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Comments
Bob
1. New cars at the beginning of any model year will bring a premium. Buyers pay it to be the first to drive one home. This happens with many cars, not just the Avalon.
2. If the Avy gets the 6 speed (probably will), add another premium to #1.
3. If Toyota PR somehow convinces the world that the '07 Avalon is truly "new and improved".... add another premium to #2 and #1. It can happen.
If you are not in a hurry and don't need a new car now, you have a 5 month wait for a new model year. It's probably worth it. Others may have more ideas.....
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213860
I would call them at 800-527-2781 and ask for the wiper blades for the Avalon. When I used their on-line ordering form they have the drivers side listed but their computer sent out the metal arm instead of the rubber blade. It was easy to return and I have had good luck dealing with them. They show their parts as discounted but you also pay shipping so you may want to check with your local dealer for the price on the blades.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
As to road noise, my test drive of an Avalon Touring model over several different road surfaces seemed quiet to me. I should add, though, that my wife drove the freeway portion of the test at only 60-65 mph.
I'm inclined to wait to see what Avalon does for 2007. The current transmission is dated, and possibly flawed. The CD player isn't mp3 compatible, the center stack includes a tape player in place of NAV (in Touring). Avalon needs a tad updating, imo.
Good luck.
Then again, I don't know why Toyota has let this matter persist since they introduced the 5 speed in 2002. The research I have done shows complaints about the transmission/hesitation issues going back to when they first introduced the 5-speed into the 2002 Camry and Lexus ES300. The previous 4-speed was a model of smoothness.
Like you, I think the 6-speed will be busier and more difficult to manange than the 5-speed and the 8-speed on the new Lexus 460 must be an absolute nightmare. CST - a new acronym perhaps - Continuously Shifting Transmission
Interestingly, Nissan/Infiniti is moving toward CVT's as opposed to more gears with greater complexity, although I can't say I am a fan of CVT's either.
If a glove has 4 fingers, it may not be defective, but as designed, it doesn't fulfill it's purpose!
Two weeks ago, you confirmed yourself that the transmission in your Avalon is not defective. You discoved a defect in the offset of your gas pedal, that you fixed, and cured your transmission misbehaviors.
Please re-read your own message #11901 that you posted for us on April 4 to tell us that you had "discovered that in the (your) Avalon there is a "dead spot" from accelerator idle-position to on-throttle, so an inherent time-delay exists every time the pedal is depressed when fully off."
You capped your message #11901 with a key finding:
"I fabricated a piece of plastic of appropriate thickness that when installed in the correct position in the accelerator housing upwards of the pedal shaft, I slightly changed the "off-throttle" or home position of the gas pedal to be just below the point at where RPM's increase (just below off-idle), essentially taking up the initial dead-spot or slack, and simulating a partly on-throttle condition to be signalled to the computer, without raising the idle RPM's.
I have been driving the Avalon like this for 4 days now and have found that the hesitation has all but disappeared. There is no hesitation "off the mark" - the engine responds immediately to on-throttle, and when lifting off the accelerator and reapplying during traffic, the transmission remains in the current gear because the ECU “thinks” the foot is still on throttle (or shifts DOWN if braking) and simply picks up when the throttle is reapplied. THERE IS NO GEAR HUNTING, NO MORE "SLIPPING" AND NO MORE HESITATION! "
alan_s, your transmission is not defective! And the Avalon transmission has not been reported to share the serious transmission/hesitation issues of the 5-speed that the 2002 Camry and Lexus ES300. It is misleading to "lump" the 2005-6 Avalon 5-speed with the earlier 5-speed transmission.
Pick your battles... such as how to fix rattles.
havalongavalon
I disconnected the battery for 15 minutes over the weekend and the transmission is now less erratic, so something or the other is being reset to factory default which changes over time.
I really don't know what the "issue" is - transmission, throttle sensors, etc, but the "system" has some anomalies that adversely affect the driveability of the car.
All I know is that my Avalon becomes almost undriveable after a period of time with spontaneous surges, changes and hesitation episodes which make it very difficult to control in bumper to bumper traffic. My wife refuses to drive it in traffic.
I am pursuing this with Toyota, however as this is obviously a sensitive issue for some people, I shall refrain from posting further information on the subject.
The posts that beat up on people who report negative experiences are going to stop - or if they don't stop, they are going to continue to be removed.
This is the place to share what happens, and I encourage you to do just that. Just as I hope everyone else will continue to share their experiences - positive or negative - with the Avalon. That's what we're here for.
Thank you for this update. I fully understand your frustration, you have certainly encountered and endured an extraordinary number of problems and have put a lot of effort in trying to figure out causes and possible fixes. As complicated as car control systems are nowadays, and since your car is under warranty, I would leave it to Toyota to fix it. If your transmission misbehaviors are as flagrant as you describe them, there is no way their service people could ignore or dismiss them. And if they cannot fix your car, then they should replace it with a new one.
Best of luck,
havalongavalon
And everyone also needs to understand that all are VERY WELCOME to post experiences here and that everyone should be free to post whatever has been his or her experience without being peppered with "no that didn't happen, you are wrong" comments.
If you want to post a contrasting experience that you have had with the car, certainly that is fine. If you want to tell someone else what he/she has or has not experienced or what he/she should or should not be posting, that is most definitely NOT fine.
We really need to get this straight; it's gone on for way too long. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to email me. I'll be glad to discuss it further off-line.
But meanwhile, everyone here is on notice that comments that have anything to do with telling other posters how to behave, post, what they did or did not experience, are not going to be tolerated.
Now, please, let's get back to talking about the car.
Thank you for your cooperation.
That all said - I fully understand the objections you have with the way the transmission reacts in certain circumstances - but, for my part, don't find it so objectionable that I would be willing to trade off that power/economy combination that all us Avalon owners experience. And yep, from Toyota's perspective I'm sure they have told you that there is nothing wrong with it, that it is simply working the way it is designed.
PS CST -more properly 'continuously slipping transmission'?
Good comment the Host made (reply to your message 12053).
ET
Thanks in advance
Bob
Bob
Bob
MelBC
...of course not until we've finished exploring the molecular structure of the gas pedal cover and whether the lunar phase is accounted for in the ECM operation.
Have you tried these?
link title
Highly recommended. Works best as you rhythmically step on the gas pedal.
And this one is ideal for practicing at stop lights:
link title
havalongavalon
*home run
easttexas
I guess I should have been a little clearer in my request. I was hoping to train THE CAR to understand my speech. But, failing that maybe I can improve my diction so that the NAV system understands when I say "Stop Guidance" that I don't really mean "Show me French Restaurants". (no kidding)
I guess now I know how those people feel about being re-trained in the fine art of gas pedal depression technique!
Tom
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128303&page=5
There are a few posts on toyotanation.com regarding 2007 Camry 6-speed transmission issues and if you read the 2007 Camry forums on Edmunds, there are already reports of hesitation/changing problems on the 5-speed used on the 4 cylinder models, similar to the ones I have experienced.
I was hoping to press Toyota to replace mine with a 2007 Avalon with the 6-speed but it appears that this may not be an improvement.
I don't know why some people seem to be having problems while others are okay. There must be manufacturing quality control variations.
The good news is that my car is actually worth more than I owe on it, so I've been test-driving the competition. Infiniti M35 looks and drives pretty good, and the Azera on the other end of the scale is a tremendous surprise.
Anyway, I know you are all thoroughly sick of the transmission discussion, so I'm out.
There's no way to comprehend how sick I am of this discussion...talk about get down into the grass and run it into the ground!
zekeman1
http://members.cox.net/n0v8or/avalon_oil_change.pdf
Just remove filter housing and paper filter.
Wipe out with paper towel and put on big o-ring.
Lube o-ring and insert paper filter.
Bolt on filter housing.
Alot less steps than PDF instructions.
MelBC
Thanks
MelBC
I moved the current posts to it - see you over there!
I swear I don't have a lisp. But most of the time, I'm getting gas station icons instead of my voice activated route home
When the system asks you if you are sure you want a route to home, be sure to hit the NAV button again on your steering wheel and then reply YES.
The system doesn't hear you unless the green icon is present during the entire time that you are responding.