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1998 Toyota Avalon Recalls & Complaints

2

open safety recalls on record

Moderate

205 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.86 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Moderate98V278000

Electrical System:Ignition:Anti-Theft:Control Module

THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS.

Remedy & full details

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 9/3/98.

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 INTO THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH AND THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH WIRING HARNESS PLUGS INTO THE ALARM HARNESS TO COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT. A PERCENTAGE OF THE FEMALE TERMINALS USED IN THE ALARM CONNECTOR WERE FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE, CAUSING AN 'OPEN CIRCUIT' CONDITION WHEN MATED TO THE MALE IGNITION SWITCH TERMINALS.

Moderate98E035000

Electrical System:Ignition:Anti-Theft:Control Module

THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS AND/OR HVAC FAN SPEED CONTROLS.

Remedy & full details

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 9/3/98.

EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION: AFTERMARKET THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEMS USED ON 1998-1998 TOYOTA RAV4, AVALON, AND SIENNA MODEL VEHICLES DISTRIBUTED BY SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, INC. IN THE STATES OF ALABAMA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. THE ALARM WIRING HARNESS PLUGS INTO THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH AND THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH WIRING HARNESS PLUGS INTO THE ALARM HARNESS TO COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT. A PERCENTAGE OF THE FEMALE TERMINALS USED IN THE ALARM CONNECTOR WERE FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE, CAUSING AN "OPEN CIRCUIT" CONDITION WHEN MATED TO THE MALE IGNITION SWITCH TERMINALS.

Complaint volume

205 this model-year 8 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

29Crashes
1Fires
29Injuries
0Deaths

Across 205 complaints. Severity Index 0.86.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Equipment · Appliance · A…14 · 7%Air Bags · Frontal13 · 6%Vehicle Speed Control12 · 6%Tires10 · 5%Visibility · Defroster/De…8 · 4%Unknown Or Other6 · 3%Engine And Engine Cooling…6 · 3%Suspension · Front6 · 3%
  1. Equipment:Appliance:Air Conditioner — 14 reports
  2. Air Bags:Frontal — 13 reports
  3. Vehicle Speed Control — 12 reports
  4. Tires — 10 reports
  5. Visibility:Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System — 8 reports
  6. Unknown Or Other — 6 reports
  7. Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline — 6 reports
  8. Suspension:Front — 6 reports
  9. Suspension — 6 reports
  10. Electrical System — 6 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 · 1996 · 1997 (1) · 1998 · 1999 (2) · 2000 (2) · 2001 (2) · 2002 (1) · 2003 (2) · 2004 (3) · 2005 (7) · 2006 (7) · 2007 (6) · 2008 (6) · 2009 (7) · 2010 (7) · 2011 (1) · 2012 (4) · 2013 (4) · 2014 (4) · 2015 (2) · 2016 (3) · 2017 (2) · 2018 (2) · 2019 (4) · 2020 (3) · 2021 (2) · 2022

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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