2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

bahraini_zupra · June 2005

hey there sorry to hear ur prob hope u fix it soon , But do u have digi cam ? can u take nice high res pics plz

i ordered my 05 limited blizzard too

just cant wait tho .

ali

donb1 · June 2005

Saturday I stopped by a Toyota dealer in town to see if they had a Limited on hand. They did, but were selling it at sticker price only.(No DEAL there) I aasked about that dumb antenna on the trunk. The sales guy said (take this with a grain of salt) that the placement on the trunk was the only place they could put it to keep the car in a "class 2" category for noise. I have no idea if he was just blowing smoke up my behind or not. He did say that effective last week Toyota will be putting Sirius into the cars and will use an inside antenna. I checked with another Toyota dealership today and they had not heard that at all. I just love these car guys!

hamick · June 2005

Is there anyway to temporary disconnect the traction control?

avalonbob · June 2005

It goes away with time. See my previous post on this 6095.

maohao · June 2005

I went to the dealer and got a quto for a silver one limited 05, with Laser cruise, navigation and VSD, 35900+ 299 dealer fee. Is it a good deal?

mikes. · June 2005

"I went to the dealer and got a quto for a silver one limited 05, with Laser cruise, navigation and VSD, 35900+ 299 dealer fee. Is it a good deal? "

Not really, many have reported better deals then that, except in South Florida.

MikeS.

jackstacker · June 2005

i think u need to get it for 36K out the door. And be STRONG ,dont' budge!!!!

Just tell you want 500 above invoice if not call around. BE STRONG , they will give in.

topazdan · June 2005

Zeke. I was glad to read your post but sorry for your problem. I am a few days away from buying my Avalon and have been thinking about the XM antenna placement.
I read on another forum (can't find it right now) where a dealer installed in a Lexus 430 the XM antenna inside the center brakelight housing. Totally invisible. I have looked at Avalons on the car lot trying to figure out if this would work. I think it would take some convincing with most dealers.
I think it is worth a try.

Dan

lnt · June 2005

One time I killed my engine and walked off after locking it and it started beeping at me. I went back and opened it and the car was in the accessory mode. It happened a couple of other times and I finally realized that when I killed the engine with it still in drive and then put it in park, it stayed in the accessory mode.

topazdan · June 2005

Has anyone seen a harness or modification to adapt an IPOD to the JBL radio?

groza · June 2005

"I can't figure out why cassette players were even installed in the 05 models."

Hey, Hank. Think about it, bub. Could cassette players be for ...... cassettes?

Yeah, yeah, next you're gonna say that cassettes are old tech, yadayada. Only mp3, cd, ipod, palm pilot, zztop, in your world. Let me tell you, Hammerin' Hank, I got beaucoup cassettes in la casa, dude. Most are stuff like old Ann Murray tunes (I am NOT Canadian!). All my Biggie's and gangsta's are on cd and mp3. Hank, I still have a bunch of John Denver 8--track tapes, and wouldn't mind an 8-track player in the Av either.

Groza

preinhartsen · June 2005

folks:
i am in the market for a 2001-2004 avalon XLS with a front bench seat (the six-passenger model). I would also like it to have stability control and heated seats (and if the world is a perfect place I will one day find one so equipped).
my two questions are these: (1) does anyone out there have one for sale, and (2) does anyone have any advice on chasing one down?
the reason i ask is there seems to be no way to distinguish the 5-passenger and 6-passenger models without a sale ad description including the info. Carmax, for example, has 50 avalon's for sale but there's no way, from their listing ads, of telling whether or not they are a six-passenger model.
The "sixers" are rare -- i've seen only a copule in my travels, but it can't be this hard to find one.
thanks for any help any of you can be.
paul

oldjack · June 2005

Havalongavalon-

Thanks again for your help.

oldjack

hank3 · June 2005

I am a big techie guy so maybe I am the minority. To me - cassettes left my world in the early 90's. Rumor has it that they soon will be obsolete!
I would be interested to know if I am really in the minority here

Do stores still sell music on casettes??
All joking aside, its good news for you but a waste of space for me. It would be nice if they gave us an option to just make it a storage place for those of us without the DVD. I am extremely happy with my car. I must say the cassette player was a bit of a surprise though.

Enjoy your cassettes and keep on truckin.

zekeman1 · June 2005

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'm leaning heavily toward 3puttmax's solution of getting a mini-XM antenna and installing inside the car. The task at hand will be removing the factory installed antenna from the trunk - it appears to have been installed with what looks like 3M tape (it isn't magnetic), so it'll probably have to be heated up to loosen (and hopefully not hose up the paint finish in the process), then peeled off. From there it's just a matter of rerouting the antenna onto the package deck OR going to the front of the car like 3puttmax did - that's a pretty slick install. As I said in my original posting, I had one of the larger, original Terk antennas on the package deck of my ES300 and it worked perfectly. Never lost a signal and it was always strong. I'm disappointed that Toyota appears to show zero or class in their factory installed antennas - only serves to create sour customers. I encourage everyone to call the 800 # listed in the warranty booklet to aggressively complain if their dealer can't (or won't) fix something or offer a solution to a problem. It costs nothing to call and maybe you might get something for your trouble!
zekeman1

motownusa · June 2005

Did you try the other Avalon Forum ? I think they could be more helpful. The 6 passenger Avalon is rather difficult to find since there wasn't a high demand for them and they were produced in rather limited quantity. Your best bet I would imagine would be internet based site like CarsDirect. I don't think Autobytel or CostCo sells used cars. Many people also buy and sell cars on E-bay, so if you feel comfortable you could give it a try. I don't know where you live but if you live in or near a large metropolitan city it would be much easier to find the car than if you live in a small rural town. Anyway good luck.

johndjr · June 2005

Greg,
You mentioned that you have the Park Pilot. Have you determined what the button on the lower left dash does? I have it and have not been able to find any information on the buttons function.

johndjr · June 2005

Anyone else have the galss breakage sensor that does NOT have the button on the lower left dash?

pat · June 2005

If anyone has any suggestions for preinhartsen, please reply to the post at this link - preinhartsen, "Toyota Avalon 2004 and earlier" #3049, 7 Jun 2005 9:41 am - thanks!

retired7 · June 2005

Yeah; I live in the Pacific NW and I love the wiper rain sensor. It gets excercised regularly. I keep the moon roof closed in case of a Tsunami!

NWBLIZZARD

jl618 · June 2005

Although they are not perfect, I am quite satisfied with the automatic wipers (as well as the laser cruise control).

I am reminded of the many discussions regarding whether or not factory navigation systems are worth the money.

I suspect there will be VERY few owners who, once they have had a car with a factory navigation system, will order their next car without it.

jl618 · June 2005

And here in SW Washington we get Oregon Mist ("missed" Oregon) intermittently all day long this time of the year. The automatic wipers are wonderful.

dmorcos · June 2005

There are 2 rubber stops under the hood that can be screwed in or out to adjust that variation.

cafpaf · June 2005

Sorry, I don not know the dimensions, but as soon as it is installed , I will let you know.

cafpaf · June 2005

Yes, the door is still there. All that will be missing is the cassette.

badgerfan · June 2005

Rubber stops under the hood on most cars, I assume Avalon as well, allow you to adjust to make the hood surface flush with the fenders, but will not allow you to adjust the gap between the fenders and hood. Lots of times that can be adjusted easily by loosening the top bolts that hold the fender onto the car and moving the fender in or out on its slotted holes. I don't know if this adjustability is available on Avalons, but it is on some cars. Another slightly more difficult adjustment is usually available on the hood hinges. If it really bugs someone, it can probably be fixed by the dealer under warranty.

I thought even gaps were the "trademark" of the import brands. Are they slipping a bit?

gbinplano · June 2005

In a word, "no".

I assume it is to silence the beeper when backing with a trailer. Since I have no trailer, nor hitch to pull it, I cannot validate that assumption. Most back-up kits with which I am familiar do have a way to disengage when not needed.

Greg

gbinplano · June 2005

Navigation System - never had one, always wanted one, now I have one, will nevermore exist without one.

Greg

mmg1 · June 2005

Hank3

I am glad that the 05 has the cassette player. When traveling or stuck in traffic I am always listening to a book on tape or CD. Because of the cassette player I have a larger selection from my local library. So until my free library goes strickly to CDs I will enjoy the cassette player . In the car is the only time I have to "read" a book.
mmg1

just__me · June 2005

GROZA, I'm with you my friend, lot's of cassettes left, also family ones..
Now listen to this. I left for NJ from my home in SC yesterday afternoon and arrived today. I had filled my tank up with Enmark 93 Octane. Once before (gas name I don't remember) I got as much as 32.7 MPG that I once posted. This trip on the 93 octane I was getting as high as 31.8, so I was surprised. Then I began to realize weather plays a part and the road etc. Anyhow at around 511 miles I stopped to refill (still had gas left to go maybe another 20 miles) with 89 BP gas. I went approximately another 230 miles to arrive at my daughters home, and all the time the computer was showing anywhere from 33.6 to as high as 34.3 miles, but actually from keeping my eye on it (could have gotten rammed with my eye off the ball) I was averaging 33.8 MPG. I am thrilled but was shocked by this awesome mileage. Anyhow Groza I wonder if the gas from another company make a difference. The 89 Octane certainly seems to have made a difference of better gas mileage against the 93 octane, so that is strange. Anyhow I couldn't be more delighted. At this rate I could probably have gone as much as 540 plus miles before stopping to refill. A more powerful engine, a little heavier than my 04 Avy and yet better mileage. I just had to ask my daughter to allow me use of her computer to share this. This is so much more important as to whether my hood is misaligned by a 1/16th of an inch or not, and mine isn't. Just knowing I now own a car that can go 500 plus miles before stopping to refill blows me away. Groza, I couldn't be happier and I know you feel the same way. So much knit picking and forgetting the important things here. One great car. As I was driving 95 today listening to everything for anything wrong, NOTHING, I said I'm happy I didn't wait for the 06, my car is perfect. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but than again when you see how many Avalons have been sold to date the few complaints are a drop in the bucket. Take care.

hamick · June 2005

I just bought my new 05 avalon on Memorial Day. I held off on the XM radio because the dealer was not real informed. But I would like to be able to shut of the traction control in the winter going up hills. Has anyone heard how this can be done? The car is 2 weeks old and I have 1100 miles aprox. and I now have 25.6 miles to the gallon on 2 and 4 lanes highways. Great Car. Have noticed no vibrations as has been posted.

Thanks Herb

307web · June 2005

What kind of gas mileage are people getting in around town stop and go city driving? Actual mileage based on miles driven and fuel used, not simply what it says on the readout.

azhuyck · June 2005

I ordered 18" rims from a toyota dealer in the South East Region as they have them as an option for the 2005 Avalon. Ordered tires from a local store. Combination works great. Stearing is more reponsive and less body roll. Tires are 1" wider than the 215/55/R17.

azhuyck · June 2005

I ordered 18" rims from a toyota dealer in the South East Region as they have them as an option for the 2005 Avalon. Ordered tires from a local store. Combination works great. Steering is more responsive and less body roll. Tires are 1" wider than the 215/55/R17.

johndjr · June 2005

Gregg,
Thanks for the reply.
I guess it will become clear one of these days.

avalonkitten · June 2005

Hi Everyone,
People asked me to report back on the trip so here is the low down. As my driving changed from city driving to country driving and then to expressway, the car gave me fits shifting roughly through the lower gears. By the time I reached 70 I kicked the transmission over to the manual side and left it on 4 until the traffic let up closer to 68. The shifting was much looser and smoother once I shifted back to automatic "D". In fact so much so I was busted for going 84 in a 65 speed zone in Maryland

It was only $75. It was a small price to pay to have the car drive smoothly don't you think? I have to give the car credit where it is due. It is an absolute joy to drive if you are able to keep it above 60. I told my mom that the car does not begin to come into its own until you get it over 70. That said, how often can you drive like that except on relatively deserted highways during off peak driving hours? It is not terribly practical :shades:

Toyota corporate has closed the case. They said I could call back, but there was not much point. According to them the car works according to design and they have no intention at this point of doing anything with it/to it. I was supposed to have the car checked by the dealership in Ohio, but I got a different service advisor when I called to change the appointment. This guy did his level best to discourage me from bringing the car in. When I persisted he said there were no appointments available until well after I had to be on the road back to my place. He recommended to me that I talk with my district tech to Toyota via my current dealership. Ok, one more time for the top. :sick:

I took the car in a second time just before I left to have the cargo net issue fixed. When I got there they told me they did not have the parts. I have to ask myself why didn't they call and just tell me to forget coming in? I have another appointment to have them fix it. I know it is a battle of wills, and I have pretty much settled in for a long protracted fight. They have a "Welcome New Toyota Owner Event" that same evening. You know it is going to take a great deal of self restraint on my part not to ask when they are going to fix the transmission issues on the 2005 Avalon, and Highlander.

Wish me luck holding my tongue...

dcallies · June 2005

Hey Just me,

I've been averaging 24.6 mpg mixed driving using 86 octane. A couple weeks ago I switched to 89 octane and my mpg went up 26.4. Sort of a wash in terms of $$$. I took a trip this weekend and drove at 72 mph and was averaging about 28-29 mpg. As soon as I dropped the speed the mpg shot up and my mileage ended up at 31.5 for the tank. I wonder now if I would have drove at 62 mph what I ended up with. Can you tell me the speed you were traveling? Does anyone know what the best speed for the optimal mpg ?

Thanks

dcallies · June 2005

My windshield is making a load cracking noise when the temperature changes inside the car. Today it was 87 degrees and after driving with the air conditioning on (cooling the interior), the windshield made a loud cracking sound (like the sound of a rock hitting your windshield).

Should I be concerned? I should I take it to the dealership? Suggestions?

:confuse:

barclay3 · June 2005

Hi just me. Welcome to my neighboring state New Jersey! Don't get me wrong, I think my car is great. I was just feeling left out so I searched high and low to find something, anything, to complain about and the only thing I could find was the misaligned hood! Your car is 100% perfect while mine is 99.95% perfect. I'm very happy with it and it still smells like a new car:)

Miss Kitty...keep us all informed on how it is going with your transmission problem. Best of luck.

rwb2 · June 2005

Avalonkitten-here's a suggestion; go to the "Welcome New Toyota Owner Event" and find another 05 Avalon owner. See if this owner is satisfied with the shifting and see if he/she will agree to drive your car and you can hopefully drive her/his. Go along with each other if need be. The results might assist you in getting your dealer on board with your problem. Good luck

koketo · June 2005

hello! azhu i`ll like to see some pictures if u please post some, i bout Eagle F1 GS-D3 Goodyear 225/55/17 for my ltd , a lots a hole on the street around here so i don`t want to get it to low, and what is your tire size,your car gonna look great, i think if all have wider tires the car look better! enjoy your car like i do with my! no problem so far yet.

avalonturing05 · June 2005

my gas milage is just like yours on long trips and I average between 70 and 80
its odd that "just me" gets that kind of miles, I go as far as saying--- prove it with a picture "just me" because I find that harrrrrd to believe.

if you can take a picture of your car you can take a picture of the blue screen
and the famous 34......or even 33

But i do notice one thing though if you do alot of jack rabbit starts and you tend to speed and slow frequently the gas milage sucks and thats a fact jack.

I hate to say it but I think that its a powerful engine but you have to drive like a slow 55 old man to get good gas milage---thats why I believe nobody is going to answer that question about what there driving habits are or even give speed statistics
or for that matter a picture of the famous 34 or 33 :P

deanie · June 2005

On a 300 mile trip from Rockville, MD to upper Westchester County in New York, I spent almost two hours in bumper-to-bumper 5-20mph traffic on northbound 95 that started in Columbia, MD and continued until some point north of Baltimore before speed picked up to 75-85mph for the remaining 3 hours of the trip. The entire trip was made with myself and four passengers, the AC on the whole time, and the trunk loaded to the hilt. On this trip I got 25.3 mpg - incredible considering the conditions.

On the return trip to Rockville with the same passenger/trunk load and the AC on the whole time, I had only 20-30 min. bumper to bumper traffic (5-10 mph) with the vast majority of the rest of the trip spent at 70-80 mph, but a total of 10-15 minutes spent at 80-85 mph to manouver through a few stretches of traffic held up by ridiculously bad drivers exercising really poor judgement in camping out in the left lane on 95 doing 60-70 mph with only light to moderate traffic. I also spent about five minutes doing 90 mph when I was on lonely stretches of hwy. Overall this return trip netted me an incredibly high 28.3 mpg! If I had been alone and driving w/o the AC on, I would certainly have broken 30 mpg.

In town, with routine traffic lights/stop signs/bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic, I get between 18-20 mpg which is great. Optimal hwy speed for best mpg with or without the AC on is in the 60-65 mph range (you'll get 30 mpg every time), though maintaining such low speeds on major hwys without impeding traffic flow is difficult unless one drives during off-peak hours/days. I've found that hwy driving at 70-75 w/the AC on yields 27-29 mpg (28-30 mpg w/AC off) depending on hilliness/flatness of the terrain.

All these trips were made with 91-93 octane gas. I've tested the accuracy of the computer mpg reading by dividing miles driven by gallons used between fill-ups on two fill-ups and found the computer to be accurate to within about 5% above or below computer readings.

Learning to operate the gas pedal with a "featherlight touch" in accelerating up to speed from a stop, and while manouvering through traffic/going up hills improves mileage. And if people chose their hwy driving lanes more appropriately we could all get better mileage, and have less traffic too.

Reading posts of others getting 31-34 mpg on the highway seems optimistic (are they using AC and getting that kind of mileage :confuse: ?) unless they're rarely deviating from 55-65 mph, or perhaps they're only counting the downhill portions of their trips :P .
Regards,
Deanie

maddoke · June 2005

I just sold my 03 Black Avalon XLS with 28k back to the dealer I bought it at 2 1/2 yrs ago to get an 05 Avalon. I liked the bench seat with all the extra room upfront it seemed to give. Just liked the new 05 styling better. I can give you dealers name/# in St Louis if you need. Just let me know.

lnt · June 2005

I only get 18-19 in stop and go around town driving, but mine is REALLY stop and go - short distances - 2 to 3 miles with red lights every block!

avalonturing05 · June 2005

now thats more realistic of what the car Does
the in town i would say 17-18 with air on
60-65 without ac maybe 30, I agree but we tend to wish.

anyway who drives with the ac off in summer days---nobody!

but the fantasies i have been reading about 34- 33 mmmmmmmm
take that picture of blue screen

sorry "just me" but just cannot be convince of your statements

topazdan · June 2005

Today I can answer my own question. The '05 Avalon JBL audio system has no input ports and thus is not compatable with and IPOD harness. (and no plans to change in '06) Therefore the alternatives for the IPOD are the FM modulator (analog) or the tape deck adaptor (one reason for the tape deck).

jackstacker · June 2005

I'm new to this stuff, what does those 2 things mean?

a. steering column
b. TSB

3puttmax · June 2005

My mileage was 26 mpg on first tank, with lots of highway miles. Then it has been 20.3 , 19.3 and 18.9 mpg. All these have been true city driving, with lots of stoplights and very short trips, usually less than 5 miles. I've been using premium.

I don't doubt that I can get into the high 20's under steady highway driving, but in true city driving forget about over 20 mpg.

Max

havalongavalon · June 2005

I can confirm that just me's gas mileage in the mid-30's is realistic. My best so far was 6.5 liters/100 km which equals 36.1 mpg, maintained over several km of level highway driving at around 80 km/h (50 mph). I don't have a photo of the screen to prove this, but my wife saw it, too.

Over 5,000 km driven in March-May, consisting of more than 80% city driving mostly on hilly terrain, overall fuel use (mostly 89 octane) was 13.5 liters/100 km or 17.5 mpg.

Since the steering column weld inspection tool has not arrived yet, this past weekend our dealer loaned us the use of a demo Avalon for our 1,000 km mountain trip. We averaged 25.5 mpg with a full load, mostly at 60-70 mph. On the return ("downhill") trip we averaged 28.7 mpg. Friends who drove alongside in an expensive European SUV carrying a similar load, averaged 15.2 mpg for the exact same trip (and in much more cramped quarters).

havalongavalon

2005-2007 Toyota Avalon

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