The 1998 Toyota Avalon has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,960 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 205 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the equipment. Last updated July 5, 2026.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, MINI VANS AND PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEMS (TDS) SUPPLIED BY AUDIOVOX CORPORATION AND DISTRIBUTED BY SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, INC. IN THE STATES OF ALABAMA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. THE ALARM WIRING HARNESS PLUGS…
Consequence
THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS. ALSO, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT RUN SMOOTHLY AND COULD STALL.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DATE CODE LABEL ON THE SECURITY SYSTEM HARNESS AND ANY DISPLAYING THE MANUFACTURING/FINAL DATE CODE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY PRODUCED HARNESSES. THE DATE CODES ARE: RAV4 - 6/24/98, 6/25/98, 6/26/98; SIENNA - 6/25/98, 6/26/98; AND AVALON - 6/30/98, 7/1/98, 8/31/98, 9/1/98, 9/2/98, AND…
Complaints by component
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
14
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
13
12crashes12injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12
4crashes2injuries
TIRES
10
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
6
1crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
6
1crashes
SUSPENSION
6
1crashes
SUSPENSION:FRONT
6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
6
1crashes3injuries
Total complaints205
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tie rods detached from frame, along with steering parts became unsafe on minor highway speed turnes”
“Tie rods detached from frame, along with steering parts became unsafe on minor highway speed turnes”
“Electrical system shut down in traffic at the light, alternator was tested. Battery light stay on, lights dimmed out, lost speed. Had to get pushed out the road at a busy intersection in atlanta georgia on cleveland avenue.. Bought a second alternator, same exact incident . Once headlights are…”
“Electrical system shut down in traffic at the light, alternator was tested. Battery light stay on, lights dimmed out, lost speed. Had to get pushed out the road at a busy intersection in atlanta georgia on cleveland avenue.. Bought a second alternator, same exact incident . Once headlights are…”
“Electrical system shut down in traffic at the light, alternator was tested. Battery light stay on, lights dimmed out, lost speed. Had to get pushed out the road at a busy intersection in atlanta georgia on cleveland avenue.. Bought a second alternator, same exact incident . Once headlights are…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the throttle became stuck without warning. As a result, the contact drove through two red lights. The contact had to maneuver between the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of…”
“One day when my car was stationary and after it had set for a few days I started it normally and noticed the srs airbag warning light on my dash came on. This is been about a month now and a local mechanic said the code reading indicates there is an issue with the passenger side airbag. The…”
“Wheel locked then the car will not start, alarm system light won't blink and I'm hearing a wineing noise under the hood.”
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 1998 Toyota Avalon as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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