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Comments
Mackabee
Mackabee
"Meet at Driver's Sports Bar?"
'Sounds like a plan. But my Blizzard Pearl Limited w/VSC doesn't arrive 'til the end of May or first of June.
'Any other Phoenix metro Avalon junkies out there?
canefire
I have been telling dealers I'm open to an XLS if it's black, gray phantom pearl, or titanium and has DVD NAV and VSC.
I'd keep the car maybe 3 years. I was going to lease, but may buy- not sure yet. Depends on the numbers.
Can you e-mail me info on car brokers? Guess I can do a Google on them, but any direct experience would be good.
You know- I really want/need the rear leg room the Avalon has. The G35 is very cramped in the back and the M35 is to much.
The 300c gets poor mileage and just does't make me feel as "safe" as a Japanese brand. I've owned American cars when I was a kid. Back in college when my modified Ranchero GT chassis cracked I ended up getting a Honda CRX and was almost ashamed how much I liked it. From then on I got Hondas.
You're right- I can rent something until what I want comes in.
The good news is that my FICO went to 710 tonight on Equifax. So, now if I find something I can hop on it right away.
You do get a LOT for you money if the price is right. Most quotes I got were at $35k for the Limited. Pretty good.
You know...I built another Honda Accord EX V6 with NAV on their website, and no matter how I dress it up, it is still an Accord. Great car...but I want something bigger.
The Avalon is great...if I could actually buy one. LOL.
I honestly just don't want to wait more than another week.
I'll try to work on it hard this week.
Dean
Hmm. I'm not Deanie. My name is Dean and there is another Dean here who uses the deanie nickname.
Anyways, I moved down here to go into real estate full time. I cannot use a Junker as a stop gap. I am not worried about the Avalon's 1st yr issues too much. The Azera isn't something I'd consider. Maybe it's because I just turned 34 and it's a Buick and ya need to see it in person.
I agree it will probably help the buyer's market though.
The wife took the car out today, cruising and showing off her present with her sister - I've asked her for a comparable gift on upcoming Father's day - currently hoping hell will freeze over next month!
canefire
Yes!!!!!! I got a great buy and the tail pipes are vertical and horizontal.
Thanks again and I too couldn't be happier with my purchase.
Lup
You know...you're right. I was just talking to my best friend and he's listened to me talk about it forever. I also watched the Motorweek show with him and when he saw the Titanium Limited they showed he said "Wow. That looks like a Mercedes kind of car"
I won't be happy with anything else and would regret any other purchase...so I just sorta made up my mind. Even if I need to order it I'll just rent for a couple month if need be.
Thx.
Dean [not Deanie ]
It was Jordan7 who bought through UBS, not me - I was denied the chance because of where I lived. I don't know the answer to your question.
Regards,
Deanie
Dean
I live in and bought in Maryland, not Florida.
Regards,
Deanie
in new york city---what I have done is placed pumper strips on the side doors
and on the pumper themselfs the car looks awful with those strips but better safe then sorry especically when you try to sell a car to a dealer or person to person sell ---you will loose a $1500 to $2000 on a sell due to scratches and ding and dents-- I know I have sold may last 2002 solara and gotton evaluations on the body.I try to park far away from other cars which sucks due to the fact that you have to walk a long way from the car-----but you know what even worse is the
little monsters(children) who don't know any better and open the doors from SUV and caravans those little Critters do not have any regards as to how they get out
VOOOOOOMMMMMM/---280/hp I still got gas---gasoline that is
I know exactly what you're describing. My Audi A6 (aka the Ouchie) does the same thing when you're coming to a stop but don't completely stop before accelerating again. The problem is caused by the blasted computer, not the transmission itself. The computer tries to figure out if you're looking for power or fuel efficiency and anticipates it, but in doing so can't decide if it should use gear one or two. There is a fix for this problem in the Audi, which is replacing the standard chip with a performance chip for a mere $1,200. I opted not to go that direction, because it eliminated the problem by always going for first gear and launching the vehical rather than delaying and then choosing a more smooth acceleration. I'm going to guess that such a solution will be available to Avalon owners in the after market parts arena.
-LoUdSpEaKeR
BINGO!!! This is not a problem with the transmission or the car, this is simple physics. You're trying to move 4,000 lbs of metal "fuel efficiently" and with some spunk! You're going to have the hesitation. It is a fact with larger heavier cars that this will happen. If this is really, REALLY bothering anyone, then I invite you to put some performance parts on the vehical and change the dynamics of the car. The "hesitation" can be reduced, but not removed.
OH YEAH!! Speaking of driver styles, another thing I know for sure is this can be a byproduct of what brand and octane level of fuel you put into your Avalon.
Has anyone tried changing filling the car with regular unleaded instead of premium or vice versa?
-LoUdSpEaKeR
I actually know the answer to this one. This is the "newer" satellite radio specification. I wonder if someone who helped build DOS decided on the 8 character display. The limit to 8 characters is simply that there isn't a lot of bandwidth on the satellite carrier signal to send a lot more data. If you sent more data you would start hearing a longer delay before the station "tuned" in. It's the same delay you get when using satellite TV and you click on a station you want to watch since there isn't a limit on descriptions for satellite TV.
Yes, it does suck, but there isn't a whole lot anyone is going to do about it.
Physics just bites sometimes.
-LoUdSpEaKeR
The only regret I have is that I did not finance the car at the dealership to obtain a better price on the car, and then pay the loan in full after a month or two. Of course, I would have had to ensure there would be no-penalty for pre-payment.
Those of you who have not bought yet, and are considering paying cash for the car, may find this an effective strategy to get a better deal.
- Paul
We pay particular attention to stray shopping carts, especially on windy days! I always try to park away from cars, and uphill.
- P.
Thanks for the info. It's actually 10 characters, not 8, but same idea. Sorry to hear the limitation is built into the XM radio spec. I thought some of the cheaper receivers you can buy at Circuit City or wherever allowed you to scroll the text info, getting more than 10 characters. Anybody know about this?
Max
I bought a 2005 Avalon Limited April 4, 2005. I was originally in the market for a 2005 Camry but the recent redesign made it have less driver to steering wheel room than my 2000. After looking at many different cars and reading my Consumer Report Car guide for 2005 I settled on the Avalon.
I have had 6 weeks of frustration with the Toyota dealer/service department.
The sales department tells me no one has complained of the problem and the service department ran diagnostics and tells me there is nothing wrong with the car. However, the problem still exists. Our family has owned a variety of toyota's over the last 25 years. I have owned 3 myself so I am not out to get Toyota. I would just like to have the problem fixed. Is anyone else is having this problem with their 2005 AVALON.
Here is the complaint I filed with NHTSA:
I have had repeated problems with the automatic electronic transmission in my Toyota Avalon 2005 Limited over the past month. I have had the car to the dealership to have diagnostics done. The dealership told me there is nothing wrong with my car and I would have to "train" my car computer to drive. I have over 1500 miles on the car and I continue to have the same problems. I drive the car and make starts and stops several times without issue, then at the next stop I start out and the car seems to shift immediately to a higher gear and I have to hit the brakes to avoid hitting other cars. Other times, I will press the gas pedal and have no response for several seconds before the car takes off. It makes it very difficult to merge into traffic as I never know when the car will go or not go. There are yet other times that it will start off normally and then seem to get stuck in what seems like second gear and rev for several seconds before shifting. Previously, I have pressed the gas pedal and ended up lurching forward when the shift finally occurred. Now I let it rev until it shifts itself with no additional gas pedal depression. While this has stopped the lurching, it has left me venerable in that I can not depend on when the car will accelerate so I can avoid accidents with other vehicles, people, and objects. This has been quite frustrating. I consider it a matter of my life and death because I take blood thinners and if I am in an accident, it could and quite possible would cost me my life. Please let me know what can be done to encourage Toyota to deal with this problem.
Well, given the number of "hesitation" complains about Toyota's models that use 5spd automatic transmission coded as "U151E", it follows that there are 2 sets of laws of physics -- one set for U151E, and the other set for all the other transmissions. This "simple physics" explanation reminds me of a typical Lexus/Toyota response: "the car operates as designed". After a few years of doing that, Toyota recently turned around: Company addresses 'hesitation' concerns
don't tell me--- it only works when you hand the car to toyota?
did you know that the car is equip with a box that tells toyota what you
are doing kinda like a black box---its good to have when you have an accident
it tells toyota what is really going on at the time of crash ,plus its harder to sue them with this box attached---reason is that they know what is going on with the car and driver.----tell them to look at that.
Man sounds like a fluke----are you sure you are not using the shifter and for some reason you leave in 3 or 2 gear? remember you have to go up to +5 to have it run
in all gears when you stop and start again without shifting---common man your smart.
as i have said in earlier posts regarding this problem, an automatic transmission is a compromise of sorts, it doesn't have the selectability of a manual and therefore, there will be instances when the tranny will not act the way you want it to!! also, just because on previous cars you have owned and not had a problem of this nature it doesn't necessarily mean it's a problem with the transmission. almost all automatic transmissions these days, have electronic controls to meet stricter emmission laws; which means more and more the computers are determining just what you can and can't do with your car. jackg 90seville 96k
cant wait 2 get my hands on Black Beauty AVVY :shades:
All US refineries have to install facilities to remove more of the sulfur traces before the end of the year. With the better gasoline quality exhaust systems should last much longer.
Many exhaust systems have a small hole in the exhaust pipe, at a low spot, to allow the condensation liquid to drain out. If you have mild steel in the system and you run the engine about 5 minutes you will see condensation driping out the hole or out the end of the tailpipe. You then will see amber rusty spots.
Ange1
Well, I am a 2005 ES330 owner, and I am happy, as long as I am not accelerating from a stop.
Incidentally, Toyota recently released a new Technical Service Bulletin that addresses transmission hesitation issues in 2004-2005 Lexus ES330 (which uses the same-coded transmission as 2005 Avalon). I would not be surprised if this TSB will make it soon to Toyota's dealerships as well.
The improvements include (I am quoting from the TSB):
-- Reduced downshift lag when accelerating at speeds from 10 to 20 mph
-- Less gear hunting when driving on/off accelerator pedal at 20 to 30 mph
(for example: during heavy rush–hour traffic)
-- Improved response rate during heavy acceleration from a stop
"author never mentions the car actually hesitates when the gas pedal is pushed."
Ok, here is what he (the author of the Avalon's Review in USA Today says:
"A sometimes-indecisive transmission is the one mechanical hiccup noticed during the test drives. In stop-and-go traffic or cruising at walking speed looking for an address or street sign, the transmission can't settle on a gear. Little jerks and shudders come through as the transmission hunts for the right ratio. Disappointing in such a well-done car."
Toyota is well aware of the problem, having already published a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) to correct the problem on the Lexus, and is expected to soon do the same for the Avalon. You can read the TSB here: link title
I think that sticking one's head in the sand and being in a state of denial about the problem (on an otherwise fine car) is simply not accepting reality.
:surprise:
Mackabee
1. Some people are experiencing hesitation some are not. Any statement regarding the numbers affected, be it a large or small number, is purely speculation.
2. Just because your car does not hesitate does not mean that the problem is non-existent.
3. Some of those experiencing hesitation find it unacceptable and potentially dangerous.
4. Toyota has acknowledged that a problem exists (see the ES300/330 TSB and spokesperson comments in Pittsburgh Post Gazette articles).
5. Toyota is working on a repair (see Post Gazette article regarding software upgrade). There have also been reports of new hardware (solenoid) to remedy the problem (see bkinblk’s posts in Engine Hesitation and post 1496 in Sienna 2004+ Problems and Solutions board).
1. Some people are experiencing hesitation some are not. Any statement regarding the numbers affected, be it a large or small number, is purely speculation
Why is it speculation ? If anything you are the one who is speculating. You keep going from one Toyota forum to another and link the same article over and over again. I can bet that very few people are experiencing the "hesitation" and the vast majority are not. NHTSA gets thousands of complaints each day regarding every make and model. That does not make that car dangerous. Like Mackabee said bad driving habit is probably the main reason for the "engine hesitation".
As to NHTSA or Congressional investigations, it may be too early for that since the 05 Avalon only debuted in February. Toyota HAS begun to address the problem on the top-of-the-line Lexus; hopefully the fix will trickle down to the other Toyota cars affected.
However, if you are one of those few who feel the car is not performing as designed take it to the dealer and have the mechanic look at it. Let him drive the car and tell him how to recreate the problem. If the mechanic says the car is performing as designed you can always go to arbitration or invoke the lemon law. Either way good luck. If you really want a reasonable response to your problems maybe you should post at the Avalon: Problems and Solutions board. You are much more likely to get a reasonable response there rather than someone posting the same Lexus TSB over and over again.