I had visions of Toyota being the precision car maker. Got our 2005 Limited on 6-06-05. It has five defects. 1. the passenger wood like molding on the dash has a 1/4 inch gap where it meets th plastic cover for the gages. 2. The air bag in the steering wheel has 1/8 inh gap on one side and is tight against at one corner. 3. the Limited nameplate on the trunk goes down about 1/4 inch. Is not straight like the Avalon emblem. 4. The under the hood sound cover has three tears in it. Two are 1 inch long an1 inch wide. 5. The rear bumper has a 1 inch touch up paint spot where it meets the passenger rear quarter panel. The dealer states they can fix these items, but fixing them reflects on the supposed high quality missing that went into the price. Right now I am not a happy Avalon owner, after waiting 15 weeks for the car and then finding these things. I checked at least six other Avalons and their dash assemblys' were perfect.Toyota surely should not sent out an Avalon with touchup paint and a torn insulation part. My 2003 Chevy S-10 truck was flawless when I got it. I did have have high regard for Toyota and their reported high quality cars.Right now I have to call them as I see them and Toyota has a long way to go to restore my confidence in their product.I realize there are thousands of parts in a car and something can go wrong, but when you read the sign on the windshied stating,I,Al, inspected the car and I am proud of the quality of this car, somebody got paid for their job and didn't do it. Maybe my car is the reason the defects per 100 cars is where it is. All the others are flawless. Good Luck to all 2005 Avalon Owners. Ange1
This fall when Hyndai brings out the relacement for the XG350,we will see a real competitor for the Avalon,less costly,more standard goodies,more interior leg room and yes their famous warrantee.To see this car now go to the NY auto show.
Been driving Cadillacs since 1997 and have had one seville in 97, and two DTS's in 2000 and 2002. The DTS's have been fully loaded and nice cars but I can't seem to want to pay the high price Caddy wants for the new DTS when they don't want to give me much trade for my 2002 loaded car.
I test drove an Avalon earlier in the week and liked the limited a lot but still have not been convinced its the car to buy. No dealer in town lets you take it on a long test drive. How does the car handle compared to a DTS.
How is the interior leather.
How does the plastic wood look and feel compared to the Zebrano Wood in a CADDY.
Emotionally how do you feel about the Toyota name after having another car like a Cadillac, or Lexus or Mercedes. I know its the top of the line for Toyota but its still not a Top dollar name brand (not meaning anything insulting about that).
This is a great site for answers and I appreciate any responses.
This fall when Hyndai brings out the relacement for the XG350,we will see a real competitor for the Avalon,less costly,more standard goodies,more interior leg room and yes their famous warrantee.To see this car now go to the NY auto show.
Emotionally how do you feel about the Toyota name after having another car like a Cadillac, or Lexus or Mercedes. I know its the top of the line for Toyota but its still not a Top dollar name brand (not meaning anything insulting about that).
This is a great site for answers and I appreciate any responses.
kcmover, It's hard me to make a fair comparison relative to the 05 Avalon since my Caddy and Lincoln experience goes back 9 and 15 years respectively. However, I did replace the '96 Caddy Deville with a 2000 Avalon XLS and at that time there was no way I would go back to a Caddy or Lincoln for that matter. The only thing the Caddy had going for it was the power in the premium gas required Northstar engine. Just for fun I tried pricing a Caddy with the features of my 05 Limited and came up with $52,000. True it was not possible to price feature for feature since a lot of the Caddy options were obtained in "Packages". But, there are a lot of $$ between the MSRPs. The Plastic wood looks great and the leather has the same feel as the leather in the sofa I'm sitting on right now. And, you can't beat the cooled seats here in Florida. And lately, with the way rain fronts have moved in and out, the automatic windshield wipers have performed flawlessly. Finally, "how does the car handle?" Not like the 280Z I owned a few (many) years ago but certainly as well or better than the '96 Caddy and (I can't remember the year) Lincoln. We are about to embark on a vacation trip of about 3500 miles and I intend to report back to this Forum, so stay tuned.
Don't let one post scare you. Avalonowner sounds like he had some issues with his car and I feel bad for him, but if every car were like that Toyota wouldn't be recording record sales with this car. Take it for a drive and see for yourself. I just completed 1,300 miles on my Limited and so far I am very satisfied. Also do some research not only with this message board but with the professional car site reviews. Just google the following: "Toyota Avalon 05 reviews". There are tons of great reviews of this car and I haven't came across any negative reviews. I will say some reviewers didn't like the styling but thats a personal preference.
I've had my LTD for 3 weeks now and am totally satisfied with it. While I've never owned a Cadillac, a friend has had several and rode in my LTD and he was extremely impressed with quiet, fit & finish, power and comfort. He was looking at one of the new CTS's (MUCH smaller) and much more expensive. It didn't have all the little nice things the LTD had. My dealer (who also sells GM & Cadillacs) mentioned the depreciation on the Cadillac is considerable, compared to the Avalon. Leather interior on the Avalon is perfect and the vented seats are pretty neat. The plastic wood may be plastic, but I would never tell the difference in the wood I had on my Lexus. Too bad your dealer is stingy on test drives. Mine, in central Kansas, turned me and my wife loose and we were gone for a quite a bit, up & down the interstate & side roads. I highly recommend the car - so far, absolutely no issues nor defects. This is my second (first was a '98) and it too, was perfect. I can't think of a GM or any other make that I would buy right now. (Plus, the gas mileage is great!). zekeman1
BTW, it's the new Azera. Looks pretty good, but Hyundai still has a while to completely live down the horribly bad rep they got from Americans in the mid-eighties to mid-nineties. They've made tremendous progress though, and the Azera is terrifically representative of that.
Is it possible that color matched guards are just available in some regions? I think color coded were available for my 03 in the SE region, but may not have been in the mid-west.
"When I picked up our new LTD yesterday I noticed a much firmer ride than the 2000 Avalon I traded in. I got home and checked the tire pressure. Sure enough it was 40 Lbs in each tire."
If you checked pressure when you arrived home, it would be high as the tires were hot. Always check pressure when tires are COLD. On the other hand, if you just want to make sure the pressure is uniform, you can check them warm. If one is low, match it to the others, then re-check all when cold for proper pressure.
First, I would like to thank all who responded to my post. I scheduled a test drive for tomorrow. I will let you know the outcome. Maybe Toyota ships different quality overseas. Second, I have a question regarding the Interior. Is the Leather used a genuine Leather? And what about the wood work. Is it "genuine" wood or as post earlier said its plastic with a wood look to it. I asked Toyota's dealer in Saudi Arabia, and couldn't get a clear answer.
Just wondering if the dealership was ever able to fix your cargo netting problem. Mine popped loose today and won't stay put. I would sure like to know how to get it to stay in the hole before I approach the dealership about it.
I've had my 2005 Avalon for a couple of months and so far only two minor quality issues. The left hook for the driver's floor mat pulled out and the grommet it fits into disappeared under the carpet. There is no way to retrieve it short of removing the entire front carpet since the grommet is backed by a piece of plastic larger that the hole. I guess I'll have the dealer look at it. The other issue was that three of the black plastic fasteners for the cowling over the radiator were missing the day I took delivery. You wonder how something like that can be missed by an inspection.
Other than that, I'm approaching 6,000 miles and have none of the transmission, rear windshield, trim, steering issues, etc., problems that others have commented on. I'd buy another one in a minute.
The trick (it's not in the manual) is that you have to de-program the default setting first and removing coding is in the manual. Once he removed the default then did the recoding for the 12 MPH setting it worked like a charm. I stood there and watched the whole thing, and then I did it myself.
allavalons -
How do you de-program and/or remove the default setting? What is the trick?
I have been thinking about the distortion that can be seen when looking through the rear window. I don't believe it is caused by the window material. Glass is pretty easy to make, I have never seen distortion looking through a front windshield. I suspect what is happening is that the distortion is caused by the light being diffracted by the defogger lines, which causes the "distortion" that people are seeing. Nothing wrong with the glass itself, just an artifact of the lines.
The owner's manual says to remove the setting that is programmed you simply program the same setting again. There's no trick to it. Do what I said in a previous post, time the 5 seconds with a watch, don't just count to five because that won't work, my service manager and I found this out. You'll get it to work.
Same carpet problem on my 2005 XLS. Both grommets were pushed under the carpet when dealer attempted to install retaining hooks. Dealer offered to replace carpet which involves removal of seats but I opted to wait for a simpler fix from Toyota. Problem is design of grommet and plastic hook. Only other problem is rattle from the sunroof track behind driver which will likely require dropping the headliner. Very pleased with this vehicle at 2940 miles.
For my last tank of gas I averaged 16.8 mpg (Texaco 93 octane). The calculation and readout were exactly the same. This time I filled it with Texaco 89 octane and I am getting the same mpg. Most of my driving is typical suburban trips of less than 6 miles. The air conditioner is always on. I don't have a heavy foot and I try to drive smoothly and avoid jack rabbit starts. Is anyone else getting similarly poor mpg? Could there be something wrong with my car or is it just a function of my short trips?
Yes it's a function of your short trips. Your computer hasn't had time to kick in fully the way it does when you begin to put miles on, like lets 4 times the 6 and you will see the improvement.
Hi: Get on the highway where the Avalon shines - for at least 20+ miles immediately following a gas fill-up. You'll see the fuel economy skyrocket into the high 20's/low 30's and stay there provided no traffic and constant speed below 70 mph. If you get on the highway with the mpg readout showing anything near 16.8 having already used a 1/4 tank or more, the relatively small amount of gas you use for a twenty mile hwy trip will have a very small effect on the gas mileage readout. Try filling up then immediately going out on highway, see the great hwy mpg and then continue with your routine 6 mile or less trips and mpg will neccessarily plummet. when I do primarily suburban trips as you do, I see 17-18 mpg w/AC on all the time, but I'm in Maryland, and perhaps the compressor isn't working as hard here b/c it's a little cooler, and because the temp is set at 70-71 degrees, w/fan on lowest or next to lowest setting.
Your routine trips must consist of numerous stop signs, traffic lights and low speeds to get such low mileage. The engine turns about 1500 rpms in low speed suburban driving, but when driving faster , say with rpms at 2000+, and your not using much more fuel but you'll see a disproportionately higher speed, which means you're traveling much further on not much more fuel, and that's where you'll see higher miles per gallon.
I just purchased an XLS, and the dealer told me that they don't even put those hooks in...perhaps because of what happened to you. The mats will stay where they are pretty much anyway, since they fit so perfectly.
I need to get a car that is nice, comfortable and fairly roomy and have a budget of about 15k. i opted for an Avalon. Found one local trade, 74K miles everything seems to be working. it is 2000 year. any inside about if i am out of my mind? is it a good deal? i will get 3 years/36K warranty with it.
What equipment and color? How much are you spending for the warranty and what does it cover? We have a 2000 Avy in the family and its a great car but 15k seems high. This is probably not the website for you. In my opinion, you should do more research. Good Luck. One suggestion; see if the dealer is willing to give you the phone number of the person who they bought the car from.
I am looking for a new car $30K+. I test drove the Avalon Limited and really enjoyed the smooth ride and all the features. I even like the exterior styling. I have one concern. The salesman said the Smart Key FOB transmits a continuous frequency 24 hrs a day. I have some concern putting that in my pocket next to my body all day long, 365 days a year. Does anyone else know about this and have any concerns about it?
I need to add my two cents here. Maybe it will help. I went from a 2002 fully loaded DTS to the 05 Avalon Limited. I did not get either the Nav system or the Laser Cruise Control. Personally I love the Avalon. In many ways it is better than the DTS. It has a ride that surpasses my DTS. It is quieter and it is at least as responsive in terms of handling and speed. The gas mileage is at least 30% better than the DTS. The wood trim looks great and the leather is fine. I will say that the DTS seats were slightly more comfortable by only slightly. My wife like the fact that on the DTS she could have heat just on her back and not both the back and seat. I personally like the trunk size and lip height better on the DTS as well as the power adjustable steering wheel. All in all after having the Avalon for about three months now, I certainly would not pay the additional money to buy another DTS. I also believe that the Avalon will retain a much larger percentage of it's original price when it comes time to sell. Lastly, it sounds like you are hung up on the fact that the Avalon is after all a Toyota and that you will no longer be driving "prestigious" name plate. If that is important to you than you should go with a new Cadillac. If value and quality are your issues, the Avalon is your answer. It will give you everything the DTS has but for $18K less.
As an aside here let me tell you a short story that occurred this past weekend. I was on a golfing trip with my friends. On on them told me that his wife just got a new Lexus 430. When he compared my car to the 430, he was impressed. My Avalon has almost everything the 430 had with the exception of the Nav system, the laser cruise control, and a back up camera as well as a few small other things. However, my Avalon was around $32,500 plus tax an the new 430 was $50,000 plus their trade of a 2000 Lexus ES-300 and tax. The decision is obviously a personal one.
Hi - rwb has given you some good advice. The place to pursue this is in our Toyota Avalon 2004 and earlier discussion. I think that's what rwb meant when he said this isn't the right "website" - this discussion is for the 2005 Avalon. Hope this helps.
Not in the least. You better not use the seat warmers, the EPA doesn't know what long term effects humans will have with them....Oh yea, just to be on the safe side, I wouldn't use the radio either.....you just don't know what is coming through the speakers........
I had a genuine question/concern and I get a response from an ignorant source. Keep talking on your cell phone 'stickyman' and don't ever stop. I guess you believe if big business sells you something it must be good for you!
I wouldn't be too concerned with the radio waves....they are at a very low level, chances are no harm will be done. But what I'm concerned with is the advent of hackers that might be able to obtain your FOB I.D. using it's own radio waves. There's talk now that they have the capability of maybe getting the ID's off your Mobil Speed Pass through the use of a PC and special software. Needless to say, I think they are still a long way away from obtaining this info. off a FOB, but someday, I bet, it will be possible.
Remember to have a little fun in the day; everyone thought we'd go crazy listening to cell phones and sitting too close to the tv; now we have so many gadgets and I think we're still ok...good question w/little actual evidence; I'm still waiting for my remote control toilet flusher/shower starter/etc to make my bathroom experience as good as driving my car.
Sdaj, I apologize for upsetting you....Wow, you must learn to laugh or smile; it is good for the Soul..........but, I would stayway from the TV Remote:-)
and remember that we are here to help. While it's nice to keep a sense of humor, it is also important to be helpful. We have to realize that communicating in this one-dimensional world is iffy at best - we think we are conveying one thing, but a reader "hears" something completely different.
The important thing is to err on the side of "nice" rather than "funny" at someone else's expense ... and a couple of recent posts don't manage to do that.
Again, we ARE here to help. And if any of you find that you can't manage that, then you need to not respond to serious questions.
Sdaj, this is normally a very helpful discussion - hang in here and I'm sure we'll be hearing from some others with useful thoughts about your question.
Thanks Deanie. I'm just up the road from you in Pennsylvania so the weather is quite similar. I have the AC at 70 and everything else on automatic. I guess since most of my driving is short distances the compressor is on a much higher percentage of the time to cool off a hot car sitting in the sun. Once it gets cool, then my trip is usually done. Most of my trips are stop and go with a top speed not much higher than 50 (mainly in the 40's). This 16.8 mpg city is close to what I was getting with my 1995 Avalon (about 18 mpg city).
Yes,use photo blocker inserts in front of plates.They are illegal in some states or cities.Do not use the paint blocker.Radar detectors are not made to detect photo radar.These inserts are available on e bay.
Comments
competitor for the Avalon,less costly,more standard goodies,more interior leg room
and yes their famous warrantee.To see this car now go to the NY auto show.
I test drove an Avalon earlier in the week and liked the limited a lot but still have not been convinced its the car to buy. No dealer in town lets you take it on a long test drive.
How does the car handle compared to a DTS.
How is the interior leather.
How does the plastic wood look and feel compared to the Zebrano Wood in a CADDY.
Emotionally how do you feel about the Toyota name after having another car like a Cadillac, or Lexus or Mercedes. I know its the top of the line for Toyota but its still not a Top dollar name brand (not meaning anything insulting about that).
This is a great site for answers and I appreciate any responses.
Sounds like a Hyundai commercial!
This is a great site for answers and I appreciate any responses.
kcmover,
It's hard me to make a fair comparison relative to the 05 Avalon since my Caddy and
Lincoln experience goes back 9 and 15 years respectively. However, I did replace the '96 Caddy Deville with a 2000 Avalon XLS and at that time there was no way I would go back to a Caddy or Lincoln for that matter. The only thing the Caddy had going for it was the power in the premium gas required Northstar engine. Just for fun I tried pricing a Caddy with the features of my 05 Limited and came up with $52,000. True it was not possible to price feature for feature since a lot of the Caddy options were obtained in "Packages". But, there are a lot of $$ between the MSRPs. The Plastic wood looks great and the leather has the same feel as the leather in the sofa I'm sitting on right now. And, you can't beat the cooled seats here in Florida. And lately, with the way rain fronts have moved in and out, the automatic windshield wipers have performed flawlessly. Finally, "how does the car handle?" Not like the 280Z I owned a few (many) years ago but certainly as well or better than the '96 Caddy and (I can't remember the year) Lincoln. We are about to embark on a vacation trip of about 3500 miles and I intend to report back to this Forum, so stay tuned.
My dealer (who also sells GM & Cadillacs) mentioned the depreciation on the Cadillac is considerable, compared to the Avalon. Leather interior on the Avalon is perfect and the vented seats are pretty neat. The plastic wood may be plastic, but I would never tell the difference in the wood I had on my Lexus.
Too bad your dealer is stingy on test drives. Mine, in central Kansas, turned me and my wife loose and we were gone for a quite a bit, up & down the interstate & side roads.
I highly recommend the car - so far, absolutely no issues nor defects. This is my second (first was a '98) and it too, was perfect. I can't think of a GM or any other make that I would buy right now. (Plus, the gas mileage is great!).
zekeman1
Steve
If you checked pressure when you arrived home, it would be high as the tires were hot. Always check pressure when tires are COLD. On the other hand, if you just want to make sure the pressure is uniform, you can check them warm. If one is low, match it to the others, then re-check all when cold for proper pressure.
Second, I have a question regarding the Interior. Is the Leather used a genuine Leather? And what about the wood work. Is it "genuine" wood or as post earlier said its plastic with a wood look to it.
I asked Toyota's dealer in Saudi Arabia, and couldn't get a clear answer.
Thanks
its not plastic i am positive
Just wondering if the dealership was ever able to fix your cargo netting problem. Mine popped loose today and won't stay put. I would sure like to know how to get it to stay in the hole before I approach the dealership about it.
Thanks
Other than that, I'm approaching 6,000 miles and have none of the transmission, rear windshield, trim, steering issues, etc., problems that others have commented on. I'd buy another one in a minute.
allavalons -
How do you de-program and/or remove the default setting? What is the trick?
Max
Ed
NWBLIZZARD
Get on the highway where the Avalon shines - for at least 20+ miles immediately following a gas fill-up. You'll see the fuel economy skyrocket into the high 20's/low 30's and stay there provided no traffic and constant speed below 70 mph. If you get on the highway with the mpg readout showing anything near 16.8 having already used a 1/4 tank or more, the relatively small amount of gas you use for a twenty mile hwy trip will have a very small effect on the gas mileage readout. Try filling up then immediately going out on highway, see the great hwy mpg and then continue with your routine 6 mile or less trips and mpg will neccessarily plummet. when I do primarily suburban trips as you do, I see 17-18 mpg w/AC on all the time, but I'm in Maryland, and perhaps the compressor isn't working as hard here b/c it's a little cooler, and because the temp is set at 70-71 degrees, w/fan on lowest or next to lowest setting.
Your routine trips must consist of numerous stop signs, traffic lights and low speeds to get such low mileage. The engine turns about 1500 rpms in low speed suburban driving, but when driving faster , say with rpms at 2000+, and your not using much more fuel but you'll see a disproportionately higher speed, which means you're traveling much further on not much more fuel, and that's where you'll see higher miles per gallon.
Regards,
Deanie
the leather is genuine
As an aside here let me tell you a short story that occurred this past weekend. I was on a golfing trip with my friends. On on them told me that his wife just got a new Lexus 430. When he compared my car to the 430, he was impressed. My Avalon has almost everything the 430 had with the exception of the Nav system, the laser cruise control, and a back up camera as well as a few small other things. However, my Avalon was around $32,500 plus tax an the new 430 was $50,000 plus their trade of a 2000 Lexus ES-300 and tax. The decision is obviously a personal one.
good luck on finding the "Perfect Car", remember, they are made by human beings who have good and bad days.......
Just a thought.
The important thing is to err on the side of "nice" rather than "funny" at someone else's expense ... and a couple of recent posts don't manage to do that.
Again, we ARE here to help. And if any of you find that you can't manage that, then you need to not respond to serious questions.
Sdaj, this is normally a very helpful discussion - hang in here and I'm sure we'll be hearing from some others with useful thoughts about your question.