SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING INTERLOCK DEVICE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2004 AVALON VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER CASTING OF THE STEERING LOCK BAR, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A MINUTE CRACK MAY DEVELOP ON THE SURFACE OF THE LOCK BAR. SUCH A CRACK MAY EXPAND OVER A LONG PERIOD OF REPEATED LOCK AND UNLOCK OPERATIONS, AND EVENTUALLY THE LOCK BAR COULD BREAK.
Moderate00V154000
Suspension:Rear
AFTER EXTENDED USE OF THE VEHICLE, THE REAR AXLE SHAFTS COULD FAIL OR BREAK.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE REAR AXLE HUB ASSEMBLIES.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. DUE TO IMPROPER HEAT TREATMENT, THE REAR AXLE MAY NOT HAVE ADEQUATE STRENGTH IN SOME AREAS.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
52Crashes
2Fires
37Injuries
0Deaths
Across 220 complaints. Severity Index 1.17.
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
Steering — 27 reports
Vehicle Speed Control — 19 reports
Air Bags — 14 reports
Visibility:Windshield — 12 reports
Unknown Or Other — 10 reports
Air Bags:Frontal — 9 reports
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — 8 reports
Suspension — 7 reports
Electrical System — 6 reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip — 5 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
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.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.