2008 Toyota Avalon problems

“Because my instrument panel is alway illuminated, I was unaware that I was driving one night without my lights on. Now I know why I see more cars at night without their lights. Manufacturers need to fix this problem. Older cars would not turn on the panel lights if the headlights weren't on. You would think this would be an easy technology fix with since we have self driving cars now.”

“NHTSA, I WOULD LIKE REPORT AN INCIDENT OF 'SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION' WHEN DRIVING MY 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. I WAS DRIVING WITH MY WIFE, [XXX], ON SUNDAY, 10/23/16 TRAVELING WEST ON WALKER ROAD IN BEAVERTON, OREGON AT 11:05AM (ADDRESS: [XXX]) . I WAS STOPPED BEHIND (2) CARS WAITING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE. THE CAR WAS IN DRIVE. SUDDENLY THE CAR ENGINE QUICKLY REVVED UP. MY CAR SURGED FORWARD AS I DEPRESSED MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE FURTHER. THANKFULLY MY CAR ONLY SURGED FORWARD A FOOT OR TWO AND THEN THE ENGINE RETURNED TO IDLE. NO CONTACT WAS MADE TO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THIS INCIDENT WAS VERY SCARY FOR ME AND MY WIFE AND I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THIS 'SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION' IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND WILL CAUSE HARM TO ME, MY FAMILY AND OTHERS. [XXX] *TR”

“OEM high beam bulbs continuously explode. I’m not saying they just burn out, these bulbs shatter, and send shards of glass on the inside of the headlamp housing. I believe it’s a big safety risk, because for me, it happened while I was driving late at night in the dark where there are deer nearby. Brights are essential to see far and when you’re driving through hills, going up a hill you need your brights to extend higher than your normal lights do. This is a commonly complained about problem for the 2008-2010 models of this Toyota Avalon. Toyota has issued a technical service bulletin back in 2011, but it is a major defect and I believe it should be fixed regardless of whether a customer pays for a warranty or not. A mechanic told me also that they are not sure why Toyota has not warrantied vehicles with this issue. The solution is replacing the headlight housing. So there is clearly a material defect, and I believe it affects safety. Vehicles are required to have high beam headlights for a reason, and the high beams on this vehicle burn out commonly on certain vehicles, and replacing bulbs does NOT solve the problem. It is a very expensive repair as well.…”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE DASHBOARD WAS CRACKING AND MELTING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ELK GROVE TOYOTA (9640 W STOCKTON BLVD, ELK GROVE, CA 95757, (916) 405-8000) WHERE THE GENERAL MANAGER OBSERVED THE DASHBOARD, BUT COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE CENTER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1909100691. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000.”

“The telescopic steering wheel lever comes loose which will cause the wheel to lurch forward if the brakes are pushed in hard. This could be dangerous. This has happened twice in 2 months.”

“I have an 08 Avalon xls and was driving and out of no where it started to shudder and it happened as I was bending a curve. I almost ran off the road. No indicators came on my dash! Because I am mechanically inclined I do know a little about vehicles! So I pulled to inspect the bottom of the transmission pan was wet! And due to the seal transmission there was no way for me to check the fluid! I believe the shudder could be from the torque converter or transmission! I took the vehicle to a friend shop and was told how to add the transmission fluid! And end up putting in a whole court of transmission fluid in before it started to show coming out where it’s supposed to be checked! By not being able to check the transmission fluid and with the shudder like it did it could have caused an accident! I still don’t know what the problem is due to the lack of money to be able to take it to a dealer to find out the true cause! And now my car shudder at 30mph and 45mph if I cruise up to the speed limit but if I accelerate faster then nothing!”