2009 Toyota AVALON - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2009 Toyota Avalon has received top ratings of 5 stars for both the front and side crash ratings on the driver and passenger sides. Unfortunately, the overall rating is listed as "Not Rated." Despite this, the Toyota Avalon comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which can significantly enhance the vehicle's safety by helping the driver maintain control in challenging driving conditions. The car, however, does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

It is important to note that there have been 90 complaints reported for this model, along with 7 recalls. While the high number of complaints and recalls may raise some concerns, it is essential for Toyota to address these issues promptly to ensure the safety and satisfaction of their customers.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

90

Recall Count

7

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2009 Toyota Avalon 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2009 Toyota Avalon 4-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2009 Toyota Avalon 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2009 Toyota Avalon 4-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2009 Toyota AVALON

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"when driving my 2009 toyota avalon my headlights sporadically go out. mostly on the drivers side. i have replaced the headlight on 3 separate occasions with in the last 3 years and each time it cost me $185.00 for labor and the headlight. i also got stopped by the police for it! now in 2023 the right head light goes on and off sporadically since march 2023. again, i got stopped by the police! now it's june of 2023 and both lights went out while driving home at night. we took it to a different repair shop and was finally told that this has been a problem for the 2009 toyota avalon for a while as it was a manufacturing defect. a head light ballast i think. why should i pay to fix this as well as tickets from the police for a manufacturing error!!! now i have to pay for 2 ballasts and 2 headlights????."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2023-01-06

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota avalon. the contact stated that the low and high beam headlights and day time running lamps failed to operate. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 82,000. *bf *tr"
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-01-11

Complaint:
"the bright lights do not work due to manufacturer defect. toyota will not honor recall because they added extended warranty but not all owners notified. it is cost progibitive yo repair, so many many people like myself drive without benefit of high beams, a significant safety issue eapecially driving in rural america."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-03-11

Complaint:
"high beam light bulb shattered, no high beam lights. possible hazard for fire or accident at night."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-02-10

Complaint:
"driving on an unlighted texas highway at night my hi-beam lights went out. when i checked them later , both sides the bulb had shattered. i was driving the speed limit of 70 at that time counting on those hi-beams to spot wildlife around the road area. after i lost the use of the high beams i had to lower my speed and the area which i could safely see had greatly decreased."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-11-08

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota avalon. while driving, both the driver and passenger side headlights suddenly shut off. upon inspection, the contact discovered that both light bulbs had shattered inside the head lamp housing. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was due to a defective head lamp housing. the bulbs were replaced and the failure was remedied. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 54,000. updated 06/13/17*lj consumer stated further discussion with the dealer ( andrew toyota) confirms that toyota has changed the headlight housing design that accomodates a different high beam bulb that will not shatter. dealer refuses to replace the housing. updated 9/27/18*jb"
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-11-04

Complaint:
"just found out that my bright beam doesn't function and never has since i purchased the vehicle new in 2009. there were service bulletins but toyota dealer never checked to determine if there was a problem, told me they don't check if customer doesn't complain. i didn't know i was responsible for reading service bulletins. i just paid nearly $200 for repairing the high beam lights. it has been dangerous during night driving but i assumed that was the way avalon were because their front end sits low. i think reimbursement is in order."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2017-08-03

Complaint:
"the headlights go out when operating the car without warning. this happens when driving on residential, highways and interstate roads. cannot drive the car at night for fear that they will go out when i am driving. dealer wanted $2,900 to replace the headlights. this is a safety issue which the manufacturer should address and be responsible for. the limited tsb which they issued would not have helped me. was not covered under extended warranty."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2013-01-04

Complaint:
"while driving during dark hours , the headlights go off or just driver side headlight go off at some time .i have to turn it off and back on by switch attach to sterling . they work back on for some time and then go off again.it does happend every day to me on city street and highway. it's scary and unsafe . its high risk safety issue while driving at dark time hours. please make toyota corp. fix this issue . they know about that problem, deffect for so long."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2015-05-10

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota avalon. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the headlights failed intermittently. the vehicle was repaired, but the details of the repairs were unknown. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 165,000."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2015-05-08

Recalls for the 2009 Toyota AVALON

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"southeast toyota distributors, llc (set) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4runner, highlander, sequoia, and sienna, 2005-2010 avalon and tundra, 2006-2008 camry solara, 2006-2010 highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 rav4 and tacoma, 2007-2010 fj cruiser, 2007-2011 camry hybrid, 2009-2010 venza, 2010-2012 prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. the electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed."
Consequence:
If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy:

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2016-06-02

Recall:
"southeast toyota distributors, llc (set) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 prius and corolla, 2009-2011 venza, 2006-2010 avalon, 2007-2010 fj cruiser, 2005-2011 sienna and sequoia, 2006-2011 tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, camry, highlander, tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 rav4 and 4runner. the affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring."
Consequence:
Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
Remedy:

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2014-11-19

TOYOTA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

TOYOTA ranks 3 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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