2nd generation (XX20) · MCX20 / XX20 · 1,141 complaints, 606 with mileage
Owners filed 1,141 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000–2004 Toyota Avalon, and 606 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
Failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 40,000 and 120,000 miles. The median is 76,560 miles.
The most-reported areas are the airbag system (34.6% of complaints, typically around 98,222 miles), throttle and speed control (12.7% of complaints, typically around 60,000 miles), the steering (9.6% of complaints, typically around 92,000 miles).
3 recall campaigns cover this generation.
| System | Complaints | Share | Typical mileage | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 395 | 34.6% | 98,222 | 60,000–140,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 145 | 12.7% | 60,000 | 35,000–91,500 |
| Steering | 109 | 9.6% | 92,000 | 49,500–125,000 |
| Electrical System | 60 | 5.3% | 103,514 | 63,000–126,000 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 55 | 4.8% | 36,750 | 14,254–94,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 50 | 4.4% | 70,000 | 40,000–94,000 |
| Suspension | 39 | 3.4% | 31,350 | 18,000–106,500 |
| Visibility | 34 | 3.0% | — | — |
| Power Train | 31 | 2.7% | 86,500 | 38,122–118,177 |
| Tires | 29 | 2.5% | 55,500 | 26,000–141,362 |
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 220 | 103 |
| 2001 | 168 | 86 |
| 2002 | 148 | 97 |
| 2003 | 353 | 179 |
| 2004 | 252 | 141 |
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 76,560 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The airbag system accounts for 34.6% of complaints (395 reports, 162 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 98,222 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 60,000 and 140,000 miles.
A single system taking 34.6% of all complaints is a concentration worth noting. It means that for this generation, most of what owners reported came back to one area of the car rather than being distributed across many small faults.
Throttle and speed control accounts for 12.7% of complaints (145 reports, 105 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 60,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 35,000 and 91,500 miles.
The steering accounts for 9.6% of complaints (109 reports, 72 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 92,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 49,500 and 125,000 miles.
The electrical system accounts for 5.3% of complaints (60 reports, 34 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 103,514 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 63,000 and 126,000 miles.
The hydraulic brake circuit accounts for 4.8% of complaints (55 reports, 30 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails early — a median of 36,750 miles, well before the vehicle's overall median. Failures clustered this far below the rest of the car usually point to a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear, because wear does not selectively target one system on low-mileage examples. The middle half of these reports falls between 14,254 and 94,000 miles.
The engine and its cooling system accounts for 4.4% of complaints (50 reports, 31 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 70,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 40,000 and 94,000 miles.
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 2003 model year drew the most — 353 complaints — while 2002 drew the fewest at 148. The median year sits at 220.
NHTSA records 3 recall campaigns covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Of the 1,141 complaints filed against this generation, 243 reported a crash; 7 reported a fire; 157 reported an injury; 10 reported a fatality. Crash-involved reports represent 21.3% of the total.
These are owner-reported outcomes, not verified investigations, and they are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. They are included because the distinction between a fault that strands a car and a fault that causes a collision is the one that matters most, and it is not visible in a complaint count alone.
For a buyer, failures on this generation are spread rather than concentrated: the middle half falls between 40,000 and 120,000 miles, with a median of 76,560. There is no single mileage threshold to watch, which means condition and maintenance records are more informative than the odometer.
On inspection, the airbag system and throttle and speed control are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. Throttle and speed control in particular shows a median failure mileage of 60,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
Continuation of the 1MZ-FE sludge population; the settled class covers engines built through 2002, so MY2000-2002 Avalons are inside it and MY2003-2004 generally are not.
Driver's power window master switch and combination-switch failures are a common owner-reported item on this generation.
| Campaign | Date | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 15V043000 | 2015-08-24 | Air Bags:Frontal |
| 11V539000 | 2011-12-31 | Engine And Engine Cooling |
| 10V345000 | 2010-09-07 | Steering |