What are the common problems with the 2012 Toyota Avalon?
Owners of the 2012 Toyota Avalon have filed 30 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the airbags (6) and the body structure (6). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 23 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 30 owner complaints on the 2012 Toyota Avalon. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints, and half of the 6 that list a mileage came after 42,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 30 complaints, 8 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2012 Avalon
NHTSA's file holds 30 owner complaints on the 2012 Toyota Avalon. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints, and half of the 6 that list a mileage came after 42,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 6 | 6 | 42,200 |
| Structure | 6 | 5 | 17,000 |
| Electrical System | 4 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 30 complaints, 8 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2012 Avalon
The 23 mileages owners gave run from 900 to 117,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 16,000 miles, half at or under 33,000, three quarters at or under 70,000 and nine in ten at or under 82,000; 2 (9%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2012 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.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 21 of the 23 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2012 Avalon can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 900 miles |
| 25th percentile | 16,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 33,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 70,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 82,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 117,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 2 (9%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
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? →
Is the 2012 Avalon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 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 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 30 complaints, the 2012 ranks 22nd 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 Avalon | 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 (this page) | 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 →
2012 Toyota Avalon recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Toyota Avalon. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 20V024000 | Jan 17, 2020 | AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE |
| 18V569000 | Aug 29, 2018 | SEAT BELTS |
| 15V047000 | Jan 28, 2015 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 13V442000 | Oct 17, 2013 | EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER |
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 2012 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 2012 Avalon.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 7 of the 30 complaints on the 2012 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.
2012 Toyota Avalon questions
What are the most common 2012 Toyota Avalon problems?
NHTSA's file holds 30 owner complaints on the 2012 Toyota Avalon. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints, and half of the 6 that list a mileage came after 42,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 30 complaints, 8 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2012 Toyota Avalon?
Of the 23 complaints on the 2012 Toyota Avalon that list mileage, the middle half came between 16,000 and 70,000 miles; 2 (9%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2012 Avalon can cover.
Is the 2012 Toyota Avalon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 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 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 30 complaints, the 2012 ranks 22nd 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 2012 Toyota Avalon have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Toyota Avalon. 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 2012 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 2012 Toyota Avalon.