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Avalon Reliabilty
Hello,
Am in my 70's now, and imagine this will probably be my last car. Thinking of a new 2009 Avalon, but have a few questions, please:
My number one requirement, by far, is reliability. It would be very hard and inconvenient for me now to spend the better part of a day in a service dept waiting for repairs.
The Avalon seems to have a great reliability record, but am a bit concerned about what I have read in several newsgroups and forums re the transmission.
Have heard, and have read in a few places that the 2008 models had something called or referred to as a
hesitation when accelerating. Was blamed, on a transmission fault, apparently.
None of what I read was very clear on exactly what was happening, but several posters were really annoyed that apparently when they pressed on the gas to "go," there was a momentary, or longer, hesitation before anything actually happened.
Can anyone discuss this a bit more, please ?
Was, or is it, a "real problem ?
Corrected on the late 2008 and hopefully on the 2009's do you think ?
Any other comments or opinions on items I should possibly be concerned about, or the car in general, would be most appreciated. e.g., would you buy another one, what don't you like about it, etc. ?
Much thanks; appreciate it,
Bob
Am in my 70's now, and imagine this will probably be my last car. Thinking of a new 2009 Avalon, but have a few questions, please:
My number one requirement, by far, is reliability. It would be very hard and inconvenient for me now to spend the better part of a day in a service dept waiting for repairs.
The Avalon seems to have a great reliability record, but am a bit concerned about what I have read in several newsgroups and forums re the transmission.
Have heard, and have read in a few places that the 2008 models had something called or referred to as a
hesitation when accelerating. Was blamed, on a transmission fault, apparently.
None of what I read was very clear on exactly what was happening, but several posters were really annoyed that apparently when they pressed on the gas to "go," there was a momentary, or longer, hesitation before anything actually happened.
Can anyone discuss this a bit more, please ?
Was, or is it, a "real problem ?
Corrected on the late 2008 and hopefully on the 2009's do you think ?
Any other comments or opinions on items I should possibly be concerned about, or the car in general, would be most appreciated. e.g., would you buy another one, what don't you like about it, etc. ?
Much thanks; appreciate it,
Bob
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Ted
I have 16000 miles on the car, and it fits my needs perfectly. Very comfortable, lots of room, plenty of power, and an honest 30+ MPG on the road. Service and maint. is performed per the manual, and the vehicle has been trouble free to date.
I, too, am in my early 70's and I would recommend the Avalon to anyone who appreciates quality and comfort.
Hi Bob.. let me chime in with my 2 cents worth here. Like someone else stated, there is alot of good information that comes off this board, but in some cases there seems to be some nit-picking. I'm 53 and I have never... never had a car that was "perfect". I bought my 07 Avalon 2 years ago, it was my first Toyota, and based on my limited experience, it will definetly NOT be my last. I love my Avy.. and I've owned everything from Corvairs (sp) to Cadillacs. The Avalon gives me plenty of room and comfort, very good gas mileage for a car with this kind of performance and so far... very reliable. I have had only one issue with mine, and that was a rattle in the sunroof during cold weather. And I think the dealership fixed that, won't know for sure until next winter. Other than that, I would recommend this car to anyone in the market. Good luck with your decision. oh, just one more thing, I don't have it on my car, but from what I've read, you may want to avoid getting one with navigation. Most of the comments I've read on this board about that are negative. But hey, I'm sure in all your years of traveling, you've been able to find your way around without some high tech gadget telling you where to turn. I know I have.
Roland
I’m in my upper 40’s and the avy's been with me since last September. 9K miles later and no major issues to talk about. I’ve been affected, though, with the ‘subtle” rattling of some dashboard/console components. I’ve fixed those myself. Vehicle’s response to sudden acceleration is excellent. Shifting points are very smooth and MPG is also excellent (maximum 35 mpg of highway driving in my case).
Most electronic gadgets on board satisfy me, including the sound system (my rack system at home is mostly McIntosh). The exception here is the voice recognition software; it doesn’t understand a thing of what I say. The GPS is not intended for everyone (Toyota is at fault here for not double-checking on Denso). The system works great and is very accurate; I’m in love with it but the absence of a comprehensive manual makes it useless to many drivers.
Amaury
'08 Limited
45,000 miles later it's not an issue.
For now, all drivers should use extreme CAUTION when depressing the accelerator to pass. Be alert. Tell your husband/wife and children about this if they drive the car. And keep the forum up to date on all personal experiences...
Friends of ours have a Camry (don't recall the year) that's had the acceleration problem and brought to the dealership several times only to be told it was their fault for the accelerator catching on the carpet. No doubt they'll be glad Toyota is recalling their car.
Edited to add:
A quick google search found this:
In June 2008, Toyota decided the issue was a "driveability issue unrelated to safety."
It subsequently received similar complaints in Europe. By October 2009, Toyota had received reports in the United States of sticking accelerator pedals, which led to today's recall.
No fix or timetable has been announced.
The new recall includes:
• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• 2007-10 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia
The 2009-10 Pontiac Vibe -- which was assembled at the same factory as the Matrix -- is also going to be recalled.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100121/AUTO01/1210492/Toyota-issues-new-recall-- of-2.3M-vehicles#ixzz0dopcOtHJ
If "No fix or timetable has been announced." then what's the recall all about? Giving your car back to Toyota until they find out what needs to be fixed and how to fix it?
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