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Thanks for the positive feedback. I will say Hi to our salesman. As far as the rattle I think that I am having the same problem as you and it seem to be at 50+MPH and in the same location as you. Try this, raise your rear head rest and I think the noise will disappear. Also, I have the Ltd. and getting more cushion added to the front seat due to the fans in the seat they put very little cushion.
If any one is looking at purchasing they will do $250 over invoice.
You have full control of your Audio and Climate systems when the blasted "I Agree" screen is present. If you actually touch the "Audio" or "Climate" buttons on the NAV control head it takes you to that sub-system. The climate and audio systems are working in the background as soon as you start the engine and are independent, fortunately, of the NAV system. If you just adjust the temp range or change the radio station a little mini-window pops up over the NAV screen so you can see your adjustments being made. That is pretty cool (again, pardon the pun...) Also, make sure you check out JOEDBOB post in Message #8973, see below.
JOEDBOB
Thank you for the tip in your earlier post; I wasn't aware of that shortcut. I admit to not having started on the NAV manual yet. I think I will try your suggestion and see if it makes this thing easier to live with for a bit. I guess you still have to deal with the "I Agree" screen if you want to access the NAV system? I still like my idea of signing a form one time and be done with it!
+/-- keyless entry/start
Positive: convenient
Negative: engine could keep running; expensive to replace key fob
+++ memory seats & mirrors
Positive: very convenient if more than one driver
Negative: none
+/-- cooled seats
Positive: very cool !
Negative: uncomfortable, insufficient padding
+ front seat extends
Positive: extra support for very long legs
Negative: none
+/- self-leveling headlights
Positive: latest technology
Negative: expensive to replace
+/-- sound absorbing windshield
Positive: nice in principle
Negative: is it really quieter or necessary? what is replacement cost?
+/- wheel spokes
Positive: distinctive
Negative: harder to clean
+/-- laser cruise control
Positive: convenient in principle
Negative: stops and starts very abruptly; for light traffic only
+/-- rain sensing wipers
Positive: latest technology
Negative: inconsistent, too sensitive / not enough
+/- rear window curtain
Positive: nice if car behind has high beam on
Negative: gets stuck sometimes
Points in favor: 12
Points against: 13
In summary, the latest-technology features available in the Limited only, are certainly attractive in principle but seem to be prone to misbehavior (such as the rain-sensing wipers) or secondary problems, such as cooled but less padded, less comfortable seats.
havalongavalon
judi :confuse:
judi
So what you are virtually telling me is that you can have full functionality of climate/audio controls as long as you press their respective buttons? What about like info display and what not, does that work too?
Yours is just one of the problems with the Avalon 06 Navigation system.I brought the car back to the dealer with the following letter and was told this is the way it’s supposed to operate. Love to hear from anybody else having problems.
When we put an address into Destinations and we are within .1 (528 feet) to .2 (1056 feet) of a mile from the address, the voice announces “you have arrived at destination - end of guidance “ Sometimes I am on a different street. The navigation manual states that there can be occasional positioning errors of up to 300 feet but these errors are much greater. When driving home, guidance stops at the beginning of Willow St.( 2 blocks from my home). I recently deleted my Red St address in “home” and reentered it - each time I did the final entry for the Red St address a message comes up saying destination is Willow St. This area is 20 years old and close to the city. The GPS in my 99 Acura never had a problem with these addresses or any other addresses.
. The satellite seems to follow my location on the map pretty well when just driving or under guidance .altho recently I was at my office and it said I was on a street in the next office complex.
When press map/voice button to establish numerical location, it’s wild. We live at number 10-according to this location finder we live at any number between 42 and 85- rarely the same number twice and never 10. The same is true of other destinations- not only are we delivered a distance away, but the house numbers of our destination don’t match. This is particularly problematic in the EMERGENCY mode. How could police/ambulance find you when the address listed is the wrong street or the right street but the wrong number.
Also the computer is kind of jittery-it slips into French or kilometers without prompting. When entering an address, I might press a letter and it jumps to another letter-sometimes it goes into a guidance mode without my asking. I know it anticipates but this seems to be over anticipating.
I’ve tried the voice activation with variable success. When I say home she usually starts talking about gas stations-and ski resorts --we finally agree on home.
A while later, as I made a left turn, the sun was now directly in front of me so I rotated the sunshade to the front, but since it was still displaced from its normal position, the tip of the sunshade hit the sunglass pocket above the rear-view mirror and this caused the pocket to open, which covered the rear-view mirror and interfered with my rear-view vision. So for a moment I had to fumble to first shorten the sunshade and flick it up out of the way to make room for the pocket door to close again. Not a problem, today, but could have been dangerous had I had to see into the rear view mirror.
Moral: I may not drive with the shade displaced toward the back again -- or else I will have to remember that to bring it back to its resting position is a three-step process (shorten, rotate right, rotate up).
Design-wise, this would not be a problem if the sunglass pocket were to be placed not directly over the rear-view mirror so as not to interfere with vision when flipped down. Something else to improve in 2007.
havalongavalon
I have an appointment for next Mon, which is the earliest I can get there. My Salesperson wanted me to come in today, but we are in our Fiscal, so I just could not make appointment any earlier.
I did try to program my home address and it came up with the wrong one.
This is the first Nav. for me. My friend has the GMC Denali (if I spelled it correctly), in any case she has touch screen Nav. and never had a problem. I was very impressed with her Nav., that is why I wanted one.
Will let you know results.
zekeman1
I'm very glad to hear that you've had zero problems.
Obviously, my list is based on reports from those who have had problems. It is not an attempt to quantify % satisfaction or dissatisfaction. It is a summary of frequently mentioned problems encountered with some of the Limited-only high-end features -- no more, no less.
havalongavalon
The secondary visor seems like a useful feature, since often one wants to block the sun from both front and side. Agreed, it is unfortunate that it is no longer available.
havalongavalon
So its sort of to be expected because of the design..?
Do you think it likely that the low frequency droning/vibration thing could be a result of damage caused by the 'bumper strips' issue with the transmission? that perhaps the recent 'Thud' is a sign that things are not good inside 'the box'.?
thanks for your help
cheers
Yes, that is correct, you have full control of all the screens. I guess the best way to summarize is perhaps this: the only time you HAVE to deal with the hated "I Agree" screen is if you actually want to view the map and use the NAV features. I am now experimenting with leaving the map display off while doing local driving, and using just the Audio and Climate screens. I think this will reduce the irritation factor somewhat. Still, it's a bum design. And by the way, there is another bum design when using the Audio screen, but we can make that the subject of another rant!!! :confuse:
please tell me how !
thanks
Seriously, while I am new to the Avalon Limited, my understanding of the system is that they level themselves immediately after start-up. If the vehicle would have a heavy load in the trunk and the cabin, the headlights would adjust themselves to this condition. I have seen this happen once, while parked in my garage. I could watch the beam on the garage wall and the lights seem to "snap" into place. I will defer to others who might be more knowledgeable on this topic. But that is my take on the situation. Mike
My experiences with the Nav are similar to yours. I have approximately 300 ft of bias from true position, so it registered my home at a location 3 houses North of actual. I successfully "tricked" the system by entering a non-existent address that would have been 300 ft South (my street does not actually go that far), and now my home is registered in the correct location on the map. Once I drive the length of my driveway (100 ft), it displays an adjacent street, but I can live with that anomaly.
Like you, I found the voice activation feature to be both useless and comical. If I say "Go home" , or "Home", it increases the audio volume. On the rare occasions it accepts a voice command, it then asks for confirmation (yes or no). When I (or my wife) answer "Yes", it displays gas station icons and ignores the original command.
I finally concluded the system could not comprehend my Boston accent. But I recently had visitors from Wisconsin, and their results were no better. On a positive note, comprehension is somewhat improved if I select French and speak the commands with my terrible "Quebecois" accent. Unfortunately, my wife does not speak or understand French (but she may have to learn if she wants to use this "feature"). Toyota should have provided sample .wav files of the ideal dialect on their web site. Then we could practice the English pronounciation the Nav was designed to accept.
No. This vibration is a design or manufacturing flaw and could possibly damage the transmission over time. The fact that most contributors to this forum have not experienced it suggests an anomaly that affects only some small percentage of Avalons.
Do you think it likely that the low frequency droning/vibration thing could be a result of damage caused by the 'bumper strips' issue with the transmission? that perhaps the recent 'Thud' is a sign that things are not good inside 'the box'.?
I do not consider myself qualified to answer this question, particulary since I cannot actually hear and feel this droning. I suggest you visit a transmission specialist in your area and ask their opinion. You might bring a small gift, or offer to pay them for their time. An opinion in writing from a qualified expert might help you when dealing with Toyota.
Uh oh, what's wrong with the design of it?
Have you tried learning Japanese?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
We have only had this experience once, at a restaurant where they insisted on parking the car for you. Not thinking, I got out with the SmartKey still in my pocket. The Valet driver was able to drive away OK, but could not figure out how to turn off the engine. I was summoned from the restaurant, went to the car, and pushed the Start button . . . no effect. Tried holding the brake pedal down, then pressing . . . still no effect. The solution turned out to be to to move the gear selector through all of the positions, then return it to "Park", and then immediately push the button again. Evidently, if you don't do the shutdown sequence properly, or wait too long after shifting to Park, the engine will not stop.
Please see Post #8840
Mike
I posted a report on the Garmin streetpilot 2720 which is a brand new nav system earlier on message # 7629 in this forum. I have been looking for an aftermarket system that functions well, is easy to read, is reasonably priced and is easy to use. Check out my earlier post. I still haven't purchased one yet but hope to real soon.
Regards!
Gladiator99
Has anyone else had this issue?
BTW...I am 5' 10" and weigh 210 lbs.
I think most any quality aftermarket unit will provide better functionality than the one in my Avalon but I am most familiar w/Garmin. I have a friend with the 2620 and he loves it and I am sure the new 2720 with the traffic broadcast interface would be great. The C330 has come down quite a bit since I bought mine and I just looked using a shopping bot and it can now be purchased for around $500, approximately 25% of the price of the Toyota option. Hope this is of some use.
I have been researching the Toyota Avalon for some time and I have both the 05 and 06' Avalon showroom books. For the 05 it quotes it requires premium fuel for optimum performance and quotes 280hp and 260 ft-lbs...For the 06 they drop the notice for premium fuel and now quote the engine at 268hp and 248 ft-lbs. Each stat droping 12. Both carpoint.com and toyota.com confirm that the 06' is 268/248. Any thoughts as to the change?
God Bless and stay safe in Baghdad.
I would NOT buy a new Avalon without factory nav. Even my wife, who didn't want to pay the money for it now agrees.
Perfect, no. But we use it most every day to find addresses and POI's.
Glad to see that you are about to complete your research. I also have delayed this purchase and look forward to your findings. In the meantime, a recent street map edition has been sufficient to find any unknown locations.
Say, did you see the two Avalon appearances in the CTV National News tonight? First they showed retiring Governor General Adrienne Clarkson driving home from the Parliament building -- in a Titanium Avalon. Later they had a news feature on toxicity associated with new car smells and a first ever standard that Japanese car makers will implement, starting in 2007 (for Japan-made cars only); several Toyotas were featured including an Avalon.
Coincidentally, I finally saw an Avalon featured in a large newspaper ad (Business section) in this morning's Vancouver Sun -- fully 7 months after Avalon's quiet introduction in Canada. And a few more new Avalons have slowly started to populate streets around here.
Best regards,
havalongavalon
cheers
Read something in CR very recently about oil deposit collection problems in the top sides (cam shafts, valves etc.) of Toyota engines specifically. One of the recommended fixes was the use of synthetic oils which I would suggest to everyone. Probably takes the dealer out of the loop, however - 'Toyota' brand oils are mineral based.
Curious as to what sort of mileage/time interval you are using with synthetic oil in your vehicle? I am thinking about using it also; I have always used Mobil 1 synth in my motorcycles and have enjoyed good results. Thanks in advance!
Mike
I remember all the negative comments when the home computer was coming on board. Its just a function of becoming familiar with the device.
Now that I've been exposed to the GPS world, I personally would not get another car without the NAV. If you travel a lot you will understand where I'm coming from.
Same goes for the Cell Phone, Lojack, Intermittent Windshield Wiper and the countless devices us Americans like to dabble with.
Enuf Said
Thanks
LJS
Your local Service managers seem to be either in dreamland, too lazy to look it up, or they are making this stuff up to appease you.
I quote directly from the Toyota GSX30-series 2005 Training Manual (Avalon is called GSX30 in internal Toyota parlance), page EC-3.
Oil capacity:
Dry: 6.5L, 6.9 qts
With filter change: 6.1L, 6.4 qts
Without filter change: 5.7L, 6.0 qts
"dry" refers only to filling a brand new engine.
I don't see any opportunities for misinterpretation here.