Toyota Avalon - Remotes, Remote Start, Door Locks and Security System Questions

edheywood

The car we bought did not come with the remote button. There were many of them for sale at ebay but I found one at a junk yard. The one's on ebay claim it is very simple to program them to your car. Can anyone help with the How to part? Obviously the one we got from the junk yard didn't work on our car.

al49

About a month ago we purchased a 1998 Avalon XLS and we are having a problem with the door locks. We haven't got a manual yet and we haven't had a chance to get back to the dealer. The battery in the remote is good but the transmitter will not work all the time. Sometimes you have to press the button about a dozen times to get it to work and even then it may not. Other times it works as first try. Also sometimes after you unlock the door with the remote it will automaticly lock the doors in about 30 seconds. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is going on or experienced a similar problem? This is our first 'foregin' car. The remotes on our 1991 Olds never gave a problem in 12 years so this is very frustrating. Thanks. Al

nomad56

The 30 second "re-lock" is correct, if you don't open one of the doors, after "un-locking". This is a security feature. ie) You accidently hit un-lock when putting your keys in your pocket, or someone with the same frequency parked near you (not very likely but, possible) ...un-locked their car and drove away ...now your Avy would be sitting un-locked!

Did you only get the ONE key FOB?? Are ALL 3 (maybe 2) buttons acting this way???

OPEN the non working key fob and clean the rubber diaphram (the backside of the rubber button), as well as the "contacts" on the transmitter's circuit board. Inspect for wear. You may have to get a new one... -nomad-

reddog13

Does this happen anywhere, or just at certain locations? I have a 2003 Avalon XLS with the remote door locks, and one or twice a week this happens to me in the parking lot at work. The first time it happened I was really upset, but after mentioning it to some co-workers, I found out they have the same problem with their remotes. We think it is some kind of electromagnetic interference, or something. We are within a mile of an international airport, the Coast Guard Station, and the Naval Station. This is the only place it happens, but only occasionally.

al49

Thanks for the replies. I just had the car back to the dealer and got the second remote that was part of the deal and it works as it should. The older remote works better than it did but not as good as the new one. Al

lnt

Has anyone else had trouble with their car alarm going off at the slightest vibration? My car is about 2 feet from my door that goes from the garage into the utility room and if we accidentally slam the door- even just a little- my horn starts honking and lights flashing! What a sensitive alarm. I am afraid that when I am working or especially when I leave it at the airport the slightest vibration will make it go off and run my battery down! Can those things be set to be less sensitive?

nitetrain

YES! I think that is what happened to my car tonight. It was in my locked garage and for NO reason I could tell the alarm started going off at 3:45 AM! I checked the area out and found nothing. I figured it was a cat or something in the garage setting it off. I sent the dogs in to find it but nothing! About 15 minutes later the alarm went off again! This however is the first time in a year that the alarm has EVER triggered. Now that I see your post it is possible that the wind hitting the garage door has set it off. I am glad that I now have a better cause than ghosts or electric problems. BTW I have a 2001 XLS.

lurch73

I bought my wife a 1996 avalon XL. It had been wrecked, but we don't know how much damage was done to the car. My question is this: on the dash between the steering column and the mirror adjustment button is a small red light. It just came on and will not go off. I disconnected the battery to see if it would go out and it did, when I reconnected the battery the horn beeped and as soon as my wife turned the key the light came on. I disconnected the battery again and left it off for several hours and when I reconnected the horn sounded 4 times almost like an alarm. I have no manuals, nothing for this car and I am not familiar with Toyotas. Can someone tell me if this is factory installed or maybe it was something that was added after it was totaled? Please help we have 3 small kids and I don't need them to get stranded somewhere. Thanks for any help.

dbowe

I think that this is likely an aftermarket addon by the Toyota dealer who originally sold the vehicle OR simply and aftermarket job done by the previous owner. Seriously doubt that your car is in danger of being stranded. If you want to know more, check out one of the repair manuals at Autozone etc. You can always go there and crack one of the books open (regardless of plastic wrapper) and check on your questions.

lurch73

Thanks! I also talked to someone who suggested an alarm system. But I think I will go with your suggestion first. It may be in my best interest to invest in a repair manual because we really like the car. We are having some squealing with the steering when you first start the car, but not every time and the sunroof doesn't work, but from reading the other forums I see that is a common problem. Thanks again for the suggestion.

darkfish01

Hey guys. I have a 95 Toyota Avalon XLS with roughly 127k miles on it. A few weekends ago the visor fell off, detaching the wiring. I shrugged it off and put it back in. Well, last weekend the power locks just stopped working! I try the switch on the inside of the door and it's unresponsive. I can't pop the trunk from the inside either. I can't use the handy buttons on my key either. I have to manually put the key in the car and turn. What gives?

mikes.

"I bought my wife a 1996 avalon XL. It had been wrecked, but we don't know how much damage was done to the car. My question is this: on the dash between the steering column and the mirror adjustment button is a small red light. It just came on and will not go off. I disconnected the battery to see if it would go out and it did, when I reconnected the battery the horn beeped and as soon as my wife turned the key the light came on. I disconnected the battery again and left it off for several hours and when I reconnected the horn sounded 4 times almost like an alarm"

In my 96XL this is an alarm indicator light. I can't tell you much more though, sorry.

MikeS.

curry

Just picked up my new '05 Avalon last week. I am trying to change the auto door locking from its current default setting. Currently the doors lock as soon as I put the car in reverse or drive. I have tried to switch it so the doors will lock when the car gets to 12 mph. I have followed the procedure in the owner's manual, and it appears to change. However, the next time I start the car and engage the transmission, the doors lock prior to the car moving. Anyone able to help?

Thanks,
Ed

teezedd

I have a 2000 Avalon XLS and I tried the procedure posted in #2969 but it doesn't work for me. I changed the battery and it defaulted back to the factory setting, now the doors lock every time you shift into gear.
I saw the dealer change the programming to make the door not lock on moving from P to D when I bought the car and I think he opened the drivers door during the procedure.
Does anyone have the procedure that will work for my 2000 XLS ?

famper

1997 Avalon, right-rear door, child door lock stuck in "lock" position. Can't open door from inside (opens fine from outside). Unlock mechanism rotates and feels like it unlocks, but nothing happens. Any ideas to fix this? Thanks. :confuse:

wrsutton

My power door lock on the passenger side front, will not work . This door will not lock or unlock with the inside switch or the remote. Anyone have suggestions

nomad56

This is usually an "actuator", the powered mechanism that moves the lock. -nomad56-

tasmanmotors

Hello,

I just purchased a used 2000 Avalon. My first Toyota. About a week ago, I unlocked the car and popped the trunk with the remote and when I was loading some stuff in the trunk I heard a swish noise. It had sounded like the doors locked and when I went to check, the doors actually locked on me. I had looked to see if I accidently hit the remote lock button but my keys and remote was laying on top of the car roof, no where near me. I may have had this happen once before, but shook it off as if I did something wrong. Anyone else run into their doors locking automatically?

And since being a new Toyota Avalon owner, I saw a couple of message about the 3.0 engine sludging. What exactly is this? Is the engine oil sludging? Does the Avalon need constant engine oil flush that you get at any Quick service oil change shop? Just wondering.

Thanks for any input.

rzrseg

The doors will re-lock on you, after a short period, if you don't actually open a door. This keeps you from leaving your doors unlocked if you hit the button accidentally.

The engine sludging thing I don't understand too well myself (I think it has something to do with a bad valve cover design?)...only that it can happen (and did to me) but the dealership will (should) clean it up for free within 8 years of purchase.

sanandton

The automatic door lock/relock feature is a real pain. I believe it affects more Toyotas than the Avalon. It happens on my Wife's 2000 Avalon as well. I believe it only relocks if you don't open a door (apparently, the trunk doesn't count) within a short time like 20-30 seconds.

sanandton

was posting while rzrseg's reply was posted.

scoti1

Some owners of certain model 1997 - 2002 Toyotas (including Avalon) experienced a condition called engine sludge. This usually is a problem that only occurs when you don't change your oil, but people reporting sludge in these models often also reported the problem at very low miles and claimed to have properly changed the oil and maintained the car. After several years of owners having to pay out of pocket for repairs (to the tune of $3000 or more) Toyota came out with their sludge policy that provides a free fix for 8 years unlimited miles. I think, even as a buyer of a used car, you are covered under this policy. You just need to properly maintain your engine and be able to provide proof. The best proof is probably letting the dealer do your oil changes. Also, I would also recommend doing oil changes at much less than the 5,000/7,500 miles recommended in the manual. Toyota later dropped this interval to 5,000 max. Watch for signs of sludge -- smoking tailpipe is one. It also may appear that your car is using large quantities of oil. Check engine light should come on when this happens.

There is a lot of information on the net and on Edmunds about this problem. Several other makes are now also having trouble with sludge. (Chrysler, VW,).

About the door lock. If you unlock your car but do not open a door right away, they will lock back again. Could this be what is happening to you?

fin

On the engine sludge problem, I will "second" the answer posted above in #766. My '99 XL never had the problem, thru trade-in at 92k miles, but some did. Take care of the car..lose no sleep...

deepan

what was your maintenance schedule. i.e how many months /miles before the oil change.

IIRC the sludge is caused by several factors combined.
poor maintenance/no oil changes for many months
poor design of the PCV
short trips where the engine doesnt warm up etc..

the PCV was addressed in 01 sienna and upwards (they have the same engine). The part is $10 and chnaging it was easy on the van. the engine does poorly when not maintained well.

rzrseg

Nothing unusual. It only had about 24,000 miles on it and if I remember correctly I got the oil changed around the 4000 mile mark(s). However, it did tend to sit for periods of time and then had little drives for the most part. It kinda has the same schedule now unfortunately (live close to work but usually ride my motorcycle).

I'm planning on doing a full tune up including PVC valve and probably the timing belt and such when I dig into it for the valve noise. I keep track of my mileage now, I'll see if anything changes when I get done...assuming I can put it all back together.

tasmanmotors

Thanks for info. on the sludging. I've never had a car that had a problem with it before and then again, I do get engine flushes periodically. I will definitely keep an eye on this one.

And as for the door lock, yes, it did happen when I unlocked the car with the remote and popped the trunk. I did not open any doors, but I was packing the trunk. This is the first car that I have owned that auto locks the door when just sitting there. Just caught me off guard. Gave me a concern. I don't want to walk away from the car for a moment and have it lock my kids in it.

Thanks again, and thanks to everyone else who wrote in. Appreciate it very much.

linyguy

Might sound silly, but I am concerned about the Smart Key (2005 Avalon) and the fact that it gives off an RF signal. Is it possible that this is a health concern? They say it is like the RF a microwave oven puts out (according to Toyota). The manual states to check people with pace makers. Maybe being paranoid, but just not sure having it in your pocket all the time is okay. Anyone know more about this?

rkasten

I own a 2000 Avalon and would like to know how to set the auto door locks so they do not lock when you put the car in gear. The car just recently started locking the doors after I had clean the interior. I accidently hit some sequence while cleaning causing the doors to lock when the car is put in gear. The manual said to contact your Toyota dealer for this but it can't be that difficult. Any help would be appreciated.

fin

From the 2003 Avalon owner's manual (yours is probably the same):

Turn everything off. Close doors. Sit in driver's seat. Selector in PARK.
UNlock all doors with the switch. Turn ignition ON, do not start.
Within 10 seconds push door lock to LOCK and HOLD for 5 seconds.
The "open door warning light" will flash.
1 flash is mode 1.
You want mode 2. That's 2 flashes. No auto lock/unlock.
There are 4 modes, in sequence. If you miss, it repeats.
If you miss the procedure, start over. No problem.
Hope this helps......
Might want to order an owner's manual if yours is missing.....

rita04

We just bought a 2004 Avalon. I received two black keys and tried to have more copies made at the h/w store. They said I had a transponder in my keys, gave me an instruction sheet to "program" my new key. I'm turjning ON/OFF the ignition switch and opening the door as instructed. It wouldn't accept the new one. Figuring the former lost the valet key, I cancelled all keys but one. It only "accepts" 3 keys. Now it will not accept either old or newest key. Is there an updated procedure for 2004? My sheet says 2000+ and Lexus. Or is my timing of the process too fast/slow? Is there a TSB for this? Help!

kmitch

Hi,
I have a 2000 Avalon XLS and have never had a problem with the car until now. After placing my key in the ignition, I attempt to turn the key to the "ON" position to crank the car, but the key will not turn past the "ACC" setting. Is there some sort of security lock that has caused this. P.S. - The transmission is in the "Park" position.

Any help would be appreciated.

ireland14

I have a 1996 Toyota Avalon have been experiencing my car alarm going off for no apparent reason. I took my car to the dealer and after several hours of checking they decided it was the remote battery. I replaced the remote battery but am still experiencing this problem. Anyone have any ideas on this topic.

bkean71

Get a copy of TSB EL009-00 from your dealer and follow it carefully. Make sure to unlock all doors as step 1a.

runner7

I wish I could help. I have a 02 XLS and have started to have the same problem. Alarm is going off in parking lots and my garage. Nothing apparent is triggering it. Ended up removing the fuse for the horn/alarm so the alarm won't wake up the neighbors.

cjponline

With my '06, it took probably 5 tries to change the setting to make the door lock at shift to/from park. One of my mistakes was having the ignition on ACC vs ON, or was it the other way around.

allthumbs2

">Wow! '02 Avalon with alarm problems...goes off many nights waking me out of deep sleep. Seems to be more frequent when nights cooling but not always. Actually took back to dealer and they couldn't figure it out. For four years now. I've adjusted the sensor switch under dash to try to make it harder to set off...no luck. I'll keep looking through previous postings to see if someone else talked about this as early as fall '02...did you do that? Thanks for the fuse idea...dealer last week said to disconnect would disable the keyless/remote entry so I haven't taken the fuse step, yet. Annoying... :confuse: :confuse: <img src=" :confuse:

boiber

Did you ever get this problem fixed? I have the same problem and don't know what to do.

dave_b

abfisch,
In an earlier post you mentioned, "Did you put those anti corrosion donuts on (green and red) and put lithium grease on the terminals??? I have 74K on my 02, make sure before winter that the terminals have grease or some kind of battery terminal sealer on it. The other thing I do in the spring, is take off the 6 cell covers, and with a small squirt bottle, fill up slowly and carefully with distilled H20 each cell."

If I want to clean and perform this service on my 03, do I have any concerns with the alarm when I disconnect/connect terminals (negative off first??) - anything else??

Thanks!
Dave

abfisch

Dave_b:

To my knowledge. No. I have an aftermarket alarm with a remote starter (Avital Brand). I believe the clock or radio I had to reset, cannot remember, but all the other electrical connections, and I have alot of them direct to the battery including, alarm, car starter, two sets of auxillary lights, etc. had no effect.

This is pretty much what they do, and it is not brain surgery. I have an XL, not an XLS, but I gotta think you can disconnect the terminals without major complications. What happens when you have to change your battery. Same.

This is easy stuff, and stuff you can feel good about doing yourself and save money at the same time. Use safety glass, gloves, have a rag to wipe up spills quickly, etc. Should be a piece of cake.

abfisch

deepan

some of the higher end radios have a security code in them to prevent theft. if your radio has one and if you dont know it you might have to take it to a dealer. On the Sienna's the CE & LE have a standard radio while the XLE has one with a code. Most likely the XLs might be of the same kind. dont know for sure but i thought i'll throw that in.

pharmer

I have a 2006 Avalon Limited with smart key (keyless ignition). I am having trouble having a remote starter installed because of the keyless system. The dealer said to embed one of key fobs into the engine compartment, but the after- market installer said this would allow anyone to approach the car and start it because the fob would be in range all the time. Does anyone have any experience with this or any information? Thanks

will16

My dealer here in CT. said they could not install with Smart Key.

toyotech

WOW, guess they didnt read the install instructions toyota makes a nice factory unit for either cars have installed in both vehicles works fine

pharmer

Were they installed by the dealer? If so, what is the range? I need a long range.... Thanks

mikes.

The factory unit and the dealer installed unit works fine on the keyless entry models but my big complaint is its limited range, ~80 feet. This is fine when I'm home and can use it from my living room but it sucks when I'm at work and want to use it before I leave the building. Viper and others make units that work fom several hundred feet.

I'd really like to have a unit that works off a timer/clock. Set it for 0730 and be done.

MikeS.

plummer2

When the dealer installs the remote starter, do you know if you still have to use a key inside. I asked because I was told that because the smartkey would have to be deactivated and I would have to use the remote start fob to get in the card. Also was told that the car will shut off once I get in.

mem4

My '06 Limited came with Toyota VIP remote start, not sure if it was installed at the dealer or factory. The smart key works normally. If you start the car using the remote it does shut down when you touch the door handle and unlock the doors.

plummer2

ok Thank you for that piece of info. But what about when you are inside, do you have to use a key to shut down the immobilizer? Or, can you still use the start button.

mem4

No key needed with the Limited smart key system, just press the button with your foot on the brake and the car starts, you wouldn't even know the car has a remote start. As others have mentioned, I would not recommend trying to install any after market remote start, I think the smart key system interface is too complex to use anything but Toyota's own VIP system.

bwia

Returning to my car in the parking lot today, there was an identical Silver Spruce Avalon XLS parked next to me. I thought I was seeing double but the other car had some dry cleaning in it so I know it was not mine.

When I pressed my remote entry fob both cars chirped and the lights on both cars flickered. After I started my car and drove off the alarm on the other came on.

So my question to you boardies, what are the chances that both cars are programmed with the same key code and would my key actually start the engine of the other car? Was that coincidence or is this a serious security risk and should I report this to Toyota?

-

user777

well, if you can find another silver spruce avalon xls, park next to it and have the same thing happen...

too bad you didn't copy down the VIN of the vehicle next to you. it might have been useful to communicate to Toyota.

in the end, i've got to believe the code systems are randomized, and this is a small probability event, but why not contact toyota and ask for an explaination?