2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

evancds

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had a torque curve for the avalon because I have not been able to find one.

Thanks,

Evan

littlejohn600

QUESTION: Has anyone installed a Grota Backup System #78520 on your 2005 Avalon? Consumers Report recommends this unit. Seem to have one advantage in that the sensor is license plate mounted. The question I have is where and how to mount the display/alarm?

limiteddriver

IMHO if it's a hot day and the AC runs more often than on a cold day you will use more gas on the hot day. The AC compressor cycles on/off depending on evaporator temperature and/or on auto systems depending on cabin temperature. The faster the HVAC fan runs the more gas is used because there is more load on the motor from the alternator. Impossible to measure this easily.. To control car temperature I've found the temperature control on the HVAC usually works and the higher setting will heat with the AC running. Of course if it's broken all bets are off.

mellow19

That part number for the XM receiver (PT546-07050) is sold on a Toyota Dealer website for $258. Does this have all the necessary parts?

lgigante

If you leave your wiper in the OFF position as opposed to the AUTO position it should override that turn on. The same thing as when you go to a car wash. The first time I went to a car wash the wipers were on half way through and I was in a panic trying to turn them off.

rwb2

Myself, I don't necessarily trust JD Power's opinions.

rwb2

Just try to remember your general math class in high school. You'll need to write down the trip time when you pull in for pit stops.

douglas1

littlejohn, can you supply any more information on Grota Backup Systerm. Did a GOOGLE search and didn't come up with anything. A website would help if you have it.

Thanks,

Doug

dcallies

While the big three are giving huge discounts Toyota is raising prices. Must be nice to have such a great product that allows you to move forward!

5,000 miles and still loving it!

Price increase link

maryj

Yeah, I could do that but I can't imagine a car of this type not having the capabilities I was talking about. I traded in a 2005 Solara SLE V6 for this one and its mileage and timer did not work like this one. Neither did my Seville before the Solara. I just think someone dropped the ball. BTW, sorry to confuse you with the maryj name. I could never log in with any of my three accounts and finally tried the wife's and it worked.
Thanks for the replies from rwb2 and robertu.

mackabee

Finally! the voice of reason. Thank you for your post hoop43.!

Mackabee

mackabee

I'd send you one but I ran out of them earlier this month.

Mackabee

gladiator99

Hi havalongavalon!
I started to do a little research into this importing business. Firstly I checked with Transport Canada and the Registrar of Imported Vehicles as what was required to import a vehicle into canada from the USA. I will use the 2005 Toyota Avalon (limited) model as an example here. Assuming at this point you have found a dealer in the US where you wish to purchase your car.
Firstly you must obtain from Toyota a recall clearance letter and a statement of compliance label.
Then you must notify US customs at least 72 hours before exporting the vehicle.
Then you must complete the vehicle import form 1 from the Canada border services agency.
You will have to pay a one time fee of $ 182.00 to the Canada border services agency. This fee is the registrar of imported vehicles fee.
Once the vehicle enters Canada you will receive an inspection document (form 2) from the registrar of imported vehicles. This letter and document will outline any modifications that must be done to bring the vehicle into compliance. In the case of the Avalon the infant restraint kit may have to be installed, and bilingual airbag information labels will have to be installed on the visor. Those were the only things that were mentioned in relation to the Avalon.
Any modifications must be completed within 45 days. Receipts for parts and labour must be presented at the inspection along with form 1 and 2 and the recall clearance letter.
THERE IS NO DUTY PAYABLE ON THE AVALON
Canadian Tire Stores are authorized to perform Federal inspections and also perform any modifications to the vehicle if necessary.
When you pass the inspection, the inspection centre will stamp your form 1 which you have to present to your provincial licencing authority.
Within approx. one week you will receive a new Canadian certification label to be affixed to your vehicle.
I contacted a Washington dealer for pricing on a new Toyota Limited model loaded with nav. system. They showed a list price of $37,493.00 and an invoice price of $33,533.00. Converting this to Canadian USD = 1.23 CAD 33,533.00 = 41,245.66. I am awaiting to hear whether a State tax would have to be paid if you were importing a vehicle to Canada from the US. I don't think there would be a state tax payable in this situation.
Once the vehicle was registered in Canada you would have to pay the $100.00 air conditioning tax as well as PST and GST.
I do believe we would come out ahead in this deal as our Avalon XLS models cost us about $45,000. here in Canada. Now I want a LImited!!!!!.
Oh yes, the oil change cost $45.00. They advertise a $29.95 oil change but because the Avalon requires a special filter the price becomes higher.
I will report on my research into GPS systems later this week.
Regards,
gladiator99.

littlejohn600

Att: douglas1
http://www.grote.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?product_number=78520&x=6&y=3

Grote shows possible locations for the display/alarm unit for a van or truck, but this does not help me much in deciding what is best for the Avalon.
Hope this helps. Littlejohn600

rwb2

It does seem strange that the Solara's worked differently. I can't imagine that cost was an issue. Maybe Ken or Mac know the reason.

littlejohn600

ATT: douglas1

Additional scoop on mounting===

http://www.grote.com/prodcat/printcatfiles/Sec%20P_BM.pdf

Littlejohn600

havalongavalon

Hi gladiator99,

Thank you for finding out and sharing this information!

An additional cost might be broker fees, although this process seems straightforward enough to attempt oneself.

I've gone over the Limited-only features again and the only one that I would really, really want is memory seat & mirror settings for multiple drivers. So for me, the strongest incentive may be the money saved. Another way to estimate savings is to price the US XLS (or Touring) with the same options we can get in Canada. I bet this difference could easily buy 4 or 5 top-of-the-line portable GPS...

Regards,

havalongavalon

havalongavalon

An advantage of this system over the in-bumper sensors is that this one is wireless, so it is much easier to install. And depending on the method of mounting the sensor and buzzer to the car, it also could be portable (you could move it from one vehicle to another, if you wished).

havalongavalon

3puttmax

mellow19 -

Yes, the Toyota XM kit includes all you need. You may not like the antenna size, however, so you may want to buy the Terk XM Micro antenna separately, and that also requires a "XM Dual to Single Line Splitter". Some people seem to have received 1 year free XM subscription with their XM kit, but I did not.

Max

nemodat

For those like rwb2 and myself who are not thrilled by JDPowers statistics, here are some from Consumer Reports 2005 Auto Issue.
Japanese and Korean automakers once again produced the most trouble free vehicles with the overall problem rate of 12 problems per 100 vehicles for the 2004 model year.That rate has not changed for the past three years.
2004 rate for American cars is 17 per 100 down from 18 per 100 last year(2003).
European Autos is 21 per 100 up from 20 per 100 last year(2003).
Most trouble free cars(surprise) Subaru with 8 problems per 100 vehicles.
The 2000 Avalon, a first year car design, scores slightly better than the 2001 Avalon, the 2nd year for this model. And, all the 2000 Avalons except the 2001 score much better than average the highest rating that CR gives even though the "evil exec" was in charge during these years.
I just wanted to show that there are other points of view. My 2005 Avalon has been great for 6 months and 5000 miles. Simply because there are some negative posts, we should not buy into the "SKY IS FALLING" chorus too quickly. Peace.

sxpopp

I also have a 05 LTD. There are several sensitivity settings on the stalk for this feature. Try adjusting them. Regards, sxpopp

littlejohn600

The Grote #78520 system does actually require a single cable from the license plate sensor to the inside of the car (see page 12 of the file listed below)

http://www.grote.com/prodcat/printcatfiles/Sec%20P_BM.pdf
(Open this file with Adobe)

havalongavalon

Hi littlejohn600

Thanks for this clarification. So it is not wireless. And it also needs to be spliced to the reverse light wiring, so the installation is then basically similar to the Awell in-bumper sensor system that was discussed extensively in this forum.

The Grota sensor may be fine for trucks, but for the Avalon I think the Awell-type is nicer. The Grota has only one sensor, large and conspicuous, whereas the 4 Awell sensors are nearly invisible once installed. Awell price is also very good at under $100. Several have already been installed in 05 Avalons, with no failures reported to date.

Best wishes,

havalongavalon

jose7

I'm wondering who the free 3 month trial was offered through and if it's still be offered? I don't see anything about this offer on the XM website. Thanks for the help...

fin

Found this by accident on a web site. Is it true, you from the Great North Woods?

In the 2004 model year Toyota sold about 35,000 Avalons...but less than 200 of that number were in Canada. Possible? Or a mistake. Seems like it would be much higher, Canadians are not poor and enjoy good cars.

A Lexus LS430 selling for about $60k (US) here in Georgia sells for $100k (Canadian) in Canada. There is a difference in the "dollar", yes, but is there that much difference? This does not look correct.

Comments......anyone.... just curious.

rwb2

It's like restaurants, you never hear about the 1,000 happy diners, only about the 5 with problems, of which 1 or 2 may be because of unrealistic expectations. That said, this Avalon forum has great participants. Unfortunately, that cannot be said for some of the other Edmund forums.

petl

On Avalon sales, the information is correct. Unlike Americans, Canadians prefer smaller, frugal vehicles. Small vehicles like the the Civic and Corolla outsell midsize cars like the Camry and Accord. Canada's the top selling car is the Civic, SUV is the Ford Escape and the top selling vehicle is the Dodge minivan (at least it used to be). Trucks are way down the list. Canada's total population is approx. 33 million. Not very many buyers available compared to the States.

The LS430 starts at $85,300 and tops off at 106,600 (Canadian). The current exchange is at approx. 1.25.

douglas1

Thanks LittleJohn600, I'm going to check it out and am seriously considering it now. Much prefer a single sensor as opposed to drilling 4 holes in my bumper. Doug

toyotaken

The other part to keep in mind is that the taxes are higher in Canada on gas. Add about 50% to our average costs for what it costs for a gallon of gas there. So you can imagine they use much more frugal vehicles. It's funny when we go up to Niagara Falls or Toronto, here in Buffalo it's about 50% trucks/cars with the GM and Ford plants here. Up there it's about 5-10% trucks compared to 90-95% cars on the road, and many more smaller cars.

Ken

55396

Right on. Thanks for presenting the big picture. We should always put things into proper perspective.

dan41

I also installed an Awel system in April and, so far, I have been very pleased with it.

Regards

dan

bdyment

I live in Hamilton, Ontario--about half way between Niagara Falls and Toronto. I agree there are more cars on the road than in the U.S., but not in the ratio that you state. Go to any shopping mall in the Niagara--Toronto area--and you will see more vans, suvs and Ford 150's than cars. Certainly we drive a higher percentage of vans than the U.S. does compared to suvs.

Our latest stats indicate about a 55% to 45% ratio of vans, light trucks and suvs to cars, with vans, especially Dodge being #1 in sales.

By the way I drive a 2004 Highlander Limited and love it.

fragmire

Just took delivery of my Blue Mirage Metallic Limited with Nav, VSC, and DLCC. Spent about half an hour at the dealer going over all the complaints I've read on this forum, so thanks everyone for posting. The only issue I noticed was the slightly loose fog lights, which the dealer will take care of on Saturday. Other than that, the tailpipes are even, interior panels pretty much line up perfectly, no fix-up paint, doors don't stick, and the audio and nav covers don't stick either. I will be checking the tire pressure later today)

One thing I've noticed is that there seems to be a plastic covering for the DLCC already on mine instead of just a hole there. I didn't take a close look yesterday since it was dark already. Perhaps Toyota finally realized that it is necessary?

blaquebyrd

You should've received a coupon book from Toyota when you purchased your Avy. In it there's a 90 day XM certificate if you purchase the unit from Toyota. When I purchased mine Toyota was giving away one year certificates if you added the XM service.

gbinplano

The plastic covering you are seeing is probably the DLCC device itself. It appears as a rectangular box with a plane plastic face. If that plastic face is fractured, the device becomes inoperable. This is the reason that many Avalon owners have added an additional shield, first line of defence, to the back of the bumper insert.

Greg

gladiator99

Hi fin!!
Just checked the Lexus Canada website and the LS430 pricing is as follows:
Base model starts at $85,300.
Add in sport package 8,600. or
Add in ultra premium package $21,300.
The ultra premium pack. would bring the total price up to $106,600.00 before taxes. See my previous post on importing a vehicle into Canada and you'll see the price difference on the Avalon, and the exchange rate.
Regards
gladiator99

fragmire

Another thing I noticed is the trunk release. When the button is pressed from the driver seat, the trunk comes up quite a bit, blocking pretty much the entire rear window. In comparison, the 2001 ~ 2004 Avalon trunk lid only comes up about half an inch. I think this is a design flaw and a potential safety hazard, especially since the trunk release button is very close to the rear sunshade button, as someone has pointed out earlier. To be honest, I can't think of any reason why Toyota changed the trunk lid design going from 04 to 05.

jose7

Thanks...
I'm picking up my Avalon today! I'll check with the dealer when I do.

alan_s

Tony, I don't know if you decided to get the LS-V's yet, but there is one thing you need to be aware of. I just picked up the 5th tire they had to order in for me, and the LS-V 225 doesn't quite fit in the the spare wheel well in the trunk unless you partially deflate the tire by a few psi. It has a very slightly larger diameter than the 215. You may want to consider keeping the EL400 as a spare, or keep an electric inflator in your trunk as I do.
The car glides along beautifully on the LS-V's and I think they are worth this small inconvenience.

douglas1

larryt22 I got to ebay and looked at the side molding and thought they looked pretty nice. However by the time I got back onto ebay to order them the listing was expired and gone.

Would you perhaps know the sellers ID so I could contact and order them.

Thanks,
Doug

burch

Where is the DVD player located?
So you cant order one with the 05 Avalon?

limiteddriver

IMHO if the car is moving the wind will lower the trunk lid.

gladiator99

I have been looking for a portable gps system for my new Avalon for some time now and have reviewed many systems. Through Google and other sites I was able to find many reviews, and a large selection of gps models. After reading some great reviews on the Garmin Streetpilot 2610, I was convinced that this was a pretty good unit, however I recently became aware of their newest gps system called the Streetpilot 2720. This unit has all the features of the 2610 plus some new additions. This system offers:
Text to speech and optional traffic interface capability.
In addition to turn-by-turn voice prompted navigation available in earlier streetpilot models, the 2720's text-to-speech functionality allows the unit to audibly announce the name of upcoming streets and points of interest (POIs), letting drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways.
For drivers in congested metropolitan areas, Garmin is offering the GTM 10, an optional FM RDS-TMC traffic receiver that receives digital information (where available) on traffic, road construction, and weather related tie ups. The GTM 10 receives data from selected FM broadcast stations in selected cities throughout the USA and europe. This optional feature lets drivers see congested areas via a color coded map. When connected to the GTM 10, the streetpilot 2720 uses this data to automatically calculate and suggest alternative routes based on traffic information.
The Streetpilot also boast a new WQVGA, color, automotive grade, sunlight readable, touchscreen display that automatically adjusts the unit's backlight for optimum viewing in any amount of light. Drivers can view the map in a three-dimensional perspective, or a top-down track-up or north-up view.
The Streetpilot comes preprogrammed with City Navigator North Averica v7 NT maps-containing detailed road maps throughout the entire USA, Canada, and Peurto Rico. This map database features nearly SIX MILLION POI's including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATM's, and attractions. This version 7 is the latest maps available, and just released.
Garmin has also added the ability for customers to augment the pre-loaded maps with custom POI's from industry standard CSV files, such as school zones, and safety cameras. In addition, a proximity-alert feature is included to optionally warn the driver of upcoming custom POI's.
To sum up, this unit has more features than most GPS systems installed in newer vehicles today, at a fraction of the cost. The suggested retail price in the USA is $1184.00, however it will be available in Canada through GPS Central (gpscentral.ca )for $1099.95. I will be ordering one very soon and will report on my experience. To read more about this unit go to www.garmin.com.
regards,
gladiator99

jicka

If you think that the Garmin is good, you should check out the Magellan RoadMate 760. http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=1091

sbrown2

Hi All,

Just a heads up, I picked up my 05 Limited last Friday. I took it to the tinting shop yesterday, and was asked by the owner of said tinting shop where the Nav antenna is located in the back windshield. I contacted my dealer who did not know but then went to the following website http://techinfo.toyota.com/. For $10 a day you can download unlimited documents from this site.

Just to let you know the Nav antenna is located under the front dash after looking at a couple of the toyota spec documents. Therefore there is no reason not to be able to put on any type of tinting (metallic or non-metallic) you desire. I had put on a 30% bronze, which looks great with the pearl! Both AM/FM/ and XM radios all work exactly as before.

Now if only someone could find a way to auto select the I Agree button on NAV and be able to use Nav while vehicle is in motion. Please advise if you find a work around!!

Hope this was helpful!
sbrown2

avalonkitten

Hi All,
I have been off living my life for a month. Good point well taken a letter is in order. I have sent several email letters but they are rarely acknowledged. Corporate customer service stands by their assessment there is nothing wrong with the car. If I insist on a settlement they will put the car on the lot and sell it to the next person who walks in off the street and does not read edmunds.com forum. Dealer tells me that if they buy it back it will be at a loss to me. No I think I will keep protesting and rattling cages. I am not going to take a loss on this, at least not yet. I will document my concerns on the website you recommend above. Thanks for providing it.

avalonkitten

Same transmission, different engine, thus different software .. my loss..

zekeman1

sbrown2 -
Congratulations! Curious - where is your XM antenna mounted?
zekeman1

sbrown2

Hi Zekeman2,

I had the XM mounted in the middle of the back of the trunk next to the window, wish I could figure a way to get it in the roof like the accord.

sbrown2

mackabee

I don't see how you could mistake the buttons. The gas release and trunk release buttons are both together and smaller than the rear sunshade button. Even at night you can feel the first two which are right next to each other and the sunshade is spaced somewhat to the right.

Mackabee