Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002, to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Safety risk
Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. GM issued an interim notification to owners on March 27, 2015. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.
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.
Safety risk
SHOULD THE STEERING LOCK BAR BREAK, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Manufacturer remedy
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.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Air bags
182
100,000 mi
Vehicle speed control
45
58,180 mi
Electrical system
18
75,000 mi
Steering
18
80,000 mi
Service brakes, hydraulic
8
60,000 mi
Engine
7
96,000 mi
Seat belts
7
99,000 mi
Suspension
6
55,000 mi
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
5
26,245 mi
Service brakes
4
25,000 mi
Unknown or other
4
129,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling
3
80,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion system
3
99,070 mi
Power train: automatic transmission
3
16,930 mi
Seats
3
174,457 mi
Structure
3
7,000 mi
Structure: body
3
125,000 mi
Suspension: front
3
18,000 mi
Tires
3
141,362 mi
Air bags: frontal
2
4,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling: engine
2
85,000 mi
Fuel system, gasoline
2
17,100 mi
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
2
3,398 mi
Air bags: side/window
1
7,900 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
34,955 mi
Equipment
1
60 mi
Exterior lighting: brake lights
1
25,000 mi
Fuel system, other
1
63,736 mi
Fuel system, other: storage: fuel gauge system
1
60 mi
Power train
1
170,000 mi
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
1
—
Power train: driveline
1
38,122 mi
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist
1
2,650 mi
Steering: column
1
—
Structure: frame and members
1
—
Suspension: front: shock absorber
1
18,000 mi
Suspension: rear
1
19,300 mi
Traction control system
1
34,955 mi
Vehicle speed control: cruise control
1
—
Visibility
1
100 mi
Visibility/wiper
1
131,000 mi
Visibility: windshield
1
1,000 mi
The 2002 model has 2 times as many complaints as this one. The 2004 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.