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2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

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Comments

  • hsakuragihsakuragi Member Posts: 12
    mine is coming today, will take pics once finished..yee hah!
  • gohawaiiangohawaiian Member Posts: 84
    I also had a slight problem lifting a corner to begin pulling off the stickers: if you can't manage to do it with a fingernail, you might carefully try a knife blade or small nail file to "fray" the corner edge a bit so you can begin to grip it (maybe a dull blade so you don't tear the fabric on the visor). A small knife worked for me. Good luck!
  • tinatinatinatina Member Posts: 388
    Hello,

    I have posted here before. I may be finalizing a deal on a new, 2006 Avalon XL in the Blizzard White. The price seems fair. However, I have read the threads about the Avalon having build quality issues. Should I purchase? I am coming from a Honda, which is very reliable. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.
  • gwsgws Member Posts: 67
    My 2005 XLS replaced a Lexus GS 400. The Avalon is pretty close in all respects - visible quality, power, etc. - but has more spacious interior and gets appreciably better mileage on regular grade fuel. I plan to buy a 2007 Avalon and pass this one to a family member. The Avalon is an excellent car, and relatively great value.
  • fredv1fredv1 Member Posts: 15
    Go for it! After owning Accords for over twenty years, we bought a Blizzard Pearl XL almost a year ago. No problems whatsoever. On regular, we have averaged 27.1 mpg overall. We love this car.
  • paul_ppaul_p Member Posts: 271
    My wife and I find our 2005 XL (with sunroof) meets our needs, it has all the conveniences that were options back when we were learning to drive. So to us it's a very luxurious car. We've averaged 28.6 mpg over the first 9,500 miles and have had not one mechanical or maintenance issue in our first year.

    Based on others' experiences here I would say quality of the Avalon is far from "bulletproof", however we both feel the build qulaity and mechanical integrity is better then the 2000 Mercedes C-Class we just sold. I would have liked to have bought an E-Class or Lexus, but can't justify an extra $30k. With the Avalon I feel we got the same quality of drivetrain, which is all I wanted anyway. I sure miss that MB solidness and heavy feel though, nothing compares to it, if that's what you want. Guess one can't have everything. Besides, where would you put it? :-)

    My personal opinion is the mechanics of the Toyota seem to be engineered to exacting and efficient tolerances than other manufacturers autos. In my line of work I rent a different car almost every other week - so get to do more than my fair share of comparing.

    - P.
  • tinatinatinatina Member Posts: 388
    Thanks for your replies to my query on purchasing the XL. I have to actually test drive the car first (jumped a bit ahead w/price, but will have to finalize anything by tomorrow because its the last day of the month. I've been researching the car as much as possible online.

    fredv1 - The vehicle is a Pearl White XL with the c/d changer, alarm and mats. It does not have all of the bells and whistles, nor do I want all of them. I am not interested in leather, sunroof, and nav.
  • billygbillyg Member Posts: 29
    I heated mine with a hair drier, and while they were still hot, I slowly pealed the label off. ;)
  • oilcan2oilcan2 Member Posts: 120
    I thought a u-joint is the drive shaft connection on RWD,
    are they talking about the cv joint.I have not seen this as
    a major problem on the posts,I don't remember reading of a
    cataytic converter problem,the oil leaks I read about were
    repaired.I'm not sure what "vehicle drifting " is.The
    rattling,bad shifting,and valve train noise seems to be on
    a small percentage of cars.
  • dandydon2dandydon2 Member Posts: 77
    Hi,

    Just ran across your extremely well documented backup sensor installation guide and have a question. Please explain how and where you ran your buzzer wire from the trunk into the passenger compartment. I raised the rear seat bottom but couldn't locate any place to drill into the trunk. How did you locate the right spot so as not to hit any vital parts and which side did you drill from?

    Thanks much for the information. Your help on this has been invaluable.

    Dandydon
  • pcc49pcc49 Member Posts: 25
    I am really interested to read the LA Times article about the Avalon. However, the link you posted(listed below) is not valid? Please advice!

    http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-avalon16mar16,1,9232- 0.st- ory
  • chipmunk47chipmunk47 Member Posts: 39
    After having an '05 Blizzard Pearl since April of '05 I have NEVER gotten more than 30 mpg on the highway. I usually do about 65-70 and have a very light touch on the pedal and use cruise control when I can. Can't figure out how so many claim above 30 mpg at higher speeds. I my region the gasoline contains 10% alcohol, could this be it?
    I have the oil changed every 3 months at the dealer. No meachanical problems, no rattles, nothing negative. :)
  • dan41dan41 Member Posts: 182
    I'm in the Boston area and I'm not certain what, if any, mix is used here in New England. I have owned my 05 Limited, Blizzard Pearl, since March of 2005 and I consistently get anywhere from 30-32+ MPG at highway speeds of 65-70 MPH. Although I am now using 87 octane, I have noticed a slight decrease in my MPG (and horse power) compared to when I use 93 octane. Not enough, however, to offset the extra cost of premium fuel. As for maintenance, I get the oil/filter changed at 3000 miles and have my tire rotated every 6000 miles. I continue to be pleasantly surprised with the fuel efficiency of my Limited.

    Regards----dan
  • captain2captain2 Member Posts: 3,971
    after 27k miles, averaging just a smidge over 27mpg, 70% highway at speeds probably 75. Sweet spot in terms of mpg actually seems to be at 50-55 mph with the cruise off where I have seen as much as 34 mpg, constant 75 mph yields 29 mpg. It is relatively easy to squeeze a couple of extra mpg by not using cruise - staying off the gas up hills and coasting down hills, if the conditions will allow for speed variances. Cruise is great for fatigue and avoiding encounters with the gendarmes but not so good for economy.
    I get equal or better mileage in my Av than many of my friends do in much smaller 'economy' cars. And yet, the Av will outrun most anything on the road. Remarkable combination of power and economy unmatched in the industry (my apologies to Accord Hybrid owners), and a technological triumph for Toyota engineering - even if we do have to live with a tranny that seems to always want to be in a gear or two too high.
  • lzclzc Member Posts: 483
    Gasoline blended with 10% ethanol has about 3% less energy than pure gas, so yes your mileage is probably about 1 mpg less than it would be otherwise.

    Our my area, brands that include ethanol are usually several cents per gallon lower in price, which compensates for the reduced mileage.
  • johndjrjohndjr Member Posts: 80
    Just completed a 2 week trip to Fairbanks AK and back in my 05 Avalon Limited. Some observations.
    Milage over 8089 miles: 30.9mpg. (miles covered div by gals used, and yes, I converted the liters to gals) Not much city driving in that . All 85 or 87 oct except one half tank when the hightest was the same price I had been paying for reg. Yes, I said 85 oct. Either Wy or Mt has that on the pump. No pinging, no hesitations, no nothing except a sore posterior.
    The seat is definitely not as comfortable as was my Volvo S80. First night at the motel I mentioned to my traveling companion that I didn't think it was as comf as the Volvo. He agreed, said he didn't want to bring it up because I might think he was knocking my wifes car. And yes, I've taken 7 and 8 day trips in the Volvo.
    Have no other complaints about the Aval. Does still pull slightly to the right (unless you have a 40 mph xwind from the rt, then for some 'strange reason' it pulls left).
    Plenty of pickup. At one time, I felt the need to floor it to pass two campers at once, was doing 105 when I got pass them and looked at the needle.
    And you can get a cracked windshield going to Ak., in my case, before I got out of Texas!!!!. Talked to insur. co today. The lady said she had never heard of a 'sound deading windshield'.
    On one leg,(strong tailwind and outside temp around 64) the mpg read out was 34.9, but the last day with a very strong headwind plus high outside temp, the read out was 25.4
    One other thing. All speeds were at or maybe 5plus to the posted speed limits (gen 65-70 in Can and 70 -75 in US) The speed control causes it to down shift entirely too soon and often twice(2 gears) whereas if I clicked it off, I could just apply gas and keep the speed up without downshifting. Going downhill, the speed control seems to use engine for braking whereas out of speed control it seems to feel as freewheeling has set in.
    My observations.
    John D
  • nimiminimimi Member Posts: 249
    Some comments on the windshield replacement: I just had my '06 LTD windshield replaced. Insurance company said that, since it was a new car, they would authorized OEM windshield. I would press your insurer to authorize a Toyota windshield for this as I wouldn't trust third party windshields for the Limited. Safelite commented on how expensive the Toyota windshield is -- three times what a third party windshield would cost them.
  • bluesman3bluesman3 Member Posts: 202
    Interesting! Avalon sales were down last month over 2005. I just drove by the local dealership and they had $3,000 off 06' Avalon Limited models..... Looks like deal time for some!

    http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?id=TYT2006060141005
  • captain2captain2 Member Posts: 3,971
    the effect of the V6 Camry becoming more available?
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    Perhaps it has to do with launching the ES 350. ES sales went up more than 50% while both the Avalon and GS sales were down; GS down more than Avalon.
  • smith1smith1 Member Posts: 283
    I would guess that both the new ES and new Camry are taking some sales from Avalon. A year ago, both were very stale in comparison to the Avy, now they are stronger alternatives. The Buick Lucerne has probably taken a few Avalon sales as well.

    Notwithstanding the decline for May, Avalon sales are up 13.6% for the calendar year to date, so it's still doing very well.
  • eddieb1eddieb1 Member Posts: 8
    Hi Dan,

    I can't agree with you more. My sunroof rattles above my head, there is a clunking sound coming from the steering column. Also a small rattle coming from passenger side dash area. Sent it to the dealer, and got the proverbial "wall job". People say we are nit picking. To them I say "How dare you!" When one spends 30+K on a car, it should be flawless. Mechanically the car is great, but as other people have stated, how many times are you going to return to the dealer with rattle problems. I drove 3 Ford Crown Vic's for 12 years and they were tight and quiet. I would not buy another Toyota. There are too many other things out there to buy. Toyota better watch out because the Korean vehicles are getting better and better!
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    YES! Using a hair dryer made all the difference. One minute later it was possible to bend a corner. The offending labels peeled off right away and hardly left a trace.

    Thanks for the "hot tip", Laura and billyg!

    havalongavalon
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    I agree with captain2, using cruise control tends to hurt gas mileage because on uphills it downshifts too soon or too aggressively. I almost never use it.

    havalongavalon
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    Hi Dandydon,

    Unfortunately n0v8or has not participated again in this board since Dec 7 2005. This is most unfortunate since he was a fantastic contributor. Perhaps he took a break from what had become a heavy request load for him; I hope he's fine and will return eventually.

    In the meantime, although I don't recall how n0v8or routed his buzzer wire into the cabin, maybe it will help you to know that there is one convenient rectangular hole through the sheet metal, about 1" x 1/2". I showed pics of my own installation in post #5550. I installed the buzzer inside the trunk, very close to this hole and the sound carries very well into the cabin. Now, more than a year later, this Awell system continues to work perfectly. It surely saved my rear bumper from several dents and scrapes -- don't have any yet, although I had some really close encounters!.

    havalongavalon
  • avalonltdavalonltd Member Posts: 1
    karen,

    I just discovered this post and have missed your deadline. If you need an additional person to talk to the magazine, I am willing to help. My frustration is with Toyota's denial of transmission hesitation problems with the '06 Avalon. Took my car to dealer for fix, left a clear description of the problem, and called Toyota Tech Support to discuss before I took car in. In an obviously well cooordinated effort between Toyota Tech Support and dealer, both denied the problem exists. Dealer delayed returning car to me with the excuse that he had to write up paperwork. He used the time to call Toyota Tech Support to notify them he was returning car without repair. Toyota rep called me before I could back out of parking place at dealer. Rep says NO ONE had ever complained about the transmission problem to Toyota.
  • tkevinc1tkevinc1 Member Posts: 30
    I would be interested to hear the date of your inquiries with Toyota. I spoke to the executive offices several times a few weeks ago. They readily acknowledged they were aware of the issues with the transmission. It was obvious in speaking with them that the information is getting to them in volumes. I explained that on 4 different occasions I had been entering the interstate in the acceleration lane and when I floored the car to merge the engine RPMs shot up and the transmission did nothing. I was told that this was the way it was supposed to work. I asked the rep if there was some reason that they could not see the safety issue here. She told me that she would have a concern just like me but the transmission is still working as designed. Go figure.

    Toyota has now completed a short block engine replacement on my vehicle and the engine now runs smoothly and quietly. However, they completely dodged the transmission issues and the numerous rattles. Both still exist as before. The only pluses to date are that I am no longer asked when Toyota started making diesels and my MPG is up by 1.5 on average.

    Toyota quality!!!!!!!!!!!
  • alan_salan_s Member Posts: 362
    Click below, print the article and take it to your dealer. Toyota have admitted that they have a software issue with the transmission, but they don't have a fix for it so you are pretty much wasting your time chasing the problem.

    http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060501/FREE/60501002/1024/L- - - - -ATESTNEWS

    Kevin, glad they fixed the engine noise for you. They had told me that mine was normal even though it sounded like a Mercedes 300D. My neigbor also commented that he didn't know Toyota made a diesel when he heard the Av clattering in my driveway. What exactly did Toyota say was wrong that they had to replace the short-block? Thats pretty extensive surgery.
  • dandydon2dandydon2 Member Posts: 77
    Hi Havalong,

    Thank you for the reply. I had read your post at #5550 earlier and made a copy of both yours and n0v8or's. In fact, I did tape the buzzer by the shelf opening as you suggested, but could not hear a sound inside the car. Perhaps it's a design difference between the XLS and the Limited. I did note that my car has some sort of electronic device mounted there, fed by a cable coming out of the hole. More likely, it's a function of my poor hearing. In any event, the warning system I bought includes a small digital and LED display to indicate the distance and direction of the object behind. The buzzer is built into this unit. Thus, I need to run a cable from the trunk up to the back shelf where I plan to mount the unit.

    By the way, I seem to recall you or n0v8or mentioning that you would move the outboard sensors closer together if you had it to do over again. If that was you, how would you reposition them?

    Again, thanks very much for taking the time to be so helpful to all of us.

    Dandydon
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Actually the "quick" downshifting is there to help extend FE. With modern day advances in engine/transaxle parametric control when cruising along on level ground the engine operational parameters are pretty much totally optimized, lowest possible engine RPM to produce just enough HP to move the car along. Where it not for the downshifting the engine would be operating outside of optimal operational parameters, on the edge of engine "lugging", if not actually within that lower FE range.

    The other thing to consider is the high probability that with you in control you actually accelerate, unconsciously, prior to reaching the incline in the roadbed to avoid the decline in roadspeed you can see would be upcoming otherwise.

    Since the cruise control cannot "see" it can only react after the fact, once roadspeed actually begins to decline.

    A good middle ground is to use cruise control but give it an "edge" by manually disabling O/D as you approach an incline wherein you're relatively sure an "automatic" downshift will result otherwise.

    That's the method I use but the major problem I have is remembering to re-enable O/D at the crest.
  • tkevinc1tkevinc1 Member Posts: 30
    Alan,
    They have yet to tell me what the issue with the engine was. A field tech came to the dealership and listened to it and advised that there was some type if problem with cylinder #4 (middle facing the front of the car) and advised they were not interested in tearing the engine down. They did the short block replacement and the offending block was crated and sent back to Toyota engineering. They swore I would be informed when they found the problem but I'm not going to hold my breath (blues not a good color for me). The reason that was bounced around among the service techs was a casting problem with the block. They did provide me a 6 yr/100,000 mile powertrain warranty to cover any further issues.
  • alan_salan_s Member Posts: 362
    Thanks Kevin. I thought they may have offered you a replacement vehicle after the AutoWeek article. I guess no such luck.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Write to the person whose address Karen gives in her post and say that. That's your best bet.
  • captain2captain2 Member Posts: 3,971
    wwest - don't bite on this one. Our Avalons (in 5th) provide right at 10 mph for every 300 rpm - 50 mph = 1500 rpm, 70 mph = 2100 rpm etc.. This is typical for many cars these days. While I certainly concede that the tranny gearing/programming and overall engine design is programmed around FE, let's also remember that that holy grail (the EPA Hwy rating) is currently taken at a constant 48 mph. Is it then logical to assume that Toyota (as well as many other mfgrs.) have maximized results for that specific 48 mph condition - so therefore the engine is not lugging at the correspondent 1400+ rpm and relative to velocity must be operating at peak FE efficiency.

    So given a situation cruising at 70 on the highway and approaching a long enough grade that speed would naturally decrease to 50 (foot off the gas), from a FE standpoint I'm better off letting gravity have the 20 mph - than allowing the cruise (or my own foot) maintain the 70 I started from. Keeping engine revs up (downshifts) while it may make for a quicker and more fuel efficient resumption of speed will nonetheless cost at the gas pump.
    Participants in competitive FE events will regularly 'coast' up and down hills even to the point of disengaging the engine altogether. Obviously not a terribly safe way to drive on any populated road, but the point remains - you can maximize economy with an educated foot better then you can with a cruise control setting.
  • 3puttmax3puttmax Member Posts: 119
    While I don't doubt that careful driving without cruise control can yield better mileage than with cruise control, there is no way I would spend all day manually driving the car on the highway. If you drive 8 - 12 hours a day on a long trip, the strain on the foot, ankle, calf, hips, lower back, etc. can cause a great deal of discomfort.

    For me, the slightly higher fuel mileage is not worth the pain. I'll take the 29 mpg or so I average with my laser-assisted cruise control, and avoid all the discomfort.

    Max
  • paul_ppaul_p Member Posts: 271
    If you slow down that will probably do the trick! On 87 octane I got a constant 35 MPG (seriously, hills and all) highway driving from PA to MA last fall (400+ miles) at 55 to 60 mph. Also my touch on the gas does seem to be more efficient than the cruise - I let off every now and then especially down hills, which seems to increase mileage, or at least the reading. Gives me something to do on such a long trip. True, slow highway speeds drive my wife nuts, but it's not so bad - the Avy is so comfortable she sleeps on most long trips! :-)

    image

    If I drove at 65+ all the time, I doubt I would do better than 30 mpg. My 1970 Pontiac Bonneville which had about the same interior space and a 455 cu in. V8, averaged half that on the highway. Of course, that was 1969 technology. Although rated brake HP was about 275, 0 to 60 time was 10.0, versus the Avy's 6 plus change.

    I've heard it said that the average car of today has more computing power than the first lunar module. In the words of Carly Simon, "these are the good old days!" :blush:

    - p
  • paul_ppaul_p Member Posts: 271
    captain2, you wrote: "I get equal or better mileage in my Av than many of my friends do in much smaller 'economy' cars. And yet, the Av will outrun most anything on the road. Remarkable combination of power and economy unmatched in the industry..."

    Well said! This sums up my opinion of the 2005 Avalon (XL) after one year of ownership.

    - p
  • paul_ppaul_p Member Posts: 271
    I've observed the same thing, havalong. Can do better on mpg or km/l using manual throttle!

    Wouldn't it be nice if there was a fuel efficient cruise contrrol mode? If us humans are smart enough to figure it out, why can't we program a computer to use the same algorithm we have (consciously or unconsciously) in our heads? :confuse:

    - p
  • paul_ppaul_p Member Posts: 271
    Sorry that you had to experience the problem, though. I had a wind noise problem with a new 1990 Camry that the Toyota dealership refused to acknowledge or fix - only occurred on windy days. No issues with the Avalon so far.

    Very cool though that they cared enough to take the block back for analysis. Sure would like to be there during their dismantling and testing - neat discovering cause and effect and using that to make things even better!

    - p
  • gerry100gerry100 Member Posts: 100
    When rolling at a constant speed your engine is working to overcome internal.external mechanical friction and drag or " wind resistance".

    Drag, or the force required to push the car through the air is a the Drag coefficient ( probably not to bad for the Avy, much better than a high,boxy SUV)and speed SQUARED.

    In other words, if you double your speed your drag quadruples. If you go from 55mph to 70 , your drag increses approx 60%, therefore significantly affecting gas mileage.
  • topgeartopgear Member Posts: 111
    Hi everybody!

    I have a new 06 Limited in Blizzard White that I'm very happy with so far (-except for the cocka-mamie DVD nav system, where it's very darn difficult to program a simple destination -but that's another story for another day).

    What is Bluetooth you may ask? In case you might not know, Bluetooth is a small, limited range network that allows you to connect your cell phone wirelessly to another device like a headset or to cars with a Bluetooth enabled radio,- if so equipped. You may have seen people walking around malls with an ear/headset device, seemingly talking to the air. Pretty cool actually.

    This post is concerning a very neat Bluetooth device, model HCC-210, a hands free car kit, made by Anycom. They make a speaker & reciever system about the size of a deck of cards that I have mounted on my sunvisor via a clip. It is battery operated, (I'm still on my original Alkaline AA batteries. I did not use the supplied batteries yet. It does come with a set of re-chargable Ni-Mh AA batteries, a charger plus a 12 volt cable for direct use!).

    So, when I enter my car, I turn it on and my cell phone automatically connects with the unit. If my cell phone rings, I push a green lit button on the unit and I can listen & talk clearly without having to use my hands. It's full duplex and believe me that's important -as it performs really great!

    To dial out, I use my cell phone to dial out, but once connected, I put my phone down and can drive safely. When finished talking, I hit the red lit button on the unit and that's it!

    I do recommend that you should run a Google search for this product -if you're ultimately interested. I purchased mine from Buy.com. It lists for about $100 but I got mine for $62! -plus shipping.

    I have no connection with this products company or it's distributors. I'm simply sharing with you what Toyota should have offered in its "flagship" car to begin with. I understand Bluetooth is now available as a factory option finally, but for us without this option, this is a very cool and handy alternative.
    The bad news is that it seems to be out of stock, at the moment at least. I wanted to purchase another one for my other car, a Solara convertible. As you may guess, it will work in any car so long as you have a phone that is Bluetooth enabled.

    I'm very pleased with mine and use it everyday!
    :shades:
    -Pete in Sarasota FL
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    Hi Dandydon,

    thank you for pointing out that

    Perhaps it's a design difference between the XLS and the Limited. I did note that my car has some sort of electronic device mounted there, fed by a cable coming out of the hole.

    This nicely explains why the rectangular hole is there!

    In any event, the warning system I bought includes a small digital and LED display to indicate the distance and direction of the object behind. The buzzer is built into this unit. Thus, I need to run a cable from the trunk up to the back shelf where I plan to mount the unit.

    I just went to my garage to have a look and noticed for the first time that when the trunk is open, the trunk light shines faintly through the center brake light housing inside the cabin. This suggests that there is a good size hole between the trunk light housing below the deck and the brake light housing above the deck, through which you may be able to pass the wires for your device. To get the wires all the way into the cabin you could drill a hole through the plastic housing that covers the brake light. This is probably easiest if you drill up from the trunk side, as the rear glass is so steep and the space becomes so narrow above the shelf.
     
    By the way, I seem to recall you or n0v8or mentioning that you would move the outboard sensors closer together if you had it to do over again. If that was you, how would you reposition them?

    It wasn't me. I really like the fact that my outboard sensors also sense proximity to lateral objects (within 2 feet or so). I find this feature very useful when backing into a narrow space between two cars, or close to columns. I prefer to hear a few extra beeps if I'm getting too close to lateral objects, than to have no information about lateral proximity.
     
    Again, thanks very much for taking the time to be so helpful to all of us.

    Hey, it's my pleasure and my thanks to you as well, Dandydon. I continue to learn from these exchanges!

    havalongavalon
  • havalongavalonhavalongavalon Member Posts: 460
    Hi paul_p,

    Wouldn't it be nice if there was a fuel efficient cruise control mode? If us humans are smart enough to figure it out, why can't we program a computer to use the same algorithm we have (consciously or unconsciously) in our heads?

    It would be nice, and it should be possible. As wwest suggested, human-like control would also require vision to anticipate impending changes in slope before we reach hills and adjust our acceleration.

    But a simpler way to improve fuel efficiency might be to relax the range over which the speed is controlled. Right now the Avalon speed is controlled to within +/- 1 or 1.5 MPH and this forces frequent adjustments in engine/transmission output.

    If the allowed speed range is increased to say, +/- 5 or maybe 10 MPH, the performance could be closer to what we do "manually" when we allow the speed to increase going down a hill and capture gravitational energy that helps the car climb the next hill. Tight cruise control defeats these natural oscillations by forcing the engine to interfere, this is why cruise uses more gas.

    It should be simple to provide options for the range over we want the speed to be controlled, such as +/- 1, 2, 5 or 10 MPH.

    Something to post in the Wish List for 2007 Avalon, I suppose?

    havalongavalon
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Sorry, my reply was based on the assumption that the foot feed was being used to maintain the same set speed as if the cruise were used.

    Obviously allowing the speed to decay as you go up the incline would affect FE in a positive way.
  • captain2captain2 Member Posts: 3,971
    A good idea for FE, but potentially dangerous if it is not tied into adaptive speed controls. How many times on a long road trip do you find yourself 'running' with somebody that has their cruise set exactly as yours. Given that cruise use does imply some additional inattendiveness, what happens when your speed magically decreases 10 mph - that guy rear ends you? Or, allowed to run out downhill I don't believe the officer would have any sympathy especially since most folks are already 5-10 mph over the limit to begin with! Have a sneakin' suspicion that Toyota's corporate lawyers would not allow such a thing anyway..
  • retired7retired7 Member Posts: 133
    Dan: I have a Feb 05 Blizzard Limited and roger all you have said plus I recently completed a 2500 mile round trip to Calif from WA and averaged 29.5 mpg on COSTCO premium fuel. I was heavy aft and ran the Ltd mostly between 70-80 mph w/radar detector fully on. I use Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil and tires pumped to 32 psi w/nitrogen gas.

    NWBLIZZARD
  • fsmmcsifsmmcsi Member Posts: 792
    Does anyone have some idea on the percentage of Avalons with a hesitation problem and the percentage with a bad engine? I am considering a new RAV4 which has the same engine and transmission, so these engine and transmission problems are also significant for me.
  • dan41dan41 Member Posts: 182
    A good question, but I don't think you'll get accurate and objective percentage numbers. The issue with getting the data you are looking for is, at best, challenging. The first challenge is "actual" versus "reported". Not all problems are reported to the dealership or forums as some owners simply live with "them". Secondly, only Toyota would have an estimate on those affected and I don't think they would disclose this information. You may be able to use this forum for sampling, but I don't think you'll get an accurate answer to your question.

    Like other users on this forum, I have the reported hesitation problem, rattles and loud ticking engine and they have been reported to Toyota. However, given the postings by other forum members, my guess is that we are in the minority ( again, an unknown percentage ).

    You also use "bad engine" in your question. Although subjective, I don't believe I could define the problems I've experienced as a "bad engine". Yes, I'm disappointed with the diesel sounding noise, but I don't believe I have a "bad engine".

    Perhaps the easiest approach would be for you to query the folks on the RAV4 forum and take a RAV4 out for an extended test drive.

    Good luck.....dan
  • lzclzc Member Posts: 483
    If Toyota's various transmission problems were widespread, would their sales continue to break records?

    Avalon sales were down last month. I'd guess the new Camry and ES350 were mostly responsible, plus some people may be waiting for the 2007 model, presumably with a new transmission and mp3-capable audio system.

    Some new owners of the new Camry are also reporting transmission problems. If they're anything more than isolated, the word will quickly get out and sales will decline.
  • dandydon2dandydon2 Member Posts: 77
    I just finished installing one of the billet grills from Precision Grills and have a couple of suggestions for anyone who intends to do the same. The install was not difficult, but I found the instructions somewhat confusing and poorly illustrated. It did take me the best part of the afternoon to finish the job.

    Step 1 is to remove the black plastic filler panel that covers the gap between the factory grill and the radiator. It is held in place by 6 fasteners. The fasteners have a removable center pin which you must pry up. I found the easiest way to do this was to use a very small jeweler’s screwdriver, the kind that often comes in a set of 5 or 6 in a small plastic box at the hardware stores.

    After you gain access to the factory grill, it is easy to remove – two bolts and a plastic fastener - the next step instructs you to cut off four plastic bumper tabs at the bottom of the grill opening. Turns out there are actually six tabs down there and you only should remove the four center ones.

    The instruction sheet shows the tabs being cut off with a small circular saw blade, perhaps like you might have with a Dremel tool. You might, but I didn’t, so I used a very sharp wood chisel and hammer. A little scary at first, but it worked OK.

    Once you clear away the opening, the new grill is held in place by two metal brackets at the top and two L-brackets which clamp to the lip at the bottom edge of the grill opening. I thought I was home free at this point and proceeded to close up shop. But when I tried to put my hand in under the front of the hood to pull the opening lever, I found that the gap between the grill top and the hood bottom was too narrow to allow it. The solution was to start over again, loosen everything up and push down on the grill so that it was at the very bottom of the opening. Things went fine after that, but it would have been nice if the instructions had mentioned the need to do it.

    My wife raised the question of whether the new grill might block too much of the airflow and cause an overheating problem in the summer, so I decided to measure the number of vertical inches of free space in both grills. Surprisingly, the billet grill provides nearly twice as much opening space as the factory model… and it looks great!

    Hope some of this helps.

    Dandydon
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