Window & Wiper complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 10% | 9,000 miles |
| 2019 | 2 | 3% | 10,000 miles |
| 2016 | 3 | 13% | 15,000 miles |
| 2015 | 1 | 2% | 0 miles |
| 2014 | 13 | 14% | 10,000 miles |
| 2013 | 29 | 21% | 7,000 miles |
| 2012 | 4 | 13% | 60,000 miles |
| 2011 | 14 | 13% | 73,000 miles |
| 2010 | 3 | 7% | 58,000 miles |
| 2009 | 4 | 4% | 118,000 miles |
| 2008 | 11 | 3% | 110,000 miles |
| 2007 | 12 | 5% | 30,000 miles |
| 2006 | 4 | 1% | 74,000 miles |
| 2005 | 5 | 2% | 90,000 miles |
| 2003 | 3 | 1% | 1,000 miles |
| 2002 | 4 | 3% | — |
| 2001 | 10 | 7% | 36,000 miles |
| 2000 | 17 | 10% | 67,000 miles |
| 1999 | 2 | 2% | — |
| 1998 | 5 | 3% | — |
| 1997 | 4 | 3% | — |
| 1996 | 7 | 6% | — |
| 1995 | 2 | 3% | — |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the sunroof glass shattered. The contact stated that there was no glass inside the vehicle because the sunroof shade was in the closed position. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 Toyota Avalon. While the vehicle was stopped at an intersection, a loud boom noise was heard and the sun roof exploded without warning. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the sun roof failed and needed to be repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
The rear window retractable sun visor motor/gears have failed. When this happens, it leaves the sun visor in the up position in the rear window at all times. This makes it very, very, hard to see anything out the rear window at night, also pretty hard when it's raining or cloudy out. I understand this has happened to quite a lot of these cars and is a VERY expensive repair cost. I feel this is hazard that Toyota should bear the cost of fixing, because of the sheer amount of vehicles this has happened. Thank you for keeping us all informed and safe from these types of things!
Installed new Rainex wipers two days ago. Driving tonight in rain and the exterior of the windshield has a film on it that makes it difficult to see when the wipers cycle when near streetlights or when cars with headlighs on are approaching. Seems really dangerous.
1) System Failure: Back window shade. It is available for inspection at any time. 2) Safety of me and others put at risk: When the shade is down I can not see out the back window posing a significant risk to those behind me particularly pedestrians 3) Has problem been reproduced: Yes 4) Has the component been inspected: No the motor operating the shade has not been inspected 5) Warnings prior to system failure: None Description: The window shade is meant to automatically retract out of sight when the transmission is placed in reverse. It does not retract at all. It stays fully extended covering the entire back window. This problem drastically impairs my ability to see out the back window at all. …
The rear window spontaneously shattered into little fragments of glass and fell into the backseat section of the vehicle. This happened once while parked at work in a gated lot and security camera with motion sensors caught the incident happening on video. Temperature was in the high 80 F, and happened in August of 2022. After 5 months later the rear window shattered again while parked on driveway. Safety of anyone in the back seat is at risk due to sharp glass. Unable to convince the dealer this is a factory defect. Manufacturer said they can do a visual inspection but in realty results will be pointless since the car have not been in any accident. No warning appeared before rear window shattered.
There is a rear windshield shade that comes up automatically during a bright or hot day. It has a button to manually bring it up or down also. Just last month the gear inside the shade is broken and it does not come down. If I manually put it down it will come up automatically when driving, causing a loud noise distracting the driver even though, the driver has not pressed the button to pull it up. Now it is stuck in up position causing loud noise when reversing. And the biggest safety issue that I see is the night driving. Since the shade is up and I cannot make it go down, the visibility in the rear view mirror is very poor or nothing. There is no way for the driver to let it stay in the down position and driving on overcast days or night time is a challenge with no visibility of vehicles behind you.
Rear deck sunscreen activates and comes up without operator activating it. And it will not go back down without manual assistance. With assistance when it does go down there is a loud grinding noise and then it will come back up. To correct this situation requires replacement of complete assembly. (dealer quoted $1674.86) or pull the fuse and deactivate the rear sunscreen. Safety issue is that sunscreen up at night or during inclement weather restricts rear vision and driver can't do anything about it unless he happens to know which fuse to pull and where it is located. When asked why Toyota has not corrected this issue, dealer speculated that since this is an Avalon only problem that the numbers of failures are likely small. …
Related recalls (1)
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Switch/wiring
Toyota Motor Engineering & manufacturing North America, Inc. (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Camry and Camry HV, model year 2013 Avalon and Avalon HV and model year 2014 Corolla vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the windshield wiper switch assembly may short circuit.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the wiper switch assembly, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Frequently asked questions
Which Toyota Avalon years have window & wiper problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2013 (29), 2000 (17), 2011 (14), 2014 (13) and 2007 (12) model years. Window & Wiper complaints make up 21% of all complaints for the 2013.
Is there a recall for Toyota Avalon window & wiper problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 13V-505 (switch/wiring, Oct 17, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Toyota Avalon window & wiper problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 43,000 miles; 59% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the windshield (28 mentions), followed by the sun/moon roof assembly (12).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.