Toyota Avalon
I have 2000 Avalon, bought this past June.
When I turn on my rear defogger, the radio
reception goes to hell. Is this normal since the
antenna is built-in to the glass?
Also, there is this click whenever I turn the rear
defoger on and off. I don't recall hearing this
click until just recently.
Anyone having similar issue?
When I turn on my rear defogger, the radio
reception goes to hell. Is this normal since the
antenna is built-in to the glass?
Also, there is this click whenever I turn the rear
defoger on and off. I don't recall hearing this
click until just recently.
Anyone having similar issue?
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The roads are awful here. I have the tires at 34, which Toyota Canada tells me is the recommended pressure. The ride is firm, much firmer than my 1997 Avalon XLS. But with the firmness comes better road-handling. It does not roll around corners.
However I now have at 6000 Kms (3700 miles)a rattle in the left door panel or roof and the right seat as well!
Has anybody had the same problem?
Has anybody had the same problem?
I HAD a 98 Avalon XLS with exactly the same problm with the transmission. Here is a summary of what was done:
Purchased Feb 1998. At about 5k, transmission started acting as you described. Dealer cleaned valve body and stall converter. No change. Dealer then adjusted #2 resistor which was shown to have high resistance. Several mechanics that I have spoken with claimed the resistor could not be adjusted. Anyway, still no change. At about 10k, transmission was replaced with rebuilt Toyota transmission. Believe it or not, still no change. Two dealers claim no trouble codes have been recorded and transmission electronics appear normal.
I then met with the local Toyota zone representative on two separate occassions. First meeting, zone rep claimed that the car has "intelligence" in the transmision which will cause the transmission to shift according to my previous driving pattern. I know BS when I hear it. Rep claimed he felt the jerky shifting but felt it was normal as the momentium of the vehicle needed to be channeled somewhere. I previously owned a 92 Camry V6 XLE with basically the same engine and transmission and could not even tell the car was shifing unless I watched the tach. Second meeting with the zone rep and we drove another Avalon that he selected from the dealers' lot. I drove this car and it shifted perfectly. I then drove my car and it did not shift as it should. Zone rep claimed that I drove both cars differently and that I babied the car that he had selected. Also drove the car with a Toyota mechanic who felt the poor shifting, but could not figure out what was causing the problem. Zone rep gave me a 7 year 100k extended warranty to show HIS confidence in the car. Upon receiving all details of the extended warranty, it really would not have covered much. Other problems that I have had with the car include:
Windshield wiper motor failed and replaced under warranty.
Driver side seat heater failed. Entire seat needed to be replaced under warranty as the dealer could not obtain the necessary parts to repair the seat.
AC/Heating system shorted out atleast 4 times due to a bad electrical component (ac amplifer). AC always managed to fail in the heat of the summer. All repairs under warranty.
Creaking and banging from right front suspension. Repair required new strut and strut mounting components. Repair was great and performed under warranty. After all the warranty costs, I wonder how Toyota made any money on this car.
I have to say that the dealer, Smithtown Toyota in Smithtown NY was great. I always received a loaner car for all of the warranty repairs. Most repairs were fixed quickly and right the first time. I only wish that the zone rep was able to provide the same level of service that the local dealer consistiently provided.
In summary, the transmission was never fixed. I do not beleive that it would have ever left me stranded, but it should not have shifted as poorly as it did, irregardless of the price of the vehicle. Anyway, after about 28K miles and 2.5 years of ownership, I traded in the Avalon for a 2000 Acura RL. What a car, everything is exceptional including the transmission. It io ds great to drive a car and not always feel that you will soon be jerked forward when accelerating.
Anyway, do not give up, maybe someone in Toyota will finally wake up and realize that there are many Avalon owners who have experiened the transmission problems and who deserve to have this fixed without any BS.
Good luck.
Well done on the BMW. I had a 98 Avalon with the same transmission problems as well as many other problems that I will not take any more time to mention. I sold the Avalon and purchased an Acrua 3.5 RL. Probably not as much fun to drive as the Bimmer, but I really enjoy the car and grin widely when I drive this car and happen to think about the poor shifting in the Avalon. It is great to drive a car that you don't even realize when it is shifting, but even better is when accelerating from coasting, there is no hesitation. I expected better from Toyota, but what goes around comes around. I know we are not the only ones who have had this problem. Toyota, if you are paying attention, its ok to have a driveability problem, BUT, once aware of it, you should respond in a timely and EFFECTIVE manner. This is a problem that seems specific to Avalon's, and since it is not widespread among the entire model line, this is even more reason that Toyota should figure out the cause, develop a rememdy, and implement the remedy.
Anyway, good-bye to the Avalon. Toyota/Lexus just lost two more customers.
I guess Toyota STILL has not figured this one out. It is now effecting 3 model years. See posts 8 and 9 within this topic. Way to go Toyota.
Found your story interesting about selling your Avalon and buying an Acura RL. I'm sort of doing the opposite. After having 2 defective Acura RLs (cars in the shop for 28 of 30 days), both cars were taken back by Acura and my lease cancelled. I was planning to buy a new Avalon based on my excellent experience with owning many Toyotas over 15 years. I believe the "transmission glitch" that many have described is a known problem but sounds like it might be difficult to fix. Don't want to rain on your parade, but if you look at Consumer Reports reliability records for the Acura RL, the transmission is the weak point in the car with transmission reliability dropping to worse than average in the 3rd or 4th year of ownership. However, the RL is a stylish and luxurious car and a great value. Hope yours is better than my two were.
Driver231
thanks
Toyota Avalon - Three
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
I had planned to buy a Avalon XL 1995, with low milage, Some of my friends r telling that its difficult to sell Avalon when compared to Camry, is it so, Is buying avalon is good.....
reply me
thanks
hari
This question belongs in our Smart Shopper conference. Not here....
Your host, Bruce.
Avalon. I had a difficult time find the rack, when
I finally located one I asked if the scarcity was
due to the part seldom failing. He said he couldn't keep them in stock due to the Avalon ( and one
model of truck ) have a high number of failures.
When I asked the service manager at Toyota about
this he just smiled. Has anyone elese experienced
this problem or am I receiving bad info.
The quality (or lack there of) issue in the Toyota is significant. Toyota's hallmark has been long-term reliability. I believe this is NOT the case now. It may well be a myth perpetuated by Toyota. Owners are likely to have false hope based on this myth.
Did you know that some owners are experiencing sludge in the engine and being denied warranty claims? Did you know that these same owners are paying $5,000-8,000 for new engines? Did you know that some 2000 Sienna owners are having torque converter replacements within the first few hundred miles of driving? Did you know that others have had total transmission failures after after a few thousand miles? Did you know that there are other problems common to this vehicle? Have you had:
1) Persistent drifting/pulling to the left or the right
2) Uneven wear of tires with need for early replacement
3) Premature brake component wear, including rear brake drums
4) Power steering problems, including inner tie rod or total rack and pinion replacement
5) Vibrations, esp. at speeds above 50 MPH
6) Premature transmission problems or failure
7) Torque converter replacement, sometimes just after delivery
8) Sliding door latch problems with sticking and difficulty opening
9) Oil sludge in the engine related to a contaminated system
IF you have experienced these problems, please write to the following agencies and file a report detailing your case. THEN, network with others by visiting sites where owners post experiences.
U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Defects Investigations
NSA-10.01
400 7th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20590
1-800-424-9393
1-888-327-4236
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Center for Auto Safety
1825 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 330
Washington, D.C. 20009-5708
http://www.autosafety.org
The Complaint Station--click "T", then "Toyota"
http://www.thecomplaintstation.com
Car Trackers Discussion Forum
http://www.cartrackers.com
Phil Edmonston's Lemon-Aid Car Guides
http://www.lemonaidcars.com
Also, use the USENET groups:
alt.autos.toyota
alt.autos.toyota.camry
Charlene Blake
cblake@erols.com
Long term reliability:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 2, 2000
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.;Lexus ranks highest in long-term dependability for the sixth consecutive year, with less than one-half the number of vehicle problems than the average manufacturer according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Vehicle Dependability StudySM. Following Lexus in the ranking is sports car manufacturer Porsche, with Infiniti, Toyota and Acura, respectively, rounding out the top five. Only three non-luxury makes are in the top 10;Toyota, Honda and Buick.
Initial quality:
Toyota Motor Corporation captures a total of eight of 14 segment awards in the study. The Lexus LS 400 continues to set the standard for all models in initial quality, earning the distinction as the Best Premium Luxury Car for the fourth year in a row. The Toyota Avalon, Corolla, Land Cruiser, Sienna and Toyota Tundra each top their segments along with the Lexus ES 300 and LX 470.
Toyota dominates the overall plant results, taking the Worldwide Platinum Plant Quality Award and sweeping North America with three additional awards, including a Gold Plant Quality Award for its Georgetown (car) plant and a silver award for its joint-venture with General Motors, NUMMI (car).
http://www.jdpower.com/auto/index.html
Hhmmmm....... are we spotting a trend here?
I am basically looking for a good business car that can get me 200K plus miles with proper servicing. I typically put 40K miles a year on a vehicle.
Also, any thoughts on the bumper to bumper warranty expiring in 400 miles? Should/Can I go to a Toyota dealer and purchase or not?
Thanks.
What, exactly, is your motive here--where is it that you hope to go with this thing?
I'm among the many who are very skeptical of your objective because none of your so-called "reports" or "testimonials" make any sense--they're not factual at all, and sound more like something intended to simply stir up controvorsy.
Really, are you telling the whole story, or just putting us all on?
C'mon now, fess up!
Man, I've seen some petty vindictiveness in my day but this blake character really takes the cake,eh?
bnormann
Host
Maintenance & Repair Message Board
The suspension with the McPherson struts on the Avalon will never qualify as a true handler, my front struts also creaked or pop- d. But was also fixed under warranty. The rear suspension was specially "boomy" over minor bumps. Again the nature of that type of suspension. The best handling fix for me was ash canning the stock wheels/tires (205/65/15) and going to a 17"wheel with 215/50/17 Good year RSAs Vrated. This swap with keep an accurate speedo and you will notice an incredible increase in looks and handling. Make no mistake this will never run with a BMW. Overall the Avalon was one of the very best cars I ever had.
I replaced this car with another make because
Toyota didn't offer the new XLS with a black leather interior, and the lack of the 5-speed auto and side curtain airbags.
This was a quality car.
However, after doing some research on this self proclaimed advocate against all things Toyota, it's now patently clear that there is a strong motive in acting thus.
In 1995, she litigated against Chrysler over alledged problems with her Plymouth Minivan brakes; in 1997 her mother's Chev Cavalier was the source of a major tiff between her and GM; later, she took on the local Police Force for failing to resolve a petty theft of some I.D. to her satisfaction---and on and on and on!
Honestly, I believe what we've got here is a "Professional and Chronic Complainer" who's sole objective is to get something for nothing!
In a nutshell--someone who should be given a wide berth.
I traded a 1999 Volvo S70. I liked the Volvo, but it was noisy, and rides like a stagecoach, next to the Avalon. It tested very well for occupant safety, but in researching new cars, it looks as though the 2000+ Avalon does very well in offset and side crashes.
Here's the thing: the XL has cloth seats, which, by the way, I wanted. The Volvo had leather seats, and I found the leather to be hot in the summer, cold in the winter.
Anyway, in my opinion, Volvo makes the best car seats in the industry. You can sit in them all day long, and not feel uncomfortable. I have put about 400 miles on the Avalon, and am finding the drivers seat to be uncomfortable, especially in the curve where the lumbar support is. The seat is power, and does have the power lumbar adjustment. It just seems like it's impossible to set the seatback angle, and the lumbar support, to a position where it doesn't bother my lower back.
Questions for 2000+ Avalon owners:
1. Is anyone else experiencing/having this problem?
2. are the seats (cloth) in the XL the same as the seats in the XLS; only difference being the leather? Are they shaped the same? Or did I miss something in the test drive?
3. Are there any GOOD seat supports or cushions that can be added, that would correct this problem?
I thank you all in advance for any suggestions/help you can offer.
Good Luck.
bnormann
Host
Maintenance & Repair Message Board
It seems to me that Toyota should make a longer front seat cushion with more padding. The front seat back seems to be supportive enough. I also decided at the time ('95)to buy cloth because of winter cold, but I have since changed my mind after experiencing the new seat heaters.
My wife has a '01 Lexus RX with very comfortable leather front seats, warms up in about 30seconds - so I know that Toyota could upgrade the Avalon seat if enough of us would complain.
Overall, I am VERY satisfied with the Avalon - 109K trouble free miles, and planning for another 100K, if my back holds together! The engine still sounds new and you can rarely feel the automatic transmission shifting. This car is a definite "keeper". But, I would be interested in a seat upgrade or after market seat improvement.
uses the car for commuting. We had 39,000 miles
on the car in one year. By the time it had 22,000
miles on it we had the door seals replaced for excessive wind noise. We traded the car for a 1998
Toyota Avalon because we loved everything else about the car and the 98 had side-impact bags and
depowered(safer)front air-bags.At 37,500 miles
the dreaded wind noise returns but the dealer
won't fix it and the regional service manager
won't stand behind it and offer any assistance.
Now at 73,000 miles it bugs me enough to call Toyota @ 800-331-4331 and get Toyota involved