Buyer Research

2017 Toyota Avalon — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $17,000–$23,000. 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

Fourteen complaints in nine years is about as thin as a record gets, and five of those fourteen are one family filing the same carbon-monoxide report over and over. So there is very little here to read, and that is not the same as a clean bill of health — it means few owners had cause to write. What does stand out: the 20V024 airbag control unit recall (an ECU that can fail to fire the bags in a crash) applies to this year and must be closed on the VIN, one car dropped out of gear with a grinding noise from a failed speed sensor, and the analog speedometer and digital readout can disagree by a couple of mph, which Toyota told the owner has no fix. This is the last year of the 2013-generation Avalon, with the same 3.5L V6 and six-speed the ES 350 uses; if the recall is done and the transmission shifts cleanly on a cold start, we would buy one — with the caveat that we are reading a small record.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 14 owner complaints for the 2017 Toyota Avalon, and 2 recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the engine (6), throttle and cruise control (3), electrics and electronics (2). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

2 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 2017 Toyota Avalon

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

Airbag control unit can fail to fire the bags or belt pretensioners in a crash (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 20V024 covers 2012–2018 Avalons: during certain crashes the airbag electronic control unit can malfunction and disable the airbags and seat-belt pretensioners. The fix is an inspection and a noise filter installed between the module and its harness, free of charge. The recall was announced in January 2020 and parts lagged for months, so a car that changed hands in that window may have slipped through without the work. Both airbag complaints on file are about the recall itself rather than a failure. Run the VIN through the NHTSA lookup; if it shows open, the dealer does it for free and you should not close the deal until it is done.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (2); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Speed sensor fault drops the car out of gear; analog and digital speedometers disagreeMedium

One owner's car jumped out of gear leaving a parking lot, ground when re-selected, and would only take Park; the check-engine light came on and a mechanic traced it to a speed sensor. That one event is filed under three components and accounts for most of this cluster. Another owner reports the needle speedometer and the center digital speed readout differing by a few mph from day one, which the dealer said cannot be fixed — a nuisance, not a hazard, but it is worth knowing before you argue with a ticket. A third heard a power steering noise on turns that the dealer dismissed, followed later by a crash. On the test drive, scan for stored codes, listen for whine on full-lock turns, and compare the two speed displays at a steady 60 mph.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$600 for a speed sensor; $0 for the speedometer mismatch, which has no fix

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under throttle and cruise control (3), electrics and electronics (2).

Spare tire shipped underinflated on Gulf States-distributed cars (recall)Low

Recall 17V295 covers a batch of 2017 Toyotas distributed through Gulf States Toyota (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi): the temporary spare was not inflated to the pressure on the door placard. Dealers check and adjust it free. It takes two minutes with a gauge to confirm yourself — pull the trunk floor, check the spare reads 60 psi, and while you are there make sure the jack and tools are present.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$5

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 20V024 still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Check-engine light on, or any stored transmission or speed-sensor code on a scan
✗Grinding or a delayed engagement when shifting from Park to Drive
✗Whine or groan from the steering on a full-lock turn

Good Signs

✓Recall 20V024 shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Clean scan with a smooth Park-to-Drive engagement on a cold start
✓Toyota dealer service history through at least the 5-year mark
✓Spare tire reading 60 psi with the jack and tools in place
✓Transmission fluid changed once with a receipt