How many miles will a 1998 Toyota Avalon last?
Half of the 51 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon that list mileage came after 71,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 149,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 178 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 51 complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon that list mileage, the middle half came between 45,000 and 115,000 miles; 15 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (10%) after 150,000 and 2 (4%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 1998 Avalon last?
The 51 mileages owners gave run from 66 to 230,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 45,920 miles, half at or under 72,000, three quarters at or under 115,000 and nine in ten at or under 150,000; 15 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (10%) after 150,000 and 2 (4%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1998 Avalon wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 66 miles |
| 25th percentile | 45,920 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 72,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 115,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 150,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 230,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 15 (29%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 5 (10%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 2 (4%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 2,070 NHTSA owner complaints on the Toyota Avalon that list mileage came after 49,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Toyota Avalon last? →
Common problems with the 1998 Avalon
NHTSA's file holds 178 owner complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon. Owners named the electrical system most often: 19 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 63,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 19 | 9 | 64,000 |
| Suspension | 19 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Visibility | 19 | 8 | 46,705 |
| Equipment | 17 | 6 | 44,000 |
| Air Bags | 16 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 178 complaints, 25 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 21 report an injury (25 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Avalon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Avalon: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 178 complaints, the 1998 ranks 7th of the 27 Toyota Avalon model years from 1995 to 2021 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (360). The fewest: the 2020 (11).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 Avalon | 80 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1996 Avalon | 109 | 19 | 116,000 |
| 1997 Avalon | 124 | 25 | 99,000 |
| 1998 (this page) | 178 | 51 | 72,000 |
| 1999 Avalon | 92 | 34 | 50,000 |
| 2000 Avalon | 173 | 82 | 81,674 |
| 2001 Avalon | 134 | 69 | 60,000 |
| 2002 Avalon | 116 | 76 | 90,000 |
| 2003 Avalon | 293 | 138 | 82,000 |
| 2004 Avalon | 205 | 114 | 67,000 |
| 2005 Avalon | 228 | 180 | 47,800 |
| 2006 Avalon | 360 | 289 | 45,000 |
| 2007 Avalon | 243 | 194 | 40,300 |
| 2008 Avalon | 349 | 305 | 52,000 |
| 2009 Avalon | 91 | 74 | 44,101 |
| 2010 Avalon | 46 | 35 | 13,000 |
| 2011 Avalon | 106 | 78 | 34,500 |
| 2012 Avalon | 30 | 23 | 33,000 |
| 2013 Avalon | 160 | 95 | 20,000 |
| 2014 Avalon | 114 | 75 | 14,000 |
| 2015 Avalon | 54 | 27 | 39,000 |
| 2016 Avalon | 25 | 19 | 31,000 |
| 2017 Avalon | 14 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2018 Avalon | 25 | 15 | 11,000 |
| 2019 Avalon | 72 | 31 | 5,233 |
| 2020 Avalon | 11 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2021 Avalon | 27 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Avalon year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Toyota Avalon years to avoid →
1998 Toyota Avalon recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Toyota Avalon (1 vehicle campaign and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1998 Avalon lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1998 Avalon.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 127 of the 178 complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: AVALON and AVALON HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: AVALON and AVALON HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1998 Toyota Avalon questions
How many miles will a 1998 Toyota Avalon last?
Half of the 51 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon that list mileage came after 71,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 149,000 miles. Of the 51 complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon that list mileage, the middle half came between 45,000 and 115,000 miles; 15 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (10%) after 150,000 and 2 (4%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 1998 Avalon that never had one.
What are the most common 1998 Toyota Avalon problems?
NHTSA's file holds 178 owner complaints on the 1998 Toyota Avalon. Owners named the electrical system most often: 19 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 63,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 178 complaints, 25 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 21 report an injury (25 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Toyota Avalon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Avalon: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 178 complaints, the 1998 ranks 7th of the 27 Toyota Avalon model years from 1995 to 2021 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (360). The fewest: the 2020 (11).
How many recalls does the 1998 Toyota Avalon have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Toyota Avalon (1 vehicle campaign and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1998 Toyota Avalon before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1998 Toyota Avalon.