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Toyota Avalon 2008-2010

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Comments

  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    The manufacturers chose 4300K because over the eons of human existence our eyes have become "tuned" to our sun's light spectrum. 6000K might in fact be "brighter" in pure lumens but not to humans.
  • kbetts1kbetts1 Member Posts: 36
    Thanks for the link to the Pirus HID problem. Didn't know the bulbs life got shortened by turning on and off while hot. I do it manually from now on. But as for the HID Bulbs....

    Found this site where they go for $49 a pair and you can select the color temp...

    http://www.highperformancebulbs.com/hipexed4rhid.html

    Don't know if they are good or not but they are a supporting vendor on a Honda performance web site. When I need new bulbs I'll give them a call as they are $100 cheaper than elsewhere..
  • whethersonwhetherson Member Posts: 12
    my left headlight does not shut down (yet) it just occasionally flickers i will have the dealer check the auto levelling system. a site i came across stated the max brightness is obtained between 5000K(kelvin) to 8000K 5000k is pure white light.the bulb will become more blue in color as the color temperature is increased. i dont know if this will light the road better than our factory 4300k hid.i am not a do it yourself guy so i would not attempt to change the bulb. i do think a brighter halogen would help the distance of the beam, like a sylvania silverstar ultra. for interesting info check out www.plasmagarage.com. enjoy all your input guys
  • whethersonwhetherson Member Posts: 12
    my left side low beam (HID) has gone out twice but then comes on again. has this happened to any one else? do you think i should replace or wait and see if it goes out completly.
  • kbetts1kbetts1 Member Posts: 36
    In the eye, the rods are the cells that see low level light and the cones react to color (colour). The cones react much faster to color than the rods react to changing levels of light.. So lumens are the output of the light effecting rod cells and the degrees kelvin are the color (colour) of the light effecting cone cells.

    HID outputs almost three times lumen of a halogen bulb (1200 vs 3200) and draws 20 watts less electricity while doing it (HID 35w vs Halogen 55w for low beam). The HID outputs the most lumens at 4000-4300 degrees K. Halogen outputs at about 3200 K.

    So, depending on your eyes you might want to go with a more yellow light because it scatters better than higher temps (higher frequency) lights (more blue coloured). For us old guys our night vision decreases and we might be able to see a more yellow light as being brighter)

    Anyway, this has been a very interesting discussion and I've learned a lot from doing some web searches as well as from input from you guys...

    I'm going to replace the HID as soon as they start flickering with some 3500k (yellowish). But I'm going to replace the H11 fog lamps with some 3000k HIDs I found which I hope will give me the best of both worlds.

    Overall, the Avalon is the best car I've ever owned..... Great Car!
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Why bother with fog lights at all...??
  • whethersonwhetherson Member Posts: 12
    would like to install low beam hid bulb by myself.( 2008 avalon) can somebody give me directions thank you
  • stoneybrokestoneybroke Member Posts: 83
    I have a 2008 Touring with only 8k miles, purchased new in June of this year.. Today, I discovered that the aluminum trim on the center console is nothing but glue on paper which is peeling off. Anyone else run into this problem? I don't have my warranty book with me, but I think all body hardware is covered for 12 months-12k. Any and all input would be appreciated.
  • bspiritb1bspiritb1 Member Posts: 1
    During the summer my left headlight went out just a couple of times but now it's doing it every 5 mins or so. If I turn off the switch and turn it back on they work for another 5 mins. The dealer switched bublbs from left to right to confirm it is the bulb and it is the bulb. The replacement is $344.00. Can anybody tell me where I can get it cheaper?
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    Yes! I am in the exact same boat. As you may recall from prior post, I was quoted $800 by my local Toyota dealer to replace both bulbs. That is despite the factory notification regarding Prius headlights (which use the same D4R bulbs), in which they said they were lowering the bulb prices from $300 to $150 each. Ridiculous.

    At any rate I've found multiple sources for replacement bulbs. I ended up ordering via amazon.com from a supplier called Halo Automotive. Two D4R bulbs for $95 including shipping. That was way less than plasmagarage.com at $229. Google and you might find even cheaper prices but I got the free 2nd day shipping on amazon.

    I also found out that my local body shop will replace the bulbs for about $150, so my total will be about $250 for both headlights. Installation does not sound easy--he says it involves dropping the bumper--so for me it was derinitely not a DIY project.

    HTH
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    The typcal instrument designed to measure the brightness of light, say in lumens, will be all encompassing, inclusive even of IR "light", for which our human eyes have no sensitively whatsoever.

    Take an electronic camera and and watch an IR remote as it is used, the camera "sees" the remote's IR led, and everything it illuminates, even though your eyes cannot.

    4300K...gospel.
  • ajmtbmajmtbm Member Posts: 245
    should be covered during the bumper to bumper period, which i think is 3 years / 36k miles.
  • popsavalonpopsavalon Member Posts: 231
    I cannot believe that your post, "human eyes have no sensitivity to IR light" and the other previous posts about 4300K vs 3500K, $400 to change headlight BULBS, having to drop the bumper to do it, etc. are real conversations relating to current automobile headlights.

    If this is truly the level of technology (?) that car buyers are accepting as "the latest thing", we had all better start diverting a lot of extra cash into an account called "fix the bleeping car...again".
  • urspider76urspider76 Member Posts: 12
    I had the same problem with my passenger HID headlight. I purchased a phillips replacement bulb from factory_xenon on Ebay for under $ 40.00. This bulb is an exact OEM replacement. Changing the bulb on the passenger side took about 15 minutes - there is a round black plastic cover directly behind the headlight. It opens with a 1/4 turn. There is a power cable with also unlocks from the rear of the bulb with a 1/4 turn. The bulb is held in place with a hinged spring clip with two "ears"
    push down each ear to unhook the clip. It swings down and the bulb is easily pulled out. The driver's side will be more difficult. You will have to remove the battery and possibly remove the bolts to the fuse box to gain a little room to work in. I wouldn't think it would take more than 45 minutes or so to change. A mirror with an extention handle will make the job a lot easier. Just installed tonight will let you know if it solves the problem.
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    urspider:
    Just to clarify, what year and model Avalon are you referring to? I'm somewhat confused. The headlights I'm referring to are for the '08 Limited, which has the self leveling HID headlights, and use the rather rare D4R HID bulbs. They are the same ones involved in the Prius headlight problem.

    The Ebay site you mentioned appears to see a different bulb (a D2R?) for "07 and earlier Avvy's. Didn't see a D4R for '08 and newer models. I'm mostly curious since the description I've gotten on how to replace the bulbs in the "08 self leveling system appears much more complex than what you're describing, but maybe that's my service guy blowing smoke up my #$%.
  • whethersonwhetherson Member Posts: 12
    bought a pair of low beam hid bulbs on line took to my mechanic to install he claimed he had to remove front bumper cover to gain access to bulbs . paid $90 for the bulbs and $160 for labor is this really the only way to gain acess to the bulbs or did i get ripped off.
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    I think he was correct.

    I just did had the same thing done yesterday. '08 Limited with the autoleveling HID headlights. I paid $100 on Amazon for the bulbs and had them installed at a body shop where I know the owner personally so hopefully I didn't get ripped off. He charged $115, and yes indeed, he said you do have to drop the bumper to change the bulbs. So, your $250 is in the ballpark. Unbelievable that they design it this way. Still better than the $800!!! the local Toyota dealer tried to rip me off for. I have been disappointed by Toyota and their supposed reputation for reliability and great service.

    Are you scared to drive the Avvy? I just keep my hand on the shifter ready to hit Neutral.
  • kbetts1kbetts1 Member Posts: 36
    I can't say for sure about removing the bumper cover....But on my 08 Touring I just went to my garage and popped the hood. LOOKING DOWN FROM THE FRONT WITHOUT REMOVING ANYTHING....on the passenger side there is the normal high beam bulb connector and next to it is a 3 1/2 inch cover over the low beam with an arrow. I rotated the cover and it came off exposing a large connector for the HID bulb but with a retaining spring just like some of the H4 bulb headlight retaining springs. I didn't remove it but it appeared there was plenty of room to do so. On the driver side there is much less room. It appears that you might have to remove the battery and loosen and move the circuit breaker box back out of the way.

    You can remove the bumper to remove the headlight assembly to access the HID bulb but why bother if you can just move the battery. You may or may not have trouble with the circuit box but if you don't like trouble then have someone else do it.

    As for the recall.....

    There were and average of 132 acceleration problems per year for all of Toyota. That's 132 out of at least 10 million vehicle.... maybe more. It's more likely that you'll be murdered.(1 in 18000) than have an accelerator stick (1 in 75000). That said, if your pedal is giving you ANY trouble then DON'T DRIVE IT. If your car has a lot of miles maybe you want to get it checked out sooner than if you only have 35,000 like I do.
  • erhafterhaft Member Posts: 3
    My 08 Avalon Touring will intermittently lose the left low beam headlight. It works again after I move the light switch on the stalk from Auto to Parking, then back to Auto. It is starting to drop out more frequently now, always correctable with the above switch movement. Doesn't sound like the bulb. Any suggestions?
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    If your Touring does indeed use the D4R HID bulb, and NOT the standard halogens on other non-HID Avalons, then it is almost certainly the bulb . Take a minute to go and read the series of posts from me, whetherson etc from the last rew weeks. They include a link to the Toyota service bulletin in which they admit that the same problem noted in the Prius (which also uses the D4R bulb) is indeed due solely to bulb failure. And, as additional evidence, my '08 Limited which was having the same problem has been completely corrected with just bulb replacement.
  • urspider76urspider76 Member Posts: 12
    I had the same problem with my 08 Limited. The bulb will continue to go out at shorter and shorter intervals. It is the bulb -- bought one on Ebay for under $ 40 and changed it my self. Drivers side bulb will require the removal of the battery and possibly loosening of the fuse box
  • urspider76urspider76 Member Posts: 12
    My Avalon is a 2008 Limited and the replacement bulb I purchased is a D4R (4300K) bulb. I would assume that since the bulb is fixed that the auto level feature results in the reflector moving not the bulb. Changed the bulb two weeks ago - all is like new again.
  • lewgeorlewgeor Member Posts: 3
    Are Avalons engine noisey. The dealer said that they are. I been experiencing clicking noise when the car runs for awhile. It does not when i start it up in the morning. Is this normal.
  • hankat1hankat1 Member Posts: 1
    How often should the fuel filter on a 208 Avalon be changed? Where is it located? Is it difficult to change?
    Thanks in advance for any assistance.
  • tfeltontfelton Member Posts: 80
    I find my '08 Avalon very quite. Sometimes it's hard to tell it's running.

    The other post about fuel filters: I believe they change every 45,000 miles.
  • doug3030doug3030 Member Posts: 20
    urspider76: Where did you get your bulbs from? Mine are still okay but would like to know where they're available when the time comes...
    Thanks.
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    Not sure about urspider, but I bought my D4R's on Amazon for about $100 for two. The actual seller was Halo Automotive. They are working fine over the last month and corrected the flickering/cutting off problem. A simple Google search will turn up many other vendors.
  • urspider76urspider76 Member Posts: 12
    http://us.ebid.net/perl/auction.cgi?auction=20722963&mo=auction

    The above link appear to still be active - Good Luck
  • gilseidmangilseidman Member Posts: 22
    The clicking noise is not normal. If you have a warranty, bring it back to the dealer. The car should run quietly. On the road, you hardly hear the engine.
  • carlupicarlupi Member Posts: 52
    How do you erase the "Maintenace Required" message on the dashboard panel of a 2009 Avalon? I had the car serviced ahead of schedule and apparently the mechanic forgot to reset the message.
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    On a 2007 the instructions are on page 153/154 of the owner's manual. Probably similar page numbers for the '09 models...
    All you do is turn the engine off with the total car mileage showing (not Trip A or B). Then..Hold in the the mileage button as you move the key or the start button to ON. Hold the mileage button in for 5 seconds and the light should blink and go out.... you will also see the mileage show 000000..briefly...
    Good luck...it's not hard once you know the secret...... ;)
  • carlupicarlupi Member Posts: 52
    Thanks, will try it today.
  • daveinmariettadaveinmarietta Member Posts: 8
    Toyota maintains a website for all its old brochures. Go to:
    http://www.toyotacertified.com/request.html#

    All the older "original" brochures can be downloaded from there.

    Dave
  • daveinmariettadaveinmarietta Member Posts: 8
    Has anyone had similar problems? This seems extremely weird. The dealership is giving me headaches and is blaming me for the problem. The care WAS garaged for 11 months (because of a death in the family) in Southern CA, but it was in a garage.

    :mad: The dealership does not want to take any action until the tires actually fail. My warranty on the tires is still in full effect; but the wording is unclear on what to do in this situation. I don't want to run the car on tires that could blow out at any time. These are original Michelin tires.

    Any suggestions, or other similar experiences?

    My 16 year old daughter is learning to drive now. I don't want her driving an unsafe car. How do I convince the dealership to replace the tires????!!!!

    Dave
  • gilseidmangilseidman Member Posts: 22
    Look in your car manual and follow the steps they outline. It is not that difficult and it works.
  • nceencee Member Posts: 419
    I didn't have tire rot, but did have a flat with 10,234 miles on it, and the dealership said "Tire warranty is handled by the tire manufacture, and not Toyota". I called the tire manufacturer who said "We will gladly replace the tire, and you will be pro-rated on the tire, for the miles it has on it". Now this could ONLY happen, if I had the car brought to an authorized dealer, and they did the work. You guessed it, the Toyota dealer ISN'T and authorized dealer!

    I would have had to have the dealer take off the tire (yes I had them replace it), they would have had to put on the bad one, I would have had to take it to the place (35+ miles away, and after all of that, it would have cost me $150.00 + (I paid $215.0 at the Toyota dealership) - and a ton of wasted time.

    If you can believe this, the Tire Company (Headquarters that I called), suggested that when I purchase a new car again, I consider getting it WITHOUT tires, and that I purchase tires NEW from an authorized dealer, and that way I'd get a much better warranty! Now how's that for weird?

    Skip

    PS If it wasn't for the fact that Toyotas will likely have a VERY poor trade-in value at most places, I'd likely be looking at other makes / models of cars for my next one.

    I'm kind of hoping Toyota dealers give GREAT trade-in values towards a new Toyota (I think I hoping:)).

    I'm thinking, this might be an issue for several years to come? What do you folks think?
  • daveinmariettadaveinmarietta Member Posts: 8
    I have a 2008 Avalon that sat in the Long Beach, CA Toyota lot for 11 months even BEFORE it sent to the dealer. All four tires rotted out, both rear pistons sprung leaks, and the seal around my sun roof was failing.

    I learned all this NOT from the Toyota dealership who claimed to do a full inspection on the car (nor told me how long the car had sat), but from a Firestone dealership where I stopped to get an early oil change. (at 1,800 miles - just to make sure there were not any metal fragments in the oil).

    I went back to a different Toyota dealer, SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER, and after some arm twisting, he agreed to make an "accommodation" for me because I was "such a good customer". I had never been to that dealership before.

    Lesson: PUSH for what is right. The 11 months of my Avalon sitting in a TOYOTA holding lot was their problem, not mine, and NOT the tire manufacturers fault.

    I have since learned that Toyota Service Managers have a lot of discretion on making "accommodations" to customers - even more so in the past month.

    Dave
  • targetmojo10targetmojo10 Member Posts: 8
    Anyone ever have an issue with a window rattle? I have a rear passenger side window that rattles going over bumps when fully raised. Poor seals, perhaps? Any guidance would be appreciated. It's take me quite awhile to isolate the issue...now I what to make it go away!

    BTW...2008 Limited.
  • popsavalonpopsavalon Member Posts: 231
    D, I assume you are talking about "dry rot", and I am puzzled as to why new tires would dry rot in 11 months, regardless of where they were. What was the manufacture date on the tires?

    Did you actually get the tires replaced? At the Firestone dealer or at Toyota dealer, and was there any charge for tire replacement if it actually happened?

    A tire dealer recommending tire replacement on a new car with only 1800 miles would certainly raise a lot of questions from me.
  • bobbb1bobbb1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2008 touring also. The dash indicator shows high beam but the lights stay on low.. Can I replace the high beam bulbs myself? If so, do you know the lamp number? Is the high beam circuit fused separately and could that be the problem? The highs worked fine until I drove a dark winding road at night and switched repeatedly, after 20 minutes of this they failed. I've heard rumors about the cost of a repair on this at the dealer.
  • nceencee Member Posts: 419
    I can say this.

    I had the low beam bulbs replaced at my local dealer (Under warranty) and it didn't take but 3 minutes per side.

    Skip
  • bobbb1bobbb1 Member Posts: 2
    How much did they charge you Skip?
  • kbetts1kbetts1 Member Posts: 36
    The Touring has 9011 bulbs for high beam and HID D4R bulbs for low beam. If both of your high beams don't work then it's most likely a fuse or another problem. Take it to the dealer for warranty work.

    I took my '08 touring in because the battery wouldn't hold a charge and they said there is nothing wrong with the battery or the charging system.

    Fast forward to last week and the battery was dead AGAIN! So I took it in this time for a battery drain problem. They checked it out and said the headlights/parking lights weren't programmed to turn off right and killing the battery. OK.

    So I let the car sit for a week and the batter still died. SO.. I started poking around myself and was going to hook up an ammeter to the battery and start pulling fuses until I found where the problem was. BUT, before I did I opened the hatch between the seats and sure enough the light in the trunk was stuck on. Now I'm taking it back to the dealer and telling him to fix the trunk switch. Hope that fixes it for sure...

    Ain't cars wonderful.... oh, I just got my recall notice this week too so I'm going to talk to them about scheduling a recall appointment too even though I'm not convinced the pedal is the problem.
  • lewgeorlewgeor Member Posts: 3
    What do you think the clickin noise is on my 2008 avalon touring coming from engine. Purchased in Jan 010 with 40,000 still under warranty. I took it to a dealer and they said those types of engines run loud. They said they suspect the VVT-I gear assembly, R&R bank 1 valve cover inspected, all checked normal. It clicks while it is parked while car turned on. It does not make a clicking sound in the morning when I start the car up. I heard Toyota had a service butlletin concerning this.
  • twinbtwinb Member Posts: 140
    If there is a service bulletin about this problem your service guy should've seen it & corrected it. If you google Toy Avy service bulletins you can find out for yourself.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,817
    I really think its the fuel injectors you are hearing. You wouldn't hear it in the morning when the car is on fast idle. However, when the car is fully warmed up and the engine is idling low it is possible to hear that clicking sound the fuel injectors make. I know on my 06 Avalon I could. Also, if it was something wrong with the engine it would most certainly be worse when first started. What I would do is have someone in the car with the transmission in park rev the engine to around 1800-2000 RPM and hold it there. If the sounds goes away it is the injectors (well it didn't go away you just can't hear it anymore over the sound of the engine)

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • stoneybrokestoneybroke Member Posts: 83
    I got three different recall notices today on my 08 Touring.
  • lewgeorlewgeor Member Posts: 3
    what were the recalls. I did not get anything but took mine to a dealer. He looked at the accelerator and said that one was the recall so he fixed it. Other than the recall on accelerator, what was the other two?
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    After two months of waiting for the official Toyota letter I finally was told by their customer svc folks that they could not tell me when the letter was coming, but that some dealers were doing the "sticking pedal" recall without the letter. She said though that they would NOT do the "floor mat" recall without a letter. She stated they were sending out about 10,000 letters a day. (BTW, I find it incredible that it will take a vaunted company like Toyota months just to send out a bunch of letters. Let's see: take database. Print letters. Mail. And they can't figure out how to do that faster?)

    Well, I called my dealer and lo and behold, they will do BOTH recalls without the letter. Then, to my surprise, like stoneybrook, i was informed of a THIRD recall which has been totally unpublicized to my knowledge. It involves a problem with an oil hose, though they did not tell me more than that. The three recalls will be an all day affair as they said the engine must be completely cooled off before they can remove the oil line.

    On the bright side, I figure if my car starts to accelerate out of control, the oil line will rupture and the engine will die, saving my life :-)
  • tfeltontfelton Member Posts: 80
    I got three recalls last week for my 2008 Avalon Ltd. One was for the accelerator (had it done), two was for the oil line (had it done), and 3 was for the floor mat/accelerator (have not had that done).

    If you read the floor mat recall it indicates that under the right conditions all they do is inspect your mat and if it's a Toyota mat and properly installed they only have to up grade the computer so the car slows down if you touch the brake and accelerator at the same time at high speed.
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