Fuel system, electrical and powertrain issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2019 Toyota Avalon is a sedan that’s hailed as “purposely effortless” by the automaker. While everything looks good from the outside of this Toyota car, there’s a lot that is malfunctioning beneath the surface. Customers are complaining about the electrical system, fuel system, powertrain and exterior lighting.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2021
With the car’s electrical system running to every corner, these components must run correctly in order to provide an enjoyable ride, but that’s not the case with the Avalon.
Here is one Edmunds review to look at. “The navigation system is laughably awful so not usable. The electronics don’t work so well either. For example the blind spot monitor lights up when the other car is too forward or even up to the front fender so it’s not useful either. The big touch screen requires going through several screens to get it to do what you want (sometimes) and that means taking your eyes off the road way too much. I think it’s every bit as bad as texting!”
While these problems are serious, they aren’t nearly as dangerous as what NHTSA Campaign Number 18V685000 illustrates. It turns out that nearly 170,000 vehicles could be equipped with an air bag electronic control unit that could detect a fault and cause the air bags to malfunction. If the air bags don’t deploy during an accident, occupants could be seriously injured. When looking at this problem, it’s completely clear that Toyota did put forth minimal effort in creating the Avalon.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Power Train | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking |
When the fuel system works as it should, the car can run smoothly and efficiently. However, the Avalon doesn’t seem to operate as expected.
Here is one NHTSA complaint. “The fuel pump failed, my 2019 Toyota Avalon stalled in traffic putting everyone in harm’s way. And there was no way to get to safety, many were at risk, why? The car was in motion and stopped! It was a turn affecting drivers behind me, in front of me, involving traffic on two streets of an intersection.”
Not surprisingly, there is a fuel system recall on this Toyota car. NHTSA Campaign Number 20V012000 affects nearly two million vehicles and states that the fuel pump could completely fail. If this occurs, it increases the chance of an accident and puts lives in danger, as illustrated above. How did so many vehicles leave the assembly line with such a massive defect? Likely, it goes back to that lack of effort once again.
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As with the fuel system, the powertrain needs to be equipped to handle the daily demands of driving. Yet, this is another system that is simply a disappointment.
One more NHTSA review states, “I bought this car about 5 months ago and everything was fine until a month ago. Every time I’m driving less than 35 mph I feel a rough down shift is not that bad, but I notice it. It only happens when I’m driving slow, more specifically in the city. Toyota hasn’t sent anything regarding this problem. I thought it would go away but it hasn’t.”
While rough shifting is clearly an issue, there are bigger problems. In fact, Service Bulletin #T-TT-0580-19_Rev talks about the possibility of a leak from the transmission side cover. Is this another system that the company failed to manufacture properly? It would appear so. In Toyota’s attempt to provide an effortless vehicle, they really dropped the ball.
One of the final complaints is centered on the exterior lighting. It turns out that the lights are barely bright enough to see what’s going on.
Here is one last NHTSA review. “The headlights, when on low beam, in non-ambient light conditions (total darkness) do not project far enough to detect persons walking on the side of the road or cars parked on the side of the road, especially if the road is undulating (dips, curves, hills). Headlight project can be reduced to 1-1/2 car lengths on dips on dark nights. The low beam cutoff line can be an issue as there is no vision thru the upper half of the window in such conditions.”
What a dangerous situation this poses. It would appear that even the lights don’t want to put forth an effort. Even Service Bulletin #T-TT-0609-20_Rev talks about “abnormal, partial or 100% inoperative function of either the passenger side, driver side, or both LED1 Headlamp Day Time Running Lights (DRL).” The cause was traced back to an internal fault in the headlight assembly itself. What’s even scarier is that Toyota is okay with admitting that this lack of effort was “purposely” done. It’s like admitting to failure and being okay with it.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Toyota pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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We have a 2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited. This car has all kinds of malfunctions going on.
I have a 2019 Avalon and it is giving me a lot of electrical problems, the lights go out and so I do not know what it will be