| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 003249470 | Incident Date: Dec, 09 2003 |
| Consumer's City: MELROSE | Consumer's State: MA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: MAN | Manufacturers Name: Toyota Motor Corporation |
| Model Name: AVALON | Model Year: 1998 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Dec, 10 2003 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Sep, 19 2001 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: An alldata technical service bulletin issued 12/03/1999: "a/c - atc system intermittently fails/becomes inoperative. auto a/c system improvement. introduction: a production change has been made for the 1998-1999 avalon a/c amplifier. the internal locic has been corrected to eliminate excessive air inlet servo motor travel, which may effect the motor and/or the servo link. vehicles with automatic a/c may intermittently experience one or more of the following conditions: 1)the ambient temperature display may go blank; 2)fresh/recirc indicator light inoperative; 3)mode indicator light inoperative; 4)blower indicatior inoperative. note: a/c system may restore to normal condition upon cycling the ignition switch. all applicable vehicles: all 1998 model year avalon xls produced before vin:4t1bf18b*wu273780." i first experienced this problem in summer of 2003. a local toyota dealer denied knowledge of the problem. eventually isolated the problem and alldata bulletin with through an independent mechanic. notified toyota corporate, who is aware of the problem and unwilling to cover the costs to correct: $800 per independent mechanic & $1,000 per local toyota dealership. during the summer, the atc failures created potentially dangerous driving conditions as windows quickly fogged and visibility dropped to zero. currently, the atc system has failed and has not restored by allowing the car to sit and cycling the ignition switch, creating inability to de-ice and de-fog the car windows. all evidence indicates: 1)problem is caused by incorrect internal logic of the a/c amplifier, not normal use/wear of the vehicle; 2)toyota is aware of the problem and is unwilling to be held accountable; 3)the problem quickly and unpredicably has created dangerous driving conditions for this and others drivers, as indicated by their nhtsa complaints. please initiate an investigation and recall, holding toyota accountable for the defective nature and failure of this product. *ak |
