Toyota 2012 Avalon Air Bag Recall: Seat Belt Misinterpretation Risk
Toyota recalls 2012 Avalon vehicles with seat belt assemblies that may incorrectly signal air bags as buckled, risking injury in crashes. Owners should contact Toyota for free testing or replacement.
Use caution until it’s fixed
If the seat belt is falsely interpreted as being buckled, in the event of a crash, the air bags may not deploy appropriately, increasing the risk of injury.
What happened, in plain English
Toyota is recalling 2012 Avalon vehicles where the seat belt assembly might incorrectly tell the airbag system the belt is buckled. This could prevent airbags from deploying properly during a crash, increasing injury risk. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/1252113-toyota-2012-avalon-air-bag-recall-seat-belt-misinterpretation-risk.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/1252113-toyota-2012-avalon-air-bag-recall-seat-belt-misinterpretation-risk · Updated October 6, 2026 · Official notice: NHTSA #18V569000
Cite this page
“Toyota 2012 Avalon Air Bag Recall: Seat Belt Misinterpretation Risk.” GovInfoNow, updated October 6, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/1252113-toyota-2012-avalon-air-bag-recall-seat-belt-misinterpretation-risk. Based on NHTSA recall #18V569000 (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=18V569000).
Why it’s dangerous
The seat belt inner buckles may have been replaced with parts that incorrectly signal the airbag system as always buckled. In a crash, this could prevent airbags from deploying, increasing injury risk.
Who’s affected
Owners of 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles are affected. Drivers and passengers in these vehicles face the highest risk due to potential airbag deployment failure during crashes.
How to tell if you have this one
Check for 2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles. The recall began September 19, 2018, and Toyota will notify owners directly.
- Brand
Toyota- Category
Vehicle
What to do — step by step
Contact Toyota
Owners should call Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 to schedule a free seat belt assembly test or replacement.
What NHTSA says to do
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the seat belt assembly to verify that it is properly detecting being unbuckled, replacing the inner seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 19, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0S.
How this recall unfolded
Recall timeline
2 dated steps over 21 days.
- NHTSA received the defect report
- Recall began
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
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Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official NHTSA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: NHTSA Recall #18V569000 (August 29, 2018)
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on October 6, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the NHTSA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official NHTSA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.