Buyer Research

2016 Toyota Avalon — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $15,000–$21,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Toyota Avalon years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Only 23 complaints on file for the 2016 Avalon, which is thin enough that it tells you about how many people bothered to write in, not how reliable the car is. What the record does hold is worth acting on: three airbag recalls (an ECU that can fail in a crash, a passenger-seat sensor calibrated wrong, and a knee airbag bolted on with the wrong fasteners), a few owners describing a three-to-four-second hesitation when pulling into traffic with the warning triangle lit, and two sunroofs that shattered on their own. The 3.5L V6 and six-speed have a long record in the Camry and Lexus ES, and the hybrid version is the Camry Hybrid's drivetrain in a bigger, quieter body. Confirm the three recalls closed on the VIN, drive it in stop-and-go traffic and feel for that hesitation, and it is a reasonable buy — we just cannot call it proven on a record this small.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 23 owner complaints for the 2016 Toyota Avalon, and 3 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is airbags at 17%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

3 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2016 Toyota Avalon

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Three airbag recalls: crash-sensing ECU, passenger seat sensor calibration, knee airbag fastenersHigh — wallet impact

All three recalls on this year are airbag recalls. 20V024 (2012–2018 Avalon) is the big one: the airbag control unit can malfunction in a crash and fail to fire the bags or seat-belt pretensioners; the fix is a noise filter spliced into the module harness, and owners complained the remedy took most of 2020 to arrive. 16V215 covers cars built November 30, 2015 to March 4, 2016 whose passenger occupant sensor was miscalibrated, so the passenger airbag might not switch on for an adult; dealers recalibrate it. 16V906 covers a narrow window of August 3 to September 12, 2016 builds where the passenger knee airbag may have been attached with the wrong fasteners. One owner reports the airbag light and yellow triangle coming on while driving. Every fix is free — check the VIN for all three.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (4); 3 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Three-to-four-second hesitation pulling away, sometimes with the warning triangle litMedium

Three of the four engine complaints describe the same thing: the car pauses for several seconds when accelerating from a stop or a slow roll, sometimes right after a left turn into traffic, sometimes with the yellow master-warning triangle flashing. One dealer called it a computer learning process; the owner said it had done it since new. A fourth car would not start on its second day. One fire started under the driver's carpet half an hour after parking — a single report, cause not stated, but you should know it exists. On the test drive, do a dozen stop-and-go pulls in traffic and a couple of left turns onto a busy road; any pause you can count is a reason to have the throttle body, transmission adaptation and stored codes checked before you buy.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$600 for diagnosis and a software or throttle-body fix; more if a sensor is at fault

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (4).

Sunroof glass shattering on its own; distorted rear windowMedium

Two owners report the sunroof exploding with a loud boom — one at 70 mph, one sitting at a light — with nothing hitting the car. Spontaneous sunroof breakage happens across the industry and Toyota generally treats it as not covered outside warranty, so the bill is yours: glass plus labor runs well into three figures and the shade can be damaged too. Look at the glass edge for chips, and if the car has had a sunroof replaced, ask for the invoice. The third complaint is the rear window distorting the view at highway speed, a known Avalon quirk across several years; sit in the driver's seat and check the rear mirror image for wobble.

Repair cost (estimate): $600–$1,500 for sunroof glass

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (3).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A pause you can count between pressing the throttle and the car moving
✗Yellow master-warning triangle or airbag light on at any point in the test drive
✗Chips or cracks along the sunroof glass edge
✗Any of the three airbag recalls still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup

Good Signs

✓All three airbag recalls shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Immediate, smooth pull-away from a dozen stops in traffic
✓Toyota dealer service records through the 5-year mark
✓Hybrid battery health report from a Toyota dealer on the Avalon Hybrid
✓Transmission fluid changed at least once with a receipt