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Total NHTSA Complaints
10
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Fuel & Propulsion System
5 reports (50%)
Crash Incident Reports
1
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
0
0 fire • 0 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 10 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2020 Toyota Avalon. Fuel & Propulsion System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 5 complaints (50% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 reports one or more fatalities.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 10 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Fuel & Propulsion System accounts for 50% of submissions (5 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (2), Air Bags & Restraints (1).
  • • Crash Incidents: 1 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 0 injury filings • 1 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2020 Toyota Avalon

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Fuel & Propulsion System
5
50%
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
2
20%
Air Bags & Restraints
1
10%
Steering System
1
10%
Brakes & Traction Control
1
10%
#1 50% SHARE

Fuel & Propulsion System

5 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
#2 20% SHARE

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash
#3 10% SHARE

Air Bags & Restraints

1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 2 Associated Recall Campaigns
#4 10% SHARE

Steering System

1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Federal Oversight

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

ODI Action #DP22005 CLOSED Defect Petition (DP)
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07
Subject / Subsystem
Pedestrian alert sounds
Affected Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recall Linkage
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Toyota Avalon

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11703613
Filed: 12/08/2025
Defect Report

"A couple of months ago, my car started running a little rough as it would sit in idle mode. When suddenly my check engine light came on. I checked the codes and they seemed to be P0445 Evaporitive emission system leak detected (large leak). And P0441 Evaporative emission system. Incorrect Purge..."

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11625964
Filed: 11/18/2024
Defect Report

"To Whom It May Concern, I am filing this complaint to report Right Toyota in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Toyota Motor Corporation for their mishandling of a critical airbag safety recall (23TA15) on my 2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. The lack of transparency, misleading information, and failure to provide..."

Steering System ODI #11602383
Filed: 07/15/2024
Defect Report

"TIE ROD LOOSE I heard a clunking noise while turning the steering wheel to the left at very low speeds. Took car in for service Service Mechanic found left outer tie rod end "with play, loose" Safety issue: potential loss of steering ability while driving Vehicle has been inspected and repaired -..."

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11556756
Filed: 11/25/2023
Defect Report

"When refueling vehicle, gasoline backs up immediately, doesn't shut off gas hose and pours out all over vehicle and feet of person refueling. Today is the 4th time it's happened. It's been to Gettle Toyota of Lakewood in Bradenton FL for this exact complaint and was told there's nothing wrong with..."

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech ODI #11476773
Filed: 07/31/2022
Defect Report

"on 3 lane expressway (US422)about 1/4 mile from where the lanes split( see attached). No cars in front of me but cars in the lane to my left slowed. My car suddenly braked causing the car behind me to swerve to my right to avoid a collision. The adaptive breaking (incorrectly) determined that there..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Toyota Avalon

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2022)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Toyota Avalon 53 8 2 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Toyota Avalon 25 2 4 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Toyota Avalon 14 2 2 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Toyota Avalon 25 7 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Toyota Avalon 69 4 5 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Toyota Avalon Current Page 10 1 4 Current
2021 Toyota Avalon 27 2 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Toyota Avalon 8 1 0 View 2022 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2020 Toyota Avalon

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 6 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 1
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2020 Toyota Avalon

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2020 Toyota Avalon

What are the most common reported problems with the 2020 Toyota Avalon?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2020 Toyota Avalon is Fuel & Propulsion System, appearing in 5 records (50% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (2) and Air Bags & Restraints (1).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2020 Toyota Avalon a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 10 consumer defect complaints and 4 safety recall campaigns for the 2020 Toyota Avalon.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2020 Toyota Avalon?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Toyota Avalon, 1 filing cites a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 0 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs

Has NHTSA formally investigated defects on the 2020 Toyota Avalon?

NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2020 Toyota Avalon (all closed).

Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Registry
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

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