he had extraordinary internal trauma and was in icu for most of his remaining 7 weeks. i have petitioned the auto insurer, allstate several times, but they have not responded to my e-mails, and although it is likely this vehicle has been destroyed, based on all the media about sudden acceleration of toyota vehicles, this could certainly have been a contributing factor to, if not the cause of, this horrific accident. we have been vexed by the whole incident, and it never occurred to me to request having the avalon inspected (highly rated vehicle and all...), until all the recent media of other deaths involving toyota vehicles. updated 03/10/10 *bf *tr updated ivoq 08/03/10 updated 9/21/2011*cw

On 9/28/2006 at approximately 5:20 pm, my wife & i were traveling south on the bullhead parkway, bullhead city, az, when we were struck front left fender, pushing our vehicle into a stopped vehicle, totaling our vehicle, a 2003 toyota avalon. the owner of the body shop told us that he was surprised that neither the side or front air bag deployed even though both sensors were crushed. i advised toyota, ny city of this so that they could investigate and correct this problem. i do not know if they did or not. *nm

2004 toyota avalon, srs light comes on while driving, toyota can not get a fix because they state that the light has to be on when i bring it in. i have been able to do it only once and then it went off before they could get a diagnostic reading. the light will come on steady then flicker randomly. i was told by a toyota representative at the dealership that if a accident were to occur while the light is on that the air bags would not deploy. they also stated that the computer is not holding the error code which would assist in finding the problem. i have taken photos of the light on while driving and this was at 43952 miles. to date the car is just above 90k miles and the srs light is still randomly coming on. i have tried many a times to get to a toyota dealership while the light is on but it either goes out while in transit or goes out prior to dealership hooking up diagnostic equipment. i feel that this is a major problem to safety of my family since the airbags will not deploy if the srs light is on. toyota should look further into these types of issues since it is in my estimation a major safety issue. i have photos if needed. *tr

The airbag light comes on at random times. it stays on from a few seconds to 15 minutes. last week i was driving a distance of 60 miles and my wife counted 19 times that the light came on. repeated contact with the local dealer and toyota have revealed that if the light is on at impact the airbags will not deploy. toyota never sees the light on and will do nothing to try to repair the problem. they say it would be too expensive. i have a 7 year 70k warranty. i have provided serial pictures of the light being on. toyota will not accept this as"we must see it", like i am a liar. *tr

2004 toyota avalon xls. srs light comes on intermittently since purchasing vehicle, dealer cannot locate problem. i have been advised that the airbags will not function if vehicle is involved in an accident when light is on. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota avalon. the contact stated while starting the vehicle, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. the failure recurred intermittently. there was a recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 14v147000 (air bag) however, the part was currently unavailable to perform the repair. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 1,000.