2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

rwb2

SOB, you and Steve speak for 2 people. A friend who installs sound systems for restaurants and theaters listened to both and noticed a considerable difference (for the better) in the JBL system. (he liked them both by the way). As he said "a blind man can't appreciate a rainbow". I simply say, "don't assume your tastes agree with everyone elses".

rwb2

268 or 280 doesn't matter, its all about the torque. There should more than enough horses for you unless you're comparing the Avy to a sports cars or unless you have it out on a private track. If you need more let me know where you will be driving and I'll try not to be in your neighborhood that day.

tmeframe

rwb2, with respect to you and your friends "golden ears", I was into car stereos for over 23 years before OEMs caught up and eventually surpassed aftermarket in sound quality, and can fully appreciate the quality in a sound system. I never went to any of the "Rolling Thunder" competitions, if you wanna call them that - my main concern was and still is quality for the $$$.

In my last aftermarket stereo I was using Linear Power amps that could deliver REAL current, using TO66 chassis transistors, not the IC crap on the market today, and Polk Audio speakers, along with good quality head units.

I simply stated that for over $600 more money than the standard stereo, the difference between the two is simply not worth the money. ½ that price would be a better value. True, it is my opinion, but in my view, it's an educated opinion.

Steve

pat

Hi fragmire - there are about 40 posts worth reviewing here: torpman, "Car Transport Companies" #1, 6 Nov 2003 6:43 pm. If you don't find anything helpful, that would be a good place to pursue this.

Are you moving or just needing to ship your car for some reason? Good luck with it - let us know how everything goes.

zekeman1

rwb2 - you hit the nail on the head with "don't assume your tastes agree with everyone elses". True, the JBL system may not be worth $600, but it's called profitfor Toyota. While it may be a crappy system, you still have to get it (and pay for it) in order to get the car! So. jerk it out and put in a system which is the perfect one, by virtue of the specs.
I happen to have a high frequency hearing loss - the JBL system sounds pretty good to me, even tho I can't hear many of the highs. I happen to like Bose systems - have 4 different ones in my home - they all sound pretty ok to me! But some perfectionists like my neighbor think they are poor, when bounced against the gourmet systems. It's all in the earof the beholder.
Another good example would be TV's - which has a better picture, Sony, Panasonic, etc? It's all in the eyeof the beholder!
zekeman1

bwia

Try American Auto Transporters. http://www.shipcar.com/
I shipped an Accord from Boston to Atlanta no problems. They were very courteous and professional. I hope this helps.

mackabee

I was replying to buck1. The 2006 Avalons are on their way to dealers now and some have them already.
Mack

fragmire

Pat et. al., thanks for the resources. I'll be calling them for quotes.

I'm relocating from the East Coast to the West 'cause I'm changing job. I guess looking back it wasn't very smart buying a car right before moving, but I wasn't sure about the job switching thing when I placed my order for the Avalon.

mackabee

IMHO Sony's have the best picture due to the Trinitron system. I've owned nothing but Sony tv's in the past 25 years, tried a few different brands in between and they would not compare. Nowadays with LCD and Plasmas it's very difficult to differentiate any picture quality of one brand over the other and in some cases several brands are made by the same company. Just my .02 cents. Now back to our regularly scheduled topic. 2006 Toyota Avalon. I see VS (Vehicle stability control) is now available on all trim levels. I was listening to the Clark Howard show on my way home tonight and he and a few of the callers were talking about the Big 3 continuing their "employee pricing" schemes and how Toyota and Honda actually raised prices on their vehicles. What seems to be missing is the fact that now the Big 3 have been exposed as far as their vehicle pricing is concerned. One of the big windfalls according to Howard is all the used cars that will be available for consumers looking for cheap cars. He failed to mention however that what this has done to the used car market is depress it. Prices are going to be real low for used cars and in the next 36 months there will be an influx of cheap and I mean cheap Chinese made cars coming to our shores. Think about this one.
:surprise:
Mackabee

lakedog

I just returned from a fairly long trip, and although I have been getting poor mileage in city driving(16mpg), the highway mileage was much better. Averaging 70-80 MPH, the screen display registered 28.8mpg. 65-70 registered 29.8, and occasionally 30.1. I am pleased with this, but I guess I'll just have to live with the city numbers .
By the way, I checked the screen mileage numbers with my trusty calculator when I filled up, they only differed by one-tenth of a mile.

alan_s

I think it would be interesting to get feedback on real-world fuel consumption. How about everyone post their miles and average mpg so we can get an idea? My mileage is right at 1,000 at a disappointing 16.5mpg which in city driving is very heavy, and I'm no leadfoot. Perhaps the good part is that the Avalon 3.5 performs like a V8 but the bad part is that it drinks gas like a V8 too. So much for the free lunch.

tmeframe

Hmm. I live it Dallas/Fort Worth and commute to/from work 59 miles a day, combo city/highway, and I consistently average 22.5 MPG. Trips exclusively on the HW have gotten me around 27 MPG, and I AM a leadfoot.

Steve

gbinplano

I've got 2600 miles on my Limited. I consistently get 21 mpg on 93 octane in city driving. I've not recently had it on a trip.

Greg

thepope1

My ' 05 Avy has a real soft brake pedal. It's scary when sudden braking is needed.. Have to pump for full pedal - just like cars of the early days. After being stopped, try keeping pressure on your pedal. Does it go to the floor? Mine does, since the day I bought it. Two dealers said 'it's normal'. Consumer Reports calls it a 'soft pedal'. I call it bad design that can lead to real danger and an accident. Contacted Toyota about it - they did not have the courtesy to reply.

littlejohn600

Att: thepope1
The brakes on my Limited does same thing, except I have not experienced the pedal going all the way down to the floor. Dealer service dept also indicates "No Problem".
I suspect that it this problem is somehow related to the VSC & Traction Control. Keep us informed. Littlejohn600

alan_s

My brakes are harder - significantly harder on my '05 than my '02 but very effective. When I drove a demo '05 before I bought mine, I also noticed that the brakes were very soft and I wasn't confident with the way it slowed the vehicle. I would not have bought that particular vehicle. There does seem to be variations in the braking. Perhaps drive a new one at the dealer and if it feels better, get the dealer to drive yours and the other one back to back so they can feel the difference.
We had a similar problem back in '98 with my wife's Sienna. It was very hard to stop and eventually my wife refused to drive it. We went to 3 dealers and the 3rd found a pin-sized hole in one of the brake fluid pipes in the right front wheel. It was very slowly losing fluid when the brakes were applied and brake pressure would slowly drop. In addition, the rear brakes were not properly adjusted so most of the braking was being done by the front left wheel. The point is that 2 dealers had missed this!
This is a safety related item, so if you don't get help quick, I think you should tell Toyota Corporate that you will file a complaint with the NHTSA and you will excersize your right under the lemon laws. Under the lemon laws, they have 3 DOCUMENTED chances to fix a safety-related problem. If they don't fix it within the 3 chances, then the lemon law kicks in and you can get a refund or replacement. Research the lemon laws in your state and insist that you get a printed work order that properly documents the problem for each trip you make to the dealer. You will need this as evidence.

kinzua

As promised in an earlier post, here’s some data I accumulated on our recent 3875 mile vacation trip. We left from Florida and traveled to and through Ohio/Pennsylvania/New Hampshire then back to Florida.
The driving was mostly mixed thruway/urban/suburban. I kept both computer readout and manual fuel consumption records. However, before I calculated the MPG I corrected the Mileage value by +3.65%. That is, the odometer reads 3.65% low as determined by both mile markers and my Street Pilot GPS.

Average MPG for the whole trip: 27.4
Highest leg (mostly Thruway 70mph): 31.5
Lowest leg (mts. of southern VT and NH): 18.3 (lead food passing on 2 lane hi’ways)

I also verify something else that was reported earlier (but I don’t remember by whom) the Speedometer is only off by -.71% . I would have thought that the Odometer and Speedometer error would be the same. By the way, the Speedometer error was verified by my Street Pilot and my son’s Magellan Sports Trak Pro.

We have made this trip every year since 1999, previously in our 2000 Avalon XLS. I guess everyone can guess what comes next. The 05 Limited performed flawlessly. Everything from the auto windshield wipers to the laser assisted cruise control. No transmission hesitation. In fact when I said GO, it went (see MPG during lead food leg).

I enjoyed the driving experience so much that on 2 occasions my wife said “It’s time to find a Motel”. (She was tired), I think.

One negative- really missed the trunk space of the 2000XLS (sorry Havalong).

nemodat

This is of course only my opinion but it seems to me that all this talk about gas mileage is pretty useless since your exact mileage depends upon so many variables. For instance:
1)Do you use premium or regular fuel(some say this makes no difference, others disagree), does your fuel have ethanol in it(does it matter)?
2)Do you let the transmission shift itself or do you shift manually?
3)City Driving: does that mean you stop every block, or cruise 15 blocks without a stop sign, or hit every light green?
4)Some freeway driving-does that mean a sprint of 5 miles or a quick cruise to the mall 20 miles each way?
5)I am a lead foot , I am not. Who is the judge of this and how many levels of these two positions are there?
6)How many people are in the car with you normally?
7)How many tools , office papers, Sand bags,dead bodies(applies only to those who are named Soprano) do you carry in the trunk?
8)How much interstate driving is up hill? How much down?
I'm sure I could think of more but you get the idea. I get an average of 18 in the city,20 mixed, 27 road only. I have noticed though that if I'm starting and stopping alot my city goes to 16mpg, if I hit a parking lot on the interstate it drops to 25. This stuff is only an approximation. The"Sky is not Falling" if your car is a couple miles different than others. If you are getting 8mpg in the city, then I might look into it.I hate to see people panic when they have a really fine car. Peace.

hamcarman

Nemodat, Very well said. I get about the same exact mileage on my 2003 AVY. I used think I had a major problem with the car. I even took it in on two different occasions to have Toyota check the car. I even went fpr a test drive with the lead mechanic at the local dealer who double checked every setting associated with fuel consumption. I first took the car in when it had 3000 miles on it and again when it had 10,000 miles on it and the mileage really hasn't changed since I drove the car off the lot brand new. I am one of those folks that check my mileage with ever fill up. Bottom line 18 city and 27 to 28 highway are real numbers and when I compare them to my 1990 4 cylinder honda accord which gets about 21 city and 30 highway that is when the Avalon numbers really start to make sense.
Now I spend less time worried about the mileage and more time enjoying this wonderful car experience.

rwb2

Good Post!!!!!!!!

rwb2

I am humbled by your superior knowledge. I don't even know what "Rollling Thunder" competitions are or for that matter what TO66 chassis transistors are or Polk Audio Speakers. I just know what I like.

pricecutter

Yep. Happened to me several times. I thought it was because my remote rubbed against something, but maybe it's just a defect in the system.

pricecutter

pricecutter

My brakes are soft, also, but do not go to the floor. I think you definitely need to get Toyota dealer to fix this--a real safety issue.

Pricecutter

oldjayhawk

Any chance that the 06 Avalon will add AWD as an option? Like in the top of the line Acura RL. I think the Highlander AWD is too big. Honda Pilot AWD is definitely too big. Thus, I hope Toyota will offer a sedan with AWD other than its Matrix, which is too small for me.

jeffm5

Mackabee,
Will memory seats be another option that is available on an 06 XLS? Thanks.

jeffm5

Just took a 600 mile round trip from Pittsburgh to Beckley, WV. Hilly terrain with the air on. 85% interstate driving on 89 octane. Averaged just over 29 MPG. I'm happy with this. I have about 2000 miles total on the car.

maddoke

My gasket on the 2nd spoiler is now bubling out again from underneath the spoiler. How is yours. I don't want to keep going back to have it keep happening over and over. Does your dealership know if toyota has a permanent solution? thanks,

limiteddriver

What you describe sounds like a leaking master cylinder seal.

toyotaken

In a couple of responses. First, there is no rumors or intent as far as I know for there to be an AWD version of the Avalon anytime during it's production in the current generation. That doesn't mean that it's impossible, but extremely unlikely.

The memory seats, as far as I can discern, will only be avialable in the Limited model of the Avalon. This is pretty typical as for the models that Toyota has made them avialable for in the past, they are their premium versions of the vehicles they built.

Hope this helps.

Ken

pablo2

kinzua, did you find the front seats uncomfortable during your long drive. My wife and I drove from Jefferson City to Durango, CO back on vacation right after we got our Limited. Wish the ventilated seats had more cushioning like my 1997. Also, the up and down seat selector on the passager was not on the 2005 as it is on the 1997. However, I love to drive it. My wife loves to drive it as well, Guess who gets to drive the 1997--me.

Paul

rjeok

I have a Garmin portable Nav system (Street Pilot III) that we use in our other car. I have noticed that the nav system on my 05 Avalon does not compute a route as well as the Garmin, and the Avalon nav system frequently takes us out of our way.

A good example is when we bought the Avalon at Autofair in New Hampshire the Garmin computed a route back to our home in Ct of 187 miles; the Avalon Nav system computed a route of 210 miles (quick was selected).

There are alot of similar examples, do other people have similar problems???

drzeller

Since you mentioned that quick was selected -- quick will not be the shortest route, it will be what the nav thinks in the fastest. Think of the difference between winding mountain roads through small villages with stop lights versus the super highway going around the mountains. The highway may be longer but quicker.

That said, there is a definite difference between different nav system's calculations. Our Honda sometimes takes you a wierd sight seeing tours that are obvioulsy rediculous. Garmin (original Street Pilot in my case) was pretty good 95% of the time, and had excellent prompts (directions) as you went. I probably like the Toyota the least. But what choice do you have, eh?! I like built-in much better than tacked on.

Did you see the blurb on the internet a few months ago where the European version of MS's Streets and Trips took people on something like a 200 mile trip, traveling off an island, onto mainland, and then back on again from another angle in order to reach a town that was like 20 miles away on the same island?! I may have the numbers wrong, but the core story is correct. It was hilarious!

D.

ejmann

I too have an XLS with similar features. Love the car except for the remote start. It has a VERY limited range. Mine only works from about 50-75 feet away. My aftermarket unit on our 04 Highlander is MUCH better. Plus, the factory unit on my Avalon requires you to shut off the engine before you can enter the vehicle. The remote starter is POORLY designed. Otherwise enjoy the new car.

paulex

ejmann - I remember reading on mynewavalon.com that the range for the starter is 80 ft. Your numbers do sound a bit low. Is there a lot of interference that could be causing this?

I am still waiting for my car - the dealer told me it is invoiced...they just don't know where it is? I have been hearing "any minute now" since Monday. I can hardly stand the wait! I will post back with any findings on my remote starter.

Paulex

parks1

I just completed ~2500 miles. I notice that the steering "feel" seems light. I am used to a tighter & heavier feel. Does anyone feel the same?
I find the car a joy to drive. I have a few annoyances but nothing to question my choice.
There is noticeable distortion in the rear window. I miss a place to put loose change like a small change drawer. I am regularly cleaning a haze off the interior windows. I assume this will get better when the new materials stop out gassing.

If I had to do it again, I would definite choose this car.

mellow19

I also have distortion in my rear window. I am taking it to show the dealer because I want it replaced. I look at cars behind me and depending on where I look they can look like SUV's or odd shaped cars. It doesn't make sense why their window would be like that. I have never had a car with distorted windows like that.

jicka

Come ON! How often do you look at your rearview mirror? My Ltd's back light is distorted too. So what? I do not regularly drive long distances in reverse. Think about the possible screw ups by the techs that replace that glass. I have a hunch that you'll have a LOT of complaints about the replacement and its installation.

islandavy

parks1--I also have a cloudy haze on the interior windshield amd back window. No matter what cleaner I use, the window never seems clean. Does anyone out there have suggestions on keeping interior windows sparkling clean? What window cleaners are best? My LTD is 1 1/2 months old and otherwise perfect.
Island Avy :shades:

havalongavalon

Timely comments, parks1 and islandavy. I noticed the same in the past couple of weeks (after almost 6 months of ownership). Windex doesn't take this haze off. It does seem to go away while the defroster and rear window heater are on, but it is not just a moisture problem, there is a residue that is hard to remove.

havalongavalon

ange

I have had several cars with rear window distortion. It is not uncommon. My other cars had short and sorta flatten autos following me down the road. My Limited has some distortion, but the window is high in the rear and the glass is narrow. The visibility is poor so I use the mirrors. I am beginning to accept all cars are not perfect to all owners. I had high hopes for the Avalon when I was reading all the ads and surveys. I guess a snapshot sometimes imparts a good impression and later with time the overall picture looks different. ange1

gws

"I think it would be interesting to get feedback on real-world fuel consumption. How about everyone post their miles and average mpg so we can get an idea?"

At about 325 miles, I refilled the tank for the first time and calculated 36 mpg following break-in care (speed changes, mostly rural driving). After a further 300 or so miles of virtually all city use, the calculation was 31 mpg. I did convert from litres per 100 kilometres to miles per Imperial gallons (20 percent larger than those US ones).

54gradsteds

To those who would be inclined to just pass-off a distorted rear window, I would ask a few questions:



1. Do you seriously think Toyota would pull this on a Japanese customer at home?

2 Does anyone really think that the public in Japan would let Toyota get away with this?

3. Why should anyone be willing to pay $35,000+ for a car with a sub-standard part?

4. Suppose your local Toyota salesman said, "Hi, Charlie! How would you like to buy a new Toyota Limited with a distorted rear window?" Are you telling us that you wouldn't be insulted by such an offer?

barclay3

Alan...Mine is exactly the same as you at 16.8 mpg consistently for the past few fill ups city driving.

My dealer installed a new radio cover today replacing the broken one that got stuck closed. They also replaced a damaged visor.

buck11

I might be insulted but I surely wouldn't be anal. It's just a car people. Get over it. Mistakes are made and life goes on. Again, "IT'S JUST A CAR". You think that 40 and even 50K plus cars don't have problems? Get real!!!

zekeman1

54gradsteds - curious, do you own either an 05 or 06 Avalon? Noting some of your recent posts, you commented on sloppy workmanship, laser lens issues, lack of foldable mirrors and now the problems with the distorted rear windows. Would you not agree that the best way to pursue getting corporate Toyota to address these issues would be to encourage written complaints versus beating the drum via an internet blog? I would really hope that the myriad of complaints (some rather picayune) that I've read on this board are seriously addressed in writing, rather than public whining about them - it's the only way something might get done.
zekeman1

barclay3

I have the same haze on the front and back windows too and it's worse on hot humid days. Also my glasses haze up a lot when I get out of the car on hot humid days. I don't remember this happening with my other cars. Any relationship?

easyrider300m

The best glass cleaning product I have used is "Stoners" glass cleaner sold at auto parts stores like Pepboys and Autozone. I just used crumpled up newspaper. If the glass if very dirty, it might be necessary to apply and remove the product twice. Works great for me with no residue and it cuts through the grime. It's much superior to Windex or similar products imho.

nimimi

Make sure that you use a window cleaning fluid that does not have AMMONIA as it will remove the tinting from the glass.

greenbelt

Perhaps there is a defect in the interior finish materials. They might be 'outgassing' at a heavy rate in your Avalon. This outgassing could precipitate on your glasses and then coagulate when they are subjected to a sharp temperature or humidity change when you go outside. The coagulation might cause a hazing that you see.

If you can, get a friend on relative that has contact lenses to try a ride in your Avalon. If their contacts 'haze' over, then you might have a safety issue that you could register with the NTSB and the National Association of Contact Lenses Manufacturers.

zekeman1

My glasses always haze up when I get out of an air conditioned car into the hot humid weather. Same thing happens when I come out of a cold, air conditioned store into the hot weather. I seem to remember something about that weird happening in science class.
zekeman1