Toyota Avalon brake failure problems

Filed Jul 19, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · PA · crash · 2 injuries

Immediately upon making a low-speed contact of my back bumper with a pole, the engine revved loudly. I attempted to go from reverse to drive to get some clearance from the pole. I then immediately attempted to put the car in park so I could get out and observe any damage. Immediately, the car accelerated extremely suddenly and quickly. I went over a curb where I had parked prior to backing up and contacting the pole. I hit a landscaping decorative boulder and a young tree. It was clear that my car was headed into the two-way street straight ahead since it was clear my breaking efforts were useless. I believe the car went airborne for a second, landed and continued straight, thankfully not hitting any vehicle or pedestrian. I saw a parked black full-size pickup truck and figured we would hit it, we did. I thought if the truck didn't stop us then we would continue into the building just beyond it. We landed on a memorial boulder next to the truck with the front end on the boulder and the rear of the car low to the ground. It was very difficult to exit the driver's door because the truck was angled so that my door wouldn't open much. It was difficult to get the door handle to actually open the door. I kept trying the lock in case it was engaged. I squeezed out praying loudly for God to help us, over and over again as I squeezed out. I thought the engine was on fire - I thought I saw smoke but later realized it was the powder from the airbags. I was trying to get to the other side of the vehicle to help my friend out. I had a hard time walking due to scraped up legs. A lady came up to me to help. I asked if my friend was ok. I asked if anyone was hit. She said he was out of the vehicle and no one was hit. I held onto her because I was very weak and shaking. I thought my chest pain was due to a heart attack. But when she coached me on my breathing I realized the pain at my sternum was from the seatbelt. I yelled, "I tried to stop, I couldn't stop, the brakes didn't work!

Filed Apr 17, 2023 · Brakes · SC

Bosch ABS anti skid, anti lock brake moduled failed. No brakes. Toyota US has no replacements parts available. Bosch no longer produces. Called Toyota Customer Service three times. Got to the management end and Senior Advisor told me, warranty expired, norhing we can do. I said, there are a bunch of 2000 to 2004 Toyota Avalons/Lexus 300 vehicles out there (same car except nameplates) with the same problem! Same answer: Toyota, LLC has no further interest in those models and warranty has expired. So, I have limited options: 1. Junk the car (funs and drives like new), 2. Start a legal proceeding (costs prohibitive), 3. notify the federal safety agency. So, I (and X# of others that own this model) have a seroius safety problem. What Can the federal safety agency do?

Filed Dec 23, 2019 · Airbags, Brakes · 31,500 miles · FL · crash · 1 injury

I was heading down snow geese south in duck n.c. To turn left onto wood duck drive. As I approached the turn, my brakes failed and I went into the parking area of 1324 duck road. I could hit a parked truck or house. I hit the truck. The airbags didnt deploy. None of them. It was a head on collision. My car was totaled. The police showed up and were suprised that there were no airbags. This concerns me greatly. The brakes failing was scary enough, but absolutely no airbags!

Filed Mar 26, 2019 · Acceleration, Brakes · 213,830 miles · PR · crash · 2 injuries

I was driving on a highway when the car accelerated by itself, brakes did not work. The car put itself in the middle of two lanes, then accelerated turn half ,I think, crashed (the front of the car)with a small hill some how did not stop and ended up somehow turning back and crashed again this time the back of the car crashed against the hill and stopped. The car suffered several breaks in and a transmision repair. This is my third toyota. It was perfect before the incident. It was very scary. Just a few min before the crash I was passing a toll at about 28 MPH. After passing the tool I was faster than that but I do not like to speed.

Filed Jun 13, 2018 · Acceleration · LA · crash · 1 injury

I reported noise when I made turns to the left or right. I bought the car into the dealership and advised of the issue. I was told that they would check all components of the car and change the oil and rotate the tires. This was at 19,611 miles. I was told that the power steering sound I heard was electric and that it was fine. I returned to the dealership on 3/10/18 and the car was checked again at 24,650 miles. The car was reported fine. Then on 4/26/18 I have an accident because of unintended acceleration. The brakes didn't work or any of the computer safety features. I was stopped in a parking lot waiting for another car to back out. The car passed and I tapped the accelerator to pull into the space. The engine started making accelerating noises and the brakes wouldn't work. I ran over the yellow concrete block and out of the parking lot into the vacant lot next door. I was able to slow the car down by putting it in neutral. The car is damaged and I have injuries. Toyota refuses to take responsibility

Filed Aug 27, 2016 · 10,000 miles · AL

Forward collision avoidance system. Recall 15v728000. Recall was done. Now there seems to be no automatic braking. I have run up on other cars and there is no brakes applied or warning chime.

Filed Jan 21, 2015 · Airbags, Brakes · 162,000 miles · TX · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota avalon. The contact stated that while driving at a low speed, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact applied excessive force to the brakes again but the brakes failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The driver's side air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained sternum and heart bruises that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,000.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Acceleration · 19,000 miles · MA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota avalon . The contact stated when she came to a sudden stop she was crashed into from the rear by another vehicle. The engine rpms then increased and the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle as the service brakes failed. There were no injuries. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 19,000.

Filed Apr 17, 2014 · Brakes · 24,000 miles · FL

Traveling at approximately 65mph in heavy traffic, sudden braking in front of me required quick braking. When I pressed the brake pedal, no brakes activated and the car actually seemed to increase speed. I then applied heavy pressure on the pedal which caused the tires to screech/slide before the ABS activated. The sudden braking incident caused me to fear not only being rear ended, but also, ramming the vehicle in front of me. Very unsettling and I now have much less confidence in toyota's top of the line sedan. I am going to local toyota service department today as this has happened again yesterday, april 16, 2014.

Filed Jul 2, 2013 · Acceleration, Brakes · 28,899 miles · MD · crash

2nd complaint (first complaint - #10522765) - on july 2, 2013, around 5:20 p.m., my fourth incident of brake failure occurred. I was going about 5 miles and applied brakes. Brakes failed and engine sounded like it was racing. I crashed into a the rear of a sedan which was stopped. No injuries were sustained. We were able to drive the cars to a development to exchange insurance information. I drove the car to the dealership for trade-in since it was unreliable for driving at slow speeds. An earlier potential incident occurred in the morning when I was braking and slowing down to make a right hand turn, the individuals were crossing the street on which I was turning into and the brakes seemed to not engaged and the engine began to race. I applied more pressure on the brake pedal and the brakes engaged and stopped the car, barely. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of quality in the toyota avalon. I am also disappointed in the toyota service center's focus of the braking system without examining computer systems' engine controls and speed controls.