Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the rear window privacy screen was stuck in the up position; therefore, blocking his visibility when attempting to reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
2013 Toyota Avalon visibility complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 30 of 30, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The rear retractable sunshade went up and locked in place and will not retract under any circumstances. At night it becomes very difficult to see any vehicles behind you. Backing up becomes a problem as well for it becomes hard to see pedestrians as they pass behind you in parking lots. Very dangerous defect and I have seen many reports of this happening.
My rear window shade has stopped functioning. It is in the up position and is impossible to see behind me unless full sun is present. This is a constant situation.
The rear power sunshade, which is standard equipment on the limited model, raises on its own and won't go back down causing low visibility. There is no way to manually lower it either
Headliner at top of rear glass is drooping where the headliner meets, and has developed a crease at a point in the center, restricting visibility out of the rear window. It is a defect and the dealer (northtown toyota - amherst, ny) will not replace/repair as car is out of warranty. Contacted toyota to address the problem, and they have not responded.
The vehicle was taken to a local dealership for the required 10,000 mile warranty maintenance. At this time, I showed the dealership where water marks had appeared in all four upper corners of the inside cloth liners beside the front and rear windshields. I was told the sunroof had tubes that occasionally clogged and they would clear the tubes and clean the inside cloth. Over the past few months our area experienced a tremendous amount of rain. When the car was taken to the dealership for the 15,000 mile warranty maintenance, I showed the dealership where water marks appeared to have worsened in the same areas. The dealership explained that there were no clogs in the sunroof tubing and they had attempted to recreate the water leakage by running water over the car for one hour. They could not explain why the water marks kept reappearing and did not know if anyone called toyota. A representative from the dealership explained that they could not do anything else to correct the issue because there were no "recalls" pertaining to this issue. I performed a google search and discovered a blog where many people have experienced this problem and one person even had to have the headliners and cloth replaced due to water damage. The representative said there was nothing else they could do but I could report this to the federal safety agency if I felt the need to seek repairs.
While driving the vehicle at approximately 45 MPH on a clear sunny day the windshield wipers turned on and began to operate at full speed and would not respond at attempts to stop them. The horn started going off with alarm noises in the vehicle. The smell of an electrical odor and white smoke began to enter the cabin through the dash. Attempts to pull the vehicle over were prevented as the steering wheel locked. The brakes would not respond or work despite stepping on them with both feet and attempting to pump them. The vehicle was still traveling on the road and down a hill with no electrical, steering, or power function of the vehicle. As the vehicle slowed the passenger jumped out. Fire began to come through the dash and upon the driver opening his door fire also came into the cabin from beneath the vehicle. The driver jumped out just before the vehicle careened down an embankment and exploded 3 times.
I am writing about my 2013 toyota avalon, there is one really bad design flaw!!! The accent chrome around the controls and air conditioner vents reflect the sunlight into the eyes of the driver and front passenger, and it is blinding. The blinding reflection may cause accidents and/or direct injury to the eyes such as retina, cornea damage as well as any other eye damage as a result of bright sunlight. I have tried the darkest/protective eyewear that I can purchase but the reflection still comes through blinding. I have also had the darkest window tent allowed by law installed (purchased at the dealership). I have contacted the dealership and toyota directly but have had no offer for a solution. This is a simple to fix with a replacement piece of dash chrome in a non-reflective color such as a flat black, wood-grain, or brushed metal color. A custom designed dash area shade should also offer a solution. I have verified that there have been many other complaints through an internet search.
I received a recall notice on my vehicle on february 6, 2014 and every time I have called the dealership to have my HVAC assembly repaired they tell me that the parts are on backorder. I feel like they are putting me and my safety at risk by not producing a fix for this recall.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the rear window was distorted, causing his visibility to be minimized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the vehicle was compliant with standards. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 7,000. Updated 03/05/14*lj
Sunlight is reflected into the eyes of the driver and front seat passenger from the interior trim. This bright reflection not only makes it difficult to see at times, the sunlight can cause damage to the retina and cornea. The light comes from many different parts of the car so it is impossible to constantly shield with our hands while driving. We keep the sunroof closed. It does not matter if the sun is directly overhead or at an angle because there are so many areas that reflect the light. We noticed this problem within the first week of purchase. We contacted the dealer and manufacturer. While they initially seemed willing to help, it is obvious from their silence, that they hope the problem will go away. There are numerous conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts, and pterygium, caused by exposure to bright sunlight in the eyes and are concerned about the damage that could result from this constant exposure. It would be great if the manufacturer would correct the design flaw in our car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota avalon. The contact stated that he could not see through the rear window because it was distorted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 1,700.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota avalon. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a constant glare from the dashboard, affecting the contact's visibility of the roadway. The contact believed the failure to be a serious safety issue since he was unable to see approaching vehicles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that he was unable to alter the design of the vehicle. However, the technician opted to clean the dashboard and windshield as a temporary remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 700 and the current mileage was 767. Updated 11/20/13
Complaint: sun glare reflection coming from dashboard, safety issue, similar to nets. On 04/01/13, james fewel toyota national hq, documented my dash glare issue under file #[xxx]: on 3-16-2013, we purchased a 2013 avalon from coggin toyota jacksonville. It has fl legal window tinting. The dash's chrome trim causes a glare issue on a sunny day, causing bright glare due to the amount of dashboard trim that is silver/chrome. It is a safety issue when there is so much glare coming from the dash area. What is toyota's recommendation is to rectify the issue? On 05/21/13, [xxx], service director, toyota avenues, responded: [xxx], I forwarded your pictures to our tech dept as well as submitted a product quality case. Response back from manufacturer has been that there is nothing that can be changed at this time to keep the glare coming off of the chrome trim panels. The ref for the dealer product report is case # [xxx] if you wish to call the cust spt center to update your case. Thank you, [xxx], toyota avenues [xxx]. On 05/22/2013 [xxx] at toyota hq responded: [xxx], we are sorry for the concerns this condition has caused and have forwarded your email to a case manager here in our dept. The case manager will contact you via phone before the end of business, may 23, 2013. We have documented your email at our national hq under file #[xxx]. On 05/23/2013 received a call from toyota case manager [xxx], so I sent him pictures showing the glare issue. There was never any further communication from toyota hq on it. Bottom line: toyota needs to come up with a fix to this safety issue, replacing all this glossy chrome with something non-reflective. Putting chrome in the dash area was a poor design. My wife often feels sick, due to the way this glare hurts her eyes. Thank you. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Very upset toyota customer, purchased showroom 2013 toyota avalon with headliner in the rear drooped down. This is brand new...I was told that probably some kids have pulled the headliner down while in showroom. Waiting for resolution I decided to read on common problems and lone behold! Toyota, you had better get this fixed immediately before there is an accident due to headliner obstructing the drivers view. How fast this is resolved is going to determine how I speak about toyota and future purchases! Get after it! Next up, seat back covers also was blamed on kids in showroom pulling them down. I looked at the design and see how sorry the engineering is. Toyota, need fix as soon as possible.. A good one! I will report this to the news if not rectified.
There is a glare in the rear window that tends to always have a negative effect on visibility. I have never seen anything like this in my 40 years of driving and owning over 20 vehicles. It seems the angle of the window combined with the light gray rear deck material creates the distracting reflection/glare. At first I thought it was the port installed tinting that caused the reflection, but now I am beginning to think it is a design flaw. Also, I see you need my name and personal information on this form and you are promising to keep it confidential and private. Now how can anyone trust any government agency these days to protect information when one of the main functions of our government seems to be spying on all the citizens and acting like the ussr circa 1960?
This toyota was purchased with a sunroof top. After driving the car for two weeks we noticed the headliner was coming loose from the roof. We noticed that when you opened the sunroof the air entering the car made the roof or headliner shake and move as if to much air was getting under it causing the headliner to separate from the roof. We took the car in for service and the dealership finally told us there was a recall on these headliners and that no parts were being replaced at this time. I look at this as a major flaw and the roof coming loose should have been something the toyota should have said something about. We've had the car two weeks shouldn't they have said o by the way the roof may separate from the top of the car. No calls about the recall and they told us to take our car that they could not repair it right now. Please tell everyone the roof in this car has problems an toyota is not fixing it. It's unfair to the consumer that things like this can happen and people know about it and are still allowed to sell these car if you want to buy one today.
I drove to baltimore, md from cherry hill, nj on 06/16/2013 at speeds varying from 45mph - 75mph. The moment I got on to nj turnpike, the wind and road noise were loud inside the cabin. The entire time it seemed the windows of the car were open even though the A/C was on slow, windows and sunroof were closed. (I have two older cars I.e. Hyundai elantra 2002 and honda accord 2005 which have less cabin noise when windows are closed). Considering, this is a brand new car, high end and is supposed to be very quite, I find it a big safety risk as the noise is distracting, because I was trying to see if the windows were open, doors were properly closed and sun roof wasn't open / tilted, all the while distracting me from the road. A lot of the noise seems to be coming from around the doors and the front windshield, at one point during my journey there was a loud whooshing sound coming from the front wind shield as if there was no seal / insulation between the windshield and the body of the car.
Failed component in this vehicle, as well as every other 2013 toyota avalon, has a distorted rear window and one cannot get a clear view of what is behind. All lines are zig-zag and everything behind is fuzzy. This is not a dispute between one car owner and toyota, but a dispute that encompasses every 2013 toyota avalon and in which the federal safety agency should take interest. I have documents to prove that all these vehicles have this problem. I purchased this car 12/17/12 on a rainy, overcast day. After delivery, I noticed the window, and thinking it could be repaired by replacement, took the car to the dealer and after they checked other cars on the lot, found all had the same problem. The field service rep and I met and he drove the vehicle. He too, saw the problem. We met again, and he had met with the technical people in jacksonville, and no car had a clear window. He stated, in writing, that he would pursue a re-purchase of the vehicle. I was advised to get a case number and I did so. After working for several weeks with the case manager, he informed me that on may 17th, the directors and corporate managers were meeting and on may 20th, he would call to let me know if a window had been re-engineered to correct the problem. The correction could not be made, so arbitration papers were sent. After pursuing this, I was informed I was not eligible for arbitration because it was a design flaw. This is a defect that no mfg. Should be allowed to put on the road. A very expensive car that no one should be condemned to drive because one cannot get a clear view of what is behind. On 6/13/13, I was informed toyota would not re-purchase the car, now would not do anything because they did not consider it to be a safety problem. It is. Even the rep. Involved thinks the car should be re-purchased. It should be re-purchased and every 2013 toyota avalon should be recalled.
In the 2013 toyota avalon, driver visibility is dangerously distorted when looking through the rear view mirror at approaching cars (especially at night), due to a defect in the new 2013 engineering design of the rear glass material, rear glass contour and angle, tinting, and defrost strips. All lights (especially vehicle headlights, street lights, traffic lights, etc.) observed through the rear glass have long, bright, vertical lines radiating at the top and bottom from the main light source viewed through the rear view mirror. These vertical lines shining from all of the numerous light sources obscure the rear view vision, causing confusion for the driver in many ways: 1) not being able to correctly judge rear car distance, 2) not being able to identify the types of vehicles in the rear, 3) not being able to change lanes safely because of distortions through the rear glass panel, 4) not being able to judge how many vehicles are approaching and/or passing, and last but not least, 5) causing the driver to stare longer through the rear view mirror in an attempt to discern what is taking place behind which takes the driver's eye off of the front vision for too long. Although the bright vertical lines can be seen more distinctly at dusk and night, they are also observable during the daytime if the vehicles coming from behind have front lights on, and/or the sun shines on the chrome. These radiating vertical lines take on the color of the main light source seen from behind so the driver may observe white, yellow, red, green, etc. Colors. This causes confusion when trying to judge what is happening with approaching vehicles from behind. On a multi-lane highway at night, these many-colored vertical lines radiating up and down from the various types of headlights, street lights, etc. Cause a confusing and dangerous situation for the driver.
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