2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

captain2

good 'plus 0' size choice - gets almost an inch more rubber on the road. . Am curious as to why you are replacing the Michelins I assume were on the car - a wear, performance, or appearance issue? The MXV4 is a low rolling resistance tire that I think helps Toyota with its claimed MPG - also wondering if you have noticed any MPG change with the Coopers?

fragmire

I disagree. There is no difference in text input from either a Mac or a PC. The difference is probably the hosting site. Some sites disable what is often called "hot linking," which results in linked images not being displayed when requests are not made from the list of permitted sites. For example, certain sites will put such restrictions that only image links placed on their own website will be displayed properly. This is usually done to save bandwidth and to prevent the image from being linked everywhere like wild fire.

eddieb1

The dealer pulled the headliner. The fix is to re-glue the struts the hold the sunroof to the inside of the roof. The dealer said they did this, but I still hear a rattle. The seatbelt issue I know about. You twist the buckle a quarter turn, but why should you have to. The thing I don't understand is how a 30K+ automobile that appears well-built could have little creaks and clicks. I am now getting a thumping sound which seems like it is coming from the back deck. I have ridden in 2 rental cars, both Chrysler 300's, and they were tight. I think my problem is I got one of the first XLS' in the US. I took delivery on Feb 28, well before most people. I wish more people would complain. I feel like I am all by myself on this one

havalongavalon

fragmire,

Perhaps. But if so, why was I enabled to set up a "hot link"? I have no special access privileges nor do I otherwise use that host site.

havalongavalon

branch15_5

I just picked up my 06 XLS today. My question regards the wiper motor noise. Is it normal for the wiper motors to make noise (mid-pitched whine)? It's definitely not loud -- I only notice it when I'm idling, not when the car is moving. But I can definitely hear it.

Normal or not?

Thanks

motownusa

Hi Regis:

Thanks for the Reply. That is a big price difference and the fact that you can use it in multiple vehicle is another huge plus. I might very well go with a portable GPS instead of the factory NAV. You could try Photobucket.com to post your pics. I hear it works pretty well. Enjoy your new ride

wyn

Thanks for the information on the procedure once the headliner. is pulled. My dealers first attempt was actually to grease the tracks which they claimed Toyota suggested---I found that laughable! My XLS arrived mid-April. Agree with you on early production. Our quirks are likely far less than the usual with such. I have two ragged holes in the carpet where dealer attempted to install the hooks designed to hold the Avalon mat in place and the grommets pushed through. Again, I elected to wait rather than have seats pulled and entire expensive carpet replaced. Overall, I have no regrets and enjoy the vehicle in spite of these annoyances. For me the 2005 replaced an excellent 2001 Avalon XLS and undoubtedly is a much better value.

pat

Fragmire is correct. Neither this site nor the site hosting the photo care whether the computer is a Mac or a PC.

Regis needs to try another hosting site.

douglas1

I have the wiper motor noise too. As you say you can only hear it at idle. I asked my dealer about it when I went in for service and he said it was normal, said he compared it to 3 other cars in stock. BTW mine is an 05 limited. How do your automatic wipers work, mine come on in a very light mist and then just continue to wipe.

Doug

branch15_5

I don't have the auto wipers -- it's an XLS. Thanks for the info. That's one less thing to get the dealer to look at.

The other problem I have is with the dash illumination going out. Love the car, but this isn't an encouraging start.

regis

"Fragmire is correct. Neither this site nor the site hosting the photo care whether the computer is a Mac or a PC. Regis needs to try another hosting site. Pat"

Well, I tried a fourth photo hosting site and the last one worked (club photo.com) so the problem posting a photo appears to site specific but maybe some prefer Mac's over PC's? Anyway, thanks for all the help. Test photo attached. BTW, tried photobucket.com and it didn't work either.

ocim

Mike, thanks for the info on the Blue Tooth, Yes, imagine that, an uninformed salesman!

oz4

One reason I bought an Avalon.

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donb1

28 yrs in artillery have destroyed my hearing but my wife picks out every thing and she had not said anything about any real noise coming from my wiper motor. (I have an XLS also) so I can't offer you anything. I have a comment on the illuminated dash going out. Has it gone out completely? I noticed my lights were dimming and brightening and thought they were bad, but they were responding to the changes in illumination outside. I don't know if this is your issue or not but thought I would throw it out there

branch15_5

No, this is the illumination going out completely. When the light switch is in the DRL off position, the dash and display are on. When I put the switch in any of the other positions (auto, parking lights or headlights), both the illumination and display go off completely (not just dimmed). The only lights that stay on are the green ones -- the headlight on indicator, the gear indicator and cruise control.

This was also around 6 PM, so it wasn't responding to bright sunlight.

Unfortunately, it's an intermittent problem. Possibly a bad switch? As soon as I can get it to occur fairly regularly, I'll head for the dealer.

alan_s

I had a '97 LS400. My new Avalon is cheaper, bigger inside, quicker, more economical, just as smooth and quiet and has as many amenities. When I drive it, it feels like I am driving the LS400 with more power. It is much cheaper to service and maintain - Lexus service is VERY expensive. Yes the Toyota dealers are arrogant and incompetent. IMHO the LS and Avalon are very similar despite the huge price difference. In fact, I know a Lexus salesman and a couple of years ago he told me that they lost more LS sales to the Avalon than any other competitor - and that was the old Avalon! I believe the new Avalon is taking many sales away from Lexus, LS included, and Toyota over estimated the perceived value of the Lexus nameplate to the consumer. They didn't anticipate Lexus buyers heading back to Toyota. The smart consumer buys the Avalon and pockets the change! :shades:
Toyota decisions: Up the price and content of the new ES350 and other Lexus models to distance them from Avalon, or kill the competition in the mean time and then bump the price of the Avalon so that it is not perceived as great a bargain by potential Lexus buyers.

curry

I had the same thing happen to me one night. Somehow I had turned the dash illumination control on the dash to a point where it turned the dash lights off. Try turning your control knob up a little higher.

branch15_5

Thanks for the suggestion. It was turned all the way down. I'll see if that makes a difference.

ange

The dash light switch is a little tricky. It took me a couple of weeks to find the switch, when turned all the way on brightness, has another click. I found the switch stops and if you turn it a little more{easy} and glicks,the the lights really brighten up. ange1

ange

I recently drove up route 101 on th west coast and found a lot of road noise when the highway had big stones in the tar based roads. This was in Oregon and Washington states. When you rode on a smother roads the noise went away. Try riding on smoother surfaces and see if there is a difference. I don't think any car or tires will correct rough surface noise. ange1

allavalons

I had Cooper SLE Touring on my Chrysler Concorde and I had a vibration also. I took my car in three times until they tested them on another car (owned by the owner of the store) and sure enough they made his car vibrate also. They took them back, and agreed to replace at no cost to me (for my trouble) new Michelin MX4 V rated tires (about $15 per tire more) and the vibration was gone. They tested the tries and found that there is a 'wave' in the plys that cause the tire to vibrate at faster speeds, the larger the diameter of the tire the higher the speed to get the vibration (I guess the larger tires make less rotations per mile). Anyway, they found that it's a manufacturing flaw in 10% of the Coopers made and have sense quit selling that particular tire in their store (he's an independent and actually goes to the factory and transports his own stock). You might want to have them look for a slight bulge in the tires (have to take them off and put them on the balancing machine, spin then and measure for out of round) because they can not be corrected by weights.

liketodrive

Yes, they have a fix...if you want to call it that. The fix involves cutting a section out of the center portion of the gasket. I have been waiting for over a month for Toyota's fix to come out and had it done this week. Now the end of the spoiler is not secure and I notice that the bold which secures it to the trunk must be stripped, because it won't tighten. I'll have to take it back again!!!!! I'm going to suggest replacing the trunk and forget the spoiler. This will be my 6th trip to the dealer for this problem. Everything else about the car is great.

tdx

I have a 2006 XLS with the JBL sound system and in dash changer. I am looking to connect my iPod and was thinking of using Dension's IceLink Plus to do so. I believe you need an external CD changer or satellite radio connection to do this. When I removed the head unit it didn't look like there was an open port. Is there a port available to add satellite radio on this unit I could use? Does anyone know if the IceLink unit will work with the JBL system? From Dension's web site it doesn't look like there are any limitations, but I can't figure out how this would be connected.

alan_s

Bridgestone Turanza LS-V in size 225/55/17 are VERY quiet even on rougher surfaces. Not as quiet as they are on smoother surfaces but much quieter than the EL400's originally on my Avalon. See my previous posts.

fin

You are right. Had the exact choice you describe. Took the Avalon - twice! My point was the physical car, not the cross-shopper. At 25k per car, I am now 50k ahead because I chose an Avalon(s)... It gets no better... !

mrtouring

dam thats alot of miles..what model and yr do you have. also what kind of gas do you use?and lastly did you go on a road trip or do you do alot of highway driven. gives me some pointers i want to get 37 miles

oz4

06 touring...92 octane...maintaining 60 mph with no ac, on highway coming down mountain with a stiff tail wind.

msavalon

Thanks Steveh2, I did research on the portable gps systems and bid a Magellan Roadmate 300 (Son's recommendation) on ebay for $330. Received it the other day and used it today for the first time. It is very nice and accurate. The SD card was a free $50 bonus through Magellan. Thanks again!!!

vette '67

The New York Times has just posted a favorable review of the Avalon. The conclusion:

"The Avalon is, to me, a car that squarely hits its demographic. This is an adult sedan, and one that adults will be comfortable in, yet its on-the-road stance is not floaty or insecure. Unlike most of Toyota's sedans, it even has a bit of personality.

There is a lot of Lexus in this big Toyota, and its design and finish compare favorably with German cars that cost much more. Still, its highway manners cannot match those of an autobahn-engineered rear-drive Mercedes or an all-wheel-drive Audi. A lot of buyers will find the lower price to be a fair trade-off.

INSIDE TRACK: A Lexus in waiting."

See the following link for the full text:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/automobiles/09AUTO.html

fragmire

Think the Avalon is a lemon? Try this:

Chrysler, GM, Hyundai and Kia in Recalls

IMHO, I'd rather be dealing with occassionally misaligned panels and clicking noises than things that could catch fire. Loving my '05 Ltd. :P

3puttmax

Does anyone know if the IceLink unit will work with the JBL system?

tdx -

I don't know for sure, but I think the answer is no. I've been to a couple of very experienced car stereo shops in LA, and they both say the IceLink will not hook up with the Avalon's JBL unit with in-dash CD changer. Seems ironic that you can connect the IceLink to cheaper ordinary car stereos, but not to the high priced JBL unit.

Also, I'm told that with the IceLink, you cannot use the iPod controls, just the car's stereo controls. Basically you can only access playlists I believe, although they talk about album access, so it's not too clear.

Another interesting sounding kit is the Neo iOn. Again it's not clear if it can connect with the JBL stereo. With this one, you CAN use the iPod controls while connected to the car stereo - this seems like a big advantage if you have a zillion albums you want to access.

With either system, I believe you lose your car CD player, since the iPod hookup is intended to replace it. That just doesn't cut it - they need to allow use of both.

Finally, I haven't bought, installed or operated any of these, so my impressions may be wrong. Please correct me if anyone knows better. Has anyone out there installed one of these iPod hookups, or anything similar? I'd love to have this capability, but it seems we're not quite there yet.

Max

lbs1

Thanks for your thoughts but I must take issue with your suggestions. My point about the inaccuracy of the # of my home address is to point out the same problems with most of the addresses I have registered (I am directionally challenged but I can find my way home) Also using the Lat/Long info for EMERGENCY would be good if I were calling the coast guard but I'm not sure Police or ambulances are equipped to use this info. Besides I'd probably be dead before I could locate that info.on this system. (again it was simple with my old nav system) You also suggest I use the nav map when guidance leaves me 3 blocks from my destination. If I could use maps I wouldn't have a nav system in the first place- this purchase was a necessity not a luxury.

Also--I have been reading reviews of the '05 Nav system in the Avalon called a JBL- owners love it and talk about, being able to set destinaations while driving.Obviously the '06 has a different system and am wondering how many of the problems in the '06 system were present in the "05. For instance, does the '05 take you to within 30 feet of your destination or 1 to 3 blocks like mine does?

geoshill

fragmire, you hit it on the head. Recalls and poor design give you much shop time out here at $100/hr. My '97 Avalon has never been in the shop for repairs.

jayvis

I don't believe it and neither should anyone else. I've heard MPG numbers ranging from 32-37 on this forum and I doubt they are real. I mentioned this to my service manager and he feels the same as I do.

oz4

Your right, it wasn't 37 mpg. It was 37.6 mpg.

cms1528

I have only been geeting about 26 mpg on my 06 limited. I have been running it on 87 octane, we'll see what happens when I move up the octane range...

fin

To anyone doubting the possibility of attaining 32 or more mpg: remember that gear 5 is an overdrive with the sole function of producing high gas mileage figures. It has nothing to do with acceleration or top speed. Numbers above 32 may be very real in a certain setting, such as going downhill for an extended period with the a/c off. The '95 to '99 models could get 30 mpg and they had only 4 forward gears. Now there are 5 with a new and improved engine. 32 plus is possible. Stunning.....

deanie

Relax, Jayvis admitted the trip was downhill - down a mountain. Even a Suburban will get decent mpg figures going downhill.
Deanie
P.S. Real world Avalon mpg on a level highway doing 70mph with the AC on is high 20's - low 30's at best, a few mpg less with the AC off.

deanie

To get 37.6 mpg in your Avalon, all you have to do is go downhill. Easy. Four cylinder compact cars (Civic, Corolla, etc) get 40-50 mpg downhill routinely. The problem is that we all eventually have to drive uphill at some point
Reagrds,
Deanie

P.S. My Avalon experience has been 25-27mpg @80-90mph, 28-31mpg @60-70mph, 29-32mpg @ 55mph (AC off, level highways - subtract 1-2mpg w/AC on)

oz4

Conditions the same as Post # 9339. Front tires 44 psi. Rear tires 42 psi.

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06indigoavalon

For those looking for the Stoner Invisible Glass, I found it tonight at Walmart for $3.47 a can. After all the good comments, I'm eager to try it out tomorrow.

jayvis

Your tires are over inflated.

jayvis

I wish everyone would quit stating their fuel mileage as what their trip computer displays at a certain moment. I'm more interested in hearing what MPG they actually got on a full tank of gas. Isn't that what it's all about anyway? Also, for those who haven't figured it out yet, you have to actually CALCULATE it. Don't just look at what your trip computer displays at the time you refill your tank. By the way, I got 26.8 mpg on my first tankfull and 25.9 on my second. That's combined city and highway driving (the majority highway) with 89 octane.

jicka

My 05 LTD's trip computer registers the cumulative average mileage on a tank. Checked with the odometer and the gallons used to fill the tank the mileage is virtually the same. My 00 Avalon's trip computer would give you the choice of instant mileage or the cumulative average mileage from the time you started the engine till you cut the engine.

oz4

I inflated the tires to get a higher mpg rating. I actually run 32psi. It was all somewhat of an experiment. On a full tank, mostly highway, I get an average of 28.2 mpg. Meant no harm. Enough said.

captain2

think that we have a few folks having some fun - kind of like watching an 'instantaneous mpg' gauge read 100 mpg while coasting down a hill from 80!
have 13 K on mine and my actual experience that same as yours - about 26 mpg overall. Generally run 93 octane because there is a power difference, haven't seen that using premium increases mpg, however.

splatsterhound

Not to burst anyone's bubble here about mileage, but my decade-old Oldsmobile 88 with a 3.8 will routinely get 30 mpg at 80 mph and -- gee whiz -- 32 mpg at 60. And that's not with the tires overinflated to 40 psi, or limping away from stoplights. Oh, and I can carry six people, and I have 185,000 on the original engine. The Avalon is a nice car, but it's not as if Toyota invented fuel efficient cars. My Olds gets the SAME mileage as my 4 cyl. Camry on the highway. No kidding.

hank3

I average anywhere from 16-17 and most of the driving is done in the city. I use A/C so I hope the gas mileage will increase now that it is starting to get cooler here in TX. I have used high octane and low but neither seemed to have made any difference.

fragmire

Which model do you have? A quick lookup of the Cutlass Ciera showed that the car is roughly 2800 lbs. Compare this to the Avalon (ranging from 3490 ~ 3600 lbs.), I think the Avalon is superior in gas mileage as I regularly get 28 mpg on hilly freeway at 75 mph (which tends to get worse mileage than at 60 mph). That's 800 extra lbs and only 2 mpg lost, not counting the difference in our speed.

captain2

glad to hear that you have had such good luck with your Olds. There are a bunch of cars out there that can get 30 mpg plus on the highway - not many of them (incl. your Olds) will also run 6 second 0-60's and 100 mph quarters, however.