The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lists 4 official safety recall campaigns for the 2016 Toyota Avalon in AutoUtility's current federal dataset. The primary affected vehicle systems include Air Bags & Restraints, Powertrain & Transmission.

Key Recall Findings
  • Official Recall Campaigns: 4 campaigns on file with NHTSA
  • Primary Affected Subsystems: Air Bags & Restraints, Powertrain & Transmission
  • Official Remedy: Detailed per campaign in official NHTSA records below
  • Most Recent NHTSA Report: January 17, 2020
VIN-Specific Notice: Safety recall campaigns apply to specific production date ranges and vehicle identification numbers (VINs). A campaign listing on this model-year page does not establish that every vehicle or trim is affected. Check your 17-digit VIN at NHTSA.gov or with an authorized dealer to verify whether a safety repair is needed.
Official Recall Campaigns
4
Listed in current NHTSA data
Affected System Areas
2
Broad component categories
Latest NHTSA Filing
January 17, 2020
Most recent campaign report
VIN Verification
Required
Exact applicability depends on VIN

Vehicle Systems Involved in Recalls for 2016 Toyota Avalon

Distribution of official safety recall campaigns across automotive subsystem domains

Vehicle Subsystem 3 campaigns

Air Bags & Restraints

NHTSA records also contain 4 consumer complaint filings involving this same system. View Complaints →
Vehicle Subsystem 1 campaign

Powertrain & Transmission

NHTSA records also contain 3 consumer complaint filings involving this same system. View Complaints →
Domain Mapping Methodology: A single NHTSA recall campaign may involve more than one vehicle subsystem (such as electrical wiring affecting fuel delivery), so domain totals can exceed the total number of unique recall campaigns. Complaint and recall counts are grouped by broad vehicle system; component co-occurrence does not establish that an individual owner complaint is related to a specific recall campaign.

Official NHTSA Recall Campaigns (4)

Complete safety campaign filings including defect descriptions, safety hazards, and free dealer remedies

NHTSA Campaign #20V024000 Air Bags & Restraints
Affected Component: AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE
NHTSA Report Date: January 17, 2020
Safety Defect Summary:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #17V462000 Powertrain & Transmission
Affected Component: POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
NHTSA Report Date: July 20, 2017
Safety Defect Summary:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016 Camry Hybrid and Avalon Hybrid vehicles. The front drive shaft may separate.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

A front driveshaft separation would result in a loss of propulsion while driving, and if the driver exits the vehicle without applying the parking brake, the vehicle may roll. Both scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will check the serial number of the vehicle's drive shaft, replacing any that are affected, free of charge. The recall began on August 11, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is H0M.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #16V906000 Air Bags & Restraints
Affected Component: AIR BAGS:KNEE BOLSTER
NHTSA Report Date: December 16, 2016
Safety Defect Summary:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon, and 2017 Camry vehicles manufactured August 3, 2016, to September 12, 2016. The front passenger knee air bag module may have been attached to the lower instrument panel with incorrect fasteners.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

If the air bag was installed with incorrect fasteners, the fasteners may become loose over time, affecting the air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fasteners, and if necessary, replace the instrument panel brace and body bracket and reattach the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 8, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G05.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #16V215000 Air Bags & Restraints
Affected Component: AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
NHTSA Report Date: April 14, 2016
Safety Defect Summary:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Avalon and Camry vehicles manufactured November 30, 2015 to March 4, 2016. The occupant classification system (OCS) that activates or deactivates the front passenger seat air bag system may have been improperly calibrated. As a result, the front passenger air bag and the front passenger knee air bag may not deploy as intended in certain crash scenarios. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Safety Risk / Consequence:

Air bags that do not deploy as intended during a crash increase the risk of injury.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will recalibrate the OCS, free of charge. The recall began by May 13, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is G0J.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Source Data Notice: Campaign summaries, safety consequences, and remedy descriptions are direct text extracts published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation.

Recall History for Toyota Avalon

Official safety recall campaign volume across sibling model years (2015–2022)

Model Year NHTSA Recalls NHTSA Complaints Detailed Report
2015 Toyota Avalon 2 53 View 2015 Recalls →
2016 Toyota Avalon Current Page 4 25 Current
2017 Toyota Avalon 2 14 View 2017 Recalls →
2018 Toyota Avalon 2 25 View 2018 Recalls →
2019 Toyota Avalon 5 69 View 2019 Recalls →
2020 Toyota Avalon 4 10 View 2020 Recalls →
2021 Toyota Avalon 2 27 View 2021 Recalls →
2022 Toyota Avalon 0 8 View 2022 Recalls →
Historical Reporting Note: Recall campaign counts are shown by model year and should not be interpreted as a vehicle reliability score. Campaigns may cover multiple model years, and newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time for new safety campaigns to be issued.

VIN-Specific Recall Verification

How to confirm whether an individual vehicle requires an authorized safety repair

Safety recall campaigns on this page are associated with this make, model, and model year in NHTSA federal records. A campaign may apply only to certain vehicles based on production date, equipment, manufacturing details, or other campaign-specific criteria.

AutoUtility cannot determine whether a particular VIN is affected or whether a recall remedy has already been completed.

For vehicle-specific recall status, check the 17-digit VIN using NHTSA's official recall lookup or contact an authorized dealer. Campaign-specific remedy information shown above is reproduced from official NHTSA recall records.

Official NHTSA Safety Resources: NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 711)
Official US Government Data Provenance

Recall records published on this page are retrieved directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Safety Recalls Database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.