The 1997 Toyota Avalon has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 18,746 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 155 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the steering. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC97V1560001997-09-1718,746 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF ALASKA, COLORADO, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, IOWA, KANSAS, MAINE, MICHIGAN,MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEVADA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW YORK, NOTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN, AND WYOMING. A CONDITION CAN OCCUR WHERE…
Consequence
THIS CAN RESULT IN THE ELIMINATION OF VACUUM ASSIST TO THE BRAKES THAT CAN INCREASE STOPPING DISTANCES AND COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW DESIGN BRAKE VACUUM HOSE.
Complaints by component
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
24
SUSPENSION:FRONT:MACPHERSON STRUT
11
SUSPENSION:FRONT
10
1crashes
TIRES
9
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
5crashes2injuries1deaths
STEERING:RACK AND PINION:RACK
6
SUSPENSION
6
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
5
1crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
4
STEERING
4
1crashes
Total complaints155
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 toyota avalon. While driving 40 mph, the rear passenger tire made loud noises. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the lateral arm snapped off the subframe due to severe corrosion. The vehicle was…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 toyota avalon. While driving 40 mph, the rear passenger tire made loud noises. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the lateral arm snapped off the subframe due to severe corrosion. The vehicle was…”
“When I brought my car into the tire dealership where I had purchased my tires complaining of a shaking steering wheel (thinking one of my tires had lost a balance weight), that's when I discovered 3 of the 4 tires I had purchased a year ago september (and which had only 14,000 miles of wear) had…”
“The tubing from the filler neck to the fuel tank is subject to rust. The rust results in holes in the tube. Fuel spills out during refueling and acceleration. *js”
“Making a left hand turn after stopping at a stop sign, going approx. 10 mph, the right front tire (only) bumped into a railroad track and the sensors told the car it had a front end collision and both airbags deployed even though no one was in the passenger seat. This explosion busted the front…”
“I was on my way to college at 7:45 a.m heading highway 72 west. My car started to accelerated from 75mph to 100 mph. I pushed, pressed, and pumped my brakes that wouldn't work. I pressed down my emergency brake which did not work either. I traveled about ten to fifteen minutes before car just…”
“I was on my way to college at 7:45 a.m heading highway 72 west. My car started to accelerated from 75mph to 100 mph. I pushed, pressed, and pumped my brakes that wouldn't work. I pressed down my emergency brake which did not work either. I traveled about ten to fifteen minutes before car just…”
“Auto locking system locks doors while doors are open or closed and you are getting out of car or putting grocers in if ur keys are in car it still locks I have been locked out many times it is very frustrating and dangerous especially when ur daughter borrows your car and gets her9 month old baby…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP02004 Opened 2002-04-30 · closed 2002-06-20
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Toyota Avalon as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.