"How reliable is the 1997 Toyota Avalon?"

"Based on 155 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Toyota Avalon has a median complaint mileage of 99000 miles. The most common issue is STEERING:RACK AND PINION."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Toyota Avalon?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Toyota Avalon is STEERING:RACK AND PINION, accounting for a significant portion of the 155 total complaints filed."

1997 Toyota Avalon: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 155 complaints

155

Total Complaints

99,000mi

Median Mileage

STEERING:RACK AND PINION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

70,000 25th Percentile

99,000 Median Mileage

142,206 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING:RACK AND PINION

SUSPENSION:FRONT:MACPHERSON STRUT

SUSPENSION:FRONT

TIRES

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

STEERING:RACK AND PINION:RACK

SUSPENSION

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STEERING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE SUNVISOR INTERFERES WITHN STATIC OPERATION OF THE CENTER REARVIEW MIRROR.WHENEVER EITHER OF THE TWO SUNVISORS IS OPERATED TO A LOWERED POSITION, THE REARVIEW MIRROR MOVES ON ACCOUNT OF THE CUTOUTS ON THE SUNVISOR TO ACCOMODATE THE REARVIEW MIRROR NOT BEING SUFFICIENTLY LARGE. *AK"

"TRANSMISSION FAILED, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO LOSE INTERNAL PRESSURE, THEREBY LOOSENING GEAR CONNECTION. THE RESULT OF THE LOST PRESSURE CAUSEDLLO THE VEHICLE TO LOSE SPEED SUDDENLY, EVEN AS THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO "REV". THE TRANSAXLE ASSEMBLY FAILED."

"FAULTY REASSEMBLY OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28