Research Another Vehicle

Total NHTSA Complaints
27
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Air Bags & Restraints
18 reports (66.7%)
Crash Incident Reports
2
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
0
0 fire • 0 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 27 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Toyota Avalon. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 18 complaints (66.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 2 filings cite a crash.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 27 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Air Bags & Restraints accounts for 66.7% of submissions (18 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (4), Engine & Cooling (4).
  • • Crash Incidents: 2 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2021 Toyota Avalon

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Air Bags & Restraints
18
66.7%
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
4
14.8%
Engine & Cooling
4
14.8%
Brakes & Traction Control
2
7.4%
Powertrain & Transmission
1
3.7%
#1 66.7% SHARE

Air Bags & Restraints

18 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash
⚠️ 2 Associated Recall Campaigns
#2 14.8% SHARE

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

4 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#3 14.8% SHARE

Engine & Cooling

4 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash
#4 7.4% SHARE

Brakes & Traction Control

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Federal Oversight

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

ODI Action #DP22005 CLOSED Defect Petition (DP)
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07
Subject / Subsystem
Pedestrian alert sounds
Affected Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recall Linkage
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Toyota Avalon

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11730274
Filed: 04/09/2026
Defect Report

"We have received a recall for the sensors and airbag on our car back in December of 2023. Every time we call the dealership they tell us they can't get a send because the parts are not available. I cannot seem to get any movement with this. I've tried to contacting Toyota corporate but their..."

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11699477
Filed: 11/14/2025
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Avalon. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was intermittently illuminated. The local dealer was contacted...."

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11678629
Filed: 08/05/2025
Defect Report

"There is no remedy available to fix the OCS sensor in front passenger seat of our 2021 Toyota Avalon. We are scared to drive it. What are our options since Toyota will not help."

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11678360
Filed: 08/04/2025
Defect Report

"My vehicle is under Safety Recall 23V865 (Toyota dealer reference 23TB15) due to potentially defective Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensors in the front passenger seat, which may prevent the airbag from deploying properly. The recall was issued in December 2023, and as of August 2025, there..."

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech ODI #11659486
Filed: 05/07/2025
Defect Report

"Cruise control stopped working while driving interstate speed. Would not work and all lights on dashboard came on . Proceeded to Nearest dealership and was informed that I needed a brake switch. Did not fix the problem. Have been informed that I need a wiring harness! About to spend a total of..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Toyota Avalon

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2022)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Toyota Avalon 53 8 2 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Toyota Avalon 25 2 4 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Toyota Avalon 14 2 2 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Toyota Avalon 25 7 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Toyota Avalon 69 4 5 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Toyota Avalon 10 1 4 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Toyota Avalon Current Page 27 2 2 Current
2022 Toyota Avalon 8 1 0 View 2022 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Toyota Avalon

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 10 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 17 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2021 Toyota Avalon

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Toyota Avalon

What are the most common reported problems with the 2021 Toyota Avalon?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Toyota Avalon is Air Bags & Restraints, appearing in 18 records (66.7% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (4) and Engine & Cooling (4).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2021 Toyota Avalon a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 27 consumer defect complaints and 2 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Toyota Avalon.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2021 Toyota Avalon?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Toyota Avalon, 2 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 0 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs

Has NHTSA formally investigated defects on the 2021 Toyota Avalon?

NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2021 Toyota Avalon (all closed).

Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Registry
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.