March 13, 2026, I was on a road trip from CA to AZ and while driving around 75-80mph (speed limit), something in the driver's side seat belt or the shoulder holster exploded, the belt tightened, and something metal or plastic flew off. Shortly after (within 30 seconds or so), the passenger's side seat belt did something similar where something in the seat belt mechanism exploded and another part went flying. There was an electrical buzzing noise. I was looking for a place to pull over when the air bags went off. There was no bump in the road or a dip and I did not hit anything. I don't remember the order the air bags exploded but it was one after the other. The driver's side air bag exploding left a red abrasion on my left hand. The vehicle was brought to a nearby dealership (Anderson Toyota) where they said they could not verify what the issue was. The safety of myself and others on the road were at risk as the explosions were very loud and the air bags occluded my view while traveling at a high speed. The vehicle has been inspected by a 3rd party representative from Bosch (Apr 2nd) as sent by Toyota corporate and Toyota has not given me any updates. Calling them several times they have failed to return calls, and after a call today, they said the case was filed as closed without my prior notice. I do not recall warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms.
2003 Toyota Avalon airbags problems
184 complaints (63% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 100,000. 16 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 184
- of this car's complaints
- 63%
- typical mileage
- 100,000
- crashes
- 16
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Frontal2
- Side/window1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Toyota Avalon airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Toyota Avalon airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002, to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
- Risk
- Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.
- Remedy
- Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑800‑331‑4331. GM issued an interim notification to owners on March 27, 2015. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1‑800‑620‑7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V‑029 and 14V‑147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.
Recall number 15V043000 · Recall details
What 2003 Toyota Avalon owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I was driving back home, out of no where my car went out of control, went left, then right, hit something and flipped over twice to end in a hill against the traffic with 4 flat tires. The air bag did not deployed. I did hit the windshield. The car was total.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving on several occasions, the SRS warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to beechmont toyota (8667 beechmont ave, cincinnati, oh 45255, (513) 388-3800) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 230,807.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving at an unknown speed, the front driver's side air bag deployed without warning or impact. The contact sustained injuries to the face, but medical attention was not required. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to rice toyota (2630 battleground ave, nc greensboro, nc 27408, (336) 387-6004), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened case number: 1808082730. The approximate failure mileage was 244,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated. The contact called a local dealer (pueblo toyota, 2220 u s 50 w, pueblo, co 81008) where it was diagnosed that the driver's seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and did not assist. The failure mileage was 174,457.
Air bag indicator and seat belt not on indicators keep coming on intermittently. Dealer can't do anything about it unless these indicator comes on when they do the test drive. So it's not always reproducible by the dealership.
I have been waiting over a year for this to be remedied. This is unacceptable
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the air bag warning indicator illuminated and the front driver and passenger side air bags deployed and caused the vehicle to run over a curb. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, but was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and their legal department wrote to the contact, stating that the failure was not recall related. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v043000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 136,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the air bag deployed without warning and obscured the driver's vision. The vehicle crashed into a concrete divider. A police report was filed. The driver was not injured. The vehicle was extensively damaged and was towed to a tow yard. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v043000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Questions about the 2003 Toyota Avalon airbags
Does the 2003 Toyota Avalon have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 184 complaints about the airbags of the 2003 Toyota Avalon, 63% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2003 Toyota Avalon airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 100,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Toyota Avalon airbags?
Yes, 1 recall: 15V043000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Toyota Avalon have bad airbags?
The Toyota Avalon model years with the most airbags complaints are 2003 (184 complaints), 2004 (127 complaints) and 2002 (35 complaints).
Other 2003 Toyota Avalon problems
Acceleration 51Steering 19Electrical 18Brakes 15Engine 12Suspension 9Body 7Fuel system 7Seat belts 6Transmission 6Seats 3Tires 3Visibility 3Driver assistance 1Lights 1
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