Havalong, since you're struggling with Canadian conversions, here are temperature factors in case you've forgotten:
CANADIAN TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART (USING FARENHEIT SCALE) ~70 above Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear. People in Canada go swimming in the Lakes. ~60 above North Carolinians try to turn on the heat. People in Canada plant gardens. ~50 above Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Canada sunbathe. ~40 above Italian & English cars won't start. People in Canada drive with the windows down. ~32 above Distilled water freezes. Lake Superior's water gets thicker. ~20 above Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and woolly hats. People in Canada throw on a flannel shirt. ~15 above Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Canada have the last cookout before it gets cold. ~0 degrees People in Miami all die. Canadians lick the flagpole. ~20 below Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Canada get out their winter coats. ~40 below Hollywood disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Canada are selling cookies door to door. ~60 below Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic. Canadian Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough ~80 below Mt. St. Helens freezes. People in Canada rent some videos. ~100 below Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Canadians get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg. ~297 below Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products. Cows in Canada complain about farmers with cold hands. ~460 below ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero in the Kelvin scale). People in Canada start saying, "Cold 'nuff for ya, eh?" ~500 below Hell freezes over. The Leafs win the Stanley Cup
Very kind of you to remind us Canadians of these nordic properties.
This shows why we must worry as much as Texans about the effects on Avalon fuel economy of having the A/C running all the time, year-round -- to keep the windshield barely Defrosted, that is.
Now consider the added load of having heated seats On High, year-round. No wonder Canada chose bigger Imperial gallons...
Keep cool, if you can (it's getting to be pretty nice here),
EPA reversed spells APE. I appreciate the data. However, it seems to me a more scientific test result would be more accurate accumulating miles and burning some rubber from pavement friction. So Neanderthal Apes is how I see this test. Average speeds of 20 and 48, who are they kidding. Anyway to the plus side, maybe that's why I'm seeing the great mileage I'm getting so far. Groza, you remembered my "Golden Chariot", does yours have a name? RONN and Black Beauty must have met up with Sleeping Beauty or Lady of Avalon and is Bye Bye, or possibly he did a no no and was evicted? I sure hope he comes back.
i was using the A/C most of the time. Since the car is rated 31 why should you be surprised and many on this forum have stated better than 30 mpg. driving south with no hills and very little traffic i would have expected the gas milage i obtained. i am very pleased with the car and on the road it seems to glide very smoothly down the road. good luck with yours.
The '05 Avalon JBL audio system has no input ports and thus is not compatable with and IPOD harness. (and no plans to change in '06) Therefore the alternatives for the IPOD are the FM modulator (analog) or the tape deck adaptor (one reason for the tape deck).
topazdan -
I wouldn't resign myself to an FM modulator or tape deck adaptor for an iPod. Assuming you do not have the cassette tape player, then that is an unused input on the JBL system. There have to be wires in the harness somewhere that are input lines for the cassette tape. Any self-respecting auto stereo shop should be able to test out the harness and find the proper wires, then hook up a line connection to be used by the iPod.
Have them mount the proper line input connector somewhere in the center storage area, and you could use the iPod by just tuning to the TAPE input. You would still have to do all the controlling on the iPod itself, but at least you would have a high quality line level connection to the JBL stereo.
If you do have the tape player, then you would have to choose between it and the iPod, or the stereo shop could set up another switch to use both.
18 -19 mpg city taking it relatively easy so far (until I get 1,000 miles on the car and then I'll start having fun and not worrying about mpg). Haven't done much open highway driving yet.
Groza (or is it heeeeeere's Johnny). How cold does it get in West Virginia?
>My Avalon Touring will drift to the next lane to the right if I let go the steering >wheel for ~5s. Even with my left hand on the steering wheel, I crossed to the >right lane a couple of time while adjusting the climate control (not all buttons are >replicated on the steering wheel, so I had to take my eyes off the road for a few >seconds to change mode, fan speed, etc). So this issue is more than just an >annoyance... > >My dealer cannot fix this, so I am meeting with Toyota's regional service director >tomorrow. Will provide an update later.
Here is an update on my case - I met with the service director last Friday and went for a test drive. He confirmed the "drifting to the right" problem and brought in a Toyota field engineer to look at my car. They have been working on it for the last couple of days. I got a call from the service director today saying they only managed to improve the drift but not actually fix it. He said Toyota is coming up with a new spring in a month which will correct the problem (he did not explain the root cause of the problem and how the new part is supposed to fix it).
So I am going to pick up my car this Saturday and wait for the new part to come in. I bought my Avalon Touring 1.5 months ago and it has been to the dealer 5 times for a total of 20 days. I am willing to give them another chance to fix the steering problem with the new part. But if that still does not work, I would like to pursue a repurchase or replacement instead of wasting more time on this (I already have a case open with the Toyota). Does anyone has experience with the California Dispute Settlement Program? Shall I pursue that first instead of hiring a "Lemon Law" attorney?
avalon owner, I had that problem with my first Mazda 929. I noticed it right away after I picked my car up and drove home. I called and brought it in and they told me they fixed it. When I got on the highway, same problem, I brought it back once more and same thing, they could never fix it. I don't think there was a lemon law then. I learned to live with it. My next mazda 929, guess what, I was astonished to see the same drifting to the right. Oh well, I drove the car for around 150 thousand plus miles. It was a great car other than the drifting to the right. My next car was the first Avalon, and I immediately checked for the drifting to the right, happily with all my Avalons it never happened. It drives itself down the road until the road tilts or the crown etc. So I wish I could help you, but I was a victim of this with two Mazda's, so I feel for you. I just remembered one thing, although I don't think it could cause it, check it out. On both my Mazda's, the steering wheel emblem was not lined up perfectly, it was off to the right. My Avalon logo's are dead center on the steering wheel. Perhaps this has something to do with it? Good Luck.
Glad to help. I however, have found the chattering wiper blades have returned, and I will try another coating of rain-x before asking the dealer for new blades. The rain'x has helped, and minimized my wiper "chatter", but the wipers should work quietly without chatter without the help of rain-x. Regards, Deanie
Actually when I mentioned rain-x to my service mgr. a few days ago he advised me not to use it (even though they have a flyer for it at their counter...), he said it might worsen the chatter. Someone else suggested to use turtle wax to remove the blade residue from the windshield, but I didn't try that. I cleaned the residue with windex, but didn't try rain-x. Let us know what happens.
Has anyone added custom wheels or interior trim kits. I must admit you guys sound like a bunch of old cronies discussing nothing but squeaky windshield wipers and minutia about gas mileage given a certain ambient temperature. Perhaps there needs to be a movement for the Youth Chapter of Avalon owners.Is the median age here about 75? Really gents!
Hi All: Just finished reading the family sedan test won by the Avalon (Touring model) with the Maxima SE coming in 2nd. I found some of the test results interesting. The Avalon accelerated to 60 in 6.0 sec, where all other Avalon models did the same in 6.4 or 6.5 secs. Aside from differing track conditions, I think the Touring is faster b/c it doesn't have VSC (best safety feature since the seatbelt), and VSC prevents the tires from spinning in place.
Most engines need to spin tires at launch to get rpm's high enough so that when the tires hook up and launch the car forward, the power produced by the engine at that moment is higher (because of the higher rpms) than in Avalons w/VSC whose tires are spinning at a much lower speed, if at all, preventing the engine from launching the car forward with higher initial power as is done in the Touring. This accelerative "head start" accounts for the Touring's approx 1/2 second 0-60 advantage.
The disadvantage for the Touring (and only reason I bought an XLS instead) is the lack of VSC. By the way, the Touring is only quicker in other Avalon models only in standing start acceleration and not in rolling acceleration, such as when flooring the gas while the car is already moving. VSC can save a great driver or a poor or inattentive one from losing control in a skid or in an emergency manouver in a way that no human can duplicate - it's that crucial to auto safety today, and makes Toyota look foolish for not offering it in all models. The article, if I'm not mistaken, commented on this.
Interestingly, the Avalon Limited tested by Automobile magazine a month or two ago showed the Limited as producing .80 lateral G's on the skidpad, where only .79 G's were produced by the Touring in the Car & Driver test. I know... Different skidpads, different weather and possibly different tires (were they Michelin or Bridgestone - neither magazine said).
Interstingly, an asterisk in the Automobile mag's test indicated that the Limited's ultimate grip (G's) was electronically limited (by the VSC presumably), yet the Touring, lacking VSC, had no such electronic limitation but did not produce skid pad grip as high as the Limited - differing test conditions aside. I expected the Touring to produce .81 G's or better. The skidpad results of Touring quelled most of the dissonace I felt in purchasing the lesser handling XLS over the Touring. Braking distances were better in the VSC Limited than the Touring by about half a car length too.
With all the fuel economy posts discussed herre recently, it was nice to see that the Avalon soundly trounced the competition over a 600 mile trip taken by all the competitors - by 3-4 miles per gallon!!!.
There is usually an off switch for things like VSC, so I doubt VSC has anything to do with the test results. Tests have to be done on the same track on the same day with the same drivers to mean much when you are trying to compare and comment on minuscule tenths of seconds differences.
In many states, dealers and manufacturers are usually give three attempts to fix problems within a certain period of time. If you have been in five times and spent 20 days out of 60 in the shop you might qualify.
Sometimes a new car is the only way to fix a problem.
I'd check out the Lemon Laws in your state by calling the state's department of Consumer Affairs which is often a part of the State Attorney General's office.
Adding custom wheels may seem foolish even to a younger crowd especially since Toyota provides 5 great wheels with each avy. You notice nobody's mentioning vinyl tops. We'll need a "senior page" for that one.
Greetings RWB: You are correct in that the stock Avalon wheels are nice. I added 19" wheels to my Touring because it looks great and provides improved handling. Though our Avalons may be for transportation it is also nice to individualize its look and make it your own.
During the past months, there was speculation (on this site) whether Toyota would call the current model a 2005 or 2006. If I was confused by that chatter, think what I felt when I received a package from Toyota, yesterday.
It contained a CD spelling out the many virtues of this car. What was most interesting was the first sentence of the enclosed letter:
"THANK YOU FOR BUYING A 2006 AVALON......"
Gee, I've moved up a year ! Only problem is my title clearly indicates it as being a 2005. Is this some underhanded shenanigan on the part of Toyota ? Converting a 2 month old current model to next year's model is real sneaky. I'm sure, when I contact the home office they'll come back with 'Oh, that was a typographic error'. Is it ?
If any others receive this mailing, please post and let others know. Personally, in my letter back to Toyota, I'm copying to our State Attorney General Consumer Affairs Department.
Pope, I got the same letter with the '2006" reference. It came with the CD that attempts to explain all of the bells and bangles. Incidentally, I had called about the 'recall' thing. When talking to them, I asked about the CD. Was told that it was not available from them, would have to get it from a dealer 'if they had it'. Then the CD shows up in the mail. 2 months and two days after the purchase. Helps tho'.
you wrote: If any others receive this mailing, please post and let others know. Personally, in my letter back to Toyota, I'm copying to our State Attorney General Consumer Affairs Department
I hope this is the biggest problem you face today. Enjoy your new car and remember that sometimes we all make mistakes.
Deanie, you make a very good point. Seems like the auto industry has many of us looking to absolute specifications instead of real world conditions when we look to buy a car. Whether a car can achieve .79, .80, or 1.10 g force on a skidpad is academic. Acceleration is similarly a useless figure. Overall handling as perceived by the driver should be foremost in our car buying experience. Very few folks I have met truly can use all of the potential that even the most basic econobox provides. Sometime ago, I think it was in the seventies (yeah, I'm an old fart - 59 going on 30)' one of the networks broadcast a race on a sports car circuit track (Watkins Glen, I think). The participants were private citizens driving their Porche's and 'vettes and professional sports car racers driving basic Ford sedans. The drivers of the Ford sedans took the top spots at the end of the day. The point was that the weakest performance element in most cars is the driver's experience and ability.
It's not the tool, it's the craftsman, or so my wife has said (I'm not sure to what she is referring).
groza, Tarzan and Ape swinging and singing PMEEMKAMIH. for Prehistoric Misfits(75 yrs old) Evolving Evolutionary Mystery Knowing Avalon Members are Independent Homosapiens ([non-permissible content removed] sapiens, Latin-wise men) Exceptional, unusual, uncommon, over the top. Okay Groza, you win the title for, YOU GUESS, . Poetry in Motion, now that's cool.
Really? I've been waxing my windshields, and in fact, all the glass on the car, SUV, truck whathaveyou for about 20 years now, and really never have seen a streaking problem. Works just like RainX, and is a heckuva lot easier to buff in.
We took delivery on a Limited two weeks ago in Grand Junction CO, close to the UT border. Car is beautiful (white), and the buying experience is better than with Mercedes. Last week a partner and I drove to Montrose and then Gunnison, returning over CO state highway 92, a twisting mountain road. Elevations were between 4400 and 7500 feet. With still less than 500 miles on the car at the end of the trip, at brisk speeds with some city driving included, mileage was better than 30 mpg. My Mercedes gets great mileage, too, but the Avalon is smoother and faster by leagues. What a delight.
Tomorrow a friend and I are going to his place above Telluride; we'll see what that produces.
Ohmigosh - 0 to 60 in 6 seconds flat??? That rivals gas-gobbling muscle cars of the late 1960s and 1970s, what I used to dream about owning when they were new (showing my age).
And 30+ MPG highway if you treat it nice???
Oh what a feeling, Toyota (OWAFT)! Can't wait for our new XL to be delivered, I don't care how much we paid over invoice now. Do you know if they tested the XL in that report? I believe it does not come with VSC. Could be the lowest cost Avalon is one of the fastest? I'll never test it for that purpose, but it would be interesting to know!
Thanks, Deanie - do you have a link to the review?
I hope cafpaf sees this. I need an answer to my question before 8am cst 6/11, please, if possible. Did you get the storage installed? What were you charged to install it? I have the storage compartment in my hand and plan on getting it installed 6/11, but it sure does look too big to fit. Thanks for any help you can give me. bob
I don't want my 2005 Avalon to be called a 2006, because my insurance company and state/county/city tax offices will only be *too happy* to charge me more for the privilege of driving a "newer" Avalon!
Hi 307web: The Avalon has no on/off switch for its VSC (blame that on Toyota's lawyers), so an Avalon with VSC is neccessarily slower than one without (Touring) if directly comparing standing start acceleration. Obviously most Avalon owners will never attempt a "pedal to the metal" acceleration test, but it's nice to know what they can do. Twice I addressed the fact that there were different conditions, etc, in comparing the C&D mag's test of the Touring against Automobile mag's Limited test. This was apparent to anyone reading my post. But in the absence of a more direct test between Avalon models, I felt my comments were valid for those having different Avalon models - not for scientifically controlled testing, just for comparison, just for fun. Regards, Deanie
Hi Paul: No, there's no link to the C&D article because it's currently on the newsstand. Your XL is the lightest of all the Avalons, giving it an edge compared to other Avalon models, but the smaller diameter (and narrower?) 16" wheels and tires likely hamper the XL's acceleration more than its light weight helps - almost a wash, but it's still a fast car, probably as quick as XLS and Limited, if not as quick as Touring, but this is only in accelerating from a standing start with initial wheelspin. In the real world, when accelerating from a roll, let's say from 5 or 10 mph, where the added traction of wider wheels is less relevant, I'd bet the XL is as quick as any Avalon, if not quicker due to its lighter weight. Unless one of the car mags make such a test, we may never know. Regards, Deanie
The dealer just ordered it on Monday so obviously do not have it as yet. However, the Service Manager told me that this is such a simple job that even he could do it in less that fifteen minutes and that when the part comes in, he will install it at no charge for the labor. He also told me that no tools are required that it all just "pops out and in." We shall see. I will keep you posted. Please let me know how it goes for you. Thanks!
My Blizzard Limited is "in frieght" from KY and due in California in the next few days. My question to all is this- how many, who financed their new cars, bought the GAP insurance and if so, what's a good price????
This falls into that black arts area of the "Finance Room" which is where they bring out the boogie man stuff, but I've heard that the Gap insurance is really a good thing to have. Any comments would be welcome and appreciated.
Anyone else tried to set the door unlock function such that all doors unlock when drivers door is opened within 10 seconds of turning the engine off? Factory option is that all doors unlock when shifting to park. The OM and DVD both give the same directions for changing. I've had no luck and I think I've followed the directions exactly.
Others here have indicated an interest in using the TAPE input on the JBL stereo to hook up an iPod or other audio devices, using a line level input. There is no separate AUX input or any RCA connectors for the TAPE input, on the JBL head unit.
Since you are getting rid of a cassette player, this seems like a great opportunity to see how the cassette connects to the JBL head unit. Could you have the service guy show you the connection or give you the wiring connector or harness that connects the tape player to the receiver? I know this is a little vague, but any info on that interconnect could be helpful.
Thanks- good info. Have any of the acceleration tests used the sequential shift to manually shift through the gears (1st to 5th)? This should disengage the VSC. I found this out traveling through the Cascade mountains on I-5 when the car would brake & down shift intself unexpectedly in tight turns. It's a great safety feature. I did find out by moving the shift lever from D to S will disengage the VSC. Also, sliding friction is less than rolling friction..
I got the same letter with the '2006" reference. It came with the CD that attempts to explain all of the bells and bangles."
Here's my theory: Perhaps Toyota was originally planning to label it as a "2005" model, then changed their mind immediately before releasing it. Unfortunately, the letters were written before this change took place.
Is it only me, or am I the only one who wishes the Nav would depict bars, taverns, saloons & night clubs when I'm venturing through unfamiliar territory?
This comment is not exclusive to our Avalons, but since that's what I drive, I'll share it.
Father Time told me it was time to get a new pair of glasses, thus a friend (salesman for eye glasses for over 30 years) came over to the house and dropped off his numerous bags of frames & sunglasses clip-ons.
While looking at the navigation screen through the numerous sunglasses, it is VERY apparent that one sees a shadowing effect through any sunglass lenses that are polarized. It may not bother some of you, but does bother me. I explained it to the friend over the phone and he couldn't understand what I was talking about.
When he came back over, I put him in the front seat and showed him exactly what I was talking about. His comments started with "Wow, I'd never have believed it."
Then he showed me some glasses with a different type of so-called high definition sunglass lenses (magnetic clip-ons) from a new company. There is NO distortion, rainbow effect, or shadowing on the navigation screen, or when looking out of some tinted windows. There is no lost UV value.
That is what I chose (he gives them to us free) and I took the frames to Costco (no, you cannnot buy the frames at Costco) the same day with the new prescription. No doubt my friend is re-thinking his supply, because 99+ % of his line of sunglasses/clip-ons/flip-ups have polarized lenses.
Now I'm waiting for Pat (HOST) to severely flog me for putting this post here.
Attempted to get the storage compartment, part # 58813-07010, installed this morning. Tech could find nothing to attach it to and said there is another part needed for it to "slide into". Parts department and I couldn't determine what mounting bracket was needed. Will wait until dealer gets the service manuals for the Avalon to see if there is a description there. If you get yours installed please let me know how it was done. Is the part you ordered the same as I ordered? TIA
Gap insurance will make up the difference (the gap) between what you owe on the car and its actual value should it be totalled before it's paid off. Folks interested in this subject will want to check into our Gap Insurance discussion which is over on our Smart Shopper board.
I took my 2005 Avalon in for the first oil change last week. I asked the parts guy if I could see the replacement filter and I was surprised to find out it is a paper cartridge type, not your typical spin on. Inside the filter box was also a page of instructions for changing the oil. It is not your basic do-it-yourself project. Has anyone changed their own oil and replaced the filter yet? Is it as complicated as the instructions would make it seem (two different o-rings must be replaced, special tools for removing the filter housing, etc.)?
Oh yeah, when I asked the mechanic who was doing the oil change how much oil the crankcase held, he said, "probably 5 quarts". When it became obvious that more was needed, he corrected himself, saying, "Maybe it's six quarts". Maybe I missed it but I couldn't find a list of capacities for the crankcase or cooling system, etc., anywhere in the owner's manual. It's pretty apparent that Toyota doesn't want owners doing their own basic maintenance.
Comments
CANADIAN TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART
(USING FARENHEIT SCALE)
~70 above Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear.
People in Canada go swimming in the Lakes.
~60 above North Carolinians try to turn on the heat.
People in Canada plant gardens.
~50 above Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Canada sunbathe.
~40 above Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Canada drive with the windows down.
~32 above Distilled water freezes.
Lake Superior's water gets thicker.
~20 above Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and woolly hats.
People in Canada throw on a flannel shirt.
~15 above Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Canada have the last cookout before it gets cold.
~0 degrees People in Miami all die.
Canadians lick the flagpole.
~20 below Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Canada get out their winter coats.
~40 below Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Canada are selling cookies door to door.
~60 below Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic.
Canadian Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets
cold enough
~80 below Mt. St. Helens freezes.
People in Canada rent some videos.
~100 below Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Canadians get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg.
~297 below Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products.
Cows in Canada complain about farmers with cold hands.
~460 below ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero in the Kelvin scale).
People in Canada start saying, "Cold 'nuff for ya, eh?"
~500 below Hell freezes over.
The Leafs win the Stanley Cup
Groza
Very kind of you to remind us Canadians of these nordic properties.
This shows why we must worry as much as Texans about the effects on Avalon fuel economy of having the A/C running all the time, year-round -- to keep the windshield barely Defrosted, that is.
Now consider the added load of having heated seats On High, year-round. No wonder Canada chose bigger Imperial gallons...
Keep cool, if you can (it's getting to be pretty nice here),
havalongavalon
Groza, you remembered my "Golden Chariot", does yours have a name?
RONN and Black Beauty must have met up with Sleeping Beauty or Lady of Avalon and is Bye Bye, or possibly he did a no no and was evicted? I sure hope he comes back.
topazdan -
I wouldn't resign myself to an FM modulator or tape deck adaptor for an iPod. Assuming you do not have the cassette tape player, then that is an unused input on the JBL system. There have to be wires in the harness somewhere that are input lines for the cassette tape. Any self-respecting auto stereo shop should be able to test out the harness and find the proper wires, then hook up a line connection to be used by the iPod.
Have them mount the proper line input connector somewhere in the center storage area, and you could use the iPod by just tuning to the TAPE input. You would still have to do all the controlling on the iPod itself, but at least you would have a high quality line level connection to the JBL stereo.
If you do have the tape player, then you would have to choose between it and the iPod, or the stereo shop could set up another switch to use both.
Max
high speed, 75 to 80 avg=30.5; combination of highway and city=27-28.
Groza (or is it heeeeeere's Johnny). How cold does it get in West Virginia?
>wheel for ~5s. Even with my left hand on the steering wheel, I crossed to the
>right lane a couple of time while adjusting the climate control (not all buttons are
>replicated on the steering wheel, so I had to take my eyes off the road for a few
>seconds to change mode, fan speed, etc). So this issue is more than just an
>annoyance...
>
>My dealer cannot fix this, so I am meeting with Toyota's regional service director
>tomorrow. Will provide an update later.
Here is an update on my case - I met with the service director last Friday and went for a test drive. He confirmed the "drifting to the right" problem and brought in a Toyota field engineer to look at my car. They have been working on it for the last couple of days. I got a call from the service director today saying they only managed to improve the drift but not actually fix it. He said Toyota is coming up with a new spring in a month which will correct the problem (he did not explain the root cause of the problem and how the new part is supposed to fix it).
So I am going to pick up my car this Saturday and wait for the new part to come in. I bought my Avalon Touring 1.5 months ago and it has been to the dealer 5 times for a total of 20 days. I am willing to give them another chance to fix the steering problem with the new part. But if that still does not work, I would like to pursue a repurchase or replacement instead of wasting more time on this (I already have a case open with the Toyota). Does anyone has experience with the California Dispute Settlement Program? Shall I pursue that first instead of hiring a "Lemon Law" attorney?
Thanks!
I however, have found the chattering wiper blades have returned, and I will try another coating of rain-x before asking the dealer for new blades. The rain'x has helped, and minimized my wiper "chatter", but the wipers should work quietly without chatter without the help of rain-x.
Regards,
Deanie
Actually when I mentioned rain-x to my service mgr. a few days ago he advised me not to use it (even though they have a flyer for it at their counter...), he said it might worsen the chatter. Someone else suggested to use turtle wax to remove the blade residue from the windshield, but I didn't try that. I cleaned the residue with windex, but didn't try rain-x. Let us know what happens.
Regards,
havalongavalon
Cheers,
Soulmaster
Just finished reading the family sedan test won by the Avalon (Touring model) with the Maxima SE coming in 2nd. I found some of the test results interesting. The Avalon accelerated to 60 in 6.0 sec, where all other Avalon models did the same in 6.4 or 6.5 secs. Aside from differing track conditions, I think the Touring is faster b/c it doesn't have VSC (best safety feature since the seatbelt), and VSC prevents the tires from spinning in place.
Most engines need to spin tires at launch to get rpm's high enough so that when the tires hook up and launch the car forward, the power produced by the engine at that moment is higher (because of the higher rpms) than in Avalons w/VSC whose tires are spinning at a much lower speed, if at all, preventing the engine from launching the car forward with higher initial power as is done in the Touring. This accelerative "head start" accounts for the Touring's approx 1/2 second 0-60 advantage.
The disadvantage for the Touring (and only reason I bought an XLS instead) is the lack of VSC. By the way, the Touring is only quicker in other Avalon models only in standing start acceleration and not in rolling acceleration, such as when flooring the gas while the car is already moving. VSC can save a great driver or a poor or inattentive one from losing control in a skid or in an emergency manouver in a way that no human can duplicate - it's that crucial to auto safety today, and makes Toyota look foolish for not offering it in all models. The article, if I'm not mistaken, commented on this.
Interestingly, the Avalon Limited tested by Automobile magazine a month or two ago showed the Limited as producing .80 lateral G's on the skidpad, where only .79 G's were produced by the Touring in the Car & Driver test. I know... Different skidpads, different weather and possibly different tires (were they Michelin or Bridgestone - neither magazine said).
Interstingly, an asterisk in the Automobile mag's test indicated that the Limited's ultimate grip (G's) was electronically limited (by the VSC presumably), yet the Touring, lacking VSC, had no such electronic limitation but did not produce skid pad grip as high as the Limited - differing test conditions aside. I expected the Touring to produce .81 G's or better. The skidpad results of Touring quelled most of the dissonace I felt in purchasing the lesser handling XLS over the Touring. Braking distances were better in the VSC Limited than the Touring by about half a car length too.
With all the fuel economy posts discussed herre recently, it was nice to see that the Avalon soundly trounced the competition over a 600 mile trip taken by all the competitors - by 3-4 miles per gallon!!!.
Regards,
Deanie
Where did you get your gold package from? Mind telling us how much you paid for it?
Thanks,
MikeS.
NWBLIZZARD
First, do a search on this topic within this thread. I posted a few times on this issue back in February and March.
From what I read, yes, this would be a bad idea. 3M is pretty clear that this should be done by a pro.
MikeS.
Tests have to be done on the same track on the same day with the same drivers to mean much when you are trying to compare and comment on minuscule tenths of seconds differences.
Sometimes a new car is the only way to fix a problem.
I'd check out the Lemon Laws in your state by calling the state's department of Consumer Affairs which is often a part of the State Attorney General's office.
Poetry in Motion - Excalibur the Exocet Missile from King Arthur's Mystical Island Home, or PMEEMKAMIH for short
Hasn't a certain ring to it, don't you think? She's a beaut, Clark.
Groza
You are correct in that the stock Avalon wheels are nice. I added 19" wheels to my Touring because it looks great and provides improved handling. Though our Avalons may be for transportation it is also nice to individualize its look and make it your own.
Cheers,
Soulmaster
It contained a CD spelling out the many virtues of this car. What was most interesting was the first sentence of the enclosed letter:
"THANK YOU FOR BUYING A 2006 AVALON......"
Gee, I've moved up a year ! Only problem is my title clearly indicates it as being a 2005. Is this some underhanded shenanigan on the part of Toyota ? Converting a 2 month old current model to next year's model is real sneaky. I'm sure, when I contact the home office they'll come back with 'Oh, that was a typographic error'. Is it ?
If any others receive this mailing, please post and let others know. Personally, in my letter back to Toyota, I'm copying to our State Attorney General Consumer Affairs Department.
I got the same letter with the '2006" reference. It came with the CD that attempts to explain all of the bells and bangles.
Incidentally, I had called about the 'recall' thing. When talking to them, I asked about the CD. Was told that it was not available from them, would have to get it from a dealer 'if they had it'. Then the CD shows up in the mail. 2 months and two days after the purchase.
Helps tho'.
I hope this is the biggest problem you face today. Enjoy your new car and remember that sometimes we all make mistakes.
It's not the tool, it's the craftsman, or so my wife has said (I'm not sure to what she is referring).
Greg
for Prehistoric Misfits(75 yrs old) Evolving Evolutionary Mystery Knowing Avalon Members are Independent Homosapiens ([non-permissible content removed] sapiens, Latin-wise men)
Exceptional, unusual, uncommon, over the top. Okay Groza, you win the title for, YOU GUESS,
Steve
Tomorrow a friend and I are going to his place above Telluride; we'll see what that produces.
And 30+ MPG highway if you treat it nice???
Oh what a feeling, Toyota (OWAFT)! Can't wait for our new XL to be delivered, I don't care how much we paid over invoice now. Do you know if they tested the XL in that report? I believe it does not come with VSC. Could be the lowest cost Avalon is one of the fastest?
Thanks, Deanie - do you have a link to the review?
- P.
The Avalon has no on/off switch for its VSC (blame that on Toyota's lawyers), so an Avalon with VSC is neccessarily slower than one without (Touring) if directly comparing standing start acceleration. Obviously most Avalon owners will never attempt a "pedal to the metal" acceleration test, but it's nice to know what they can do. Twice I addressed the fact that there were different conditions, etc, in comparing the C&D mag's test of the Touring against Automobile mag's Limited test. This was apparent to anyone reading my post. But in the absence of a more direct test between Avalon models, I felt my comments were valid for those having different Avalon models - not for scientifically controlled testing, just for comparison, just for fun.
Regards,
Deanie
No, there's no link to the C&D article because it's currently on the newsstand. Your XL is the lightest of all the Avalons, giving it an edge compared to other Avalon models, but the smaller diameter (and narrower?) 16" wheels and tires likely hamper the XL's acceleration more than its light weight helps - almost a wash, but it's still a fast car, probably as quick as XLS and Limited, if not as quick as Touring, but this is only in accelerating from a standing start with initial wheelspin. In the real world, when accelerating from a roll, let's say from 5 or 10 mph, where the added traction of wider wheels is less relevant, I'd bet the XL is as quick as any Avalon, if not quicker due to its lighter weight. Unless one of the car mags make such a test, we may never know.
Regards,
Deanie
My Blizzard Limited is "in frieght" from KY and due in California in the next few days. My question to all is this- how many, who financed their new cars, bought the GAP insurance and if so, what's a good price????
This falls into that black arts area of the "Finance Room" which is where they bring out the boogie man stuff, but I've heard that the Gap insurance is really a good thing to have. Any comments would be welcome and appreciated.
Allan :confuse:
Others here have indicated an interest in using the TAPE input on the JBL stereo to hook up an iPod or other audio devices, using a line level input. There is no separate AUX input or any RCA connectors for the TAPE input, on the JBL head unit.
Since you are getting rid of a cassette player, this seems like a great opportunity to see how the cassette connects to the JBL head unit. Could you have the service guy show you the connection or give you the wiring connector or harness that connects the tape player to the receiver? I know this is a little vague, but any info on that interconnect could be helpful.
Max
Also, sliding friction is less than rolling friction..
NWBLIZZARD
My "Black Phantom" Avy
Here's my theory: Perhaps Toyota was originally planning to label it as a "2005" model, then changed their mind immediately before releasing it. Unfortunately, the letters were written before this change took place.
Curous in WA
The Prius Nav ( http://www.vfaq.net/docs/Prius_NAV_Voice_commands.html) depicts Post Offices and enables one to control the XM Satellite, two features I would like to see in the Avalon as well.
Father Time told me it was time to get a new pair of glasses, thus a friend (salesman for eye glasses for over 30 years) came over to the house and dropped off his numerous bags of frames & sunglasses clip-ons.
While looking at the navigation screen through the numerous sunglasses, it is VERY apparent that one sees a shadowing effect through any sunglass lenses that are polarized. It may not bother some of you, but does bother me. I explained it to the friend over the phone and he couldn't understand what I was talking about.
When he came back over, I put him in the front seat and showed him exactly what I was talking about. His comments started with "Wow, I'd never have believed it."
Then he showed me some glasses with a different type of so-called high definition sunglass lenses (magnetic clip-ons) from a new company. There is NO distortion, rainbow effect, or shadowing on the navigation screen, or when looking out of some tinted windows. There is no lost UV value.
That is what I chose (he gives them to us free) and I took the frames to Costco (no, you cannnot buy the frames at Costco) the same day with the new prescription. No doubt my friend is re-thinking his supply, because 99+ % of his line of sunglasses/clip-ons/flip-ups have polarized lenses.
Now I'm waiting for Pat (HOST) to severely flog me for putting this post here.
Oh yeah, when I asked the mechanic who was doing the oil change how much oil the crankcase held, he said, "probably 5 quarts". When it became obvious that more was needed, he corrected himself, saying, "Maybe it's six quarts". Maybe I missed it but I couldn't find a list of capacities for the crankcase or cooling system, etc., anywhere in the owner's manual. It's pretty apparent that Toyota doesn't want owners doing their own basic maintenance.